Email is a critical component of any nonprofit communications strategy. It’s an easy and free vehicle that can deliver everything from a welcome series to a fundraising series, which can ultimately improve donor engagement, increase fundraising efforts, and build lasting relationships with supporters. Not to mention, emails can be personalized (better engagement) and automated (less work for your staff)!

Once you commit to this communication technique, there are five recommended strategies that will help you maximize your impact. Let’s review them!

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1. Personalize your emails.

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According to CharityEngine, email remains the most cost-effective way to appeal to donors with the highest ROI of any marketing channel. However, there are a few steps you must follow to ensure email marketing resonates with your audience:

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• Segment your audience. Segmenting your audience simply means creating groups that share a common characteristic. You can segment donors or prospective donors according to their age, where they live, where they went to school, or even their shared hobbies or interests.
• Incorporate what you know about your donors. Your constituent relationship management (CRM) system will help you collect detailed data, making it easy to personalize all communications. Using this data, you can craft messages that resonate with different audience members. If you segment your audience and there’s a group that donated in the past month, for example, you could thank them and describe how that support is helping your mission.
• Use an email provider with high deliverability rates. Your email provider can impact whether or not your emails land in the spam folder. Their deliverability rate refers to the percentage of emails that successfully reach recipients’ inboxes. A high deliverability rate indicates that most emails get through to their destination, meaning you should choose a provider with rates as close to 100% as possible.

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Personalizing emails is especially essential when thanking supporters for a donation. eCardWidget’s appreciation email guide explains that this involves calling donors by name, referencing the amount of their donation, and mentioning past involvement to show you care about their support—in return, you’ll get deeper donor loyalty.

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2. Incorporate compelling visuals.

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It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words. When someone quickly scans an email, it might be worth even more! A compelling visual will grab attention, communicate your message in a way words might not, and drive home the impact of a donation.

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However, not all visual content is created equally—you’ll need to use the following tactics to ensure your visual elements inspire your audience:

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• Use high-quality images, infographics, and videos. Blurry images, graphics that are slow to load, or videos that buffer detract from the user experience. Ensure your visual components are high-quality by sending a test email to yourself or a friend at an external email address to make sure the user isn’t slowed down.
• Align visuals with your nonprofit’s branding and mission. Consistency is one of the core components of creating a recognizable brand. Your logo, brand colors, and any other identifiable visual marks should be prominent in your emails. This helps users associate your mission and the positive feelings they get from donating.
• Focus on specific individuals. Your audience will resonate more with content about a specific volunteer or member than general information about your nonprofit’s cause. Use a video engagement platform to develop user-generated videos to showcase the stories of those directly involved in your organization.

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It’s always impactful to share your nonprofit’s impact. Even if you can’t share specific images or details, explaining how your nonprofit’s work has affected those you seek to help is compelling.

3. Leverage storytelling to inspire action.

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Imagine you receive the following email from a nonprofit:

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To Whom It May Concern,

Our organization, Hope For All, is committed to providing essential resources and support to families in need. As we continue our mission, we are reaching out to ask for your support. A donation of any size can make a big difference toward our cause.

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Would this message compel you to take action? Or, would you be more inspired to donate by a compelling story, such as:

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Dear [Donor’s name],

Attached to this email is a picture of Mary, who lives in a small town in the mountains. She and her husband were married here, raised their children here, and now spend every summer watching their grandchildren play in the creeks, get ice cream cones after dinner, and catch fireflies in the backyard.

Over the summer, there was an unusual amount of rain. The water rushing down the mountain flooded the town, breached the dams, and destroyed the electrical grid. Houses and buildings were flooded, and residents were evacuated.

At Hope For All, we’re committed to support families like Mary’s who have lost everything due to these storms. If everyone who hears this story donates $10 by texting “donate” to 12345, we can supply food to every family in the town for one month. Can we count on you?

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For most recipients, Mary’s story would make them consider donating $10. Rooted in truth, a good story illustrates the power of your donors and compels them to take action. Most good stories share a simple structure:

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• Exposition: The setting, the characters, and the writing style are all part of the exposition. In our example, we’re in the mountains in the summer with grandkids, and the writing style is nostalgic and causal.
• Rising action: As the story’s action rises, the plot thickens. The rain and floods cause significant damage to the town.
• Climax: The climax is the highest point of tension in the story. In our example, Mary, her family, and the rest of their town are evacuated.
• Falling action: Following the story’s climax are the consequences of the turning point. In this case, the storm is over, and the town must rebuild. There’s hope to get everyone back home.
• Resolution: In the final part of the story, the main conflict concludes. Here, donors can help resolve the issue with just $10.

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Collect data through your fundraising system to determine which stories resonate with your donors. Perhaps it’s the wildlife displaced by the floods or the first responders who rushed in to carry the grandparents out. You can test different stories and see which compels the most donors to action.

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4. Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs).

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The most compelling email won’t be effective without a clear call to action directing donors to take the next step. For example, let’s say you want email recipients to register for an upcoming event focused on sustainable fundraising. Here’s what your CTA strategy might look like:

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• Use only one primary CTA. If the purpose of your email is to invite recipients to an event, stay focused on that! Avoid asking recipients to recycle, volunteer with your nonprofit, learn more about your cause, or any other action besides registering for your event.
• Make it clear how to get involved. Recipients should be both inspired and empowered to follow through with the action you’re inviting them to take. For example, offering flexible engagement opportunities (such as in-person or virtually), adding a calendar integration, and incorporating social sharing might encourage them to register.
• Use actionable language. This is not the time to be subtle. Use clear and actionable language that demonstrates the benefit of participating (to the registrant or the cause). “Take Action to Save the Planet” tells people what their support will do.

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A powerfully crafted email will guide your readers through the story and encourage them to take the action you present. When done well, emails strengthen donor relationships and help you retain them over the long haul.

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5. Measure and improve with A/B testing.

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A/B testing is a traditional marketing strategy that takes an email and sends it to two similar audiences, changing only one element. You then track open rates and engagement, such as click-through rates, to determine which performs better.

Search for nonprofit fundraising software that facilitates A/B testing and gathers data about your emails, such as click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates. If you decide to look for new software, it’s highly recommended that you find a comprehensive platform to help with personalizing, automating, and improving your emails.

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It’s been proven that email is the most powerful tool a nonprofit has for donor acquisition, conversion, and retention. Using these strategies will help ensure you’re strengthening your communications and maximizing their impact. As a result, they’ll quickly become a valuable fundraising and donor engagement asset!

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