Email marketing is a proven way for your local nonprofit organizations to engage your audience, spread your message and motivate donations. However, if you\u2019re like many small nonprofits, you don\u2019t have the time or budget to create a lot of content or design beautiful email graphics. Without the time and resources of big nonprofits such as the Red Cross, United Way or Habitat for Humanity, you might feel discouraged about your ability to use email effectively.<\/p>\n
The good news is you don\u2019t need a big budget or a lot of time to leverage the power of email marketing for your local nonprofit<\/a>.<\/p>\n In fact, a simple email strategy is often best for small nonprofits. Simplicity lends local appeal and suggests you\u2019re frugal with your marketing efforts, which in turn fosters trust and encourages involvement.<\/p>\n To that end, here are seven simple (yet powerful) email marketing ideas your budget- and time-strapped local nonprofit can use to boost participation and motivate donations to help your cause.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve seen the multi-topic email newsletters the big nonprofits send \u2013 they\u2019re practically magazines. As a local nonprofit organization, you don\u2019t need an entire publishing team to spread your message, and you don\u2019t need to look like a professional publication.<\/p>\n Instead, keep your emails short and sweet. Don\u2019t stuff multiple bullet points into a single email; rather, share a single message in each email.<\/p>\n Pretend you\u2019re writing to a friend. Your tone can be casual and to the point, and you don\u2019t need any graphics. When you take this approach, you can craft compelling emails in less than 15 minutes.<\/p>\n In addition to saving time and money, this strategy enables you to send hyper-focused emails that motivate action. It also makes it easy to keep your audience engaged: since your content is spread out over multiple emails, and each will only cover one item, nothing will be overshadowed by other news.<\/p>\n Commit to sending at least one email per week. This is easy when each email contains a single message.<\/p>\n Send news about your organization, commentary on new legislation, updates on important fundraising initiatives and even relevant tips your audience can use to contribute to your cause without donating. For example, an environmentally conscious nonprofit might tell subscribers how to reduce their carbon footprints at home.<\/p>\n Again, you don\u2019t need long emails and fancy graphics to engage your audience. In many cases, a single paragraph will do.<\/p>\n The goal is to get in front of your audience regularly, so you\u2019re top of mind when they\u2019re ready to get involved or donate.<\/p>\n One of the most email marketing strategies for local nonprofits is to show subscribers how you\u2019re making the world a better place. How are their contributions helping? What projects are you working on? Who, specifically, have you helped \u2013 and how?<\/p>\n Share stories that illustrate real, measurable impact. Did you save 100 dogs from the shelter? Has local lake water quality improved by 20%? Did you provide food, shelter, clothing or books for 862 underprivileged children?<\/p>\n Many nonprofits use email to highlight the problem they\u2019re trying to solve. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that, but keep in mind people want to help. If you underscore how your efforts are solving the problem, you\u2019ll notice a direct correlation between your \u201cbig news\u201d and a spike in new memberships and donations.<\/p>\n Local nonprofits are understaffed and often rely on volunteers to do the good work. Unfortunately, volunteers can be hard to come by. Email can help, especially if you take the right approach.<\/p>\n A common mistake local nonprofits make is to simply ask for volunteers. The problem is the request is open-ended, and people might feel as though they\u2019re being roped into a long-term commitment.<\/p>\n A better approach is to send emails that ask people to volunteer for specific, time-limited tasks.<\/p>\n For example, let\u2019s say you\u2019re hosting an annual fundraising event. If you ask for volunteers for the event, people might be worried they\u2019ll be stuck there all day or that they\u2019re going to be stuck doing something they don\u2019t want to do.<\/p>\n On the other hand, if you say you need someone to man the door from noon to 1 p.m. or you need someone to bake four dozen cookies, you\u2019re far more likely to get volunteers on board. They know which task they\u2019re responsible for, that there is an end to the expectation, and they won\u2019t be asked to do anything else.<\/p>\n Send an email that lists specific volunteer tasks and time slots, and you\u2019ll get more volunteers than ever before.<\/p>\n Resist the urge to turn every email into a pitch for donations and memberships. Instead, focus the bulk of your messages on your nonprofit\u2019s impact and news about your cause.<\/p>\n1. Write short, sweet and friendly emails<\/h2>\n
2. Regularly update members and subscribers<\/h2>\n
3. Show your impact<\/h2>\n
4. Need volunteers? Ask for limited help<\/h2>\n
5. Save the pitch with strategic timing<\/h2>\n