Nonprofits rely on strong relationships to raise funds and create impact. As a nonprofit marketing professional, I’ve done my fair share of experimenting with and researching the best ways to connect with cause-based communities.
Here are five typically underrated ways to help you build and maintain authentic relationships:
1. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Email
If you take one thing from this post, let it be this:
Do. Not. Sleep. On. Email. 📧
As fun as it is to mindlessly scroll a never-ending feed of recipe videos and astrology memes, the fact remains that having 3,000 Instagram followers is just not the same as having 3,000 email subscribers.
Why? Well, according to Hootsuite, in 2021 the average reach of organic social media posts was around 5.2%, meaning that only one out of every 19 followers is actually seeing your content appear in their feeds. Pretty grim.
Considering the fact that organic reach has been consistently declining for years — coupled with the rising costs of earning paid reach through advertisements — social platforms are quickly becoming a pricey and honestly risky choice for nonprofits that are operating with limited budgets and administrative support.
With email, you have a direct channel of communication with your subscribers. Since you’re not having to battle a pesky (not to mention ever-changing) algorithm, email allows you to have infinitely more power over who gets what message and when.
Additionally, emails typically offer higher click-through and conversion rates than social, making them a sound investment of energy. Most email services like MailChimp, Flodesk, Wordfly, etc. allow you to design and send aesthetically-pleasing, targeted email campaigns for a reasonable monthly fee.
As long as you make sure to follow a standard opt-in practice, keep your messaging focused with a clear call-to-action, and only send people messages they consent to, I don’t see a reason why your nonprofit organization can’t reap the immense benefits of email marketing.