Do you have a plan to write an outstanding fundraising email? Millions of people across the globe contribute to noble causes; the celebrities and big-shots are always ready to lend a supporting hand to the needy. But the only concern for them is to get a trustworthy organization with a fund manager so that their donation does not go in vain.
No doubt, how noble your intention is or how much effort you are putting into your NGOs, but if you cannot allure a potential donor, your primary efforts go in for a toss. The first step to attracting a potential donor is pitching in an impressive email.
How to Start to Write an Outstanding Fundraising Email
So, before we dig deep into details, let us find out how to draft and pitch an oustanding fundraising email
Write an outstanding subject line
Subject lines of fundraising emails count a lot as any fund donors or potential clients open up the email solely based on the subject line. It is advised to keep the subject line short, crisp, and informative. Again, the lengthy subject line appears haphazardly managed and less provoking on small devices.
Secondly, Pique the interest of donors who are curious about knowing more but don’t sound spammy. Avoid using unnecessary punctuation. Learn to create a sense of urgency inspiring and provoking donors to take swift action.
Learn to personalize messages
Don’t just blindly send one drafted mail to all your targeted donors. But know your audience and accordingly customize the emails. Learn to customize your emails according to demographics, urgency, lending factors, and much more.
Writing personalized emails to donors has seen an increase in the frequency of email-piece being opened rather than lying in the junk mail. Doing simple things like adding the recipient’s name in the email head has also likely seen a boost in the email letter being opened. It symbolizes you really care and value the recipient.
Keep it crisp and sweet
Brevity in email writing ensures a success rate of being read rather than landing as a spam file. Writing too much makes the recipients overwhelmed, and they may ignore it or want to read it later. Sometimes the potential donor also may lose interest, thereby lowering the weightage of the email.
Key pointers
Break up those clumsy large paragraphs into simple ones to avoid losing potential donors. Keep the lines short but pump it up with powerful and inspiring words! It is important to use max to max four short paragraphs.
Use sub-headings to give a break to lengthy paragraphs and make the email readable. Also, add bolded text to sentences.
Do not forget to add impressive photographs related to the cause you want to serve. Quite often, pictures speak more than words.
Clearly state the Impact
Clearly explain to the prospective donor in the email how the funds are going to be used and the potential beneficiaries who will be benefitted. Again, give all the information in crisp sentences and keep them in the first few lines of your email.
Also, explain and bring it to the forefront regarding how every contribution matters. It will attract more donors, both big as well as small. This will encourage small donors, so they will not have the negative feeling of embarrassment as their contribution is negligible. Even $5 or $10 will help serve a purpose.
Add powerful visual content
It is ideal for adding a high-quality image or video to your email as it will attract more people to support your cause. We all know eye-catchy visual contents like photos and videos easily stay in the brain and connect with the heart. Make impressive video content and add it up to the email. But do not add unwanted things like logos, brand image, or something not related to the cause. As doing so, will make the donor hesitant and may think it to be your own personal agenda or propaganda.
Tips and Tricks on Writing Oustanding Fundraising Email
Use your own personal flair or style to connect more with the people.
Add an emotional touch to the email: Displaying an emotional touch to the email will help you connect better with the donors. Donors basically want to get the right information about where their funds will land up and, therefore, would love to connect with the NGOs. Hence, a customized email pitching and drafting approach before sending to each donor is an excellent idea.
The fundraising appeal should be both captivating and succinct, addressing key questions: What is the problem? What is the solution? And how will a reader’s donation directly contribute to resolving the issue? While the work at hand may encompass intricate challenges, it’s essential to maintain brevity. Although providing links to comprehensive articles, studies, or reports can be beneficial, it’s crucial to keep the email easily digestible, demonstrating respect for the reader’s time and support.
Your outstanding fundraising email should always have a button that tells people what to do next. This button is called a call to action (CTA). It’s important to make this button clear and use words that make people want to act. For example, if you want people to donate money, your CTA might say “Donate Now.” It’s best to only have one CTA in your email so it’s not confusing. If you give people too many choices, they might not do anything at all. So, if you want people to donate, just ask them to donate now.
Your email footer doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it should contain essential information like your organization’s contact details and an option for recipients to unsubscribe. For instance, take a look at this example from Team Rubicon. They’ve included their logo, which strengthens their brand identity, along with their contact information.
Conclusion
Donations serve many critical problems in uplifting the lives of the needy and are a workshop that earns bread and butter for numerous caregivers and fieldworkers. Every donation initiated matters and nurtures the lesser privileged or vulnerable. In addition, there are many mentally challenged or specially-abled people who need support.
So, now that you have learned how to draft and pitch an outstanding fundraising email, put your best efforts into attracting potential donors and donations.
