The number one problem plaguing most internet fundraising programs is a lack of a strategy. The second is poor execution. Just in the past few days, we have received many emails from nonprofits with one or more of these major problems:

• “All about me” syndrome: The email subject line is “(Organization Name) Today” or “(Organization Name) Newsletter December” Why should the reader bother to open it?
• “Make it pretty” syndrome: More than half of the nonprofit e-communications we received have to be fished out of our spam filter. We look there, because we’re in the email business. Your donors don’t look there. Too much html is the single biggest reason nonprofit email newsletters end up in the online version of the trash can.
• “Fail to ask” syndrome: You don’t have to ask for money in every email. You really should ask the reader to do something to further their involvement with your organization. Ask them to read a detailed success story, tell a friend, send and e-card, sign a petition, take a quiz… anything to get them back to your web site. Sending an email isn’t the goal. Getting some action is.

The emails we’re getting from nonprofits at least have one thing going for them: we’re getting something from them. Too many nonprofits send too few emails and at the wrong times. Most aren’t testing and almost none are strategically measuring results.

All of this comes from a lack of coherent e-communications plan. The best year-end gift you can give yourself, your donors, and your whales, hungry orphans or patients is a good plan for 2006.
NPAdvisors can assess your current email plan and help you improve it with:

• Integrating online and offline efforts (ask us how you might increase direct mail results by 10%);
• Designing a plan to dramatically increase email newsletter signups from web visitors;
• Using the email newsletter and site content to engage users more actively;
• Developing an email campaign and test schedule that supports your mission, involves your donors more and continues to improve results;
• Learning how to measure the things that matter and ignoring the rest;
• Personalizing and customizing the content and delivery for each subscriber.
• We can also help craft persuasive email appeals and design landing pages that increase conversion.

Call or email today to get your e-communications plan on track for 2006. You’ll be surprised how affordable it is.

December 2005