Some nonprofits treat email communication with donors as if it’s fine china. They don’t use it very often and when they do, it’s usually for something big like a fundraising crunch.
You should think of email as part of an ongoing relationship between your agency and your supporters. But when it comes to the frequency of the communication, many nonprofits do too little. This can be frustrating to those who gave you their email addresses, thinking they would receive more information about your organization.
I like sending out a biweekly newsletter. So that means that in a year, your subscribers will hear from you 26 times. That may seem like a lot but I find it’s a good balance between too much communication and not enough. Also, try to send the newsletter out on the same day of the week.
You’re not writing a novel for those newsletters. Keep them around 300-350 words. You’re sharing a few points that informs people about the work you’re doing, lets them know how their support is making a difference in the community, or showcases your expertise in articles that give people useful tips (Ex: 3 things you should know if you have an aging parent.)
Don’t fall into the trap of only using your e-newsletter only as a way to ask people for money. When this happens, people rapidly unsubscribe or delete your message without reading it.
You also want to let people know that it’s okay for them to forward the message to other people
Next time, we’ll talk about one of the biggest challenges that electronic newsletters face and how you can use social media tools to overcome this obstacle.
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