Use Opt-In Email Cont'd

Responsible Email Communication

So, what do you need to do to be a responsible emailer, avoiding penalties and the bad faith of your current and prospective constituents? You need to make the mental shift from seeing your email recipients as prospects, as direct marketing defines them, to seeing them instead as individuals who share your values – and annoyances. And, according to Mr. Prokosch, you need to:

Develop organizational protocols to define a threshold for mass email:
- If the number is small, you will create unnecessary work, and soon staff will look for ways to work around the policy.
- The number will usually be between 35 and 50 recipients.
Design procedures for making sure your protocols are adhered to:
- Either form a working group to develop protocols or ask for feedback on your ideas so that you have full buy-in from the staff.
- Create a document to capture what you’ve agreed to.
Create opportunities for people to give you permission to send them targeted email communication:
- Make sure that all of your methods for contacting people, from brochures to website sign-ins, solicit email addresses from people, and get permissions at the same time.
  - On web forms, include a check box that says “contact me about news and information.”
  - On hard copy sign up sheets, give people the option of getting email.
  - On hard copy promotional material such as reply cards and fact sheets, send people to your website to sign up.
- Use these methods to develop your subscriber base, being sure to “tag” exactly what people want to receive from you – and what they do not want (if they tell you) – so you won’t be faced with the prospect of sending to a large group as spam, a tiny group or no group at all.
- Create established e-newsletters and interest groups. It’s easier to sign people up if there is a well-defined named community that they will be joining, since they will have a better sense of what they are joining and trust that the community will be useful to them.

Creating Effective Campaigns

Of course, being a responsible emailer also means regularly providing accessible email vehicles with relevant content for which your constituents will want to subscribe.

That means you first need to decide on the type and frequency of email communications you will be sending. We recommend sending at least a quarterly newsletter to begin with; monthly is the standard. You can certainly send the e-news more frequently or send multiple newsletters covering different programs – if you are sure that you have the resources to do so. Make sure the information is written for the electronic audience: It should be nonpromotional, direct, as brief as possible, and it should include lots of subheads and call-outs for reading in short bites.

Producing e-newsletters can be time consuming, so enlist the writing support of all of your nonprofit’s staff members to keep the information fresh and in good supply. Remember, nothing is worse than signing people up for your e-communities and then having nothing relevant to send them on a regular basis. By not promising more than you can produce, you will keep your subscribers happy, and word-of-mouth will help to grow your subscriber base.

In addition to e-newsletters, constituents will want to receive action alerts when issues arise and immediate action is needed. Infrequent briefs announcing major organizational changes or special events may also be appropriate for your organization. As with the e-newsletter(s), make sure you produce crisp, easy-to-digest, brief pieces.

For all of the above, you will want to create a good email template by using one provided within the email software, having your in-house team create one, or using the custom design services of the email software company.

Final e-Word

Like many best practices, creating the most effective email protocols for your non-profit organization takes patience and time to reap the best rewards. Having a strategic plan from the start and sharing ideas with other nonprofits about targeted emailing is the best way to create winning email campaigns. As Mr. Prokosch reminds us, new media can increase contact, but it can also isolate. Therefore, joining online and offline networks to share war stories, tips and tricks can be a real lifesaver.

As your email lists grow, you will notice increased traffic to your website on the day of and the days following an email send. By providing quality relevant content you will succeed in keeping your brand mindshare at the front of the mind of your constituents and cement strong relationships with your subscribers.

Ryan Allis is with the Email Marketing Resource Center , which offers ideas for targeted email and for tips for building effective email marketing strategies.

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