Social media is one of the first platforms you use to engage and connect with your audience. But do you use emails within your marketing strategy? In this blog post, I discuss building your organization’s email marketing strategy.
Importance of Creating Touch Points
You may be shocked to hear this, but clients I’ve assisted never thought about creating an email list. When I shared some statistics with them, they were motivated to use emails to connect with their audience off social media.
Here’s a little insight…it takes a donor a while to determine if they want to give to an organization.
Donors tend to make their final decision after seeing content from an organization at least 8 to 14 times.
This is one reason why creating an email list is important for your marketing strategy! With emails, you can control the environment, the algorithm, and the timing of how your content is shared. You may be surprised to hear this, but the average nonprofit organization sends approximately 1 weekly email.
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
Engaging with your audience is a great thing! You shouldn’t be afraid of sending too many emails and overwhelming your audience with valuable content.
However…Remember this, supporters and donors have joined your newsletter for a reason. Something inspired them to participate in your cause to help make an impact.
Creating an email list will help you to develop a deeper connection with your audience. A piece of advice will say is…DON’T use your email list as an opportunity to ask for donations. This will cause your audience to ignore you or grow weary of seeing your organization pop up in their inbox.
Recommendations for Marketing Platforms
When you add emails to your marketing strategy, the right platform is important for you to remain consistent. If you are a beginner at email marketing, stay away from the fancy platforms that require you to spend time learning how to use them.
The best marketing platforms that I suggest for those who are just getting started are:
These platforms range from Free to $20/month for subscriptions. If you don’t have a platform in mind, check out a few of the recommendations that I’ve shared.
Now that we have covered the basics…let’s go over the reasons why your organization should create an email list.
1. No longer rely on the algorithm of social media
On social media, you are simply renting out a space on the platform to share your organization’s goals, mission, vision, and so much more! But…have you ever realized that it is extremely hard to get your audience to engage further than liking an image on your page or having a bot comment “Great job!”?! The algorithm on social media platforms doesn’t help organizations to effectively engage or connect with potential donors. It is more so utilized as a place to introduce your organization and a place to convert your followers to an email list.
2. Effectively convert your followers to donors
By converting followers to subscribers, your donors are more likely to contribute to your organization. Joining your email is a great sign that they are inspired and interested in the work your organization is doing within the community. Use this time to connect with your audience and share inside information that you wouldn’t necessarily share on your social media platforms for all to see.
Help your audience to feel like they are about the mission and vision of the organization. The more you include them, the more they will feel about the team. Potential donors love learning about the ins and outs of an organization. This can include learning about upcoming events, ways to volunteer, impact stories, and more!
3. Consistently communicating on a personal level
Did you know that potential donors love when you acknowledge the small moments? Consider your audience to be some friends that you have to meet virtually and who love your company without any ulterior motives. By connecting with them, you can even take the time to celebrate their birthdays or anniversaries by sending a quick message via email to make them feel special.
Incorporating these types of strategies will help you later on when you are looking for your audience to help your organization during a major campaign. Cater to them the same way you are catering to those in need. These individuals play a huge part in the success of your organization by way of…funding.
Well…I know I just poured out a lot on you AND I don’t want to overwhelm you!
As a quick homework assignment, I would like for you to share in the comments below if you have utilized email marketing to connect with your donors.
Are you still looking for some insight on how you can enhance your skills as a female nonprofit leader? Then tune into the Nonprofit Sistas podcast.