When someone signs up for an email newsletter they get an automatic email back from that business or organization saying, “Dear [name], thanks for signing up for our newsletter,” and so forth…
This is called a welcome email, and it’s a great opportunity to engage with your new prospect, especially if this is the first experience they have with your organization. When putting together your welcome email, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the great things your organization is doing, leading to a self-focused narrative that may not resonate with your audience.
To help your nonprofit stand out in the inbox, focus on creating a compelling, engaging and informative email that adds value for your audience. Here are some tips for creating welcome emails that work.
Create emails that work
1.Tell your prospect something they don’t already know. Provide information that’s new—something they didn’t see when they signed up for your emails. Tell them about who you’ve helped and why they should care.
2. Tell a story. Storytelling is an impactful way to communicate with your audience. Stories can demonstrate the work of your organization in a way that engages your audience and doesn’t sound like a list of good works.
3. Keep your prospect engaged. Discuss your organization in a way that directly connects to your audience. Give them something that piques their curiosity to learn more.
4. Provide a soft CTA. Instead of immediately asking for a donation, inspire your prospect to take a small step to learn more about your organization outside of the welcome email. Include your social links or provide a link to a blog post or video that relates to the information you’ve used in the email.
5. Keep your email up to date. Your facts and statistics are going to change over time. Update your email content to mirror the growth of your organization.
6. Consider creating a drip campaign. Welcome emails work great when followed by 2-3 additional emails. A drip campaign follows steps 1-5 over the course of multiple emails instead of packing all the information into one email. You may also feel more comfortable asking for a donation or volunteers by the third email that you wouldn’t ask in the first email.
Ready to perfect your welcome email? Firespring can help create a memorable email series to send to new prospects. Contact us to get started on your email series.
