Why Your Nonprofit Should Do Email Marketing

​     I suspect you are already convinced of the merits of using email to keep your supporters informed and involved in your good cause and, yes, to raise money for it too. 

    But just in case you need a little backup in those conversations with any curmudgeons around you, here are a few of the best reasons why your nonprofit should embark on an email marketing program:
• It’s cheap.
• It’s fast.
• It’s empowering.
• It has a great ROI (that’s “return on investment”).
 • It works.
 • Seriously.
 
    Email marketing costs pennies on the dollar compared to print marketing. What would take days, if not weeks, to send out to your supporters in the mail, you can deliver to their inboxes in minutes – and if you really need to, send another update out just as quickly the next day. With the right inspiring words and a clear call to action, you can empower your supporters to click on a link and help you change the world.
 
    Email marketing works, and thousands of nonprofits are using it every day to build support for their issues, rally volunteers and advocates, and give donors faster, easier, and more efficient ways to contribute financially. They are investing in great email marketing, and their supporters are investing in them and their causes. 
 
That’s the “why.” Sounds good, right?
 
   The problem is that for every great email message a nonprofit sends out, there are at least another 10 that are terrible. Boring. Wordy. Vague. Ugly. Not informative, inspiring or motivating.  
 
    Before you send out your first email message, you need to set yourself up for success by putting your email marketing system in place. At the heart of that system are two pieces that I will discuss next time: your email service provider and your mailing list.

Helpful Info
     An email newsletter is a complete email message that can stand on its own, with links back to your website where readers can get more information or take action. 
     An email newsletter is not a PDF you send attached to an email message or one-line email asking readers to read your newsletter on your website.Your print newsletter copied and pasted into an email message doesn't count, either.



​taken with permission from, The Nonprofit Email Marketing Guide: 7 Steps to Better Email Fundraising & Communications.Written by Kivi Leroux Miller of NonprofitMarketingGuide.com.