Getting people to pay attention to your non-profit is hard. Social media’s a mess right now and ads cost a fortune. Plus, let’s be honest, people scroll past important causes faster than a bad meme because everyone is looking for answers to their own problems or something that will ease their mind for a second.

Email marketing, on the other hand, should be at the top of your priority list. It’s direct and personal, which is what will get your messages across far more effectively. Best of all, it’s yours. There are no algorithm hoops to jump through and none of the modern-day ‘pay-to-play’ nonsense that we’re often stuck figuring out with sponsored posts or ads. With email marketing it’s just you and your mission (and an inbox waiting to be opened).

So, what is it and how does it all work?

What is Email Marketing?

Think of email marketing as having a one-on-one chat with people who could actually support your non-profit. You don’t want to be shooting in the dark or using the spray and pray method, which gets your content in front of a lot of eyes; but not the eyes that you really need. There’s no point in being on display in front of millions of people who aren’t going to support. Paying for it in the process is diabolical. Email marketing is — like I said — free! It’s also personal and direct, which means it usually gets seen without you having to wait around and without other distractions. You get to share real updates and success stories with your audience as well as ways that people can make an impact. If you do this right, you can build real connections and keep those supporters of yours engaged.

How do you do this?

I’ll tell you.

Talk to People Like They’re People

Nobody wants to feel like they’re getting blasted with a ton of generic emails. If you want supporters to stick around, your emails need to feel like they’re coming from an actual human. It can’t sound like AI (beware of the repetitive words like embark and crucial) and it shouldn’t feel soulless. Automated newsletters are great once a month, but they’re so run-of-the-mill nowadays that the model is practically dead. You should be telling stories and making your interactions personal. The moment your email feels like spam, it’s game over.

If you’re running a non-profit, you already know budgets are tight. The good news is that email marketing gives you incredible bang for your buck. According to a report by Litmus, email marketing delivers an average return of $36 for every $1 spent.

One of the best examples of this is charity: water, which is a is a non-profit that is dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. They know how to keep donors engaged by telling powerful stories that show exactly how their money is making a difference. Take their 2012 September Campaign, for example. Instead of constantly asking for donations, they ramped up their emails with weekly videos and real stories from Rwanda that gave their supporters a front-row seat to the impact of their contributions. The result was a 21% boost in email open rates and an extra $300,000 raised beyond their original goal. That’s the power of keeping people in the loop and making them feel like they’re a part of the mission.

But what most people don’t know is the fact that this all boiled down to targeting.

Don’t Send the Same Stuff to Everyone

One email does NOT fit all. If you send the same thing to a first-time subscriber and a lifelong donor, you’re doing it wrong. You need to segment your list:

• Newbies get a warm welcome and an intro to your mission.
• Past donors get updates on what their money actually did.
• Volunteers get info on how to get involved.

Also, work smart! If people have to hunt for the donation button, you’re losing money. Your emails need a clear and easy-to-click call-to-action. No one’s got time for vague “learn more” links.

Ultimately, if your non-profit isn’t using email marketing right now, you’re leaving money (and impact) on the table. It’s personal and ridiculously effective. The people who support you are already in their inboxes. The only question is: is your message there too?

Need help with getting your non-profit email operation off the ground? Reach out to us!