getting more people to open your nonprofit enewsletter
TRANSCRIPT
What are some of your issues with your e-newsletter?
a) It's written by committeeb) No one signs up for itc) No one clicks donate through itd) No one opens ite) Only my friends read it.
Poll questions
What are you hoping to get out of today?
a) New e-newsletter subject linesb) Tactics to get people to open the e-newsletterc) E-newsletter headlinesd) All of the abovee) A magic bullet system that will allow me to achieve millionaire status in 5 seconds
Poll questions
What You'll Learn Today
1) Best Subject Lines2) Formatting rules3) Cheapest & most useful email clients4) Innovations in e-newsletters5) Case studies of incredible e-newsletters6) What kind of photos to use7) Where to put the donate button8) Lolcats (just checking to see if you're paying attention!)
What is your most powerful social media tool?
Pop Quiz!
a.) Twitterb.) Facebookc.) Emaild.) Bloge.) Your face
What are the best subject lines?1. Free2. New3. At last4. This5. Announcing6. Warning!7. Just released8. Now9. Here's10. These*
FACT: No one will donate via your enewsletter if you can't get them to OPEN it. These subject lines pique curiosity
* From Cashvertising by Drew Whitman
AND LISTS! (From Smithsonian Magazine)
What are the best subject lines?11. Last chance12. Hurry13. Quick14. Easy15. Sensational16. Remarkable17. Revolutionary18. Startling19. Just Arrived20. Important Development21. Introducing22. The Truth About23. Offering24. Suddenly25. Amazing
These sorts of headlines are favored by Dr. Mercola, who has one of the biggest circulation e-newsletters in the world.
What are the best subject lines?Warn people about something.
Use I
Use the word You
Feature your offer
Use the word Why or How
Use the word breakthrough
Example from Dr. Mercola's website
Must Know
Use the words You, How, Announcing
Test your subject lines
Using the subject line “Our quarterly newsletter” is not going to cut it.
What are the best subject lines?Must Do
Subscribe to these e-newsletters and LEARN:
Dr. Mercola Tom Ahern Smithsonian NAPCO Online Marketing Wild Woman Fundraising
What are some e-newsletter formatting rules?
Remember a big header with a real headline.
Always have a caption with your picture.
Give us a big picture of what you're doing
Black writing on a white background is easiest to read.
Sans serif fonts
Make your headline POP! (Example on the right from Tom Ahern's Enewsletter)
Make sure you have a text only version that can stand alone, without pictures
Think of this formula: 1 email, 1 purpose
What are some e-newsletter formatting rules?
Case studies of incredible newsletters
Start with the word YOU
Keep making the donor the hero, help them feel involved
Good headline!
Personal, conversational tone
“How” is a strong opener
Picture of the problem & captionWhat to do? Call to Action
Case studies of incredible newsletters
Innovations in e-newsletters
The Gates Foundation uses lists
The Gates Foundation is not above shocking people, AND using the word YOU
Segment Your Target Audience based on what they click on.
Are you looking for:
Donations Sponsorships Volunteers In-Kind Donations Gala event attendees Family & friends of people
you serve
Segment your e-newsletters
How can we improve these e-newsletters?What can we change to make this more effective?
Instead of this headline, try:
“Do you like riding your bike for good causes? Join us on August 11th!”
Change headline to “Save Money on Your Taxes” (with a Tax-Deductible Gift to CVCJ)
Poll questions Have you surveyed your e-newsletter subscribers to see where they hear about you?
a) Yes b) Noc) I'm far too busy to do that.
Have you surveyed your current donors to see where they hear about you?
a) Yesb) Noc) Only informally.. no process for this.
Cheapest and most useful email clients?
MailChimp
Pros Free for up to 2,000 subscribers
Easy to edit the format of the enewsletter
Democracy Now uses MailChimp, must be working for them!
Emma
You have to pay $30 after 1,000 subscribers
You have to pay $45 after 2,500 subscribers
Hard to make custom e-newsletter signups
A lot of people don't use images in their emails, or check email on their phone, and a custom design doesn't help there.
Offers custom design services for your emails
Pros Cons
Cheapest and most useful email clients?
iContact Hard to make custom enewsletter signups
Not double opt-in, more likely to be marked as spam.
Their customer support is outsourced overseas
Cons
Cheapest and most useful email clients?
Constant Contact
It looks different in each email client, which can be frustrating
More expensive than other options, $30 for over 500 emails
Hard to make custom enewsletter signups
You're more likely to be marked as spam.
Data you get is not actionable
Their customer support is in America and they pick up the phone pretty fast.
Connects with Donor Perfectdatabase
Pros
Cons
Cheapest and most useful email clients?
Pros Cons$19/month for up to 1,000 subscribers
Can create many e-newsletter signup forms easily
Easy to segment list
Easy to see data about list
Best deliverability rates
Double opt-in means fewer email signups
Cannot just add names from speaking engagements
Their WSIWIG editor is difficult to use.
Aweber
Cheapest and most useful email clients?
Pros Cons
Can create many e-newsletter signup forms easily
Easy to segment list
Single opt-in
Tech support is native English speakers
Sometimes emails don't get sent
Had a DDOS attack a month or two ago
GetResponse
Cheapest and most useful email clients?
What kind of photos NOT to use Administrators in a row People waving goodbye Fuzzy close ups of thank
you notes. Open sores. Sexy teenagers Men with mustaches
What kind of photos to use Children Animals Pictures of your
constituents being helped by your staff.
Pictures of staff helping solve the problem.
Screenshots from RLSB Little Heroes Appeal 2012 by Craig Linton
Where to put the donate link You don't have to be fancy.
Look at this piece of genius from Marie Forleo.
One Link. One purpose.
Nice headline!