Email is still one of the most powerful ways to develop and maintain relationships with your donor base, so you'd better have your Give to the Max Day email strategy ready to roll ... and GiveMN is here to help. Join us as we provide an overview of some of the most time-tested, proven email strategies as well as the dos and don'ts of email marketing and fundraising. Learn how to best use email without annoying the very people you hope to inspire to give during the Great Minnesota Give Together! We'll cover: What to include in your emails Timing tips (When and how often) Design tips to get your emails looking professional, sharable and exciting Fundraising dos and don'ts from GiveMN's own fundraising guru Dan Moore

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2. #GTMD13: Maximizing Your Email Campaign

4. About GiveMN
GiveMN is a collaborative nonprofit venture
to grow charitable giving in Minnesota
and move more of it online.
GiveMN is an independent 501(c)(3)
support organization of the
Minnesota Community Foundation, which is an
affiliate of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners.

5. Agenda
1. What to include in your GTMD emails
2. Timing tips for Give to the Max Day
3. Design tips
4. Fundraising dos and don’ts
5. Examples
6. Q & A

6. Benefits of email/enewsletters
• Donors use email
• Donors forward your emails
• Donors are comfortable with the technology
• It’s integrated – mobile
phones, tablets, desktops, and laptops
• It may be the one thing that isn’t blocked at
work

7. 65.6%
of donors said
they heard
about GTMD12
via email

8. Why e-newsletters?
Takeaways:
• Email is critical to outreach and promotion
• Facebook is incredible for calls to action/engagement
Breakdown of Give to the
Max Day page view traffic by
source
Unique Visitors by Source
Blogs/Media/Other
Direct traffic
Email
Facebook
Twitter

9. Write emails that get read
• Spend your time and mental energy on the
subject line (it’s the only text you’re virtually
guaranteed to have read)
• Go for “clean” not “busy”
• Go for “succinct” not “wordy”
• Create a sense of urgency
• Include one strong call to action and make it easy
to know what to do

10. Email is mobile

11. Email is mobile

12. Write mobile-friendly emails
• Keep paragraphs to 1 to 2 sentences
• Give links white space (fingers will thank you)
• Include great photos
• How do your emails render on a smartphone?

13. Email timing
• It’s about being timely, relevant, and responsive
• Always have a call to action
– Share our video/psa
– Enter the video contest
– Schedule your donation
– Donate!
– Watch our thank you video

14. Segmentation
• Donors
• Volunteers
• New donors (new in the past 3 months?)
• Recurring donors
• Segment by interest area

15. Triggers
• New e-newsletter sign ups
• Action based triggers such as ‘clicked through
to a link’
• Birthday emails

16. Designing better emails
• Keep it clean – avoid clutter
• Make links, images, or buttons easy to touch
(think mobile)
• Limit to 1 photo

17. Five Tips for e-Engagement
• Strategic. Plan and be thoughtful.
• Consistent. Use common message or theme.
• Integrated. Anticipate and expect
cross-channel giving.
• Congruent. Use unique strength of channel.
• Intentional. Drive toward stated goals.

18. Thoughts on Donor Email
• You’re not writing so donors will read.
You’re writing so donors will act.
• All fundraising copy should sound like
someone talking. (George Smith, Tiny Essentials of Writing for Fundraising)
• Why us? Why now? Why should donors care?
• Pronoun check!

19. E-appeal dos (and don’ts)
• DO: Speak as a real person
• DO: Short, relevant, compelling
• DO: Illustrate. Vivid, emotional need or impact
• DO: Storytelling should be
personal, individual, local, relatable
• DO: The “ask.” Motivate reader to click and act
• DO: Motivate readers. Timely impact of ask

26. Trigger
email
after an
event
Year
end
email

28. Give to the Max Day Email Tips
• Give donors a heads up about Give to the Max
Day and why it matters
• Let donors know what your organization has
planned
• Build your social media following by
promoting follows and likes for your social
media pages

29. Give to the Max Day Email Tips
• Include calls to action
– Share the PSA
– Enter the video contest
– Download the calendar reminder
– Schedule your gift(s) starting Nov. 1
– (On GTMD) Give, please!
– (After GTMD) Thank you, watch our video, take our
survey, etc.

30. Questions?

31. “What is your legacy of change?” video contest
• Deadline is November 1
• Submission details at givemn.org/gtmd13
• Prizes:
– Winning Videos: Two grand prizes of $5,000
– Two Prizes of $2,500
– Five Prizes of $1,000

32. Most Creative Give to the Max Fundraising Campaign Award
• Deadline is November 1
• Submission details at givemn.org/gtmd13
• Prize - $500