Email marketing campaigns such as newsletters and email blasts do many wonders for your organization. It fits as the perfect medium to send message and invite potential donors for your work. However, creating a compelling email campaign can be cumbersome and one mistake could either make or break your campaign. Worse, it can hurt the reputation of your business.
Before you can start sending an email campaign, it will take careful planning and meticulous editing process, from content creation to design thinking. Knowing the do’s and don’ts of email marketing could save you donors and even money. So we’ve listed some of the most common mistakes NGOs do in email marketing campaigns.
1. A boring content won’t take you places
Ever wondered why your open and click rates are surprisingly low? Your email content could be the culprit. One secret to maintaining an engagement between your subscribers and readers is an appealing content—something that goes beyond fancy images to beautify your email. It is highly important to start with a strong subject as it is the first thing that a subscriber sees. Clever choice of words could also help, but make sure you don’t veer away much on your message.
2. Blasting your newsletters to all isn’t a friendly act
It is a common thing in the non-profit space to build relationships. After all, securing partnerships could bring a multitude of benefits to your organization. Growing your network, however, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to immediately include that organization you just met on an event to your newsletter database. It may look pleasant for you, but can be an annoyance for them. Instead, get their contact details, follow them up and invite them to subscribe to your newsletter. Good things take time as the famous quote says.
3. Sending without testing
So you’ve finally “perfected” your email content. For most NGOs, hitting the send button would be the next step. Think again, one unnoticed mistake could cost your organization problems from sheer embarrassment, loss of credibility or worse, loss of subscribers and potential partners. Before sending your email, it is crucial to double check the content: from the subject up until the call to action. That way, you can identify mistakes and make sure you’re sending an error-free email campaign.
4. Disregarding the mobile community
Did you know that 70% of people read their emails through their smartphones? That is according to a statistical data conducted by Google. With that in mind, it is important to optimize your email campaign or newsletter for mobile—make sure images are viewable and texts are readable even on a small screen size. Maintaining engagement means adapting to the evolving ways of your subscribers.
5. Not knowing your mailing list
Creating a successful email campaign isn’t all about great content. An interesting content for you can be unamusing for some, especially if you’ve sent your campaign to the wrong people. Before sending your email, identify your mailing list. Classify and segregate your subscribers based on demographics such as age, gender, location, line of business and years of experience. Through that, you’ll be able to come up with something that’s fit for your specific type of audience.
6. Unsubscribe button is missing
It can be really saddening and even painful for organizations to let go subscribers. After all, the main goal is to widen your presence and reach more audience as much as possible. But building trust could mean having an option for people to unsubscribe to your newsletter. Don’t force them to stick if it’s not benefitting them anymore. Instead, use that opportunity to improve your email campaign and strive to gain better retention.
