This week we’re focusing on effectively using your e-newsletter for Valley Gives (and beyond!). Heather Mansfield gave us some tips for putting together e-newsletters. This is a very important tool for engaging your donor base.
Valley Gives E-Newsletter Strategy: In her Webinar, Heather recommended using the three weeks after November 12th to “feature success stories in your e-newsletter… and at the bottom of every edition, include the Valley Gives Day logo and a two-sentence pitch to remind your supporters to participate in Valley Gives Day”.
Best Practices for your e-newsletter:
– Keep it simple. Large text, easy-to-read-font.
– Be visual. Use the Valley Gives logo.
– Stay focused. Any e-newsletter for Valley Gives should be only for Valley Gives.
Reminder: Do NOT send out e-newsletters using bcc! This may put your e-mail in the spam folder.
I was assuming that we would bcc all the donors but I read that you are NOT RECOMMENDING that we bcc donors because the email can get lost in the spam box. So it is OK for all donors to see each other’s email addresses? In some cases there may be famous people on the email list who may not want their emails publicized? How would you advise we handle this?
Hi Vivian: I would suggest what Heather Mansfield suggested, use Mailchimp or some simillar online tool. I think you can send up to 500 emails for free.
You say, as did Heather Mansfield, ” Do NOT send out e-newsletters using bcc!”.
Please advise as to a better, but still time-efficient way, to send out our annual fund-raising letter. We are relatively small, only about 200 members on our mailing list. Even so, it would take a long time to cut-and-paste individual names one at a time into the “T0:” line of a message. Thanks for your help.
John Gaustad Secretary Friends of Northampton Trails and Greenways
Hi John: I would suggest what Heather Mansfield suggested, use Mailchimp or some simillar online tool. I think you can send up to 500 emails for free. Also the reason that not useing bcc was suggested is that often bcc emails go to people’s spam folders.