Author: Franz Malten Buemann

While I was searching on the internet, I came across this article that mentioned about HubSpot CRM. Do you think it is a good tool for marketing automation?
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When it comes to the final days before vacation, people tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) those who watch the clock incessantly, and 2) those who are so busy before they leave, they might even forget to put up an out-of-office (OOO) email message.
If you’re anything like I am, you probably fall into team two. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to get creative. But if you plan ahead, you might be able to craft some hilarity.

In this post, I’ll go over what an OOO message is and share some of the best examples I’ve found on Google, as well as a few from my coworkers).
Also known as “autoresponder emails,” out-of-office messages run the gamut. From funny, to clever, to snarky, this message can both show your personality and let senders know that, well, you’re out of office.
While you can keep it simple, you can also have some fun with it.
What should I put on my out-of-office message?
First things first: let’s go over the basics of an OOO email. In your away message, you typically include the following:

A quick “I’m out of the office” phrase.
The date or time range you’ll be out.
Who to reach out to in case the sender needs immediate attention.
A sign-off.

Putting it all together, your autoresponder would read something like:
“Hi there,
Thanks for your email. I’m currently out of office until mm/dd/yyyy. If you need help, email my colleague at colleague@example.com.
Best,
[Name]”
But that sounds boring, right? Luckily, there are ways to spice up your OOO message by adding humor in just the right places.
If you’re feeling stuck, try our free OOO email generator to draft a message that perfectly captures who you are and where you’re going.
Featured Resource: OOO Email Generator

Create your OOO email by clicking here.
Out-of-Office Messages for Vacation
1. “I’ll email you back once I’ve defrosted.”
Most times, when people go on vacation, they travel to a warm, tropical place…
But some of us just aren’t as lucky. Or if we’re traveling during the winter and heading up north — well, we’re going to run into some snow, aren’t we?
While this may not prove so fortunate for us, we can use the poor weather for comedic relief. You can even include a screenshot of the weather forecast for a sense of realism. Not only will it give senders a chuckle, but it’ll also generate a certain amount of empathy — which is often the key to good content.
Example
Thanks for your message! I’m currently buried in snow and will get back to you once I’ve defrosted on January 2nd.
And if you think I’m lying…

Image Source
Gotta go, my fingers are frostbitten. If you really need me, either get a shovel and dig me out of here, or reach out to my colleague Anna — who’s not frozen under snow with frostbitten fingers — at anna@example.com
2. “If found, contact someone other than me.”

If your email client allows it, you could always just use an image to express your out-office sentiment, like this one. After all, they say that a picture is worth a thousand words — and visual content is still essential to successful marketing.
In this image, you’re letting people know you’re OOO with a “Missing” notice on a milk carton. Genius. Just be careful — this sort of autoresponder is best for internal emails, not for autoresponders that get sent to prospects and clients.
3. “I’ll get back to you when I return to civilization.”
If you’re traveling to a remote, mountainous area, why not jab some fun at your lack of WiFi in your autoresponder? Plus, that makes it less likely that people will expect an immediate response or continue to email you after the first try.
Example
Hi there,
Sorry I missed you — I’m unable to get to my email right this second. Why? I’m on a backpacking trip, surviving on Spam, really good water, and trail mix. You should see the stars out here.
I’ll get back to you when I return to civilization. Or to an area with WiFi. Or to the office on May 10th. Whichever comes first.
If you need help right now, email my team at team@example.com.
4. “If you need to reach me, travel to my homeland of Florida.”
When one of my colleagues went on vacation, he sent an out-of-office message that was both clever and smart. First, he sent the recipient on an imaginary scavenger hunt to “the highest peak of the tallest mountain.” He used humorous absurdity to make it clear that he would not be checking email while he was away.
Plus, he incorporated a delightful technique to let people know that if they really wanted him to read their emails, they should probably send them again after his return. Not only does that keep the sender accountable by saying, “If this is really important, you know when to reach me,” but it also helps him truly vacate his work while he’s away. And that’s hard to do.
Below is an example you can use for yourself.
Example
Hey!
I’m on vacation until July 18th. If you need to reach me, here’s what you’ll need to do:

First, travel to my homeland of Florida.
Climb to the highest peak of the tallest mountain.
Find a rare flower (no specifics, of course… It’d be cheating).
Put the flower back, because as the old hiking rule goes, “Leave everything as you found it.”

When you understand that flower, you’ll know to reach me. Trust me. You’ll know.
If your message requires a response faster than that, please email my manager at manager@example.com.
If you want to make sure your message gets a response ASAP when I return, please send it on July 18th. I recommend using one of our sales automation tools to schedule it now, while you’re thinking about it.
5. “I know I’m supposed to say that I’ll have limited access to email, but…”

Josh Kopelman’s vacation email is a classic example of taking a blunt approach at OOO messages.
Not only did Kopelman manage to turn his out-of-office message into an epic poem of sorts, but also, he actually went through the trouble of creating a delightfully snarky, vacation-specific email address for his recipients.
Giving the option to contact an email address containing “interruptyourvacation” provides two things — 1) A dose of humor, and 2) discouragement from actually doing what the name suggests. Plus, he prefaces it with a request for empathy, by explaining that he promised quality time to his family.
Sure, Kopelman is truthful about the fact that he’s on vacation, but he also lets the recipient know that he or she would be interrupting important family time if the first option is chosen. It states a point simply and uses humor to avoid making it sound like he wants the reader to feel guilty.
Below is an example you can use for yourself.
Example
Hi there,
You got this email immediately (classic autoresponder behavior), which means I’m out of office on vacation.
While I hypothetically could reach my email, while I hypothetically do have my phone on hand, and while I hypothetically do have access to WiFi, I’d rather enjoy time with my family. My kids are growing up at the speed of a supersonic jet, and if I blink one more time, they’ll be 35. And I’ll be 73. And I don’t want that.
If you still need to reach me, you can email interruptingfamilytime@example.com. Or you can email my assistant at assistant@example.com. They can point you in the right direction.
Looking forward to reconnecting once I’m back.
6. “Hi, I’m Troy McClure.”
When one of my colleagues is out of the office, he doesn’t mess around. In fact, he’s turned his auto-responses into a running series of commentary from fictional cartoon character Troy McClure.
Each time McClure makes an appearance in these out-of-office messages, he “speaks” on behalf of my colleague and alludes to the previous auto-responses in which he starred. It’s a mild form of self-deprecating humor — as if to say, “I know, I’m out of the office again” — made only funnier by the made-up teaser title included in the last line.
Don’t be afraid to use a pop cultural reference that the audience would recognize. Instead of bemoaning your absence, they’ll have something fun and familiar to laugh at.
Example

Image Source
Hi, I’m Troy McClure. You might remember me from such out-of-office messages as Avenge My Death if I Don’t Return from DMEXCO and Bye Now, I’m on an Absurdly Long Cycling Trip.
I’m here to talk to you about someone you know. Catalina Wong is out of office until September 27. She wanted me to let you know that she’ll get back to you after her return.
That’s all for now. Watch for me in the upcoming out-of-office message, It’s Not a Hangover, It’s Food Poisoning — I Swear! And be safe out there.
7. “The bad news is that I’m out of office. The good news is that I’m out of office.”
You can show just how thrilled you are about your vacation while still providing an apology (of sorts… not really).
Example
Hey there — I’ve got good and bad news for you. Let’s go with the bad first.
The bad news is that I’m out of office. The good news is that I’m out of office and enjoying elotes in Cancún.
If you can’t wait for a response, my colleague will be happy to take care of you. Just email them at someone@example.com.
I’ll be back on February 7th.
8. “I am currently out of the office and probably chilling on the beach. Enjoy your work week.”
That’s it. That’s all. Simple and to the point, this message will let people know that you can’t respond to messages.
That said, be careful with messages that are this curt. Make sure you’re familiar enough with your audience — and your boss, for that matter — to know that this sort of out-of-office message will be met with a snicker, and not with annoyance.
9. “Can you guess where I am?”
There’s a term that we like to use around here called “snowbirds,” which is used to describe those who once resided in the northern part of the U.S., only to flee to warmer parts of the country during the winter.
And although my colleague had mixed feelings about her own parents joining that population in Florida, she couldn’t be too upset when her dad suggested flying down from Boston for a Red Sox spring training game.
Naturally, she had to take the day off — and couldn’t let folks know with any old generic auto-response. Instead, she made a guessing game of it in her out-of-office email, which you can use for yourself, below.
Example
Hello there,
I’m currently out of the office, enjoying some peanuts and Cracker Jacks with my family. Can you guess where I am? That’s okay, you’re busy.
If your message is urgent, fear not — we’ll get it addressed. Try doing one of two things:

Send me an email at TheresNoCryingInBaseball@example.com.

Just kidding. That’s not a real email address.

Reach out to my manager at manager@example.com in my absence.

I’ll be back in the office on 7/19 and will happily respond then. Have a great weekend!
Holiday Out-of-Office Messages
10. “Holiday revelry and debauchery ahead. Proceed with caution (if you dare).”
When you’re out for the holidays, how can you express your thrill for the season without sounding, well, cheesy?
How about warning people of what’s to come? Take a look at an example you can use below.
Example
Hey there,
Careful. Holiday revelry and debauchery ahead. Proceed with caution (if you dare).
By which I mean to say: I’m on holiday, I’m definitely sunburnt, and I’m sorry I missed your email.
Don’t you worry: while I pretend to be Santa in front of my kids, my colleague, Hannah, will cover for me. Just email her at hannah@example.com if you need urgent assistance.
Take care, and don’t get too carried away with the sunbathing!
11. “Thank you so much for your email. I love it already.”
This holiday out-of-office email is definitely on theme, if not a little passive aggressive. If you’re getting emails during the holidays, why not treat everything you receive that season like the present it is, and send a thank you note?
My snarky colleague sure did in his out-of-office message below. We send thank-you letters in response to holiday gifts, so it’s only natural to expect the same gesture in our work inboxes …
Example
Hey there,
Thank you so much for your email. I love it already. It’s wrapped so nicely in its charming subject line that I just knew this message was going to be something special. Gifts like these just don’t come around every day.
Unfortunately, I’m going to have to return your message. As it’s the holiday season, I’m currently away from the office. When I return, I’ll give your email a good solid read and find that your request is exactly what I needed after all! But until then, I’m going to keep it in the inbox so it doesn’t get damaged and revisit it after the holidays are over.
Happy holidays!
12. “Die Hard Quiz.”
Check out this message from a HubSpot employee that certainly turns the tables on the email sender. Right when you thought you were the one requesting action, the recipient sent back an assignment — a fun one, at least.
While the sender waits for your response to their email, take the sting out of your absence by involving them in a holiday survey, like the one below.
Example
Sorry I missed you. I’ll be out of the office and slow to respond until after the break. While I have you, though, help settle an argument among my colleagues and me:
Die Hard Quiz
What was the best Die Hard movie?

Die Hard 1: The Office Christmas Party Gone Wrong.
Die Hard 2: Airport Conspiracy.
Die Hard 3: Samuel L. Jackson. Enough said.
Die Hard 4: Cyberthreat.
Die Hard 5: You should probably not pick this one.
Impossible! It’s like choosing a favorite child!

Submit
13. “Here are 10 things I’m thankful for.”
This email comes from another one of my colleagues. The purpose of this email is to intercept messages during Thanksgiving, and the way in which it does so is, well, with thankfulness.
The funny and charming email template below keeps the confidence of your colleagues with a list of things anyone who works in an office is thankful for. Of course, feel free to customize this list according to the quirks of your own workplace. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reveal them.
Example
Since I’m out of the office for the Thanksgiving weekend, I’ll respond to your email with a list of 10 things I’m thankful for:

Copiers that collate
Co-workers that brew more coffee when they empty the pot
Donuts on Mondays AND Fridays
When IT surprised me with a new laptop AND remembered to transfer my files
When You-Know-Who died at the end of book 7
Dry-erase boards that actually erase
The brave soul who cleaned out the refrigerator
When I’m early to an all-staff meeting and score a table near the door
HR finally sent a memo telling people to STOP clipping their nails at their desk
OOO autoresponders

Have a great Thanksgiving, and I’ll get back to you Monday.
14. “I’m busy watching Christmas movies. Catch ya later.”
There’s no shame in using Christmas to indulge in your childhood movie tastes, but there is shame in not sharing that adorable side of yourself when people are trying to reach you during the holidays.
So, take a lesson from @courtwhip, editor at PEDESTRIAN.TV, who wrote the above hilarious out-of-office email, fully stocked with mentions of the best movies from the 1990s. (By the way, “Splinter” is from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and as we all know, he loves pizza.)
Below is an example you could use for yourself. Well, it’s the same email.
Example
Oh hey, it’s Christmas, what are you doing emailing me?
I’m extremely busy watching Home Alone, Die Hard, and the 1994 Ninja Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Christmas Special on repeat until the new year.
I might stop for food and toilet breaks, I also might not.
Regardless of my general health and hygiene over the silly season, I’ll be back in the office on January 2.
Catch ya then, don’t forget to buy a pepperoni pizza for Splinter.
15. “Thank you for your consideration during this festive or not-festive time.”
Scared of offending a coworker who may or may not celebrate the holidays? Worry not — I’ve got the perfect email for you. If this OOO message does anything particularly well, it’s that it respects the differing views, religions, traditions, and opinions of your coworkers — while amusing so many others.
It’s also a great impersonation of a robot. So if that’s up your alley…
Example
Hello,
You’ve reached Michael Abioye’s inbox. This is a general notice informing you of Michael Abioye’s absence until January 2nd, 20XX. He is currently partaking in the traditions of a certain holiday, which may or may not be denominational or non-denominational. Example Company is in no way endorsing or not endorsing said holiday, nor encouraging or discouraging employees of all demographics to engage in celebratory activities. Thank you for your consideration during this festive or not-festive time.
Sincerely,
Management
Out-of-Office Messages When Working from Home
Working from home? Try these OOO messages to let people know you’re taking a break.
16. “I’ll get back to you once I’m back from my long-awaited trip to the fridge.”
If you’re taking a vacation and staying home, your clients or coworkers may still expect you to pop into the office and answer their email. Use this autoresponder to let them know you’re really not available — even if you’re bumming around on the couch.
Example
Hey,
Thanks for your email. I’m on vacation. On the couch. Eating chips. And bingeing Stranger Things for the eighth time (don’t tell anyone).
Unfortunately, I can’t answer your email (even though my office is three feet away). I’ll get back to you once I’m back from my long-awaited trip to the fridge. Bought tickets on TripAdvisor and everything.
I’ll be back in the office on the third and will get back to you then.
17. “Alexa, play Vacation by Dirty Heads.”
Do you own an Alexa? This might be the email for you.
Example
“Alexa, play Vacation by Dirty Heads.”
And… it’s playing in the background as I write this email. Guess what? I’m on vacation! And I do love my occupation.
Your email has been received and I’ll get back to you as soon as I get back to my home office. Now, how do I turn off this Alexa thing?
18. “The doorbell just rang. It’s the UPS driver. He’s loading me onto the truck.”
In this email, you’re a UPS package getting delivered to your vacation destination. Ah, I wish UPS offered this service.
Example
Hey — you’ve reached my inbox, but hold on, the doorbell just rang. It’s the UPS driver. He’s loading me onto the truck. Dang, it’s stuffy in this truck with all these boxes. He’s taking me down to… Oh! Florida! And now I’m on the beach. Thanks, UPS driver!
The UPS driver is scheduled to pick me back up on the eighth. He should deliver me back to the office by the ninth (assuming he’s not late like he was this time).
Don’t worry — I’ll wrap myself in bubble wrap so nothing breaks.
Funny OOO Messages Never Fail
Are you fully inspired by the creative out-of-office messages above? It’s time to write your own — your upcoming vacation depends on it. Try HubSpot’s OOO Email Generator if you’re feeling stuck, and remember, an out-of-office email doesn’t need to be boring. On the contrary, it should inform and entertain. You don’t want people hating on you because you took a much-needed break.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

It’s 2021, and we’re still talking about marketing and sales alignment. One of the core value propositions of marketing automation is to bring these teams together. By delivering marketing and segmentation to sales and user behavior and sales transparency to marketing, both teams get the information they need, and overall business operations become more efficient and effective.  
Not only does Pardot Einstein unify internal teams around real-time buyer insights, it helps them plan for the future too, using artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize consumer intent, identify the highest-priority leads, and prioritize the deals most likely to close. 
AI use has surged in recent years; a whopping 84% of marketers report using it, according to the Salesforce State of Marketing report. At the same time, some organizations hesitate to embrace AI for a few reasons: 

AI tools appear too complicated to implement and use
AI functionality threatens to replace human jobs
AI algorithms lead to a fear of receiving vague or biased insights that are difficult to act on

But in practice, AI doesn’t have to be overly complicated or a replacement for anything but the most redundant tasks. And companies that rely on AI see a 40% increase in productivity according to a recent study by Accenture. Pardot Einstein grows the capacity for marketing to understand the customer journey and enhances operational efficiency by using fewer resources to provide the right message to the right customer at the right time, augmenting our human intelligence instead of replacing it. 
Let’s take a look at how marketing and sales teams can use Pardot Einstein and the full suite of Pardot marketing automation features to turbocharge marketing impact and align their entire business strategy.
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO PARDOT EINSTEIN
After logging into my Salesforce customer success platform, the first thing I do every day as a marketer is open my Pardot Lightning application, which is customized to show the information that I care about most.  
Here’s a closer look at different elements of my Pardot Lightning instance. 

Shown above: On the left side of the GIF, I’ve embedded the B2B Marketing Analytics dashboard, which gives me a quick overview of the key performance indicators I want to review every morning, including the business currently in our pipeline and potential revenue by campaign. Using a simple customized homepage, I can see the number of opportunities for my organization in each stage, the potential revenue associated with each opportunity, and  the average time it takes for my firm to complete a deal from opportunity conversion to close. In the center of my screen, I can see how much projected revenue is in our company’s pipeline, broken down by our Connected Campaigns.  

Shown above: Following the pipeline details section, I can review engagement data for all of our Pardot assets including email campaigns, forms embedded in our customer-facing website, and completion of campaign-specific landing pages. This helps me measure the daily performance of our digital marketing campaigns and see how my marketing strategy is impacting both the deal cycle and the firm’s overall business goals. Best of all, I don’t need analysts to model data or run comparative reports on asset performance. Everything is right in front of me in my Pardot Lightning app so I can make fast decisions based on real-time data.

Shown above: On the right side of my Pardot Lightning application, I see Pardot Einstein Insights. This section showcases data at both the individual campaign and organization level. And because it’s all derived from AI, I don’t waste time on tedious manual comparisons. 
Pardot Einstein Insights helps me demystify asset and campaign impact to understand which of my digital marketing efforts are effective and which ones are underperforming. In this case, I’ve identified that a particular Brand Launch email is resonating with prospects, and I want to incorporate this email into a nurture campaign, using Einstein to determine fit and intent data and assign the best leads to sales. 
I can streamline this process by automating the lead handoff to sales. To do this, I’ll funnel prospects into an Engagement Studio campaign, serve them with relevant information about our brand launch, and qualify those prospects using Pardot Einstein.

Shown above: Here’s Engagement Studio in action. Instead of throwing every form submission at our sales team or using a labor-intensive manual process to qualify and assign leads, we only send the highest-quality leads to sales to make the best use of everyone’s time. In this scenario, if a prospect has reached our ideal Einstein Lead and Behavior Score after our Brand Launch announcement email, we know they are marketing qualified, so we pass that lead to sales. 
Now I’m going to switch gears and put on my sales hat. As a sales rep, I can easily segment this data to prioritize newly assigned leads based on Pardot Behavior Score by using pinned list views within the application.

Shown above: I can prioritize my day around the prospects with the highest fit and intent data determined by Pardot Einstein. When I open an individual record, I can see positive running factors, such as which KPIs are driving their behavior score and which campaigns the prospect is most interested in.

Shown above: My sales outreach process is smarter and more efficient thanks to data and insights delivered in real time. 
AI is changing the way that businesses interact with — and act on — data.  The insights from Pardot Einstein are specific, digestible, and actionable for marketing and sales, aligning these teams more closely than ever before. B2B Marketing Analytics, Campaign Insights, and Behavior Score allow marketers and sales reps to make faster, smarter decisions with usable data. Our very jobs are augmented for the better.   
Check out more use cases for AI in marketing, and find additional B2B marketing insights from Tigh at his website.

We’ve built HubSpot on the belief that you earn attention by being of value. That belief is at the very heart of HubSpot’s success; creating remarkable content is what makes a remarkable brand.
We’ve spent the past decade investing in educational content to help all kinds of business builders be successful. Marketing, sales, customer support, customer success, product, engineering, entrepreneurs are all helping to build and grow businesses. And, we’ve provided free education through our blogs, YouTube, Academy, and podcasts to help.
With nearly 114,000 customers now using HubSpot to scale their companies, our ambitions around content have only gotten bigger.
It’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of HubSpot’s Podcast Network, a new audio destination that is home to six great shows that represent a wide range of business topics and backgrounds. Together, this collection covers the scope and mastery every company needs to find success. The inaugural members of the network are:

Entrepreneurs on Fire, which delivers the inspiration and strategies you need to fire up your entrepreneurial journey and create the life you’ve always dreamed of.

Business Infrastructure, which provides solutions and real-life stories to owners and operators of fast-growing small businesses seeking practical tips for creating the operations and business infrastructure needed to grow a company.

Being Boss, an exploration of not only what it means, but what it takes to be boss as a creative business owner, freelancer, or side-hustler.

The MarTech Podcast, which tells stories of marketers who use technology to generate growth and achieve success by unearthing the successes and pitfalls of industry experts and the tools and tips that they’ve learned along the way.

The Salesman Podcast, which helps sales professionals learn how to find buyers and win business in a modern, effective, and ethical way.

My First Million, where the hosts brainstorm new business ideas based on trends and opportunities in the market, and share the stories of how companies made their first million.

Why a Podcast Network?
We believe the popularity of audio will continue to grow. It’s a media format that is continuing to evolve and get better.
Companies like Apple and Spotify are investing more in podcasts, and companies like Clubhouse are innovating in how we consume and connect around audio.
More and more people are listening to podcasts. In fact, more than 116 million people in the USA listen to podcasts monthly — that’s over 61% growth in under three years. Each week more Americans listen to a podcast than have Netflix accounts.
But, one common challenge for people is how to discover great podcasts, ones that can help them unlock their problems and provide them with the inspiration to do better. As the number of podcasts grows, how do you find the ones that are best for you?
HubSpot’s Podcast Network brings together the best in class business shows that educate and inspire – all in one place.  It will help introduce people to new shows, episodes and creators who can help unlock their next phase of growth.
The Podcast Network will help us to reach and serve millions of business builders, and we’re excited to keep adding new creators and shows so our audience can get the best content from whoever can serve them best.
What’s Next
We want to continue to be the premier source of education for business builders, but we also want to pair that education with stories that inspire.
We want to shine a light on the experts, brands, and leaders who’ve overcome their obstacles, disrupted their markets, and have remarkable things to say. We want to make sure our audience has the latest trends that matter to them and help them understand what those trends mean for their careers and business.
We want to ensure all business builders have the content they need in whatever medium they choose to consume it, whether it’s a blog post, newsletter, podcast, or video.
With the acquisition of the Hustle back in February, and by launching our podcast network, we’re working to ensure our audience gets the best content from HubSpot’s media team, and the creators who can educate and inspire them.
Learn more about the HubSpot Podcast Network here.

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Keeping donors connected and engaged can feel daunting, especially during challenging times. The good news is that nonprofits continue to show that they have captive audiences, so you just need the right approach to foster ongoing engagement with new and returning donors.
We got your back. Here’s everything you need to know to create impactful email campaigns.
Why email marketing is the right channel for nonprofits
COVID-19 upended nearly every industry, yet it emphasized the importance of empathy and humanity. Due to canceled charity events, nonprofit email marketing was on the rise. There’s been a nearly 40% YoY growth in send volume for this sector in March 2020. 
Nonprofit is traditionally one of the best-performing industries in email marketing. The same was true even during the pandemic. In March 2020, nonprofits saw an open rate of 29.3% — up 4.4% from March 2019. What’s more, click-through rates rose to 3.50% in March and 3.94% in April.
Read these actionable tips on how to engage donors and start capitalizing on increased interest for donations.
7 ways to engage donors in an email newsletter
One of the biggest challenges with nonprofit email newsletters is how to attract donors’ attention and keep them engaged without creating an email that’s too long to read. Let’s look at a few tips on how to create compelling email newsletters to boost donor engagement. 
1. Use segmentation to reach the right people
When it comes to email segments, the list is almost endless. Understanding different segments will help you attract different audiences. Ultimately, you should determine your segments based on the goals you want to reach, especially since each segment can accomplish different goals. Read on to learn about your nonprofit email segmentation options and find out which ones are right for you.
Location
Of all the different attributes that divide people, location is perhaps one of the most prominent. Language, weather, and a dozen other aspects of location play a role in our daily lives.
Because of this, sending localized messages to your subscribers can be a highly personal way to appeal to donors. Start by creating segments that group your subscribers by various geographic locales, and keep each place in mind any time you send an email to this particular group. 
Demographics
Another great way to create segments is using demographics to target people of different ages and genders. This is especially helpful for nonprofits that attract donors of a certain age or if one gender is more charitable for certain causes. 
Women donors give substantially more support for female-focused causes. According to a study funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, between 60% and 70% of women’s donations online benefited women’s and girls’ organizations. 
Adding more non-required fields on your email signup form or including a survey to find out more details about your donors can help you create more targeted campaigns. 
Email and website activity
Consider separating subscribers based on past email behavior. The behavior-based segmentation method can make your subscribers’ experience better and more intuitive. 
For instance, if you notice subscribers only open emails from you once a month, consider placing them into a segment where they only receive a monthly newsletter and the occasional donation request.
On the other hand, if you notice high engagement with every email you send, you might increase send frequency.
In one of its newsletters, charity:water used segmentation based on demographics to raise awareness of the problem women are facing and how access to clean water can change a woman’s life. 

Source: Mailcharts
2. Leverage personalization to tailor relevant messages
Subscribers of nonprofits and for-profit companies alike want relevant emails—ones that appeal to their interests and values (not to mention a genuine connection to the organization itself). Because of this, it’s crucial that your nonprofit creates relevant material for subscribers each and every time you email them.
According to a study from Campaign Monitor and Qgiv, donors prefer email over any other form of nonprofit communication. But meeting donors where they are is only half the battle. You know donors want to communicate with your nonprofit through email, but the emails have to be high-quality, thoughtfully-cadenced, and relevant.
In other words, personalization is the missing ingredient to an email strategy that works. Not only does personalized email marketing increase click-throughs, but personalized subject lines are also 26% more likely to be opened.
The question is: where to start? 
Donor personas
Similar to the demographic-based messaging we discussed above, you can create a custom segment based on donor personas. In short, you’ll need to create personas that represent different donors on your list.
For example, if you’re targeting males 25-30 who make $60k per year, you could create and use a custom segment for them. This would allow for personalized email campaigns every time.
This approach can take various forms. Perhaps you use existing segments (e.g., demographics) to create the persona, or maybe you approach it from a goals and pain points perspective.
Whatever elements you choose to build your persona, consider implementing a donor persona checklist like Qgiv:

Source: Qgiv
3. Create a pleasant cross-device experience
We live in an omnichannel world. Smartphones have become an inevitable part of our everyday life. 
According to M+R Benchmarks, half of all nonprofit website traffic last year came from mobile and tablet users. Data shows that mobile users grew as a share of traffic by 11%, as a share of donation transactions by 17%, and as a share of revenue by 21%.
Nonprofits should ensure their donation pages are optimized for mobile to make the most out of this trend. Creating a pleasant cross-device experience should be at the top of every nonprofit’s priority list. 
4. Write captivating copy that tells a story
Every nonprofit has an important message to share. However, in today’s world, when people are bombarded with thousands of messages each day, standing out can be hard. 
The best way to captivate donors’ attention is by telling a story. Emotions trigger actions. They motivate us. Using the right words to paint a picture is the closest you can get in letting other people feel another person’s pain.  
Storytelling gives us the power to evoke strong emotions.
Without empathy, email newsletters are just another email in the donor’s inbox. 
Australian Red Cross crafted emotional copy, supported with pictures and a quote to motivate people to help affected communities from the volcano eruption in Vanuatu. 

Source: Campaign Monitor
5. Include social proof to boost engagement
People are more likely to engage in action if other people are doing it. It’s basic social psychology. If you want to encourage people to take part, show them evidence that they’ll be a part of a larger group that’s already participating. 
Displaying the number of books sold forces people to buy a book, showing the number of people subscribed to a newsletter, makes others click the subscribe button. It’s the same for nonprofits. 
Sharing numbers about other donors can build trust and encourage people to follow the actions of others and donate. 
Care Australia uses social proof to tap into the basic human instinct to be part of something bigger. They share results to build trust and credibility and create a loyal base of online donors.

Source: Really Good Emails
6. Decide on the frequency and be consistent
Consistency is key in every email marketing effort. Show up regularly in people’s inbox. Tell a story, share results, ask for action — communicating regularly with donors it’s the key to success. 
Your goals should be staying top of mind. So instead of reaching out only when there’s a need for donation, decide on the frequency of your email newsletter and be consistent with email cadences. 
7. Add a clear call to action
Focus on a single call to action. Instead of overwhelming readers with different links and buttons, focus on the most important goal for each email newsletter. 
Sometimes it will be taking action, another time reading a story or sharing results — but always make sure that you are giving donors clear instruction on what they should do next. 
The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation is on a mission to improve the health and wellbeing of Victoria’s children by providing superior healthcare services for adolescents and their families. Email marketing is an essential part of their fundraising communications. With a strong message and a clear call to action, they build a highly engaged supporter base that includes some of their most generous donors.

Source: Campaign Monitor
Wrap up
With all these tips under your belt, you are ready to create a successful email marketing campaign and bring the right people. 
Attract supporters, send beautiful emails, and see stunning results with easy-to-use email drip campaigns. 
Ready to start your donor campaign? Campaign Monitor can help you spread your mission and reach your goals easier than ever. Here’s how. 
The post 7 Ways To Engage Donors in an Email Newsletter appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

Ah, Clubhouse versus podcasts — an age-old debate.
Just kidding. But, while both of these audio tools are relatively new to the business world (in fact, Clubhouse is less than two years old), they’ve both attracted large, engaged audiences.
And, even though each audio tool is vastly different, they serve similar purposes.
Hear me out: Podcasts, at their core, are meant to inspire and provoke interesting conversations around a variety of topics, including crime shows, celebrity interviews, health and fitness, or business and entrepreneurship (to name a few).
Clubhouse operates on a similar principle: to encourage lively conversations and debates around a variety of niche topics. As Clubhouse Founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth have said, “The thing we love most is how voice can bring people together.”
That message — of the importance of voice to bring people together — is just as true for podcasts as it is for Clubhouse.
Which leaves many marketers wondering: Which one is more worth my time?
Here, we’ll explore the pros and cons of investing your time and resources into podcasts vs. audio chat rooms like Clubhouse, and which is ultimately a better long-term decision for your brand.
Since I’m no podcast or Clubhouse expert, I’ve collected the wisdom of various experts on both sides to paint the full picture.
Let’s dive in.

Clubhouse vs. Podcasts: Which Should Marketers Use?
To start, let’s explore a recent survey I conducted on which audio activities people prefer — listening to podcasts, listening and participating in conversations on Clubhouse, or neither:

Data Source
As you can see, the majority of those polled — 75% — prefer listening to podcasts, or doing neither. That leaves Clubhouse as a preference for only one quarter of respondents.
To be fair, podcasts have been around longer than Clubhouse. In fact, the first podcast was created back in 2004, and as of April 2021, there are now over two million podcasts available.
Additionally, one of the major benefits to listening to a podcast is that the content is available on-demand, meaning I can choose when to download and listen — it isn’t live, like Clubhouse. This enables listeners to have complete control over what topics they consume, and when.
A listener might pick-and-choose one pre-recorded crime show episode on her drive to work, for instance, and another episode about parenting on her drive home.
There are a few major benefits to using podcast as a brand awareness or lead generation strategy. Let’s dive into a few of those, now:

Podcasts enable you to reach a younger audience. 49% of U.S. citizens between 12 and 34 listened to a podcast in the previous month — followed by 40% of people ages 35 to 54, and 22% of people ages 55 and above.

Podcast advertisements are powerful. A Nielsen report found podcast ads generate 4.4X better brand recall than display ads, and 61% of consumers who heard a podcast ad were more likely to purchase the featured product.

Podcast provides you with a major reach. 55% (155 million) of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast – up from 51% in 2019.

Podcast is long-form content. Some of the most popular podcasts are well over an hour long — Morbid: A True Crime Podcast (currently #8 on Apple’s Top Charts) episodes range between one hour and one hour, 45 minutes; Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard (currently #18 on Apple’s Top Charts) episodes are roughly one hour, 30 minutes each. This provides you with a ton of opportunity for increasing brand loyalty and, ultimately, conversions.

While these statistics help demonstrate the power of podcast, I wanted to ask a few podcast experts to hear more qualitative insights regarding the “Clubhouse vs. podcast” debate.
Let’s dive into that, now.
Podcast Experts Weigh In: Why is Podcast Better?
To start, I spoke with Matthew Brown, HubSpot’s Senior Podcast Producer.
Brown told me, “One of the key differences between live audio and podcasts are listener behaviors. Live audio is typically a passive engagement, while podcasts are more of an active engagement.”

“On Clubhouse, something might happen at any moment. On a podcast, something should happen at every moment.”

Of course, there’s something tantilizing about listening to live audio — perhaps it’s the authenticity, or the sense that you’re a fly-on-the-wall for a private conversation happening between two people in real time, without the option to edit out any uncomfortableness. But, similar to watching a long, unedited scene of The Real World, it can also get boring. Quickly.
Brown adds, “Clubhouse, and other live audio platforms, just cannot equate to highly-produced and edited podcasts. They’re too dissimilar in almost every way. You know … aside from the whole both involving audio thing.”
Ultimately, if you’re interested in testing out Clubhouse as its own potentially powerful marketing channel, Brown encourages you to consider the needs of that platform as entirely separate from podcasting: “Clubhouse is to podcasts as Twitch is to YouTube. A Twitch streamer takes the best moments of their live stream and packages it up for their YouTube channel.”
“There’s serious benefits in repurposing content. But each channel — and the expectations of creators and audience alike — is fundamentally different. So you need to understand those limitations, and make the best content you can for that given platform.”
There are also some long-term revenue benefits to podcasting. For instance, I asked Zachary Ballenger, CRO at Casted, whether podcasts can ultimately impact a company’s bottom line.
He told me, “Podcasts have the ability to drive real results in terms of leads and revenue. [But] podcasts need to be fully incorporated into your marketing campaigns and amplified across every channel to be effective — including blog posts, social media, landing pages, and ad retargeting.”

Jacob Penn, a Corporate Analytics Manager at iHeartMedia, agrees that podcasting is a more proven strategy for long-term ROI. He says, “Being trustworthy has allowed podcast hosts to build long-term connections with listeners and turn host-read ads into a very native experience. That’s why 53% of podcast listeners actually enjoy hearing ads.”

“Businesses can use podcasts as a vehicle to reach listeners who are in a mindset to new messaging.”

Penn adds, “As of today, Clubhouse is still in their infancy phase and we don’t know how users will interact with this platform in the long term. With podcasts, they have been around for over 20 years and brands are beginning to realize their potential as an advertising platform. That is why over $1 billion in ad revenue is expected in podcasts in 2021.”
Simply put: Podcasts have a proven track record of success for business growth, but only when done effectively. (Interested in starting your own? Take a look at Everything You Need to Know About Starting a Podcast in 2021.)
Holly Shannon, Producer & Host of the Culture Factor 2.0 and author of the book Zero To Podcast, says that podcasting is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to reach new audiences. She told me, “The question I ask leaders is, Are you your industry’s best-kept secret? If the answer is yes, then podcasting could be a way to create content that serves your business in many ways.”
“For one,” She says, “It can highlight you and your team as thought leaders. This allows you to speak authentically and bring your value to the table for all to hear globally, which can result in other keynote speaking opportunities and lead generation.”
Shannon is also a fan of podcasting as an opportunity for content repurposing. She suggests using the podcast transcripts as SEO-optimized blog posts on your website after-the-fact, as well as using pieces of that audio for subsequent social media posts.
A podcast is also a good opportunity to create a sense of community — and you can engage with that community offline, as well. As Shannon suggests, “Podcasting enables you to create a community of listeners, subscribers, and followers. This community can be served later with virtual or live conferences — thus creating a pathway to monetization.”
Can the same be said for Clubhouse? Let’s dive into that perspective, next.
Clubhouse Experts Weigh In: Why Is Clubhouse Better?
HubSpot’s Marketing Manager Chris Eberhardt is in charge of HubSpot’s Clubhouse programming for the HubSpot Marketing Club, so he’s seen first-hand the power of Clubhouse for business.

Eberhardt told me, “Clubhouse can be a good option for a company that wants to create a presence in audio but wants to avoid the saturation and production quality involved in podcasts.”

He adds, “But it’s important to understand that the use case for Clubhouse is actually different than the use case for podcasts. Podcasts are on-demand, whereas Clubhouse is live social audio. It’s an important difference: Podcasts can be scripted and highly-produced, whereas Clubhouse is closer to a live radio show.”
Eberhardt would recommend using Clubhouse for the following reasons:

You don’t have enough bandwidth/resources to create a high-quality podcast.
You want to more easily differentiate your brand on Clubhouse (since the podcast marketplace is more heavily saturated).
You want to form a space to connect with your audience directly, and open up the rooms for audience questions and engagement.
You want one of your leaders to build their brand in the space.

Eberhardt says, “It’s important you use Clubhouse as a live space for authentic conversation and connection — not to lecture. For instance, perhaps you start a reaction room for a big announcement or product launch, develop a format for a live show that you run on a consistent basis, bring on guests with large followers early to build a presence, or start a club that your brand hosts.”
Benjamin Shapiro, host of the Martech Podcast, agrees that Clubhouse is a potentially powerful option for brand growth.

He adds, “While the interactive social features are unique to the times, my belief is that live-streaming audio services will settle into a medium of content distribution that is most relevant during real-world events.”
Additionally, Krystal Wu, HubSpot’s Social Community Marketing Manager, is a fan of audio spaces as the host of a weekly Twitter Space, and she does see plenty of benefits to audio spaces over podcasts.
Wu told me, “I host weekly Twitter Spaces to connect with marketers. I love it because it’s more of a feature to an enhance a product, versus a product in itself. I’ve found I can have short, random discussions or longer, more in-depth discussions.”

“Either way, it’s real, in-the-moment content that podcasts otherwise can’t offer.”

Wu adds, “I think podcasts is more of an opportunity to educate and listen to other people’s stories while multitasking on other things. Looking to clean my house for 30 minutes? Great — I’ll play a podcast for that 30-minute timeframe so I can match it up … Spaces, on the other hand, is more in-the-moment communication — you don’t exactly know what you’ll get, and that’s what’s neat about it.”
If you’re interested in testing out Clubhouse for your own business, take a look at How to Use Clubhouse: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Why not both?
Of course, there’s one other option we haven’t yet considered: Should you try both?
Any good marketer knows the importance of testing out various channels and iterating on a marketing strategy over time based on those results. So, if you’re unsure whether your audience prefers Clubhouse or podcasts, you might want to test both.
You might even find that both tools work well together to create a more cohesive, powerful marketing strategy. 
For instance, Asad Zulfahri, a Principal Marketing Manager at HubSpot, told me: “I run a weekly room on Clubhouse, and then that session gets recorded to form a podcast. Those who attend live can also participate in the Q&A at the end. I then summarize the Clubhouse content into a blog post as well, for an additional distribution option.”
“Clubhouse can be an easy entry-point to those who are thinking about podcasting. You can practice speaking publicly and then record the session (with permission, of course).”
For instance, take a look at Asad’s Clubhouse live room:

… And then, Asad’s post-Clubhouse podcast episodes:

You might try this for a few weeks, and then iterate if you feel the majority of your audience prefers one channel over the other.
Shannon agrees, saying, “Clubhouse to me does not have to be a zero sum game. I believe it’s highly complementary.”
For instance, she suggests trying to record your podcast interview live on Clubhouse, which enables you to host a Q&A post-interview and engage with your community. (Plus, if you’re not happy with the Q&A portion, you can always cut it post-production.) Alternatively, she says you might do a pre-show where you speak with your audience to crowdsource questions for your podcast guest.
Shannon told me, “Today, you need to be open to where you can find your audiences. Algorithms within each platform fluctuate, and thus change when your followers see your posts. So if you can jump onto new platforms as an early adopter, you get traction. I’m a big advocate of cross-pollinating audiences, and diversifying where your brand shows up.”
Ultimately, Clubhouse and podcasts serve different purposes and meet the needs of vastly different audiences.
As Shapiro asserts, “There will be scenarios where live broadcasts are going to be the most relevant way to engage a community (i.e. interact with a MarTech conference live from your desk). There are also scenarios when on-demand content will be the more relevant medium (i.e. learn about MarTech by listening to a podcast on your morning commute).”

“There is going to be a place in the world for both live and on-demand content in audio, just like with text (blogs versus Twitter) and video (TV versus Netflix).”

If you’re unsure which is best-suited for your brand, consider a few important factors — including your team goals and priorities, the amount of resources you have available for audio recording, and whether you can test Clubhouse or podcasting on a small scale before going all-in on your audio tool of choice.
Listen, learn, and grow with the HubSpot Podcast Network. HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business.

Start improving your email list management and get more value out of your email campaigns in 2021. Here are 12 ways, examples, and tools to get you started.