The value of the email address can not be understated. According to Eleventy Group, approximately 1/3 of all fundraising revenue comes from email.
The email is your digital avenue to a potential donor, volunteer, or even employee. It is unequivocally the most used communicative device of the 20th century. The text message might be a close second, but the email has been around for 19 years longer. Needless to say, the more email addresses your email has at its disposal, the better.
Now that I have your attention, lets talk about how to get more of them.
1. Optimize your website homepage for email capture
The first step to gathering more email addresses is leveraging the power of your nonprofit’s most powerful online asset.
Its website.
Make sure that on your homepage, and its top 3-4 landing pages, there is an overtly obvious box allotted for email entry. Make sure the web visitor does not have to scroll down to see it, and make sure it is big enough to capture the attention of the visitor quickly.
2. Integrate with offline campaigns
Your direct marketing and other offline marketing campaigns can help support your online campaigns, too.
But how?
In your next direct marketing blast, be sure to include a line about how much more information is available on your website. By having prominently placed your signup boxes in the first step, anyone who arrives to your site as a result of your mailer will be prompted upon arrival to give you their email. Try using a unique address that will help you track those conversions.
3. Social media matters here, too
Facebook has a built-in email capture widget that, when turned on, can bay dividends. You’ve been told over and over about the importance of nonprofit social media marketing, but measuring ROI can be difficult. Here, your ROI is easily measured with the all important email address.
4. Ask for non-financial support
Try starting a petition, pledge, or call-to-action that helps a greater good connected with your nonprofit. Whether it’s to build a new playground in the park, or to end hunger in another country, a petition is one of the most shareable things online.
5. Use events to drive email acquisition
When hosting an event make sure you have a table (or two!) setup that’s dedicated to email signups. Place your volunteer with the best smile at that table and let them talk to passers by about what great work your nonprofit is doing, and how something as simple as their email address can help!
