Email marketing is a powerful tool in your marketing toolbox and when used appropriately, it has the potential to help grow your nonprofit or ministry, whether you are trying to acquire new donors, increase and cultivate your subscriber/supporter base, or both!
Aside from crafting and designing individual email campaigns detailing your mission and how you fulfill that mission, the email newsletter—or e-newsletter—can significantly impact the engagement of your email subscribers and their level of support with your organization or ministry. Plus, introducing the e-newsletter into your marketing strategy can limit the number of emails you distribute on a regular basis which can save you time, energy, creativity and, ultimately, save your users from “email fatigue”!
Several email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact offer prebuilt, customized, drag-and-drop, mobile-friendly templates included with certain subscription package levels. This means you do not have to be an expert designer to build an aesthetically and visually appealing e-newsletter! (NOTE: you may need to check to see if your current email platform subscription package supports customized newsletter templates.)
So, what types of information should you include in your e-newsletter?
Anything you feel is important to know about YOUR organization or ministry! Links to featured articles and updates, blog posts, downloadable offers, video and audio messages, and upcoming events should all be factored into the creation of your e-newsletter. Make sure your content is “fresh” and relevant, meaning your audience needs to read your e-newsletter or else they will miss out on what is happening!
As you begin compiling content for your e-newsletter, here are a few suggestions to keep in mind:
Establish a consistent schedule for your e-newsletter distribution. Your audience should expect to receive your e-newsletter on the same day of the week, at the same time, whether it’s weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly. Make it something they look forward to reading!
Write a short greeting/message from your organization’s or ministry’s president, CEO, or spokesperson. This creates a personalized touch and can set the tone for what your audience expects to read/view in your e-newsletter.
Keep it short and sweet. The goal is to format your e-newsletter with bite-size pieces of content easy to digest and process while “teasing” your audience to learn more by clicking through to your website.
Always link back to YOUR website to read more—try not to use external sources! This encourages people to visit (and revisit) your website based on the material linked in your e-newsletter. (This can increase your website traffic growth over time!)
Include an opportunity to GIVE. While the primary goal of the e-newsletter is not to request donations or ongoing financial support, it is okay to insert a call to action (CTA) for giving as long as it is a “soft ask.” This can be located toward the bottom of the e-newsletter where your boilerplate text and contact information are located.
Test, test, and test! Use your email platform’s reporting tools to see which content sections users are clicking on and engaging with the most to determine what resonates with them.
E-newsletter marketing is a cost-effective digital solution delivered directly to a user’s in-box. As you brainstorm new ideas and strategies to promote your brand mission and message, consider incorporating the e-newsletter into your marketing mix!
Let Infinity Concepts use our expertise to help you with your email newsletter campaigns!
CLICK HERE or call us today at 724-733-1200.
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