Building your email list
A Firstgiving.com
webinar with David Karp
January 13, 2009
Slides and recording will be emailed out to all attendees in a
couple of days and posted to www.onlinefundraisingblog.com
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Building your email list
• Introduction to email in one minute
• Turning postal addresses into email
addresses
• Finding brand new email addresses
• Spam and how not to do it
• A/B testing and segmentation
• How much is too much
• Q&A
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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30 seconds on email
• Email is everywhere
• Email is the primary communication
method for many, sole method for some
• Email is cheap (not free)
• Email is more mass-customizable,
trackable, sharable than paper.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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30 seconds on good email
• Subject lines matter a lot
• Deliverability matters more
– Formats, attachments, spamminess
• Tone, simplicity & clarity
• Specific call to action
– What do you want them to DO?
• Value.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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Turning postal into email
• You already have a postal list
• You want an email list
• What do you do?
– Ask
– Give a good reason
– Ask again
– Repeat.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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Postal into email – remember:
• If there’s nothing in it for them, why should they
give you their email address?
– They get something valuable for it
– They prefer email
– It saves paper (but only if it really does)
– They get better/faster/fresher information
– They feel safe doing it
• You’ll never convert everybody, so make sure
you still have a good paper/phone
communication strategy in place.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Finding new email addresses
• Web: put a “join our mailing list” form on
your site, on your blog, etc.
• Paper: have a mailing list form in your
space and at your events
• Email: your messages get passed around,
have a place to sign up in them
• Remember: safety, value, WIIFM
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Buying, borrowing, swapping
• List swaps
– Check your privacy policy
– Think about other ways to cross-promote
• List rentals / purchases
– Usually expensive for the return
– Bargain hard if you do this at all
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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Spam and how not to do it
• Know the rules, and
follow them
• Following the law isn’t as
hard as you think
• Not turning people off is
the challenge
• Know your audience.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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Some fine print: CAN SPAM
• What the Law Requires (full text can be found at
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm)
• It bans false or misleading header information.
– Your email's \"From,\" \"To,\" and routing information – including the originating
domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person who
initiated the email.
• It prohibits deceptive subject lines.
– The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject
matter of the message.
• It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method.
– You must provide a return email address or another Internet-based response
mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future email messages
to that email address, and you must honor the requests.
• It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement
and include the sender's valid physical postal address.
– Your message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an
advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can opt out of receiving more
commercial email from you. It also must include your valid physical postal
address.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

How much email is too much?
• You won’t know you’ve sent too much
email until people complain or cancel
• If you have no complaints or unsubscribes,
you’re not doing enough
• There are many reasons
why most people won’t
see every message, so
don’t be shy.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Lather, rinse, repeat
• So you’ve got a good list and a
good message…
• Make them better with
constant testing and
experimentation
• A/B testing
• Segmentation.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

A/B testing
• Side-by-side comparison of
different versions
– Subject lines
– Message lengths
– Text vs HTML
– Etc.
• Split the list in half and send A
and B at the same time
• Measure results
• Test one thing at a time.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Segmentation
• Divide the list by some factor, and
send tailored messages to each
segment
– New members and old ones
– Big donors and small ones
– Volunteers and members
– Etc.
• Combine with testing to make sure the
messages have the right effect.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Keys to success
• Deliver valuable email and people will
want to receive it
• Obey the FTC and also Miss Manners
• Always be compiling your list
• Test and segment, lather and repeat.
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Some resources
• www.marketingprofs.com – “marketing resources for
marketing professionals”
• www.clickz.com – “news and advice for the digital
marketer”
• www.the-dma.org – The Direct Marketing Association
• www.ftc.gov/spam - FTC on spam
• Tested Advertising Methods
by John Caples – all about testing
and finding the best headline
(ad headline = email subject line)
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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And now, two minutes about us
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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Firstgiving is the leading social platform
for fundraising for any nonprofit cause.
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We give everyday people tools to raise
money for causes that matter to them.
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Firstgiving brings individual fundraising
stories to life to drive more donations.
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18,877 organizations
have raised $79,460,362
with the help of
1,442,560 supporters
and Firstgiving.com
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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Person-to-Person Fundraising
Your NPO Supporters = Fundraisers Friends & Family = Donors
• Your supporters make personalized appeals
• Your supporters leverage their social networks
• Give power to the people who want to do more
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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Webinar recorded 1/13/09
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QUESTION TIME
Slides and recording will be emailed out to all
attendees in a couple of days and posted to
www.onlinefundraisingblog.com
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
www.firstgiving.com

Thank you again!
To request a free live demo,
call (617) 591-2121 x1005
or email james@firstgiving.com
Learn more at www.firstgiving.com
Next webinar: Wednesday January 28:
Webinar recorded 1/13/09
The endorphin effect: fundraising with athletic events
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