Types of email communications include advocacy, fundraising, and informative emails. Email newsletters have higher click-through rates than fundraising appeals, showing people are more willing to click on items with lower commitment levels. Effective email newsletters place important articles at the top, use headlines and short chunks of text to engage skimmers, include a consistent banner and sidebar, and rely less on images by using HTML formatting. Content should mix informative articles with calls to action and fundraising appeals, adjust to current events, and tell stories to engage donors. Personalizing the newsletter by writing in a casual style and including staff photos increases open rates. Calls to action should be easy to follow through on. Monitoring email newsletter results helps track opens, clicks, actions,

1. EMAIL

2. Types of email communicationsAdvocacy

3. Fundraising

4. InformativeEmail newsletter facts and figuresBenefit-laden or intriguing subject lines increase open rates.

5. Email newsletter click-through rates are nearly double that of email fundraising appeals, showing constituents’ willingness to click items with a lower level of commitment than a fundraising ask.M+R Strategic Services 2009 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study

6. Email newsletter tips:DesignPlace the most important articles at the top

7. Appeal to skimmers: use headlines, subheads, and short chunks of text

8. Have a consistent banner and a prominent sidebar

9. Rely less on the use of images by maximizing the use of HTML for an exciting, interesting layoutEmail newsletter tips:ContentMix informative articles (how-tos, top ten lists, Q&As, success stories) with calls to action and fundraising appeals

10. Adjust topics with what’s happening in the news

11. Tell stories to engage donors in our work, to reinforce their giving decisions, to inspire them to do more, and to encourage more word-of-mouth marketing on our behalf

12. Include fun stuff!Email newsletter tips:PersonalizeMake the newsletter sound as though it’s written by one staff person speaking directly to one supporter

13. Talk about the staff, donors, or volunteers involved in the work and include pictures of people

14. Give articles bylines

15. Write in a casual, conversational style

16. Ensure that if someone hits “reply,” a real person will see their message and respondEmail newsletter tips:Make taking action easyOnce our supporters read the newsletter, what’s next?

17. Include specific calls to action and links that make following through as simple as possible

18. Keep in mind that click-through rates for donation and take action links in email newsletters are still considerably lower than click-through rates for stand-alone action alert emails and donation appealsOur email newsletter plans:Create contentSet an editorial calendar

19. Collect stories from:

20. Employees

21. People we help

22. Our supporters

23. Get volunteers to take pictures at our events and set up a photography archiveOur email newsletter plans:Build and maintain our listAddress capturingHave sign-up form in the same place on every page of the website

24. Allow people to segment themselves by interest

25. Tag and target stories accordinglyList maintenanceConsistently remove bounced emails

26. Make it easy to opt outOur email newsletter plans:Monitor resultsHow many people are:Opening the email?

27. Clicking on links? Which ones?

28. Following through on calls to action, like donating?

29. Unsubscribing?

30. Not receiving emails because our newsletters bounce?Ask for feedback: ratings for each issue, additional comments