Email is about building relationships with subscribers. Creating a connection through one-to-one communication.
It’s not just your emails which help subscribers connect to your organization. It’s how you respond to them as well.
I Can’t Hear You Nanananananananana
When’s the last time you asked your donors for feedback? How about your staff and volunteers? Email subscribers?
Feedback, especially when it’s negative, can be very tough to swallow. You think about all the work you’re doing for someone else and they don’t appreciate any of it. They just want to complain and cause you headaches and misery.
But that’s not how feedback should be viewed! Surveys, questionnaires and review charts allow you to see how others perceive your work and whether you’re accomplishing what you want to. You’ll see the bad but also the good and the valuable feedback is gold when it comes to framing and crafting your fundraising, marketing and communications strategy.
Not asking is burying your head in the sand. And then suddenly when donors aren’t giving, you’re not left to just wonder why but scrambling to find new donors to make up losses.
Know what makes people happy? When they feel there’s a dialogue, two-way communication.
Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash
Ask For Feedback
I send out a daily email and I encourage subscriber feedback. I want to hear their likes and complaints. When subscribers do take me up on my offer, I email them all back as quickly as possible. I want them to know there’s a face behind the logo and that I WANT to communicate with them.
The same goes for clients I work with. Their monthly enewsletters are of great value to both the organization and subscriber. But I make sure clients know that when subscribers email them in response to an enews, they need to respond.
Replying makes a subscriber feel like they matter just a bit more. And that could be the difference between someone staying a subscriber or possibly converting that subscriber into a donor.
If you’re not interested in replying to inquiries and feedback that your enews generates, then you’re basically having a conversation with yourself.
Not only should you want feedback but you should ENCOURAGE it! Create that two-way communication with subscribers. It can develop into a back-and-forth email thread that leads to bigger things.
If you’re not sure what to write, here’s the verbiage I place in the footer of every enewsletter I send:
“Have feedback about YDDN? I’d be thrilled to hear it! Email me your praise or criticisms (and everything in between). I appreciate ALL feedback and enjoy hearing from my readers.”
Survey
Another great way to get feedback is to survey email subscribers. Send an email with a link to a survey with a few questions. Use both multiple choice and open-ended questions to allow subscribers to express themselves.
The multiple choice questions will help your organization understand how subscribers view your enews, what they like and dislike. That data is valuable in terms of your content strategy.
The open-ended questions are gold because people can give short or long answers. When they believe you genuinely want their feedback, they’ll speak their mind. This really allows you an opportunity to get to know your subscribers better. If they’re willing to leave their name/email address, follow up and thank them. Open the discussion for any issues raised in their answer. Start the dialogue!
Email is a great tool for converting people into donors. As long as subscribers feel it’s a two-way street.
Does your nonprofit want to upgrade its email marketing? Increase open rates? Boost click thru rates? Get in touch with me before April 30, 2021 and you’ll be eligible for this great email marketing offer!
