10 Tips to Increase Email Response Rates for Non-profits10 Tips to Increase Email Response Rates for Non-profits
MarketingSherpa just released an article entitled "10 Tips to Increase Email Response Rates for Non-profits" with some good "best-practices" for your ministry to review.
This article is a good read and outlines the basics of email fundraising (Thanks to Paul Kulp for sending this link.)
SUMMARY: It’s a new year -- a perfect time for nonprofits to take a serious look at their email marketing. Does your program need to be overhauled? You’re asking for donations, not offering products, so the approach must be different from that of retail marketers.
Nonprofit organizations have different relationships with their members than businesses do with their customers. Those differences need to carry over into their email programs.
“Part of the whole overall fundraising program is realizing that your newsletter that’s keeping people aware of your activities is really fundraising. Nobody will consider it that, but it really is the cultivation side of a fundraising program, not just asking for money once a month,” says Jeff Herrity, Internet fundraising professional.
Read the entire article.
One of the more interesting recommendations is:
-> Tip #1. Put your request in the subject line.
First off, be direct, Herrity says. Don’t shy away from asking for a donation in the subject line. Subscribers to a nonprofit’s email newsletter expect this.
Herrity tested subject lines for a client’s appeal:
- The direct subject line said “Donate to Feed a Child Today.”
- The indirect subject line said “Learn About this Organization.”
The indirect subject line had a 21% open rate, but only a 4% response rate. The direct subject line had an 18% open rate and an 18% response rate.
“If your goal of this email is to get money, put it in the subject line. You’re going to get a little bit lower [open rate], but you’re going to get more donations,” Herrity says. “Don’t try to be all clever with your wording knowing that someone is going to feel kind of bait and switched or guilty once they realize they’ve opened an email and it’s a hungry kid staring at them.”
I don't see this being done by too many non-profit ministries. Have you used such a "direct-ask" approach in the subject line? If so, what was the response? Was there any back-lash measured by an increase in unusbscribers? We'd love to hear your experiences.
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