If you’re in your 40s or older, you still remember when email was brand new and just starting to take off. You can probably recall your first personal email address, which most likely ended in aol.com, yahoo.com, or hotmail.com (or maybe it still does). Email changed the way we communicated, especially at work. We no longer had to pick up the phone to communicate with colleagues or customers, or send a fax to share a document.
It was only a matter of time before nonprofits started to make appeals for funding through email. It was a simple (and free) way to ask a large number of people for donations at the same time, and as it turns out, the response rate was actually pretty good!
But for some reason, email fundraising started to fall out of favor with certain nonprofit marketing agencies. Maybe they thought it was too impersonal, or perhaps they wanted to try something new in the hopes that it would be more effective. Some marketing agencies pivoted to marketing channels like social media sites, SMS messaging, crowdfunding sites, and others.
But even after all these years and all of the new marketing channels that have come on the scene, email still has the best return on investment. It is estimated that email campaigns can bring in $36 to $40 for every $1 spent!
Email Campaigns Directed by a Nonprofit Marketing Agency in San Antonio
Just like any fundraising campaign, an email appeal needs to be strategic. You can’t just send out a Giving Tuesday or End-of-Year appeal and expect to get an amazing result.
At our nonprofit marketing agency, we work year-round with organizations in San Antonio and throughout the country to develop email campaigns that cultivate existing and potential donors so that when they get that fundraising appeal in their inbox, they are ready to give!
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Many of the email marketing strategies we develop at our nonprofit marketing agency start with a “welcome series.” This is a series of emails that new subscribers get right after they sign up. It takes them on a journey where they can learn more about a nonprofit. These emails may include a message from a key leader in the organization, success stories, descriptions of key services, messages from donors about why they give, and finally, an invitation to get more involved.
After this welcome series is complete, subscribers receive other communications from the nonprofit via email, such as regular newsletters, announcements, resources, and invitations to provide feedback. These relationship-building emails keep subscribers engaged and keep the nonprofit top of mind.
When Giving Tuesday or the end of the year rolls around, subscribers have received a ton of communication from the nonprofit throughout the year where they weren’t asked for money, so they are more open to a donation request at this point.
A Multichannel Approach to Fundraising
At our nonprofit marketing agency serving San Antonio and other cities throughout the country, we typically take a multichannel approach to marketing. So, while email is often a large part of the marketing campaigns we design on behalf of our clients, it’s not the only part. One area in which we shine is in Google Ads Management. Nonprofits hire Beeline to run their Google Ads campaigns in order to bring new visitors to their websites and grow their subscriber lists.
We also are experts at creating digital resources that help draw in new audiences. These “lead magnets” can be highly effective in helping grow a nonprofit. Creating effective donation pages and landing pages on nonprofit websites is another large part of what we do.
Working with a Nonprofit Marketing Agency in San Antonio
If you’ve never worked with a nonprofit marketing agency before, you might not be familiar with everything they have to offer. Or even if you have worked with one in the past, we’d love to talk with you about what makes us different and why so many nonprofits love working with us! Contact us today to learn more or to schedule a consultation.
