{Video} Shocking Ways Email Marketing can Make Your Nonprofit Sexier
Today we are going to talk about some shocking ways email marketing could make your nonprofit sexier.
A lot of times nonprofits are not considered sexy. But we do want to help you become more appealing to your audiences. This is really where I feel email marketing is underutilized by the vast majority.
Why Email Marketing for Nonprofits?
Email marketing allows you to tell your story in small, consumable bites over an extended period of time. You can automate and write out whole storylines to schedule so people receive that information over a week, a few months, or whatever makes the most sense.
I recommend using a little bit of variety; Show some wins, show some case studies, show anything you can to help tell your story because marketing is nothing more than just good storytelling. Use email to help people get to know you over time and build trust.
Test Your Emails
One of my favorite things about email marketing is it allows you to test and iterate. If you can measure it, you can improve it. An email lets you see with remarkable accuracy who is opening your emails, who is clicking on the links, and who is opting out of your list. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit and see what resonates best with your audience in terms of subject lines, email content, and calls-to-action. Test everything.
Report What You’re Accomplishing
My last point, my main point actually, is that the best way for you to be sexy is by reporting back everything you do.
- NOT SEXY: Asking for donations or telling people about your upcoming event.
- SEXY: Showing your donors and audiences what you actually did, what you accomplished, and how they were a part of it.
You can tell a fantastic story about how your donor’s donations helped your organization save the lives of these 15 dogs or helped you find a shelter for 400 homeless people in the last quarter. It’s sexy and it’s what people care about. They donate because they have an emotional connection. I think a lot of nonprofits are closing the loop, coming back and reporting in a really effective, emotional, visual way what your donation actually did or helped you accomplish as an organization. I think email marketing is by far the best way to make your nonprofit sexier to your various audiences.
One of the best examples I’ve seen of email marketing is charity: water. They do a ridiculously good job of communicating back to their donors how their donations were used. They send emails showing you a town, what was accomplished in this town, and pictures of the people whose lives you affected.
What better way to draw me in and help me understand how integral I am than by showing how much I contributed to what your nonprofit’s overall mission is.
That IS sexy.
Email Marketing for Nonprofits = Limitless Possibilities
Take some time to think through your email marketing strategy. For more great tips, check out another blog post we recently put up about the differences between email marketing and email nurturing, what you need to think about in terms of defining your audiences, and how you want to communicate to them. Good luck!
