Email is still one of the most powerful ways to develop and maintain relationships with your donor base, so you'd better have your Give to the Max Day email strategy ready to roll ... and GiveMN is here to help. Join us as we provide an overview of some of the most time-tested, proven email strategies as well as the dos and don'ts of email marketing and fundraising. Learn how to best use email without annoying the very people you hope to inspire to give during the Great Minnesota Give Together!
We'll cover:
What to include in your emails
Timing tips (When and how often)
Design tips to get your emails looking professional, sharable and exciting
Fundraising dos and don'ts from GiveMN's own fundraising guru Dan Moore
Lilac Illustrated Social Psychology Presentation.pptx
GTMD13 - Maximizing your email campaign
1. Chat & Raise Hand
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4. About GiveMN
GiveMN is a collaborative nonprofit venture
to grow charitable giving in Minnesota
and move more of it online.
GiveMN is an independent 501(c)(3)
support organization of the
Minnesota Community Foundation, which is an
affiliate of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners.
5. Agenda
1. What to include in your GTMD emails
2. Timing tips for Give to the Max Day
3. Design tips
4. Fundraising dos and don’ts
5. Examples
6. Q & A
6. Benefits of email/enewsletters
• Donors use email
• Donors forward your emails
• Donors are comfortable with the technology
• It’s integrated – mobile
phones, tablets, desktops, and laptops
• It may be the one thing that isn’t blocked at
work
8. Why e-newsletters?
Takeaways:
• Email is critical to outreach and promotion
• Facebook is incredible for calls to action/engagement
Breakdown of Give to the
Max Day page view traffic by
source
Unique Visitors by Source
Blogs/Media/Other
Direct traffic
Email
Facebook
Twitter
9. Write emails that get read
• Spend your time and mental energy on the
subject line (it’s the only text you’re virtually
guaranteed to have read)
• Go for “clean” not “busy”
• Go for “succinct” not “wordy”
• Create a sense of urgency
• Include one strong call to action and make it easy
to know what to do
12. Write mobile-friendly emails
• Keep paragraphs to 1 to 2 sentences
• Give links white space (fingers will thank you)
• Include great photos
• How do your emails render on a smartphone?
13. Email timing
• It’s about being timely, relevant, and responsive
• Always have a call to action
– Share our video/psa
– Enter the video contest
– Schedule your donation
– Donate!
– Watch our thank you video
15. Triggers
• New e-newsletter sign ups
• Action based triggers such as ‘clicked through
to a link’
• Birthday emails
16. Designing better emails
• Keep it clean – avoid clutter
• Make links, images, or buttons easy to touch
(think mobile)
• Limit to 1 photo
17. Five Tips for e-Engagement
• Strategic. Plan and be thoughtful.
• Consistent. Use common message or theme.
• Integrated. Anticipate and expect
cross-channel giving.
• Congruent. Use unique strength of channel.
• Intentional. Drive toward stated goals.
18. Thoughts on Donor Email
• You’re not writing so donors will read.
You’re writing so donors will act.
• All fundraising copy should sound like
someone talking. (George Smith, Tiny Essentials of Writing for Fundraising)
• Why us? Why now? Why should donors care?
• Pronoun check!
19. E-appeal dos (and don’ts)
• DO: Speak as a real person
• DO: Short, relevant, compelling
• DO: Illustrate. Vivid, emotional need or impact
• DO: Storytelling should be
personal, individual, local, relatable
• DO: The “ask.” Motivate reader to click and act
• DO: Motivate readers. Timely impact of ask
28. Give to the Max Day Email Tips
• Give donors a heads up about Give to the Max
Day and why it matters
• Let donors know what your organization has
planned
• Build your social media following by
promoting follows and likes for your social
media pages
29. Give to the Max Day Email Tips
• Include calls to action
– Share the PSA
– Enter the video contest
– Download the calendar reminder
– Schedule your gift(s) starting Nov. 1
– (On GTMD) Give, please!
– (After GTMD) Thank you, watch our video, take our
survey, etc.
31. “What is your legacy of change?” video contest
• Deadline is November 1
• Submission details at givemn.org/gtmd13
• Prizes:
– Winning Videos: Two grand prizes of $5,000
– Two Prizes of $2,500
– Five Prizes of $1,000
32. Most Creative Give to the Max Fundraising Campaign Award
• Deadline is November 1
• Submission details at givemn.org/gtmd13
• Prize - $500
Editor's Notes
Build trustBuild reputationBuild relationship
Build trustBuild reputationBuild relationship
Create a compelling subject lineIt’s the candy bar, not the wrapper! Good: “Turn a $10 donation into $1,010” Bad: “Animal Humane Society takes part in Give to the Max Day”Keep it short, easy-to-readLong, wordy e-newsletters don't get read. Instead, organizations should use short, personalized emails to supporters giving clear instructions for participation.Share your campaign goal and deadline. Let people know how much you need and the date you need it by to create a sense of urgency. Combining this with your email updates, will generate a higher response rate. Keep the goal visible, in print, on your website, at meetings, everywhere.Go for clean and not busyUse an imageA photo included with the quote or short story is worth a thousand words and sometimes hundreds of dollars.Tell a story (a very short story!)Include a short example of how the dollars will be used. Explain how “My” gift makes a difference even if it's only $10Create excitementSend out one or two campaign updates via email. Let people know how you are doing with the campaign. Get them excited about the results or concerned that you are not yet meeting the goal.Include a “Call to action”Make it easy to act - a few clicks, tops.Make it clear what will happen when people act - what good will result?