3 Tips for Email Subject Lines

When it’s time to develop the content for an email appeal, the subject line is typically the last thing to get written. Ironically, it’s the usually first thing your reader sees.

Give your subject lines the love and attention they deserve. Use these three tips to make your subject lines more interesting, relevant and effective.

1. Substance over Style
   The subject line is an opportunity to establish that what you have to say is relevant to your readers’ interests and concerns. Does your subject line paint an accurate picture of what’s inside? Email can build or break a trusting relationship with your readers, so be clear about what they’ll get if they open the email. If the content within doesn’t live up to the promise of the subject line, it may be the last time some recipients open your emails.
2. Watch the Length
   Remember, messages are not always displayed consistently across various email clients and platforms (Outlook, Yahoo!, Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, etc. may all display the subject line differently). Most email clients allow for 50-60 characters to display in a subject line, which is not that much to work with! If you’re aware that a substantial number of your supporters may be reading your emails on a mobile device, consider condensing your subject lines even shorter.
3. Support the “From” Line
   When deciding whether to open an email, readers sometimes look at the “From” line before the subject line. Support brand recognition by using a consistent “from” address for your email appeals. If your “from” line lists your org’s name, you don’t have to repeat it in the subject line, which frees up space in the subject line.

For more pointers, download our Making Email Appeals More Effective tip sheet.

Kick-Start Fundraising in 2012

Are you still reeling from the holidays? You’re not alone. But with 2012 in full swing, it’s time to harness the momentum you created with year-end supporters to kick-start fundraising in the new year. To ramp up, here are a few tips you can put in practice today (from Convio’s guide, Utilize Year-End Momentum: Kick-Start 2012 Fundraising) with no major overhauling required.

Use a multi-channel approach (if you aren’t already)
To maximize conversion rates, many savvy organizations are launching multi-channel campaigns to convert online acquired prospects. One example would be a three-part campaign starting with email, followed by direct mail, and then telemarketing. Our research shows that direct mail donors who also receive email give twice as much and renew at 10% higher rates than those who receive email alone.

Promote a sustainer or pledge giving program
If they made a gift to you toward the end of the year when donors are typically very selective about the charities they support, then it’s likely that your recent holiday supporters are inclined to be loyal to you this year. They may even be open to recurring donations or spreading out their annual donation over the course of the year.

Sustaining and pledge donors are important because they typically renew at rates 10-12% higher than single-gift donors. Offer special incentives for your donors to give on a recurring basis or to pledge a larger commitment that can be paid out over time.

Make your e-newsletter more engaging
We recommend (at a minimum) having two versions of your email newsletter—one for prospects/non-donors, and one for current donors. Why? If you’re like most organizations, you use your e-news as a prospecting tool, so it’s not appropriate to have the same version going to everyone. Does your newsletter reflect that you know the recipient? Did they recently volunteer or make a donation? Consider adding conditionalized content based on their relationship to you. Offer clear opportunities to take action such as “Update Your Address” or, “Learn More” or, “Share Your Story.” Make sure you keep the Donate and Tell-a-Friend links above the fold.

For more in-depth strategies for making a splash with your supporters this year, download the full guide.

Embrace Social, I Did.

So, I admit it - social media is here to stay.  I was a late adopter.  My Twitter account created simply because I had to have one for work.  Facebook because my mother wanted a minute by minute account of my daughter's life (yes, that's right, at one point my mother was more social).  But, both in working with nonprofits and in my role as a marketer, I began to grudgingly adopt it.  

I'm not sure when it happened but I now get it.  It is a part of how I think about reaching people, some that I can't reach any other way.  It's fun.  It's interesting.  It isn't just about having to consider it, it sometimes is the first thing I consider.  Why?  Because it presents every marketer, every fundraiser, every nonprofit, with a way to have a conversation, to allow people to be heard, to be passionate, to support you and rally other people to support you.   

I needed to get that off my chest.  I feel cleansed of the guilt of not believing.  So, now with a clean conscience, I get to tell everyone about Common Ground Social.  And, I am so excited, I refuse to restrict myself to 140 characters.  

That's right - true social fundraising!  Take your peer-to-peer fundraising efforts, integrate it with your donor database and combine that with the kind of exposure only social media can deliver, and voila - Common Ground Social.   It's so easy to use - for both you and your supporters. 

In 3 steps supporters can register, personalize and share a unique fundraising page with their personal story on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.   The data flow between donor gifts and your database - instant.  You can track and interact with your supporters and their networks.  

To truly appreciate how easy, cool, and awesome it is, you should see it in action - we've just posted a quick 6 minute video.  Or visit www.commongroundcrm.com  to learn more about social fundraising and Common Ground.

3 Tips to Tap Into $173 Billion

At the risk of preaching to the choir…volunteer programs are a great way for your organization to engage constituents and achieve your mission.

A recent study by The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) states that overall US volunteers served 8.1 billion hours in 2010, valued at an estimated $173 billion, with volunteers providing 52 hours of service per year. With the budget challenges you may face, can you imagine the impact to your organization if you had a volunteer force giving an hour a week of service for a full year! On top of the time dedicated to your organization, volunteers also donate 10 times more money to nonprofits than non-volunteers.

Not that you really needed extra convincing on the value of a volunteer program. What you might need though is tips and best practices for making that volunteer program simply fantastic.

Here’s three quick tips from our recent Volunteer Management Tipsheet. 

1. Make it easy - Time is often a person’s most valued commodity. While some volunteer opportunities require screening and training, identify low-barrier opportunities to engage first time volunteers. Consider episodic, micro-engagement and online opportunities to meet this need and whatever the area of interest, respond to an inquiry in a timely manner, within 24 hours if possible. For all volunteer opportunities, offer as much flexibility as possible.
   
   
2. Ask for feedback - Concisely acquire feedback on three areas: the activity, the experience and future interests. Using this information you can not only further develop your overall volunteer program but help individuals find the best next opportunity for them. Bonus tip: track feedback on your volunteer’s constituent record to help shape future engagement.
   
   
3. Say thanks - And then say it again and again. For above and beyond volunteerism, ask a leader in your organization, like a board member, to make a special thank you call. Recognition in the form of annual awards and listings in your annual report also make for a strong show of appreciation.

For more tips and ideas, check out the full tipsheet.

Convio Go! List-Building Strategies

OMRF Shows New Supporters that “Geek is Chic”

Working with small, resource-strapped nonprofits, we often find that many have the same questions about engaging new supporters: How often should we communicate? Are we saying too much? Too little? What’s the best way to approach someone who’s never been in contact with our organization? What tools do we need? What channels should we use? What should our message be?

To help the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (a nonprofit medical research organization) find the answers, the Convio Go! team helped design a quirky multi-part campaign to engage new supporters and build their file. Read on for a good example of how to capture and keep the attention of new supporters.

1. Select the right campaign structure
With limited funds and a desire to reach a wide target of potential supporters, OMRF opted for an incentive campaign—specifically, a giveaway. The goal of an incentive campaign is to increase awareness about your organization and attract potential supporters who identify with the work you do.

The email campaign was original and hard to ignore: OMRF emailed their existing supporters with a Tell-a-Friend-eCard that featured a chance to win a “Geek Pack” (including protective goggles and personalized lab coat). This pass-it-on eCard encouraged recipients to register to win. Completion of an online registration form on the OMRF website captured the recipient’s email address and other relevant information required in order to be eligible for the Geek Pack. 

2. Establish a clear pathway to participate
To keep the momentum going, OMRF engaged email recipients further with a brief eCard reminding them to register to win and inviting them to forward funny content (in this case uber-cool eCards which OMRF designed based on a Convio template) promoting the campaign to family and friends. OMRF also sent out a thank you for entering eCard that kept the pass-it-on theme alive by reminding entrants that they could further increase their odds of winning every time they passed the eCard along.

3. Continue the conversation with a welcome series
Entrants that opted-in to receive future communications from OMRF were sent a two-part welcome series of communications that introduced the organization and suggested ways to learn more and get involved.
Because supporters are usually the most passionate when they first engage with an organization (Go! participants commonly see high open rates in the 25-30% range with click-through rates averaging around 3%), the welcome series was a great way for OMRF to keep the momentum generated by its creative campaign going.  It also helped evolve participants’ interest beyond the level of a fun diversion to an actively supported cause.

4. Results
OMRF supporters were proud to expose their “inner nerd".  Many of their supporters forwarded information about the foundation's cause - to the tune of a 9% response rate.  The efforts of these supporters combined to build community awareness and help the “research is cool. pass it on.” message reach more than 300 new inboxes. 

Identifying a core group of outgoing supporters proved to be a game-changing strategy for OMRF as they successfully ramped up their online fundraising efforts.The foundation continued to work with their Go! team of consultants, trainers, and hands-on production assistants to execute the full 12 months of best-practice online communications—and their biggest gains were yet to come.

To read more about OMRF’s success story or learn how Convio Go! can help you identify, develop and execute the best list-building strategy for your organization, visit www.convio.com/omrf

To learn more about the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), please visit http://www.omrf.org

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