5 Quick Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Email

There is an overwhelming amount of information out there about how to maximize the effectiveness of your email strategy.  Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC highlights the best of the best from CoSchedule Blog, Connectivity, and Salsa Labs.

From knowing the best days and times to send emails and how to create an engaging subject line, to increasing your open rate –it is all about raising awareness about your organization through your email with these tips!

1.     How do I get my audience to pay attention to my email?

Although the timing of your email matters, what you write in your email and how your message is delivered will help your audience notice it and take action. Consider the following tips:

• Write a catchy subject line. Your subject line should help your email get noticed so that your audience opens the email.
• State why this email matters to the audience. Relevance, not frequency, is the most influential factor in keeping contacts on your email list. If the content is relevant, your audience will appreciate the email.
• Personalize the email. When the emails address contacts individually by name, it is much more likely to get a response. If you are able to extract information about your contact’s personal preferences, send them emails that are relevant to those preferences. It could double your response rate!
• Remember to include a call to action. Include a next step or encourage a specific response, such as sending a letter to a public official, signing a petition, or reading new research to learn more.
• Use multiple channels to reach your audience and get noticed. Emails should be augmented with corresponding social media activity on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn alerting members to check their inboxes.

2.     Should everyone on my list receive all my emails? Ideally, you should segment your contact list based on audience preferences.

3.     What is the best day of the week to send email?

• Tuesday is the undisputed best day to email to your contacts.
• Thursday is also a good second day if you are sending two emails per week.
• Wednesday is an option if you are not able to finalize your content by Tuesday.

4.     What is the best time of day to send email?

• 10 a.m.-Late-morning send times are overall the most effective for getting your email noticed.
• 8 p.m.-midnight – Catch your audience as they are winding down at the end of the day.
• 2 p.m. – Your email may get noticed during a mid-afternoon break.

5.    How often should I communicate via email? As long as the content is relevant, you can send emails up to 6-10 times a month. Don’t rely on one-shot approaches, like only connecting with your audience to ask for money or to sign a pledge.  Communicate regularly and diversify your email content with your audience.   Be sure to send your updates about your organization, as well as making asks.

Advocacy and Communication Solutions, LLC provides comprehensive advocacy, strategy development, communication, and capacity building services to the non-profit, government, and foundation organizations.  To learn more about how we can help you maximize your communication efforts to meet your organization’s objectives, contact us.