3 Email Marketing Questions Every Nonprofit Should Ask

So you’ve set up a social media empire, and you’re producing stellar video content to impress your donors and board. What’s next for your nonprofit marketing campaign?

Have you thought about email?

Think about it—just about everyone you know has an email address. There has to be a way your nonprofit can tap into that market. So let’s break down some email marketing tips your tax exempt organization can use.

Why Should We Use Email Marketing?

The affordability of email marketing is reason enough! With an email marketing campaign, you have a lower price point since you avoid the costs of printing paper flyers. Not only that, your nonprofit keeps responsible outlook by reducing your paper footprint.

Email is a great option because of its ease of use and widespread use. These days, almost everybody has an email address, and they know how to check their email. There’s little confusion with a well crafted email that says “click here to donate.”

Because of the low price point, your organization can get a higher return on investment. Of course, you want to approach your emails in different ways depending on the kind they are.

How Should We Approach Email Marketing?

First things first, sign up for an email marketing service, and work the cost into your marketing budget. With your email marketing service, you can catalog and sort user email addresses by demographics. With each new donation you receive, you can obtain and build a bigger database to send future emails.

Once you’re ready to hit send, make sure you reach out to your donors with effective messaging. Try telling a story! Use your organization, your volunteers, or even those you help to get the message across. You can even update your audience with the comings and goings of your organization, while working in a plug for donations with subtlety.

Aim to keep it short and simple. Email marketing is for hundreds of words, not thousands. If you have a source of long form content you want your readers to see, include a link with a short synopsis instead. Remember, less is more – you want people to read and digest the email as fast as possible.

And most importantly, create a call to action – start and end with a call to action: donate now. click here, read this – don’t leave the email hanging.

How Do We Start?

There are quite a few options out there, and you’ll have to see what works best for you. For a more detailed approach, check out some of the email marketing guides provided by the services themselves.

Here are 3 guides to email marketing for nonprofits you should check out:

• The Nonprofit Email Marketing Guide (PDF)
• MailChimp for Nonprofits
• Basics of Email Marketing for Nonprofits (PDF)

Bonus Question: What Other Tips Do You Have?

First off, keep a calendar and a schedule for any of your campaigns. You can make a master calendar that includes your social media, video, and email efforts. After that, stay scheduled! With your email blasts, find organic opportunities to link back to your blogs, social media, and donation landing pages. Most of all, as you design your emails, ask yourself – would I read this email? Would I click that link?

With a strong email campaign, you can work wonders for your tax exempt organization. And when it’s time to file Form 990, we’ll be here to help you. If you have any questions, reach us by email, live chat, and 704.839.2321.