Email is a powerful marketing tool for your nonprofit. When implemented effectively, your organization’s email strategy has the ability to not only inform and educate, but to deepen your supporters’ connection to your cause and inspire incremental donations, cultivate long-term relationships with donors, inspire people to action through volunteerism and create cause ambassadors. Additional benefits of email marketing include the easy tracking of results and key metrics, and it’s a cost-effective way for your organization to reach constituents.
Most of you are likely aware of the benefits of email marketing, and have tangible examples of how email marketing has benefited your organization.
So, the big question is: You know the benefits of email marketing, but are you actively working to grow your email list?
When working on your list strategy, you need to keep acquisition top of mind and implement tactics that will continue to grow your list of supporters. Furthermore, it is natural for your subscriber list to decay over time. This attrition can be a result of a variety of factors such as your supporters changing email addresses, unqualified leads opting out of your communications, etc. It is vital for your organization to have a strategy for growing your email list, to combat this natural decay.
Here are 3 ideas to get you started:
1. Make it easy for people to join
Building your email list is key for your organization in driving online fundraising success through email. Making it as easy as possible for someone to get on your email list is the first step in growing your list of supporters. Do this first by creating an email opt-in page on your website where you can describe your email content, outline email frequency, and gather key information from prospects. Be concise in the information you ask for: email address, first name, and no more than on other piece of information – you can collect more information as you build the relationship. Don’t scare potential subscribers off by asking for too much off the bat (i.e. their full mailing address, phone number, etc.) – there is a tremendous value in stripping down the form fields to only ask for the information you need right away.
Furthermore, ensure your email list sign up is in a prominent place on your website. You don’t want people having to dig through your site to find out how to join your email list. Ideally, include an opt-in call to action on every page of your site – this can be done easily by including a “Sign Up” button in your website navigation, for example in either your website footer or header.
2. Make it impossible for people to miss
If you really want to make it impossible for someone to miss your opt-in form, have it appear in a lightbox when someone lands on your website. Marketers are often wary of pop-ups and lightboxes – we have all likely been annoyed by a lightbox at one time or another, so we worry that lightboxes will annoy or chase away site visitors, and worse, potential donors! Yet, time and time again I see them, which means they must be working. The only way to know if a lightbox opt-in form will work for your organization is to test it. You can test different copy, colour of buttons, visuals, delay times, and locations to see what works best and what leads to highest opt-ins. Testing is a powerful way to increase conversion rates, and therefore increase the size of your email list. Take the time to test, and continually challenge your assumptions.
Tip: Always ensure your lightbox has a prominent “X”, making it easy for people to close out of the lightbox.
3. Invest in reaching new people
There can be a tremendous benefit in allocating some of your organization’s budget to reach new supporters. The rapid growth of social media has impacted nonprofits, as it is changing the way people are interacting with organizations online. It is important that you try and reach your audience (or potential audience) where they are online. You could consider trying “Sign Up” ads through Facebook. Start by setting a goal and defining what success will look like. If you try Facebook “Sign Up” ads, the goal would be to grow your email list. Success could be measured by how many new supporters you are able to reach and have join your email list, and then ultimately how many of these new prospects convert to donors. ROI can be high with paid ads, but you need to be willing to invest at the beginning.
Not all organizations are the same, and therefore not all email lists are the same. But, the above are proven strategies that can help your nonprofit quickly grow your email list – perhaps even in time for your year-end appeal!
Kathleen Grace, Account Director, Digital Specialist at Stephen Thomas Ltd specializes in digital and integrated marketing strategy and works with clients to ensure they are thinking strategically about their digital channels when it comes to meeting and exceeding their fundraising and marketing objectives. Kathleen has executed digital campaigns for a wide variety of clients from conception to execution, and provides clients with a unique perspective on how they can leverage both traditional media and digital platforms to reach and engage with their donors. Connect with Kathleen via Twitter @KathleenRGrace, or email kathleeng@stephenthomas.ca.
