What's the point of having an e-newsletter? How do you improve your email campaigns each time to achieve better fundraising results? And how should e-newsletters change in this new age of social media and sharing? In this program, we'll share some best practices and thought leadership on taking your e-newsletter to the next level so you can achieve your stakeholder goals, including: - Why better donor communications = more money? - What donors want to see. - Setting goals for your e-newsletter strategy. - How to generate better content more easily. - Increasing open rates, clickthroughs, sharing, and giving.

1. www.encorehq.com
Making
E-­‐Newsle/ers
Valuable
Again
Photo
and
story
of
new
water
project
in
Ethiopia,
James
Li
Mike
Hauser
2011
–
Charity:
Water
Co-­‐founders,
Encore

2. We
didn’t
make
this
up…
Our
learnings
today!

3. What
We’re
Talking
About
The
Landscape
1.
The
case
for
beSer
communicaTons
2.
What
donors
want
The
Purpose
3.
SeOng
goals
4.
Content
is
King
Making
It
Happen
5.
Increasing
Opens
and
6.
True
Engagement
7.
Key
Takeaways
Clickthroughs
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

4. A
Fair
Warning…
We’re
moving
fast.
52
slides
in
45
minutes
fast.
It’s
full
of
stats
useful
to
you.
We
did
our
homework
for
you.
AcTonables
are
marked
by
a
thunderbolt.
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

5. The
Landscape
1/3:
Rela]onship
Problems
DONOR
RELATIONS
IS
CRUCIAL
TO
RETENTION
NONPROFITS
CAN
LOSE
LOSS
OF
60%
OF
DONORS
$100,000s
PER
YEAR
BEFORE
A
SECOND
DONATION
IN
LIFETIME
VALUE
/
NEW
FUNDRAISING
Nonprofit
Times
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

6. Why
Are
They
Leaving?
They’re
Not
Engaged!
Many
respondents
(20
to
30
percent)
reported
that
they
had
stopped
making
regular
donaTons
to
an
organizaTon
in
the
past
three
years
ci]ng
their
financial
situa]on
and
lack
of
transparency
on
the
charity’s
part.
Blackbaud
Donor
Perspec]ves
(2012)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

7. The
Landscape
1/3:
Rela]onship
Problems
Millennial
Impact
Report
(2011)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

8. The
Landscape
2/3:
Too
Many
Solicita]ons
59%
OF
DONORS
SAY
IT’S
IMPORTANT
TO
NOT
BE
ASKED
FOR
MONEY
TOO
OFTEN
Money
for
Good
Report
(2010)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

9. The
Landscape
3/3:
Dona]ons
Are
at
End
of
Year
Network
for
Good
Online
Giving
Study
(2009)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
9

10. Newsle/ers
take
way
too
long
American
Marke]ng
Associa]on
Survey
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

11. So…
what’s
the
point
of
having
an
e-­‐newsle/er?
(Hint:
it’s
not
because
you
“should”)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
11

12. Let’s
write
some
down…
1
Stay
top
of
mind
un]l
year’s
end
=
more
reten]on
=
more
life]me
value
=
$$
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
12

13. Let’s
write
some
down…
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
13

14. Surprising?
Best
of
all,
email
marke]ng
is
easy,
fast
and
measurable.
With
an
es]mated
Return
on
Investment
of
roughly
$42
for
every
$1
you
spend,
you
can’t
afford
not
to
do
it.
Ver]cal
Response
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
14

15. Let’s
write
some
down…
2
Push
content,
pull
traffic,
increase
awareness
You.com
Donor
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
15

16. Let’s
write
some
down…
3
Drive
ac]on
throughout
the
year
Millennial
Impact
Report
(2011)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
16

17. Let’s
write
some
down…
3
Drive
ac]on
throughout
the
year
-­‐ Sharing
on
Facebook
and
Twi/er
to
their
networks
-­‐ Forwarding
email
to
friends
-­‐ A/ending
events
-­‐ In-­‐kind
dona]ons
-­‐ Matched
dona]ons/small
gims
-­‐ Hold
a
fundraiser
-­‐ Share
their
stories/experiences
…and
many
more.
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
17

18. If
you
already
have
a
newsle/er…
was
there
a
par]cular
issue
that
stood
out
as
“successful”?
Why?
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
18

19. Achieving
Bones
Your
Goal
Making
them
Click
Making
them
Open
Content
Meat
is
King
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
19

20. Content
is
King
65%
OF
DONORS
REPORT
GIVING
(AND
RE-­‐GIVING)
PRIMARILY
BECAUSE
OF
BELIEF
IN
THE
CAUSE
NTEN
Benchmark
Report
(2012)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com

21. Don’t
Start
from
Scratch:
Crowdsource
Your
own
phone
or
computer
Internal
Your
staff
&
volunteers
Sources
of
News
stories
80%
OF
ORGS
SAY
External
Beneficiaries
Supporters/
social
media
GENERATING
IMPACT
CONTENT
IS
A
Events
CHALLENGE
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
21

22. Case
Study:
The
Y
Collects
300
Stories
in
48
Hours
22

23. Case
Study:
The
Y
Collects
300
Stories
in
48
Hours
23

24. Case
Study:
Collec]ng
Stories
via
Email
(in
Encore)
24

25. Case
Study:
Easy
Collec]on
of
Photos
from
Social
Media
25

26. Donors
Want
3-­‐5
Stories
Per
Email
Encore
Survey
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
26

27. Achieving
Bones
Your
Goal
Making
them
Click
Making
them
Open
Content
Meat
is
King
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
27

28. Making
them
Open
Step
into
your
donors’
shoes…
…if
they
don’t
open
it,
they
can’t
read
it.
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
28

29. Making
them
Open
20.3%
AVERAGE
NONPROFIT
OPEN
RATE
(OPENS/SENDS)
Mailchimp
Metrics
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
29

30. Making
them
Open
From
Name:
Use
a
specific
person’s
name
only
when
recognizable
to
majority
of
readers
(>80%)
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
30

31. Making
them
Open
Subject
Line:
•
under
34
characters
•
show
the
benefit
•
describe
the
candy,
not
the
wrapper
•
don’t
keep
the
same
•
don’t
use
“free,
reminder,
percent
off,
help”
•
use
a
verb
if
possible
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
31

32. Making
them
Open
Preheader
text:
•
biggest
lost
opportunity…
don’t
use
filler
text
•
describe
what’s
inside
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
32

33. Making
them
Open
Send
]me:
•
generally
most
opens
during
the
dayTme
on
weekdays
•
generally
beSer
Tuesday
&
Thurs
at
9am
•
Prefer
monthly
…but
it
all
depends!
Send
one
the
morning
of
Dec.
31st!
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
33

34. Achieving
Bones
Your
Goal
Making
them
Click
Making
them
Open
Content
Meat
is
King
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
34

35. Clickthroughs
Measure
Actual
Engagement
“The
largest
difference
between
high
and
low
performing
nonprofit
email
programs
was
in
email
clickthrough
rates.”
2010
eNonprofit
Benchmarks
Study
by
NTEN
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
35

36. Clickthroughs
Measure
Actual
Engagement
3.54%
AVERAGE
NONPROFIT
CLICKTHROUGH
RATE
(CLICKS/SENDS)
Fundraising
emails:
0.47%
Mailchimp,
NTEN
eBenchmark
Metrics
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
36

37. Making
them
Click
(Case
Study)
The
first
impression:
•
You
have
5
seconds
to
catch
the
person’s
aSenTon
•
Don’t
start
with:
“welcome
to
our
newsleSer…”
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
37

38. Making
them
Click
(Case
Study)
The
donor
is
the
hero:
•
Build
the
reader
into
the
narraTve
•
Use
“you,”
not
“we”
•
Have
a
voice
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
38

39. Making
them
Click
(Case
Study)
Use
visuals:
•
Visuals
engage
the
reader
more
than
any
text
can
•
Clickthrough
rates
are
2-­‐3
Tmes
higher
when
there
is
a
video
•
Don’t
run
on
too
long
•
“Show
images”
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
39

40. Making
them
Click
(Encore)
Power
]ps:
•
More
ways
to
interact/be
engaged
other
than
giving
money
•
More
links
=
more
clickthroughs
•
ONE
clear
call
to
acTon
–
specific,
relevant,
“filmable
moment”
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
40

41. The
“Filmable”
Moment
Encore
Survey
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
41

42. Achieving
Bones
Your
Goal
Making
them
Click
Making
them
Open
Content
Meat
is
King
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
42

43. Let’s
revisit
our
goals…
1
Stay
top
of
mind
un]l
year’s
end
(=
more
reten]on
=
more
life]me
value
=
$$)
An
investment
of
Tme...
Are
you
ready?
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
43

44. Let’s
revisit
our
goals…
2
Push
content,
pull
traffic,
increase
awareness
•
Word
of
mouth
is
stronger
than
FB
page
posts
(16%).
Each
share
=
impressions
Where
you
want
them
to
take
the
desired
acTon
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
44

45. Let’s
revisit
our
goals…
3
Drive
ac]on
throughout
the
year
45

46. If
You
Remember
Nothing
Else…
Start
with
Come
down
from
Find
your
the
mountain,
the
goal,
put
away
the
stories:
plan
from
megaphone:
crowdsource
there
Truly
engage,
and
curate
don’t
ask,
focus
on
impact
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
46

47. If
You
Remember
Nothing
Else…
You’re
What
can
Don’t
be
the
fighTng
needy
friend,
be
your
pa]ent:
the
real
cluSer:
reward
comes
at
the
details
donors
the
end
of
the
are
the
edge
do
now?
year
@Encore
james@encorehq.com
47

48. www.encorehq.com
Ques]ons?
James
Li
Mike
Hauser
Co-­‐founder,
Encore
@encore
james@encorehq.com