While there are some universal best practices for nonprofit email marketing, fundraising campaigns need a distinct strategy. And transferring the content of your direct mail appeals into an email won’t cut it!
Direct mail vs. email fundraising
Direct mail used to be the go-to tactic for donation asks. iceland mobile phone numbers database But in recent years email has proved its potential as a fundraising channel. Just take a look at these 2020 statistics from M+R’s benchmark report:
The average open rate for a fundraising email was 18%, up 7% compared to 2019
Email fundraising response rates rose by 41%
Direct mail and email fundraising often share the same goal, such as a seasonal or emergency appeal. But email boasts an immediacy that makes it particularly effective for time-limited campaigns.
The challenge of email fundraising is to condense what might be a page for direct mail, into something digestible for an online audience.
Email recipients are easily distracted by other notifications or messages popping up. So you need to get to the point — fast.
If you don’t, your message risks getting lost in the depths of the inbox or deleted in a click.
You’re likely asking yourself then, how long should a fundraising email be?
Your fundraising email needs to be as short as possible. This isn’t the time to go into your organization’s history and wider projects. Instead, keep the focus on your ask.
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the best length for a fundraising email. But you can be sure that donation requests by email should be shorter than direct mail. One study for example found that, based on click-throughs, the ideal length for a nonprofit email was 25 lines.
5 steps to write an effective fundraising email
So, how do you squeeze everything you want to say into your donation email — and get the reader to act on your request?
Here’s a template for how to write a fundraising email:
