Nonprofit Expressions

Do your email newsletters get read? Do they go straight to the SPAM filter? Do you get a lot of people unsubscribing?

There are plenty of factors contributing to the effectiveness of email campaigns. We are going to examine four main criteria and formulate a report card for you to use on your email campaign: first impressions, value of content, SPAM prevention and convergence effectiveness.

The purpose of an email campaign is to create convergence with the end user: build top of mind awareness, increase sales, drive people to a website or create warm leads. There are many different aspects of an email newsletter campaign which play into the effectiveness of that campaign. Of course, the ultimate test is the converge rates after an email has been mailed, but there are many methods of increasing click through rates, as discussed below.

1. First Impressions

The look & feel of the e-newsletter should match that of your organization’s branding. It should draw the reader in and create a feeling that matches it’s purpose: for example, if you are The American Red Cross, it should be professional and serious. If you are a children’s athletic organization, however, it may need to be fun and friendly. Brand repetition and top of mind awareness are very important!

The newsletter should be conventional with other types of online news sources. It should include a newsletter title, date and maybe an edition number.

The SIZE of the email should fit inside the average email inbox. An average email is 500 pixels wide, and your newsletter should not exceed the length of two page scrolls. The size of the email alone can drastically change a user’s experience. A newsletter which is so large that it is overwhelming may prevent the user from reading it at all.

Pleasing to the eye:
Dimensions in Pixels:
Reflection of branding and purpose:
GRADE:
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2. Value of Content

This is where you want to make sure you give readers a reason to stick around: a place to  donate, volunteer, visit your website, etc. News Flashes create a sense of urgency while a Tip of the Day suggests valuable solutions.

The newsletter may also includes a letter from an individual in the organization that helps the newsletter to be more personal.

FREE RESOURCES are an excellent method to pick up warm leads (people who are interested in your products). If someone will pick up a free resources by clicking through to go to your website, they may also want to donate or contribute in another way.

Sense of Urgency:
Timeliness:
Relevancy:
Engaging:
Develops Trust/ Credibility:
Offers valuable resources:
GRADE:
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3. SPAM Prevention

It is extremely important that your emails, especially if they are sent regularly, get past SPAM filters. SPAM filters rank incoming emails on a scale of 1-10. If the newsletter has too many “red flags,” for example, using words like “free,” “$$$,” “Save,” “Discount,” etc, then the email will be sent straight to a user’s junk mail.

Audience Acceptance:
Subject Line:
‘From’ and ‘To’ Lines:
Non-use of SPAM alert words:
Non-use of SPAM alert colors:
Use of bold, blue, plain text links:
One-click Unsubscribe:
GRADE:
———————————————————————————–

4. Convergence Effectiveness

As discussed in the beginning, the most important item at the end of the day is whether or not your purpose was met. I would suggest sitting down with a few staff members, defining a purpose for the campaign, and brainstorming about how you could increase your click through rates.

We have chosen criteria based on proven methods of effectiveness. It is also important to note that although you may have a number of click through links, the likely hood of readers actually clicking through is based on the value of the content combined with giving readers a reason to converge.

Inclusion of a Navigation Bar:
Forward to a Friend Link:
Placement of Images vs. Copy:
Personalization:
Placement of Most Important Information:
Click-through Links:
Subject Line:
GRADE:
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BRAIN STORM ON WAYS TO IMPROVE!

Notes: Although it is good to have the newsletter match the branding of your website, it should be different enough to identify it as an email newsletter. Another rule of thumb is that newsletters should be conventional to web standards. For example, many websites and newsletters offer click through links in their headers!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm and is filed under Advertising, Best Practices, General, Marketing, Newsletter, Standards, Uncategorized, Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.