Top 5 Email Mistakes Your Nonprofit is Making
I’ve been seeing a lot of nonprofits struggling with their email strategy. I understand that when you are low on time and money it is easy to focus your efforts on other things like social media (especially when it is more fun). However, email is not dead and is a very effective way of getting your story in front of the people who need to see it.
1. Ignoring email marketing
Many nonprofits are so focused on social media that they are ignoring the most important marketing asset they have, their email list. Instead of focusing on how many likes and followers you have on Facebook you need to stop and immediately turn your attention to collecting emails.
Why?
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and wherever else your audience may be hanging out online are constantly changing platforms. Most importantly you do NOT own the platform and have very little control over what can happen to your account. I have seen hundreds of incidences of people, organizations, and small businesses opening up their accounts and seeing that everything is gone. Maybe they were terminated or suspended for doing something that they didn’t understand was wrong or maybe it was a completely random technical issue. In the end they have no information left on who their followers are or how to get in touch with them. (Even if you somehow can track down who was following you you can’t just reach out to them without risking legal issues). However, with an email list you will always have that information and even if you decide to move to a different platform (for example, leaving Constant Contact to use Mailchimp) you can simply export your list and then import it to the new provider. You own your email list.
2. Not using an email marketing platform
Please do not go into your Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, (or whichever platform you use), type your email and then send it out to hundreds of (or even twenty) people. There are a wide variety of reasons for this but mainly your email provider (and your audiences’) will start to assume that you are spamming people because it is just not set up for this use. It is shocking to me how many nonprofits and small businesses are still doing this when there are free options available that not only are easier to use but also provide detailed reports,
Take a few minutes to sign up for an account with an email subscription provider (there are many options for this), create a simple template, and reach out legally and effectively.
3. Not having “consent”
This is big one folks! Anti-SPAM laws were created in 2003 to protect people from unwanted spam emails. Not following the rules here can get expensive fast (fines of over $40,000 per email). While there are many practices you should be following to stay in compliance the easiest way to protect yourself is to make sure that you are only emailing people who have clearly stated that they want to receive emails from you and your organization. The best way to do this is with an “opt-in” through your email marketing platform. Basically this just means that someone enters their email into the system and confirms that they want to be added as a subscriber. An even better thing to do is a “double opt-in” where you then send an email requiring the person to confirm again that they want to be added.
I see lots of nonprofits add emails to their list based on a conversation with someone or a list of a board member’s contacts. This is a very fast and easy way of getting yourself into trouble. If someone tells you they are interested you may direct them to your online email signup or send them an opt in email. This will protect you down the road in case they try to say that you are spamming them.
4. Worrying about unsubscribes
When first starting out with your email strategy it is very easy to start obsessing over your subscriber numbers and worrying over each and every unsubscribe. Change your mindset here because unsubscribes are actually a good thing! As you develop your strategy, send out more emails, and learn how to connect with your audience you will start to fine tune your list. This means that hopefully the people who will not donate, volunteer, or care about your organization will unsubscribe as they learn more about you. As this happens you’re targeting more successfully and getting to know your “ideal audience”. It is much better to have a subscriber list of 100 people who are passionate about your organization than 1000 people who aren’t that interested.
Note: obviously use your judgement here. If you find that everytime you send an email you are getting a LOT of unsubscribes you may need to tweak your strategy. Maybe you are sending too frequently, your subject lines are misleading, or you just aren’t providing enough value. That’s ok! Continue working, testing, and revising.
5. Ignoring analytics
One of the biggest benefits of using an email marketing service is the incredibly comprehensive analytics they offer. The average busy nonprofit professional would never have enough time to get into all of the information available but it is important to look at and understand some of the categories like open rates, click throughs, and conversions. You can find more about all of these in the resources or blog section of your email marketing service. You have to know the effectiveness of your emails so you can improve your approach. These may seem less important for a nonprofit than for a business but which stories or photos are causing people to donate? Which subject lines are getting people to open your emails in the first place?
Which of these mistakes do you need to fix? Do you have an email marketing strategy and is it working?
