Email Marketing to Maximize Online Giving Results

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Email Marketing to MaximizeOnline Giving Results
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If you cant say it in 140 characters, is it
really worth saying?
Social networking sites and blogs have
overtaken personal Email to become the worlds
fourth most popular online sector after search,
portals and PC software applications.
Global Faces and Networked Places Nielsen
report, March 2009
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Youve got mail a friend request
Email has had a good run as king of
communications. But its reign is over.
Why Email No Longer Rules... Jessica E.
Vascellaro Wall Street Journal - Oct. 12, 2009
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A rising tide lifts all posts
The number of worldwide email users will increase
to almost 1.9 billion by 2013 compared with over
1.4 billion in 2009.
Email Statistics Report, 2009-2013The Radicati
Group May 2009
Heavy social media users are also using email
more.
NielsenWire Is Social Media Impacting How Much
We Email? Sept. 28, 2009
While email use has been declining among college
students for several years, this trend has
reversed in 2009. The reason? Smartphones.
Mike Hanley, Director, Institute for Mobile Media
Research
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So is email having its last gasp?
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The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
- Sincerely, Email
Email's ROI in 2009 was 43.52 for every dollar
spent on it. Down from 45.06 in 2008 - DMA
(2009, 2008) Email drove an average of 0.14 in
revenues per delivered message. - Epsilon "Q3
2008 Email Trends and Benchmark" (Jan
2009) Email presently generates 21.6 of total
revenue from campaigns. - Direct Marketing
Association "The Integrated Marketing Media Mix"
(2008) The aggregate sum raised online by 113
universities responding, 58.5M raised is equal
to 1.4 percent of their total philanthropic
support raised through all routes. - CASE survey
(2009)
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The Obama factor
Who here hasnt heard...What can welearn from
theObama campaign?
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The Obama factor
Who here hasnt heard...What can welearn from
theObama campaign?
(Edelman Report Social Pulpit)
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What works or ? at UC Berkeleye-newsletters

• 14 E-Newsletters with some overlap Campus,
  Athletics (300K), Alumni Association, Schools
• Berkeley Online 95K alumni (21.23 open), 17K
  non-alum (22.94 open)
• top stories budget cuts, extraordinary
  students, YouTube links, athletics
• experimenting with localization
• not a replacement for print
• buried soft ask

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What ? at UC Berkeleye-newsletters
Buried soft ask
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What ? at UC Berkeleye-newsletters
Buried soft ask
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What works or ? at UC Berkeleyemail
solicitations

• newsy, deadline-driven appeals
• end of year emails tax benefit by 12/31
• reminders for regular donors
• class campaigns video/email
• track solicitation codes in online giving form
• DM pitch, student/donor testimonials
• expensive flash solicitations flash for parents
• flash with soft ask great traffic, no gifts

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What works or ? at UC Berkeleyemail
solicitations

Campaign Mailed Response Gross Avg.
Class CampaignKick Off 08(flash) April 21,167 .25 5,545 107
Homecoming Pre-event 09 (email) Sept. 21,167 .24 8,874 171
Sophomore Reflects 08 (HTML) Sept. 110,599 .01 1,950 150
End of FY 08 (HTML) June (End of Tax Y 08) 77,098 (67,956) .02 (.12) 8,425 (40,585) 496 (450)
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What works at UC Berkeleyemail solicitations

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What ? at UC Berkeleyemail solicitations

155,295 mailed, .01 response, 781 gross, 98
avg.
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Elements of a successful email marketing campaign

• a solicitation policy
• a plan (ideally, part of a larger marketing
  plan)
• email addresses
• segmentation and testing
• delivery mechanism
• a message that stands out and gets read
• a call to action that translates into gifts
• receipts, stewardship
• measurable results

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Frustrating elements of an email marketing
campaign
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Frustrating elements of an email marketing
campaign
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Elementssolicitation policy

• goals for sending email
• limit on of emails sent to alumni each month
• how email will be used to solicit contributions
• frequency/timing of emails across campus
• tools available on campus
• strategy for fixing bad/undeliverable email

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Elementssolicitation policy, survey

• Question 1 Does your campus have a formal policy
  aimed at keeping departments from deluging
  constituents with email?
• No, its a free for all (20)
• Yes, theres a gatekeeper who reviews all (12)
• Yes, gatekeeper for certain mass emails, such as
  appeals (14)
• Who is the gatekeeper for your outgoing emails?
• How can you convince orgs to do away with shadow
  databases?

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Elementssolicitation policy, survey

• Question 2 Does your campus have a formal policy
  that all campus mass emails must be sent through
  a single delivery mechanism (an email marketing
  engine, your online community, an outsourced
  vendor, etc.)
• Analysis Decentralization won 2 to 1
• Yes, we have a formal policy (15)
• No, each department uses its own tool (29)
• Advancement Services is not involved (6)

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Elementssolicitation policy, survey

• Question 3 Does your campus have a formal policy
  that, however mass emails are delivered, campus
  departments must keep email addresses (including
  opt-out requests) in sync with the Advancement
  database?
• Voluntary compliance won by nearly 2 to 1.
• Yes, we have a formal policy (14)
• No, it's up to each department (27)
• Advancement Services is not involved (7)
• Who issues policy requiring compliance
• VP of Advancement
• Advancement Services
• External Affairs
• Alumni Relations/Advancement
• Advancement Services

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Elementsan integrated marketing plan

• Convio (CASE OS 08)
• World Wildlife Fund achieved a 40 better
  response rate via multi-channel campaign.
• University of Texas annual fund donors were sent
  an email with Flash video before being
  solicited by phone this approach improved the
  receptiveness to the telemarketing phone call
  and increased giving.

• Rice
• 1,600 young alumni donors
• 45 new or lapsed
• 9x more online donors than direct mail 3x
  more than telefund

email microsite
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Elementsemail addresses
UC Berkeley has 430,714 Alumni 150,809 email
addresses (35)
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Elementsemail addresses
Strategies for securing emails
(Pursuant)
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Elementssegmentation, testing, delivery

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ElementsMessage

• subject line (use your org. name)
• who is it from (prof or recognizable alum)
• timing (T-Th evening, FB-weekend)
• who writes/edits/approves?
• does the design work on multiple platforms?
• (design for gmail, once you get it right, save
  your template)
• does message enhance or support other efforts?

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ElementsMessage
Fordham University esolicitation Donor
acquisition piece that strives to make gifts feel
personal and connected to individual campaigns.
Sent before launch of a comprehensive campaign.
(MainSpring)
Results Open - 36 View - 22 Click - 1.3
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ElementsMessage
UC Berkeley/Haas esolicitation Interactive
messaging engages recipients (MainSpring)
13.1 estimated completion rate to giving
buttons 22.9 estimated completion rate to all of
the buttons
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Elementscall to action

• go straight to your giving form
• divert no attention from your giving form
• links vs. buttons (a small test)

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Elementsreceipts
(Orbees)
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Elementsstewardship
Connect without asking for anything - say Thanks!
(Pursuant)
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Elementsmeasurable results

• open rate
• click through rate
• response rate
• Tracking solicitation codes
• UC Berkeley offers a solicitation code via a URL
  in Give to Cal for an entire browser session
• ?scyoursolicationcode" at the end of any
  givetocal URL
• https//givetocal.berkeley.edu/browse/?u50?scA1
  25678

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Discussion