Email Marketing

Survey Says...

I wear my Millennial identity on my sleeve. 

I’m a proud member of the American generation born between 1980 and 2000, and thus am slightly fascinated by research done on my peers.

The latest chapter in my Millennial research reading spree came in the form of the third annual Millennial Impact Report.  In addition to having a very well formatted website and some catchy social media content, the study itself is useful to nonprofits looking to engage those in their 20s and 30s in advocacy and fundraising.

You can download the full report here.  You can also participate in a virtual conference (sounds fun since I think you can wear PJs and not be judged) on July 19.

Here’s a few of the stats from the 2012 report and my take on how they’ll impact your online strategy:

• Millennials reported that their biggest pet peeve is not knowing how a gift will make a difference.  You can easily prevent this from happening by having clear giving categories on your donation form to inform donors before they donate ($150 will purchase one vaccine, etc.)
• The 2012 report found that 77% of millennials surveyed have smartphones.  This is a great reminder to make sure your website is optimized for mobile browsing and your forms look good on a tiny screen.
• 65% of the crowd surveyed report that they like to learn about nonprofits on the web, and 55% say they’re into learning about nonprofits via social media. This is just one more reason to give some TLC to your website and social media strategy. Mobile is important, but don’t leave your website in the dust!
• I was slightly saddened to learn that 40% of millennials surveyed had never been asked to serve on a board. What better way to get inside the brains (and hearts) of the under 35 team by inviting them into a leadership role?  Consider bringing on a group of three of four millennials onto your board together so they have buddies (and don’t feel like the token kid invited to sit with the adults).
• And my favorite stat of all: 70% of millennials made donations to non-profits online in 2011.  And when asked which method they preferred (online, in person, snail mail), millennials chose the web. So keep reading Connection Café to soak up all this online fundraising goodness…

3 Welcome Series Timing Tips

Rather than immediately including new constituents in all your regular online communications and appeals, using an email welcome series gives you additional control over your constituent communications. Below are a few items related to timing that you will need to keep in mind when planning your email welcome series.

1. Filter your messages. The last thing you want to do is include a new constituent in a fundraising campaign immediately after they signed up to receive emails. Remove new constituents from the regular flow of email communications, and send them several introductory messages in a staggered, or ”drip,” fashion. This approach will enable you to control the timing of your messages, as well as your first ask.
2. Experiment with timing. You can control the number of days (or weeks) that elapse between messages. Play around with the frequency, and review your metrics to help you determine the optimal timing. Some organizations find that an email welcome series of one message every two weeks for two months is effective, whereas others prefer weekly messages over a period of a month. 
3. Set it and forget it. Online solutions allow you to create the initial welcome series and automate the rest of the process. This feature saves administrative time and effort. Of course, you can tweak the email message content and images or add new messages as needed. 

After the constituent has received all of the emails in the welcome series, they can be added to your larger list and receive the regular communications sent by your organization.

Read "Creating an Email Welcome Series" for more tips on greeting your new constituents with style.

3 Ways to Get Creative About List-Building

Keeping your email list alive and kicking is one of the keys to a successful online marketing program. It's critical to develop a sound strategy for growing and maturing your house file and to always incorporate best practices in your day-to-day management. But attrition is inevitable, so I want to share a few creative tricks to give your list building an extra boost.

Here are three types of campaigns that will not only keep your constituents engaged, but encourage them to generate new supporters from their own network of family and friends.

1. Pledge or Petition Campaign

Constituents and prospects show their support by signing a pledge or petition and then forwarding information about the campaign to their family and friends. To sign the pledge, request that they complete a simple online registration form, providing your organization with contact information and the opportunity to continue the dialog.

2. Social Fundraising

With the integrated social tools now available through modern fundraising solutions such as Convio Common Ground®, your supporters are empowered to tap into their networks to raise awareness for your cause, start conversations, fundraise through sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn and even promote peer-to-peer fundraising events. Donations and sign-ups are automatically captured into your house file.

3. Download Campaigns

An email with a downloadable offer, such as a tip sheet, research report, resource guide or case study, offers the reader something of value in exchange for their contact information.

For more house file tips and best practices, download our Grow Your House File with a List-Building Campaign tip sheet.

Innovate. Advocate. Engage.

Hot off the press! Convio's new quarterly magazine has hit the virtual stands! NP Engage is our new publication slated to release each quarter featuring nonprofit trends, highlights of our latest and greatest thought leadership pieces, popular blog articles and more! The first edition covers the importance of constituent engagement and nurturing your relationship with your supporters.

Our second edition will have a new look to go with our new Blackbaud colors! So stay tuned for the NP Engage volume 2 in Mid-July!

Check out the first edition of NP Engage now!

Communication Plans for P2P Events

When I joined Convio after 5 years as an event fundraiser, I was first introduced to the Communication Calendar while working with the Event360 and Komen 3-Day Events.  It was amazing…  and I wished that I’d known about this tool while I was still managing all the communications for my special events! 

What’s a Communication Plan?

A Communication Plan is a document containing of all the communications organized by communication channel that your organization (or your fundraising event) is planning to send out during a specified timeframe.  This document often lives in a spreadsheet and should be used as guide that is edited or updated as you approach specific milestones. My recommendation (especially for special event communication planning) is that you include all your communication channels in your plan including Print Communications like Save the Date cards or team captain packets, traditional media channels like print advertising or press releases, online channels like email or website and also Social Media channels like Facebook or Twitter.

Check out two sample communication plans in our recently published Social Media Kick Start Guide for P2P Events.

4 Reasons Why Communication Planning is AWESOME

1. Right Message / Right Time - It ensures that you are communicating and reinforcing the most important messages at the most important times. Avoid the “How’s the weather?” Facebook post the week of your event and talk about things that are more important to your event’s overall success.
2. Reinforce Important Points - It helps you identify areas where you could repurpose content across different communication channels. Marketers often say that a person needs to hear something 7 times before they act on that information. Repurposing content across different channels helps you reinforce the messages, providing message consistency and improving the chances your calls to action will be acted upon.
3. Work Smarter - It helps you identify opportunities where you could draft communications early. Things get more hectic as Event Day approaches; these busy times are often when the most important communications should be going out to your participants. Do yourself a favor by drafting as many of these communications in advance as possible. You can always make quick last minute tweaks prior to sending. This is especially true for website updates, emails and blog posts. Social media management tools, like Hootsuite or TweetDeck, can help you schedule those updates in advance.
4. What’s Going To Work? TEAM WORK!  Recruit volunteers or committee members to help out. Having a clearly documented plan helps you better communicate your expectations and allows you to delegate responsibilities to the trustworthy staff or volunteers within your organization. Be conscious however of how many individuals are involved. It doesn’t take long before you have too many cooks in the kitchen.