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Date D e Your D Dono ors:
You Y u Haad M Mee at He ello (A Min ni‐Guide tto Email EEngagem ment)
Broug ght to you byy:
A Aboutt this G Guide: TThis guide is part of N Network fo or Good’s ““Date Yourr Donors” sseries whicch focusess on p practical tips for attraacting, culttivating – aand keepinng! – activee and loyal donors. TThis mini‐g guide was p prepared b by Allison SSchwalm, N Network foor Good’s M Marketing EEngagement Manageer. Allison is passiona ate about tthe way orrganization ns commun nicate a and tell theeir stories. At Networrk for Good d, she creaates and im mplements engagemeent sstrategies tto help non nprofit pro ofessionals become bbetter funddraisers. Sh he loves sou ur g gummy wo orms, her ttwo Yorkie‐‐Bichon pu ups and Pinnterest. IIn this quicck guide, yyou will lea arn: Whyy a strong ffoundation n is key for any great donor reelationship p (and how w this help ps your cau use) How w to create an email w welcome sseries Ideas and bestt practices for contin nuing to en ngage your supporteers through h email
IIntrod duction n R Rememberr that cute guy or girl that you met on Neew Year’s EEve? After your first d date, tthings fizzle ed out and d you got b busy with w work and cconnectingg with old ffriends. A ffew ttext messages were ssent back aand forth, but you neever called d. N Now the su ummer dayys are longger. Friends are on vaacation and your workload is light. YYou find yo ourself looking for so omeone to enjoy dinnner al frescco with you at a local café. O Or maybe yyou’re looking for a llasting relaationship t hat will lasst through the fall an nd into tthe holidayy season. W Wouldn’t itt be great tto not sho w up at the office ho oliday party aalone, AGA AIN? A As nonproffits, don’t w we do the same thing? After ouur year‐en nd giving seeason comes to a cclose and aa brief than nk you is se ent, more often thann not our d donors livee on the baack b burner unttil we’re ready to sen nd anotherr appeal. W We can do better forr our suppo orters and our missio ons. W What if you u dated yo our donors through the summeer and fall tto guarantee that theey’d be in a commiitted relatiionship to your organ nization beefore the h holidays hitt, guaranteeeing ttheir suppo ort and possibly a biggger donattion? In this guid de, we’ll sh how you wh hat you can do to daate your do onors to geet them reaady to b be in a com mmitted re elationship with your organizatiion this ho oliday season – and b beyond!
EEvery Great Relationshiip Starrts witth… He ello W We all know how to ssay hello. IIt’s a basic skill that kkicks off all of our rellationshipss. So d don’t skip tthis importtant step w when begin nning a ne w relation nship with aa supporteer. R Rememberr: Hello is aabout creating an opportunity tto get to kknow someeone, askin ng q questions aand undersstanding th heir point of view. Fo ocus on the true spirrit of sayingg H Hello” with hout jumpiing right to o “Will you u donate?”
Whaat Makess a Great Welcom me ? nprofit Branded email wi ith the non logo an nd name
A heartty welcomee! A comp pelling pho oto that illustrattes your no onprofit’s mission n and perso onality Sinceree appreciattion for the sup pporter’s in nterest in the orgganization What th he audiencce should expect from futurre emails Specificc contact informaation Signed by a real p person
Sanctu uary One is a a shining exaample of a nonprofit tha n at does this well!
Anotheer way to connect and find out more
C Create e a Gre eat We elcome Seriees W Why a w welcom me serie es is imp portantt A After a con nstituent siigns up to receive em mails from your organ nization, you probab bly send tthem an au utomated e email that acknowledges their submissio on and than nks them ffor ttheir intere est in your organizatiion. B But what comes nextt? To ease new consttituents intto a closerr relationsh hip with yo our o organizatio on after siggn‐up and laying out a welcomee mat of so orts to you ur cause, co onsider introducingg your orgaanization tthrough an n email we lcome seriies.
W What itt is A A welcome e series is aa sequence e of 2‐3 sim mple, perso onal email messagess (a plus if yyou’re aable to auttomate the em!) that aa constitue ent receives over the course of their first few w weeks on yyour email list, educaating them about youur organizaation, its programs, aand w ways to get involved and stay cconnected.. Executed thoughtfu ully, a welccome seriees can h help you giive new co onstituent relationships the perrsonal atteention theyy need (before aasking for d donations to your orrganization n) without a huge ressource com mmitment.
P Plan Yo our Welcome SSeries
1
A personall greetingg from th he voice o of your orrganizatio on.
Th his could be your organization’ss Executivee Director,, a staff meember that works in n your devvelopment departmeent or a cellebrity p: Tread ligghtly with yyour spokeesperson. C Constituen nts spokkesperson. (Quick tip want to talk to o someone that relate es to them m on an onggoing basis not just aa talking head.) TThis email will highligght the staate of yourr organizattion and with educcate the ne ew constitu uents abou ut what yo our organizzation doess and the p people or co ommunity that you sserve. Focu us on educaating yourr new constituents an nd remiinding them m what they signed up for. Reiinforce ben nefits and set expecttations abou ut what your constitu uents will rreceive and how ofteen.
2
Hiighlight specific w ways your constituents can get invollved.
Haave really ggreat progrrams geareed toward families? Looking fo or vo olunteers fo or your homeless ministry? Plaanning a gaala dinner aand recru uiting committee me embers? In n your seco ond welcom me messagge, place emp phasis on educating n newcomerss on ways tto get invo olved or highlighting the value e of being a supporte er. Mentio oning upcoming even nts will also o give new w consstituents a chance to meet your staff in pperson and will likely increase their level of involve ement with h your orgaanization.
3
Prrovide other wayss to engagge with yyour orgaanization..
Te ell them ab bout the ways they caan connect with your staff thro ough Faacebook orr Twitter (W Want to leaarn more aabout engaaging dono ors with heck out o our guide: W Woo and W Wow Your Donors wiith Social M Media). these tools? Ch ude a link tto Your YouTube Do yyou post grreat videoss that are ssuper sharaable? Inclu chan nnel.
Tim ming Your first welcome message e should co ome prompptly after tthe triggering event ((a donatio on, a newslletter subsscription, e etc.) happeens. That saaid, you kn now your audiencce best so e experimen nt with the e number o of days or eeven weekks that elap pse between your me essages. So ome organiizations finnd that sen nding one m message every two weeks for six weeks is e effective w while other prefer weeekly messaages closer togethe er.
Traacking Monitor your orgaanization’ss click‐thro ough and o open rates and adjustt your approach based o on your ressults. Don’tt be afraid to changee the frequ uency of yo our messagges as well as yyour subje ect lines, co ontent and d calls to acction. We advocate ttesting diffferent versionss of each m message to o find whatt works beest for yourr unique m message an nd subscrib bers.
Continue the Converrsation with EEmail
110 Simp ple Ideaas for Email Conteent
EEmail is one of the m most effectiive ways tto commun nicate with h your donors, so d don’t waste this greaat opportun nity to be aa positive p presence in n their inbox. By rreaching out with gre eat content and sstrategic caalls to actio on, you can build a sstronger re elationship p with yourr ssupporterss, turning them into loyal d donors who give morre over tim me.
1. Give aan update on a former client or crisis. of a relevaant 2. Writee a review o book or movie. 3. Sharee your latesst success story. 4. Recap p your latest event. 5. Featu ure the storry of one o of your volunteers.
or suggestiions for yo our next 6. Ask fo newslletter.
Tell You T ur Storyy W Want to re eally conne ect with your ssupporterss? Tell them m a story!
7. Offer a preview of an upco oming fundrraising event.
It’s a prove en fact thatt people are more likely to em motionally connect w with and rremember a story ovver other fo orms of information. Think ab bout what you want tto convey aand build aa story aro ound it. D Donors relaate to storries about sspecific p people or aanimals, in nstead of sttatistics. U Use your emails to paaint a vivid d picture tthat donorrs will reme ember whe en it’s ttime to give.
onial from aa 8. Sharee a testimo benefficiary or supporter. 9. Enlist a staff meember to d describe their ffavorite moment at yyour organ nization. 10. Offerr a special resource ffor down nload, such h as a checkklist or posteer.
K Keep tthe Co onversation Goingg YYou’ve said d hello and d made a great introd duction to your supp porters, but don’t just coast donors, staay in touch u until your n next fundraising appeal. For mo ore active and loyal d h and p provide the em with co onsistent o opportunities to stay connected d with you ur cause. SStay in Tou uch: Create e a commu unication ccalendar an nd reach o out to yourr ssupporterss on a conssistent and regular b basis. Theyy can’t forgge a great rrelationship with you u if you’re missing ffrom their inbox!
Be aa Good Lisstener: Your email outreach shou uld not be a one‐wayy messsage. Inco orporate re eader feed dback, givee supporteers a chancce to interaact with youur content and consid der featuring ideaas and storries from yyour audience.
D Don’t Be B Boring: Maake your em mails fun tto receive (and read!) – ditch th he long‐ fform reporrts and insi ider jargon n in favor o of compelling storiess, featured photos aand videoss, and a varriety of calls to aaction.
bout You: Instead off talking It’s Not All Ab abo out how great *you* are, focuss on sharing amaziing stories about you ur donnors, volun nteers and beneficiarries.
D Don’t Com me on Too SStrong: Arre your eemails all ffundraisingg appeals, aall the ttime? If you’re only aasking for m money in yyour emails, your reaaders will likely tune yyou out. Baalance you ur fundraisiing aappeals with success stories, prrogress rreports and d other op pportunitie es for ssupporterss to get invvolved.
Be YYourself: People waant to supp port other people,, not a sterrile, facelesss organization. This mean ns having aa personality an nd a point of view. Leet your auddience see how your nonprofit is uniqque and yo ou’ll leave a lasting imppression.
R Remem mber: Sttart by sayiing hello and send a great welccome messsage. Te ell stories aabout yourr work andd your impact to connect with supporte ers. Sttay in touch with you ur supporteers – don’tt let them o only hear ffrom you thro ough fundrraising app peals. Le earn from yyour outre each by tessting differrent subjecct lines and d calls to action n, as well aas measuring how yo our emails perform.
M More Reesourcess:
EEmailNo ow pow wered b by Emm ma B Be an ema ail superhero withoutt superhum man effortt. EEmailNow is an email marketing service ffor nonproofits to enggage with ssupporters via e‐ n newsletterrs, fundraissing appeals, advocaccy alerts and more. A At just $29 9.95/month h for 2 20,000 emails, EmailNow is a user‐friendlly service tthat does tthe tough sstuff for yo ou. FFind out m more and sttart sendin ng professional emails to yourr supporters.
N Networrk for Good’s P Premium m Train ning: FFundraiising Fu undame entals R Reaching yyour fundraaising goals takes harrd work, thhe right tools, along with a solid ssystem of ssupport an nd expertisse. We kno ow you havve the passsion, so lett us help w with the rrest. As a p premium trraining sub bscriber, yo ou get acceess to our team of exxperts and guided ttutorials th hat focus o on key actio on items and keep yo ou on trackk. B Become a Premium T Training su ubscriber ttoday for jjust $29.955/month.
