Email campaigns can be an easy and inexpensive medium to reach your supporters and possible donors. Here are a few mistakes to avoid in email campaigns:
- Using a basic subject line. Besides looking at the sender of the email, the reader will scan the subject line and decide if they should open your email. To catch their attention or entice them to open and read your email, your subject line should be interesting. Make it short and concise but it should also give a hint about the body of the email. Another technique is to have a call to action. Also include specific information like dates and numbers to give them an idea what to expect.Basic Subject Line: Christmas NewsletterImproved Subject Line: Christmas Newsletter – Holiday Party on Dec. 17, Christmas Giving Program, and more!Basic Subject Line: Scholarship CampaignImproved Subject Line: 35 Scholars in 35 Days Challenge. Join us!
- Using all available fonts and colors and throwing in all available photos. In marketing and advertising, less is more. Make it really simple with one kind of font and consider the sizes of your font. It should be readable. You can use 1-3 colors that would fit the theme of your email that is also connected to your organization’s logo and/or website. Use of color or italics or making it bold should only be used if you need to highlight some important details like 22 Volunteers needed! or We need to raise US$ 1,000 by June 4!Remember that layout or the design is very important because it will aid your reader’s eyes to grasp the message of the email.
- Sending one big image. Sure your colorful poster is nice. But it does not mean that it is also good for emailing. Large images may be filtered by some email servers and it may show or not show these large images. Waiting for a large image to fully load may take your reader’s attention somewhere else.
- Forgetting to personalize. Most of us forget to personalize our emails. Greeting your reader with their complete name would be a great way to let your receiver know that they are valued by your organization. Writing an email to different persons and organizations should be written with a personal tone so that they will feel your sincerity and appeal your cause to them. This is also one way of maintaining good relationships with your contacts.
- Writing and sending a looooooooooooong email. How would you feel if you were to scroll down several times to finish reading an email? We are not doing novels or feature stories so make it short, sweet and to the point. You may have a lot of great ideas but you can cut it down to the most important and relevant ideas and save the other ideas for future email campaigns.
- Just hitting SEND. Don’t be in a rush to hit that send button — send yourself a copy first: (1) see how the design looks, (2) check for any typographical or grammatical errors, (3) try out the links if they redirect to the correct websites or pages and (4) make sure you message is satisfactory.
- Sending emails frequently (or irregularly). Always keep in mind that your recipients have a certain degree of tolerance in receiving emails. Sending them too many emails may cause some to opt out or unsubscribe from your mailing list. You may need to start targeting groups of individuals who might be more interested with specific campaigns. In general, staying in touch with your donor base once a month is highly recommended but not more than once a week.
We hope these tips can help make your emails more effective.
Happy emailing!