6 Ways To Leverage Email Marketing Efforts for Retaining Donors

Email marketing is an art and a science. Organizations that have the largest constituencies take strategic approaches to email campaigns. From a Blackbaud integration that makes it possible to use constituent information stored in Raiser’s Edge in third-party email marketing software such as Emma and Mailchimp to a Classy Salesforce integration, here are six ways for any organization to leverage email marketing and increase donor retention.

Use Data to Segment Your Email List & Reach Out to Better Prospects

Taking a data-driven approach to email list segmentation can be helpful for donor retention. Constituents who have supported an organization in the past can be grouped based on the duration of time that has passed since their most recent donations. It can also be effective to appeal to donors directly based on interests determined through engagement or by soliciting feedback. Use messaging to reflect on donor impact and ongoing organizational progress.

Create Thoughtful & Relevant Emails

In addition to sending messages that correspond to the current status of supporters, an organization might periodically check in with donors throughout the year. To provide more timely and informative updates on a regular basis, a nonprofit might ask supporters to identify areas of interest and offer updates on these topics.

Send Targeted Emails To Lapsed Donors

Donors who have not given recently may be reactivated through personalized outreach. In addition to RE imports that make it possible to segment contact lists based on recency of donations, email content that breaks down usage of funding or includes footage of an organization in action can reignite support. Soliciting more information from lapsed donors can also guide future fundraising.

Use Email Effectively For Every Donor Group

Some donors can be reached effectively through email while others may prefer conventional fundraising methods or requests via newer channels such as social media and text messaging. It can be worthwhile to segment donors based on age groups or inquire about preferred contact methods to take the best approach to raising funds.

Track Email Metrics To Guide Marketing Campaigns

An organization that sends out emails should also carefully review and reflect on message metrics. Email marketing benchmarks such as click-through and open rates and total donations raised per campaign are informative. Donor retention efforts may also be aided by behavior metrics such as heat maps.

Use An Email Promotion To Connect On Other Channels

Email may be the most effective method of contact for some donors, while others may be more likely to engage and give on other channels. A message may encourage recipients to follow an organization on one or more social networks or take part in crowdfunding or peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. Emails can also update donors on upcoming events or promote other forms of involvement.

Nonprofits that use RE or any other Blackbaud software should pursue Blackbaud integration so that constituent information is available for use in email marketing. While these systems have limited built-in email functions, many organizations use external marketing tools to maximize returns on fundraising campaigns conducted via email and increase donor retention over time.