Email marketing can be extremely cost effective, but - as with any form of marketing - you must target the right audience.

Unsolicited email - commonly known as SPAM - is illegal, but according to the New York Times accounts for 94% of all email sent. People are easily annoyed by unsolicited email which is irrelevant to them and it is likely that they will delete any email which falls into this category without a second thought.

A successful email campaign will focus on people who have already expressed an interest in your charity.

If, as many charities do, your organization keeps a large database of supporters, it may be worth breaking them down into groups so that you can target more effectively. For example, securing a donation from somebody who has had direct help from your organization may take a different approach from somebody who has expressed a passing interest in supporting you.

Opting In & Out

As I have already mentioned, it is usually illegal to send unsolicited email. In essence, this means that unless somebody has opted to receive email from you, you cannot add them to your mailing list.

Once you have a person's consent, it is legal to send them newsletters. However, you must provide them with the option to opt-out. Failing to do this can land you in hot water with the authorities. Seek legal advice or use an experienced agency if in any doubt!

Build Your Mailing List

One of the most difficult parts of an email marketing campaign is convincing people to subscribe.

Your website is an obvious place to start. If you don't already have an email newsletter registration form, make it a priority to have one put in as soon as possible. It is a good idea to highlight the benefits of registering for your visitors. Be careful not to ask for too much information - name and email address is usually enough.

If you offer any other registration services on your site, adding an email newsletter tick-box is another good way to pick up subscribers. This provides visitors who are signing up to receive other services the additional option to be added to your email newsletter list.

Adding Value

Your email newsletter must provide value to your subscribers. They must find it interesting and relevant.

Your subscribers will want to scan quickly through your newsletter to find something of interest. A good way to manage this is by providing the heading and first paragraph of several articles along with a 'read more' link which takes readers directly to the full article on your website. This not only helps your readers to skip straight to the content that interests them, but enables you to gather statistics on which articles are most popular.

Many email marketing systems will enable you to set up messages which are customized with your subscribers details. "Dear Mark" is a much more effective way to get a person's attention than "Dear Subscriber".

Getting Something Back

As well as providing value to your readers, your newsletter must provide some benefit to you as an organization.

Before you begin putting together content, take time to think about the aims of your newsletter. What do you want people to think when they read it? What action(s) do you want them to perform as a result?

Monitor & Improve

Statistics are, without doubt, the single most vital piece of this jigsaw. A good set of statistics will enable you to measure success and adjust campaigns for the future.

Once your email has found its way to your subscribers, a good email marketing system will provide the ability to track the number of subscribers who have read your newsletter and which links they have clicked.

To help improve future campaigns, try altering a few details and re-testing. What type of subject lines work best? What time of day brings you the best response? Does adding a picture make a difference?

For More Information

There are many more articles relating to charity web design and email marketing in the knowledge section of the Durham Productions website. Registered charities can also email me for free advice.