E-mail

Let’s talk about email engagement. Right now, I bet most of you are looking at your open rates and click-through rates, and maybe your click-to-open ratio. The email service providers spoon-feed us those numbers, so they are easy to track. But they don’t really tell us much about the real percentage of people who care…

The rapid rise of social media and mobile technology has had a profound impact on website design and email marketing, yet many nonprofits have not yet adapted to the new aesthetics and functionality of a mobile, social internet. Based upon the knowledge and experience that the nonprofit sector has gained over the last 20 years…

Congratulations, you’ve got a new email subscriber who’s interested in your cause and impact. Now’s the time to introduce the individual to your nonprofit with an email welcome series. You get just one chance to make a first impression! Dumping a subscriber into your list with no explanation or recognition can be jarring or, worse,…

There are plenty of appeals landing in my mailbox and inbox. I’ll bet it’s the same for you. I often open them, hoping to be moved or learn something new. And you know, there’s one characteristic that unites too many of the appeals. They’re all head and no heart. They’re built on carefully crafted arguments.…

I believe at least some of the reason for this is because we are not completely aware of what is possible when it comes to nonprofit email marketing. Today, I want to show you what is possible and why we need to start moving in this direction immediately. Buckle up. I think this will blow your mind. What…

I have two teenage sons, both in superb physical condition. As their mother, I feel empowered to set them to mowing grass, painting, sealing the driveway and other character-building tasks whenever I see them in repose. Likewise, it’s fun to put the bright young minds at Turnkey to work in similar fashion. A frequent object of my "what do you think" spotlight is Julian May. He suffers from the ability to write, which makes him a target. I asked him, "In your mind what’s the most important thing right now in peer-to-peer fundraising?"...

Technically speaking, a resend is sending the exact same message to the non-openers of the original email. Don't do this. Your deliverability can suffer. When should you resend? If the email tanked, ask yourself why. Timing, content, subject line? Will tweaking any of those elements and resending yield better results, or be more of the…

When the topic is email fundraising, testing subject lines inevitably comes up. Of course, subject lines are critical. Think of the famous one from Barack Obama's organization: "Hey." It was a big winner. But the "from" line can also make a big difference in open rates. After all, one of the reasons "Hey" worked was…

Leaked Democratic Party email exposed a simple fact: People gossip. But in today’s cybersecurity environment, leaders would do well to recognize that a bigger crowd can listen. At this point, you may be so tired of hearing about email that you’ve decided to stop using it—instead, you've thought about using smoke signals, telegraphs, semaphore flags,…

As fundraisers, our passengers are our donors. And as most experienced fundraisers have found, even the best change can impact income—at least for a while. I mean, let’s be real—what’s bad about going from a boring, two-color newsletter to one that is four-color and has larger photos? In most cases, nothing. But it’s change, and, as humans, we can be a bit slow to adapt to anything different; and that can keep us from giving until we get comfortable with the "new."...