Nonprofit newsletters get some of the best average open rates in email marketing (26%). Newsletters provide important opportunities to showcase the work you do, make appeals for donations and other support and raise awareness of the problems your charity tackles. Use your newsletter to connect with donors and volunteers, encouraging them to take action.
Email drives more charitable donations than any other online channel. 42% of donors prefer to hear from causes they support by email, 20% of donors said that emails made them more likely to donate again and 69% of subscribers said they were more likely to donate after receiving an appeal for a specific need.
Everyone gets more emails than they can ever read. A typical email receives no more than 15 seconds of attention - so make yours stand out. Use images, a good subject line and engaging opening paragraph. If a reader is not interested at the opening of your newsletter, they won’t read what comes later.
What else should you do?
- ensure that your newsletter can be read on a mobile device.
- personalise (use recipient names)
- all non-profit newsletters should include a call to action - usually a request for donations, volunteers or an ask to social share
- keep text to a minimum and focus on 1-5 stories or calls-to-action
- have your donate button and social media icons at the top of the newsletter
- enable social sharing
- use images and video screenshots linking to your website or YouTube
- send on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday - avoid Mondays and Fridays
Finally, remember you cannot email anyone without their permission, but you can build your email list by:
- have a subscribe button on your website
- promote through conversations with supporters
- run a specific list building social media campaign
- offer donors the option to subscribe in thank you messages
More reading:
http://www.thestorytellingnonprofit.com/blog/5-non-profit-newsletters-to-learn-from/
https://knowhow.ncvo.org.uk/campaigns/communications/e-newsletters
