Is your not-for-profit making the most of its email list? If you send every item to individual donors, corporate supporters, volunteers and the media — regardless of their interests or investment in your organization — you probably aren’t. Email segmentation can help you communicate with everyone more efficiently and effectively.
Keep them tuned in
There are many reasons to think about sending particular emails to only specific slices of your email list. For starters, too many irrelevant emails from your nonprofit will cause some recipients to tune out or unsubscribe.
Segmentation can also increase your response rates and strengthen engagement. Recipients will get more information they value and less that doesn’t interest them, fostering greater trust in your organization and its communications. And segmentation lets you experiment with different tones, writing styles, subject lines and visual presentations to determine which work best. You may learn that different groups respond differently based on the message.
Review historical activity
If you already have the data, you may want to begin tailoring emails according to such demographic factors as age, gender, location and income. If you don’t already possess this information, though, gathering it can prove delicate. You need to be careful not to turn off potential supporters with your inquiries.
Try segmenting your list on the basis of past activity. For example, track event attendance, volunteer work, donations or membership renewal. Further narrow the segment by setting a date parameter (for example, activity within the past quarter or year).
Or create subgroups based on donation amounts or specific campaigns. “Super donors” whose giving exceeds a certain threshold, “super attendees” who attend a specified number of events in a year and “super volunteers” who donate a certain number of hours in a year might receive every email, while others receive fewer.
Maximize value of assets
Supporter data, including email addresses, is probably one of your organization’s most valuable resources. For more information on maximizing the potential of your assets, contact us.
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