Despite all the changes and the rapid rise of social media over the years, nonprofit newsletters remain one of the best ways to stay in touch with your donors. While the purpose of nonprofit newsletters hasn’t really changed over the years, delivery methods and best practices have evolved. Most nonprofits now rely primarily on e-newsletters to interact with their donors regularly.
Email still dominates as a reliable form of communication across all age categories, and it’s actually a tremendous complementary strategy to your social media presence. In short, even if you still send a print newsletter, it’s essential to have a solid nonprofit email newsletter.
We’ve rounded up some best practices and tips that will make your email newsletter more effective.
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Nonprofit E-newsletter Basics
The primary goals of an email newsletter are to engage your supporters with the latest information and news from your organization. It’s an easy way to interact with potential donors and volunteers. When done well, an email newsletter is a great way to engage a broad audience, drive traffic to your website, and even boost donations.
Though email marketing has been chastised in the past for being “old school,” email remains a powerful communication and marketing strategy. In fact, by some measurements, email marketing has an ROI of about 4400% in the business world! So, of course, it’s still an effective--and affordable--tool for nonprofits.
4 benefits of email newsletters for nonprofits
There are loads of benefits to enjoy when you incorporate email newsletters into your communication strategy. Here are the top four to consider.
1 Offer customized content: Your subscribers can choose the type of content they want to receive, and you can easily send directed content to specific groups! After all, potential donors probably aren’t interested in the same content as your volunteers. Customize your reader’s experience to boost their engagement and ensure they’re getting the right information at the right time.
2 Track open rates and interest to create more targeted content: Sending email newsletters is a great way to gather valuable data and feedback. What articles or information garnered the most clicks or the biggest open rate? That’s the kind of content your readers probably want to see more of! You can use all the data about your email newsletter to improve your donor care and general communication strategies.
3 Email forwarding expands your audience: Email newsletters are easy to share and forward with friends and family. So, when you create valuable content that people are eager to share, you’re actually expanding your reach and potential audience. This, in turn, builds more engagement and even boosts donations!
4 It’s cost-effective: Email newsletters are incredibly cost-effective. Even when you consider the price of your CRM or email management system, it’s probably still far cheaper than sending paper newsletters and many other forms of communication with your donors. So, you can enjoy a great return on your investment with this communication strategy.
Nonprofit Email Newsletter Best Practices
Though there are loads of benefits to enjoy, there are some best practices to follow that will help you get the most out of your nonprofit email newsletters. We rounded up the top X best practices from some industry experts who have been sending out nonprofit e-newsletters for a long time!
1. Make your email newsletter mobile-friendly
More than 60% of all emails are read on a mobile device these days. People read emails everywhere and at all times of the day and night. It’s critical to ensure your content (and all your fundraising strategies) is mobile-friendly so people can read--and share--your email at their convenience.
2. Only send your emails to subscribers who “opted in”
When subscribers sign up or “opt-in,” they’re giving you permission to communicate with them via email. That means it’s a violation of the Can-Spam act to add people to your email list who did not sign up or opt-in.
While it’s technically legal for nonprofits to send unsolicited emails without violating the Can-Spam laws, it’s essential to know the regulations and stay within the boundaries. The safest approach here is to use opt-in and sign-up forms for your email lists.
3. Always offer a way to “opt-out” of your email list
It’s critical to give people a way to easily unsubscribe from your email list. Most of the email service providers add an “opt-out” link at the bottom of every email. If you’re trying to use another email option like Gmail or Outlook, make sure you add instructions for unsubscribing at the bottom of every email. Nobody wants to be stuck on an email list they didn’t sign up for or no longer wish to receive.
4. Update your email list regularly
To have an effective email newsletter, you need a healthy email list. Take the time to review the “bounced” emails regularly and update your contacts.
A “soft bounce” happens when your email went to a valid email address, but the mailbox was full, the message was too big for the inbox, or some problem like that. Don’t let technology stand in your way! You’ll want to keep an eye on those to make sure you’re not keeping followers in the dark who really do want to hear from you!
“Hard bounces” happen when your email is permanently rejected. Typically this occurs when you have an invalid email address, or it simply doesn’t exist. Take the time to remove these email addresses from your list and contact the supporters to update their contact information (if they would like to stay in touch, of course). Some email service providers automatically remove contacts with “hard bounces” from the list.
5. Be strategic with your subject lines
The average office worker receives about 121 emails each workday. Your subject line should stand out from a crowded inbox and grab your reader’s attention. Don’t settle for “July Update” or “Email Issue 451.” You’ll need to be more creative than that if you want people to click through and keep reading.
Keep your subject lines short and enticing. Many nonprofits make a habit of asking a question or using action words in their subject lines. Make people want to find out more--but don’t leave it too vague. People still want to know what they’re clicking on.
Another great strategy that helps boost open rates is to add the recipient’s first name in the subject line and elsewhere in the email.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and get clever. See what connects with your audience and gets greater open rates! If you use a quality email service provider, it should allow you to do some A/B testing to compare the results of different email subject lines.
6. Feature up to 4 news stories in e-newsletters
The purpose of email newsletters has changed over the years. Now, they’re sent more frequently and tend to highlight what your organization has been up to.
Remember, people are busy and don’t have much time. So, industry experts recommend featuring up to four news stories in your regular email newsletters. Use text links or buttons to direct people to the full stories on your website where they can keep reading and take action (make a donation, sign a petition, etc.).
Email appeals are different. There is just one focus and one goal--to raise money. Therefore, the best approach for these emails is to include just one story related to the specific appeal.
7. Be brief and organized
People generally want a quick and easy read they can enjoy on the go. Your audience doesn’t need an update on every single program or initiative. Remember, keep it to four or fewer stories and give a brief overview. When it comes to email newsletters, less is usually more.
If you’d like to offer a longer story, consider including it in your blog or somewhere on your website and write a brief summary for your newsletter. Include a link to the long-form report for anyone who wants to keep reading. Also, don't forget to improve your email deliverability with the DMARC report.
People also appreciate a well-organized newsletter. Break your content into several sections and use colors, images, and graphics to move your reader’s eye along the screen.
Incorporate section headers and white spaces to break things up and keep your newsletter organized. Using several short sections makes it look easier to read than one big chunk of text. Generally, if it seems long or challenging to read, people usually won’t take the time to read it.
8. Use consistent branding throughout your email newsletters
Make sure you use colors, fonts, design elements, and logos that match your nonprofit’s brand in each email newsletter. Many email service providers make it easy to create a customized template with your logo and branding.
Staying consistent with the branding makes it easy for your donors to recognize and trust your email content. It also helps people identify you in other areas (on social media, websites, etc.).
9. Add a donate button and enable social sharing
Add a “donate” button and social networking icons to the top of your email newsletters. Most templates automatically add a space for these buttons at the bottom of the newsletter, but most readers won’t scroll that far.
Adding a donate button and allowing your subscribers to share your entire email newsletter to social media enables your readers to take action and even advocate for your cause. If you’ve got great content and they’re passionate about your cause, they’ll want to share it with their followers. This helps expand your online reach--everyone wins!
10. Never attach PDFs or send email newsletters BCC
BCC emails and PDF attachments are a big faux pas in online marketing and nonprofit communication:
- Most people don’t open attachments and find them annoying.
- Adding attachments or sending your newsletter BCC can get your nonprofit classified as a spammer.
- Most of those emails usually wind up in the spam folder or are blocked, so all your effort is for naught.
Instead, invest in a quality email service provider so you can stay out of the “spam zone” and share your content in an organized, attachment-free manner!
Now that you’ve got a handle on great email newsletters, here are three more resources to keep your nonprofit growing.
- 8 Proven Ways to Grow Your Nonprofit Email List: Now that you’ve got a fabulous email newsletter ready to go, it’s time to fill your email list with some great current and potential donors! This blog has some great strategies to grow your email list and expand your audience.
- How to Choose a CRM System for Your Nonprofit: Whether you’re a small organization with just a few dozen contacts or a large nonprofit with thousands of donors, it’s critical to keep updated contact information, monitor interactions, track donations, and grow your relationships with individuals and groups. That’s where a CRM system comes in. But there are loads of options on the market to choose from. This blog will show you what to look for and how to discern which CRM system is suitable for your nonprofit.
- Mobile Giving: What Every Nonprofit Needs to Know: Mobile giving is here to stay. If you want to remain competitive and relevant, it’s time to expand your fundraising strategies to include a wide range of mobile giving tactics. This blog will help you understand why mobile giving is important and explore some of the most popular strategies and tools.
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