Who's Reading your E-Newsletter? - Cause Communications

For many nonprofits, your e-newsletter is a crucial part of your communications. But for many of us, it’s become a routine practice, one that we don’t often tie back to our underlying organizational goals and strategies. Here’s a short list of questions to consider before sending out your next e-newsletter.

What is the purpose of your newsletter? Without knowing the purpose or your goals, there is no way for you to measure your effectiveness. Start by writing down the goal your newsletter supports. Do you want to reach funders? Do you want to inform people of programmatic changes/growth? Are you primarily reaching out to members to keep them informed?
What is your primary call to action? If you want to generate traffic for your website, make sure this call-to-action is front and center. That includes linking to your website consistently throughout the email.
Do you know if people are reading your email? In this day and age, regardless of which system you use, metrics are available, it’s just a question of using them. Do you check the open rates of your email newsletter? Have you noticed trends in what stories people click on and when they click through to your website, for example?
Who are you sending your newsletter to? Often, we send to one large list. But depending on what organizational goals and strategies your e-newsletter supports, this may not be effective. Consider segmenting your lists and tailoring content for various audiences.
Is this the best way to reach your target audience? Have you surveyed your audience to see if they want a newsletter? Might there be a better way to reach them? For example, would a younger audience be more likely to read updates on Facebook? Does an older audience still gravitate towards print materials?

Your answers to these questions may reveal insights that will help you evolve your strategy and make your e-newsletter even more effective. Let us know what you discover, and contact us for more guidance on your digital and social media strategy. To talk to us more about strategic communications, contact Marie Condron, General Manager at 310.656.1001.

Who’s Reading your E-Newsletter?