Category: Marketing Automation

This article is part of a larger series that focuses on diversity and equity in marketing through the amplification of Black and racially diverse authors. As a company, we are committed to identifying actions we can take in the fight against racism and injustice, and elevating BBIPOC voices is paramount to inspiring change. Follow along and read other posts in this series here.

This post is authored by Juanita Velez, Multicultural Marketing Expert and Founder of HYPE.
2020. What a year.
In less than nine months, you’ve brought to light the important issues that have been swept under the rug of many brands and pressured them to share actionable next steps on how to address them. As conscious consumers, our thumbs have eagerly been scrolling through Instagram carousels, reading brand statements, or black squares shared in hopes to find one that supports our values. 
While the discussion around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been the focal point of our attention; all too often we’ve forgotten, dismissed, and maybe even replaced the effort of teams responsible for researching, learning and ultimately building a business case for marketing to diverse audiences. 
Let’s define the terms.
You may have heard of the party analogy when defining DEI:

Diversity is where everyone is invited to the party

Equity means that everyone gets to contribute to the playlist

Inclusion is when everyone has the opportunity to dance

Let’s imagine that we are on the planning committee for this party with an overall goal to increase ticket sales. Think about some of the questions you may have had to work through as a committee before sending the invitations out. Perhaps the below come to mind:

What is the objective of this event? Why are we having it?
What is the desired outcome of the event?
Should the event have a theme? If so, what kind of themes should be considered that will be of interest to everyone we invite?
Why should people want to come to the event? Are there different motivators for different attendees? (What’s in it for them? WIFM)
Who do we want at the event that represents our company’s culture and fulfills our objective?
Should we have more than one event for different audiences?
Who do we need represented to ensure the playlist is diverse and caters to all of our invitees? 

How should we promote our event? What channels do we need to activate on to promote this event and target the invitees where they consume content?
Lastly, the biggest question of the committee: how can we increase sales among the communities that reflect our company’s values, that we want to show up?

The questions you just reviewed are the foundational elements that make up a marketing brief. 
So what’s the connection between DEI and Marketing?
While DEI looks to shape corporate cultures to be more diverse, equitable and just; inclusive multicultural marketing aims at growing the business by investing in research and strategic initiatives to authentically market to multicultural audiences. 
After years of research and building business cases for multicultural marketing initiatives within Fortune 50 brands, I define Multicultural Marketing as a niche within marketing growing a brand’s marketing goals within a clearly defined ethnic/race-specific audience such as Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, LGBTQ+ or perhaps BIPOC and non-multicultural segments as well. This automatically forces this team to be intentional about learning this target audience’s motivations, aspirations and purchase drivers for the brand’s product or service. 
And while we understand that the term multicultural can take on a variety of definitions, it is also equally important to differentiate multicultural marketing from other niches that fall under the marketing umbrella as a profession:

Total Market or General Market Marketing refers to marketing efforts made to reach all consumers in a specific market.

Cross-Cultural Marketing refers to marketing efforts that capitalizes on insights from multicultural and general audiences through shared points of connection in a specific market. 

International Marketing: refers to marketing efforts made to reach international customers capitalizing on cultural insights within a country or region outside of the United States. 

And yes, the above can seem overwhelming, subjective and counterintuitive in a country that’s on an accelerated path to becoming “minority-majority” led by 2040. However, it is extremely important for the differences and similarities to be evaluated thoughtfully and intentionally when building a credible relationship between your brand and audiences that you’re actively seeking. 
Now that we’ve defined the differences between the technical terms, let’s dive into the facts.
In 2016, the Association of National Advertisers’ launched the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) with a mission to create a powerful voice that elevates multicultural and inclusive marketing to promote business growth in an increasingly diverse marketplace. Their efforts have been catalytic in driving awareness of the opportunities that exist. In a 2019 report by AIMM, only 5.2% of marketing and advertising spend was allocated to multicultural efforts even though multicultural consumers make 40% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2016). [One of the many reasons why it’s important to fill out your Census]. Top highlights from the the 2019 report by AIMM that are extremely important to consider as marketers:

The white, Non-Hispanic population has been decreasing since 2016 and is continuing to decline. 

On the flip side, the Multicultural population continues to increase and is expected to be the numeric majority by 2040.

The LGBTQ+ had a buying power of nearly $1 trillion (Bloomberg, “LGBT Purchasing Power Near $1 Trillion, Rivals Other Minorities,” 2016). 
$1 trillion [LGBTQ+] + $3.7 trillion [Multicultural] > Germany’s 2016 GDP ($3.5 trillion), according to The World Bank. 
Multicultural consumers are younger and expected to live longer than their white Non-Hispanic counterparts making their lifetime value as consumers much higher for a brand (according to a 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). 
Diversity is increasing as generations get younger. 42% of the 75 million millennials in America are Multicultural and that percentage only increases with gen Zs. (Nielsen, Multicultural Millennials Are Influencing Mainstream America.)

If brands are looking for growth opportunity, why are advertisers holding back on investment in Multicultural marketing?
Earlier we made a clear distinction between DEI and marketing; however, we’re about to tie it back in because everything is interconnected. 
One of the consequences of insufficient DEI efforts within corporations is the lack of representation within the workforce. When we lack diverse perspectives across teams, especially in marketing departments, our efforts result in non-diverse and inclusive work. The 2018 ANA/AIMM AdSpend Trends Analysis exposed that 50-60% of top U.S. advertisers spend less than 1% of their ad budgets targeting multicultural audiences. This narrow operational mindset has also exposed some truths of why brands don’t allocate more resources:

13% of brands believe they do not need to target diverse groups directly because they reach everyone with their general market efforts. (2018 ANA/AIMM Multicultural and Inclusive Benchmark Survey)
14% think they do not need to segment because purchase triggers and universal truths for their brands are the same for all segments. (2018 ANA/AIMM Multicultural and Inclusive Benchmark Survey)
15% do not have the bandwidth or expertise (2018 ANA/AIMM Multicultural and Inclusive Benchmark Survey)

With a global pandemic and social injustice movements pressuring brands to take a stance, what will the future of marketing look like?
While I wish I could tell you exact details of what the future holds, 2020 is a literal representation of this dynamic and ever-changing thing we call life. If you were to ask me for my forecasted opinion, I’d share that 2020 has and will accelerate the importance of capitalizing on these unique audiences for accelerated business growth, across all sectors and industries. 
Why? Because culture is shifting.
Younger—more diverse—generations are taking leaps and jumping into leadership positions that hold power and influence. 
Communities are starting to recycle their dollars within, empowering and supporting Black and Brown-owned small businesses to thrive. 
Women of color are taking ownership of their lives and careers disrupting the family lifestyle that has for so long ruled our existence and diminished our control to seize opportunities. 
We are not only growing in population, but also in education. Now more than ever, we have the highest graduating numbers of Black and Latinx students. (National Center for Education)
And as education becomes a power tool for financial growth, our median household incomes and purchasing power are reaching the highest levels that have ever existed. 
If the above doesn’t sound appetizing or necessary for your brand,  reconsider understanding the reality of your target audience. Acknowledging the evolution of your marketing efforts is just as important as updating your product or service over time. It takes research, resources, time, and intentional commitment in understanding these audiences and creating authentic relationships with your brand.
I’ll leave with one last bit of advice – don’t wait until it’s too late. As conscious consumers, we are well aware of the brands that have been there from day one, the ones that are just now starting, but committed and the ones that just want our money. 
Make a conscious effort to win with your actions before you win our pockets. 

 
Juanita Velez is a product of the immigration surge during the 96’ Olympics. Born in Colombia, but raised in the A, she has trail-blazed her way through Atlanta’s UPS and Delta Air Lines corporations as a global social media expert. Having founded HYPE, Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs as part of a solution to a gap she experienced heavily during her corporate climb, Juanita has propelled exponential opportunities for the next generation of multicultural Atlanta. Her true passion is serving others by connecting people in the community to opportunities. Juanita is a social entrepreneur and corporate professional who values humility, vulnerability, compassion and perseverance. She has shaped a career focused on inclusion, opportunity and drive.

Visit this page to see more in the series, or check back for our next guest post.
CM Group is a family of global marketing technology brands including Campaign Monitor, CM Commerce, Delivra, Emma, Liveclicker, Sailthru and Vuture. By joining together these leading brands, CM Group offers a variety of world-class solutions that can be used by marketers at any level. Headquartered in Nashville, TN, CM Group has United States offices in Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York City, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, and global offices in Australia, London, New Zealand and Uruguay.
The post Let’s Call it What it Is: Multicultural Marketing not Diversity, Equity and Inclusion appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

Known as one of the largest concert promoters across Australia and New Zealand, Frontier Touring has continued to establish itself as a respected and long-standing brand over the past four decades. 
With roots reaching back to 1979, Frontier Touring has earned its success promoting the most anticipated tours in Australia and New Zealand. 
However, in more recent and unpredictable times, the strength of the brand has been put to the ultimate test. With restrictions on large, in-person events, the Frontier Touring team is learning to lean on intuitive thinking. And with a little flexibility and support from their email marketing program, the brand has re-established itself on a foundation built to weather any storm—even a global pandemic. 
From sold-out venues to online streaming
Before COVID-19 made its way across the globe, the Frontier Touring team was gearing up for an exciting summer season—the biggest time of the year for the touring industry as a whole. With plans in place to ride out another successful summer, the arrival of the coronavirus was both a shock to the brand as well as a devastation for many loyal concert-goers and eager rising artists. 
National health mandates dictated the destiny of many tours, resulting in last-minute cancellations which could lead to communication chaos. Throughout this time, Frontier Touring leaned on email to keep their audience updated on the latest safety procedures and tour cancellations, postponements, and reschedules, always ensuring that fans received information as quickly and efficiently as possible. 
Although the team was hopeful for a shift back to normalcy, they also recognized the fickle nature of that desire. And, instead of banking on a nationally mandated change, they began to brainstorm ways they could take advantage of their digital presence. 
Digital Senior Manager of Frontier Touring Sarah Dileo says, “the start of COVID-19 kicked off a period of uncertainty for us all, both personally and professionally. The nature of live music and events means that we are often planning months, and sometimes years, in advance. The ever-changing nature of COVID-19 and the subsequent restrictions and regulations meant that we no longer had that luxury; we had to make decisions and announcements much more quickly than usual, and ensure that our community and ticket holders were advised of them in the clearest, most concise and speediest way possible.”
The Frontier Touring audience is made up of music lovers, who live for the transcendence that accompanies the live performance experience. And as a brand, it’s Frontier Touring’s primary mission to connect that lively audience with artists who are thirsting for exposure. To continue to meet this goal, Frontier Touring parent company, Mushroom Group introduced Music From the Home Front, The State of Music and The Sound. 
Accessible via YouTube and live television, Music From the Home Front aired as a one-off broadcast event on Anzac Day, and welcomed over 1 million viewers. The State of Music was featured as a six-episode series, broadcasted weekly on both Facebook and YouTube, and boasted a combined viewership of 2 million+. And The Sound debuted as a six-episode television series that Mushroom Group produced with ABC celebrating the Australian music scene with exclusive live performances and interviews. 

COVID-19 changed the content, but the message stayed the same.
For Frontier Touring, the structure of digital event announcements doesn’t look much different from the structure of traditional tour announcements, allowing the team to maintain some established consistency in their email communications. 
Recognizing that a shift in content would be their key to continued engagement, the Frontier Touring team revisited their strategy to be sure subscribers could get the most out of every send. Instead of a call to action to purchase tickets for an upcoming tour, there are now links to Youtube and social accounts for virtual attendance. 
The team also has a hand in reminding audiences of their love for artists and live events by offering a link to donate to Support Act and MusicHelps, two local charities within the music industry that are raising money for artists who are affected by COVID-19 and sharing other ways to help support live music.
Dileo says, “Support Act and MusicHelps are already invaluable organizations during ‘normal’ times, but during the era of COVID-19 they are irreplaceable. To use our platforms to raise awareness and funds for Support Act and MusicHelps felt like an absolute no-brainer.”

Quick thinking and easy-to-use tools make for a successful shift in strategy.
As for most brands, Frontier Touring’s overall email strategy drastically changed as a result of the pandemic. Monthly newsletters shifted to communicate all of the upcoming tours and the current status on those tours. 
More recently, the team is now using these monthly updates as an opportunity to engage with their audience in ways they never had before. Many newsletters now feature artist highlights, which introduce subscribers to new music and offer updates on what their favorite artists are currently up to. 

In the past, Frontier Touring relied on a template to create monthly newsletters. But with such rapid changes occurring so frequently, Campaign Monitor’s drag-and-drop editor was their saving grace when it came to pushing out new information—and getting it out fast. 
Dileo says, “We have no idea how to predict what’s going to happen next, so Campaign Monitor has been very helpful for us when we are acting fast to get out ever-changing information. There’s no better way to communicate with people directly than with email. And direct communication is really important when we’re talking about a tour for the following week that has been cancelled, postponed or rescheduled—that information has to get out fast.” 
The post From Sold Out Venues to Online Streaming: How Frontier Touring Pivoted with Email Marketing appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

Article first published October 2016, updated September 2020
The holiday season is one of the busiest and most lucrative times of the year for many businesses. And this year, that final push to make last quarter revenue will be more important than ever. 
Last year, holiday sales passed the $1 trillion mark for the first time, breaking the previous year’s record. In fact, the industry has set a new record every holiday season since 2002—except for 2008. And while the 2008 recession does give some idea of what we’re up against, it’s impossible to predict how this year’s holiday season will play out compared to previous years.
However, this year has also seen massive growth in e-commerce penetration: 10 years worth of growth in 3 months to be exact. There are opportunities for brands to make up for poor performance earlier in the year, whether they’re massive businesses or teams of one and two.
If you want your holiday sales season to be merry and bright, you’ll need a solid email marketing plan. Email allows you to connect personally with your biggest fans and attract new buyers with exclusive promotions and rewards programs.
We’re hosting a webinar on October 13th, 2020 to help you and you build and adapt your holiday email marketing strategy. To learn more and register, click here.
Read on to discover tips for adapting your strategy to make this holiday season one of your best.
Why email makes the best holiday marketing tool
Holidays—no matter what time of the year—provide an excellent opportunity to reach out to not only current subscribers, but to help generate even more leads by promoting the need to “share” the value you offer to your subscriber’s family and friends.
Emails are made for our mobile world
Your subscribers rely on their smartphones and tablets for all kinds of information, and research shows a growing number of consumers are doing their holiday shopping on mobile devices. In the past four years, purchases made on mobile devices jumped from 3.4% to 36.7%, according to a report by Castor. In addition, a whopping 76% of Black Friday emails and 63% of Cyber Monday emails were opened on a mobile device, according to Movable Ink. In this busy season, we can help you keep your customers up to date and purchasing with our mobile-ready email templates.
Emails offer instant buying options
Research shows 41% of retailers will use “Buy Now” buttons in their email marketing, making it extremely simple for subscribers to make a purchase. By using a call-to-action button in your email, you can highlight a gift, a special offer, or even an event that a subscriber can buy in a matter of a couple of clicks. Keep in mind your customers are just as busy as you are during this time of year, and anything that can speed up their holiday shopping will benefit them, and your business.
Emails can support all of your campaigns
Businesses can use email to promote sales, invite subscribers to holiday events, showcase unique gift ideas or even gift guides—the list is endless. It allows business owners to reach out to customers regularly and stimulate sales throughout the season. Email can also support other marketing initiatives, such as social media sales, contests, and reward programs.
Automation and personalization makes email more effective and efficient
The holidays are busy in every way, so put marketing automation to use by automating a variety of your email campaigns, from welcome emails to offers and reminders. To get ideas, check out these 9 inspiring examples that use marketing automation. Additionally, you can segment your emails to create personalized messages, as personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates.

How to write holiday subject lines your subscribers can’t resist
Use power words
Some words are more attention-grabbing than others. When crafting your subject lines, use these power words:

Sales-driven: Hot deal, promotion, discount, savings, free shipping
Timeliness: Order now, limited-time, today-only, last minute, Open now, Exclusive
Holiday: Good cheer, 12 Deals of Christmas, Season’s Greetings
Words of gratitude: Thank you, appreciation, your support

Personalize your subject line
Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened, so it’s worth your time to add a subscriber’s first name to the subject line this holiday season. You should also consider other ways you can personalize your campaigns to deliver the kind of experiences your subscribers expect. You can gain heaps of personalization ideas here and use this checklist for success.
Consider adding emoji 

Add a holiday snowman, stars, or a tree to your subject line to grab attention. Brands using emoji in their subject lines have seen a 45% increase in their unique open rates. An emoji is a great eye-catching option to add some holiday flair. Did you know the snowman emoji drives the highest open rates?
Ask a question
Questions are automatically engaging, which is why they’re great for subject lines. Try something like, “Need some gift ideas?” or “Want your gifts wrapped and delivered to your front door?” Turn the content that’s inside your email into a question.
Put your offer front and center
With so many emails hitting subscribers’ inboxes this season, don’t make them hunt for your offer. Feature it prominently in your subject line to capture their attention and get them to open and read the rest of your email. If you offer free shipping, you’ll be off to a good start, as 74% of consumers say free shipping is one of the most important features when checking out online, according to a report by UPS.
Holiday email examples to inspire
Just as there are various holidays to celebrate throughout the year, there are even more email examples out there to help guide your creative process. Below, we’ve compiled a short list to get you started.
Promote your Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale
According to data from RJ Metrics, the days from Black Friday to Christmas generate 50–100% more revenue than other shopping days throughout the rest of the year. Birchbox sent subscribers a Black Friday offer a day early, which seems to be the current trend, with offers going out earlier and earlier each year.

Send a holiday gift guide
Despite the fact that shoppers have the internet at their fingertips, many still wait until the last minute to do their shopping. In 2016, sales dropped 3% in November but surged as December came to an end. Last-minute shopping has seen a 6% year-over-year growth, according to RetailNext.
The reason this happens is shoppers aren’t sure what to purchase for family and friends. If inspiration is what your customers need, give it to them. Create a gift guide that gives subscribers some ideas. Here’s an example of a gift guide from Rip Curl that offers content for girls and guys:

You can send more than one gift guide throughout the season by breaking them into categories. For instance, send a guide that has gifts for under $10 or gifts for moms. Here are a few categories you can use:

Price point
Title (Mom, Dad, Boss, Teacher, etc)
Hobbies or interests
Age group (Gifts for teens, seniors, etc.)
Stocking stuffers
Color
Product type (Electronics, clothes)

Give a gift for referring a friend
You can use the holidays to grow your customer base by encouraging referrals. Give current subscribers a deal if they refer a friend or pay for a subscription as a gift. Birchbox gives its subscribers deluxe samples when they buy a friend a one-year subscription.

Use popular reference in your email
Here’s a unique idea: send an email that connects one of your products to a holiday song or something in popular culture.
For example, La Mer promotes its product through a unique connection to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Send last minute deals
As mentioned above, there are always last-minute shoppers. In 2015, the average shopper had only completed 53% of their shopping list two weeks before Christmas. De Beers, sent subscribers this email to market to last-minute shoppers.

Send post-holiday emails
When the holidays are over, it doesn’t mean you should stop sending emails. Consider sending a few “post-holiday” deals to your subscribers to nab a few more sales and get shoppers who received gift cards to start using them. Sephora sent this email to subscribers in early January:

Tips to create a perfectly gift-wrapped call to action
These quick tips will help any marketing team craft the perfect call to action.
Use a button
Subscribers shouldn’t have to search for a call to action; it should be obvious. A call-to-action button provides the kind of “look at me” display you want. Subscribers can skim right over hyperlinked text, but it’s nearly impossible to do that with a button. Buttons compel subscribers to click them.
Keep the text short
Your call to action message should be short and to the point, as in two or three words like “Buy Now,” “Get the Deal,” or “Save 40%.” For example, MINIBAR uses the simple words “Shop Now” to encourage clicks.

CTA should lead to a landing page or purchase page
When subscribers click on your call to action, where do they go? Traffic should be directed to a landing page or a page where they can purchase the item or service that matches your email offer. The landing page reassures subscribers that they’re in the right place and makes a direct connection to the specific deal that you’re offering. Sending subscribers to your homepage or to a random spot on your website could cost you a sale.
Check out our guide to landing pages for holiday emails.
Jingle-worthy holiday resources
As you create your holiday emails, take a look at these holiday-centric Campaign Monitor resources to maximize your marketing efforts:

Holiday email marketing trends, dates, and tips you should know
How to get your holiday email marketing ready
4 email marketing tips for the holidays
75 email subject lines to light up your inboxes this holiday
7 successful email delivery tips for the holidays

Don’t forget these lesser-known holidays
While marketing teams highly promote winter holidays, there are many other holidays that can be used to reach out to your subscribers. They don’t even have to be widely popular holidays to be effective, such as the Festival of Sleep Day or Hug Your Cat Day.
When learning how to write a holiday greeting email, it all comes down to the nature of your brand. Not all brands can make good use of Hug Your Cat Day, but an animal shelter or pet store sure can.
That being said, consider these examples of lesser-known holidays that can be used to create an email.
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday falls during those winter months, where holidays are aplenty. However, we like the idea of sending out a Giving Tuesday email because it opens up the doors for getting people involved, while also offering the opportunity for businesses to grow their presence and benefit financially.

Source: Really Good Emails
Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday also falls in the late fall/early winter months, but is a vital holiday for growing brand awareness, especially for newly established brands. Encouraging readers to shop local isn’t only an act of kindness, but also encourages them to pass on word of your small business and shop your online store.

Source: Pinterest
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day falls in early March and is another great holiday for spreading awareness and bringing in new subscribers through the use of referrals. It’s also an excellent way to encourage purchases so that your brand can donate to a local women’s charity.

Source: Pinterest
Sweetest Day
Sweetest day falls in mid-October and is a great way to kick off the holiday season! Spreading the love by sharing “Sweet” deals is a great way to kick off the season of spending, and making good use of incentives encourages readers to take action.

Source: Pinterest
Birthdays
Birthdays are great because they are year-round! Moreover, they are celebrated by all of our loved ones. So, depending on the nature of your brand, you can send a birthday campaign or single email with a special something just for them.

Source: Really Good Emails
Membership Anniversary
Membership anniversaries are another often forgotten “holidays” worth celebrating. These fall on any given day—all depending on when a member/subscriber initially opted in to your product or services.
Show them some extra love on their membership anniversary and watch your customer satisfaction rates go up.

Source: Really Good Emails
Wrap up
By using this holiday email marketing guide, you’ll be on your way to creating and sending emails that resonate with your subscribers.
Remember, planning is everything, so don’t wait. With Campaign Monitor, you can get started on your holiday email marketing now.
The post The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Email Marketing appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

2020 has been an unconventional year for the global economy. As a result, hundreds of nonprofits face dramatic changes in their fundraising efforts. Now, more than ever, charitable organizations are relying on philanthropic opportunities to help raise awareness and reach their financial goals.
Luckily, organizations have over four months to prepare for Giving Tuesday. Nonprofits should maximize this potential by developing an online marketing campaign that broadens reach while increasing donations.
Not sure how to create a strategic email campaign as you plan for Giving Tuesday? Campaign Monitor can help.
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is an international day of contribution. It occurs the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to offset the commercialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For 24 hours, the public is urged to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. What began as a call for simple acts of kindness has evolved into a worldwide movement. The event has raised more than $1 billion for charitable organizations.
Giving Tuesday is successful because of its visibility and a growing desire among communities to help those in need. Social media and the internet provide an expansive platform to share missions and request donations across several networks. This creates a combination of societal pressure, public demonstrations of generosity, and feel-good support.
Nonprofits simply register online for a free donation page to participate. They create a campaign, promote their organization, and accept tax-deductible contributions on Giving Tuesday. Donations received during that time may be eligible for matching gifts. There are no fees associated with the Giving Tuesday campaigns. As a result, any money a nonprofit raises during Giving Tuesday is theirs to keep.
How Giving Tuesday benefits nonprofits
Giving Tuesday is the most philanthropic day of the year. As such, it offers several benefits to nonprofits. Organizations can reach a global audience and raise awareness about their cause. On social media alone, #GivingTuesday received 20 billion impressions last year. As people search for and post about ways to participate in Giving Tuesday, many of them will likely see your organization’s name. Giving Tuesday also promotes the collaboration of ideas between groups. This helps foster creativity, generates success, and exponentially broadens reach.
Additionally, Giving Tuesday provides a terrific opportunity to collect donor data. This is important because an average of 45% of donors make another gift to the same nonprofit the following year. Giving Tuesday helps make initial introductions. Once you’ve collected donor information, you’re able to reach out to those people for future asks. With a clever strategy, nonprofits can capitalize on this event to generate leads and maximize donations.
Impact of email on nonprofit Giving Tuesday marketing strategy
There are many ways to promote your Giving Tuesday campaign. One of the most effective tactics is a strategic personalized email marketing campaign. It’s a great way to spread the word about your mission, reach potential donors, and help achieve your goals.
A strategic email campaign can help you develop a loyal donor base. It expands your reach and drives more donations to your organization. Seventy-eight percent of online users said personalized emails increased their monetary intent. When faced with a personal appeal, people are more inclined to feel a sense of responsibility. This leads them to act.
Use your email campaign to establish a genuine connection with your audience. Donors are more likely to contribute to familiar and trustworthy organizations. Share a story or an image that elicits an emotional response. Show your constituents about why they should care about your cause. Including a clear CTA button in your messages can yield a 25% increase in click-through rates. All of these elements can lead to an increase in readership and a rise in donations.
4 nonprofit email campaigns for Giving Tuesday
Every day, there are nearly 306 billion emails sent and received worldwide. With careful planning, email can be a highly effective way to communicate with your audience. The following examples portray the four major steps to adhere to when planning a successful Giving Tuesday email campaign. 
1. Introductory email
Raise awareness and build excitement with an introductory email leading up to the event. This first send should have a catchy subject line to grab readers’ attention. Content should explain Giving Tuesday and announce your organization’s participation in the movement. Show examples of how constituents’ contributions can help the communities you benefit. By contacting readers in advance, you prepare them to donate the day of the event.
In this effective announcement, Charity: Water does a terrific job of concisely explaining their cause. This is followed by an update on their achievements to date. They set a clear goal for their Giving Tuesday campaign and then they close with a teaser promising more details to come. An eye-catching image at the top of the email draws readers in. A clear CTA link directs people to their website to learn more about their efforts. With this email, Charity: Water has successfully introduced its organization and Giving Tuesday to its viewers.

Source: Really Good Emails
2. Reminder email
It’s likely your audience will be inundated with emails announcing Giving Tuesday campaigns. Stand apart from other nonprofits by sending reminder messages to help keep your message top of mind. Reminder emails can arrive in the days leading up to Giving Tuesday. They could also be used throughout the day of the event. 
Countdown clocks and real-time updates let your supporters know how the campaign is going. These urgent reminders can increase a person’s willingness to share your news with their own contact list. The more people who see your message, the higher the chance you’ll meet your goals.
North Shore Animal League (NSAL) used this tactic for their Giving Tuesday campaign. On the day of the event, they distributed emails that included a countdown clock to show how much time donors had left to act. These emails also included a donation meter to track progress toward their goal throughout the day. 
NSAL used several effective techniques in this campaign. They opened with a large photo of adorable puppies looking for a home. They continue with powerful, emotional wording like “save” and “before the clock runs out.” This creates a sense of urgency for donors to act. Additionally, NSAL includes multiple CTA buttons to encourage readers to donate. However, instead of “Donate here,” the wording focuses on their matching gift option.

Source: Campaign Monitor
3. Letter from a leader
People give to an organization because they have a personal, vested interest in its mission. For that reason, consider sending a Giving Tuesday email from someone personally involved with the charity. Studies show that donors enjoy hearing from a specific person at the organization. Send a testimonial or heartfelt plea from an employee or volunteer. For even greater impact, send an email from a leader in your organization.
By sharing personal stories about your nonprofit’s impact, you’re building a relationship with your audience. You’re no longer an entity asking for money; rather, you’re a group of people with similar passions and interests working together for a greater good.
The Red Cross sent an email on Giving Tuesday from their VP of Humanitarian Services. At the top of the email, she shares a personal note to the recipient. This seems as though she’s forwarding information she thought the reader would particularly enjoy. This section also includes a photo of her with a beneficiary of the Red Cross’s services. This, coupled with her plea for help, has an emotional impact. She’s clearly passionate about the mission of the Red Cross and feels the reader should be too.

Source: Campaign Monitor
4. Thank you email
As a nonprofit, one of your goals is donor retention. It costs 50% to 100% more to obtain new donors than the money you’ll get from them. One of the easiest ways to keep your donors is to show them appreciation.
The final step in your Giving Tuesday email campaign is a thank you email. Once the event has ended, send a message with totals and updates regarding your goals from the campaign. Let people know what they were able to help you achieve. Encourage them to continue to donate to your cause. Include a CTA that directs readers back to your website. Add a personal touch by sending this email from the head of your organization. 
Autism Speaks followed up with their Giving Tuesday donors with this message of appreciation. The organization’s president and CEO sent a heartfelt thanks that complimented their supporters. She reminded everyone that their donations went even further with a matching gift opportunity. The email also offers a CTA button and a link, both of which direct readers to a donation page. With this message, donors feel that their contributions are valued, and the nonprofit extends the possibility for more gifts.

Source: Campaign Monitor
Wrap up
As nonprofits seek philanthropic opportunities, they should begin planning for Giving Tuesday. An effective email campaign strategy can help raise awareness and increase donations. These nonprofit email campaign examples depict the four significant steps to a successful Giving Tuesday campaign: 

Introductory email to announce the campaign and prepare donors to participate
Reminder email to increase awareness and create a sense of urgency
Letter from a leader in the organization to foster relationships and drive passion
Appreciation email to thank all who gave and update them on how their contributions helped you to achieve your goal

With careful planning, a creative strategy, and an effective email campaign, Giving Tuesday can be an extremely beneficial event for nonprofit organizations.
For more information about how we can help your nonprofit prepare a Giving Tuesday email campaign, contact our sales team today.
The post 4 Nonprofit Email Campaign Examples For Your Giving Tuesday Plans appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

We’ve got a lot to learn from our customers. Amid frustrations and challenges that would’ve been incomprehensible before 2020, our customers have found new, creative ways to evolve and pivot to meet their goals—all while doing more with less. 
The grit, the resourcefulness, and the genius exhibited by the brands we get to work with have been inspiring. Cheesy? Maybe, but we tend to get sentimental over customers around here.
So when our customers have ideas about how to improve Campaign Monitor and in turn boost their own success, we listen. Our goal is to continuously innovate in order to meet—and exceed—our customers’ needs.
Kalyn New, our director of product marketing, said it best: “We are always listening to customer feedback and introducing new features that empower our customers to create smart, best-in-class email campaigns.” 
This month, we’ve unveiled a series of new, easy-to-use features to help marketers like you be more productive. These latest updates include the addition of unsubscribe surveys, a smart campaign tagging solution, and new layout templates. 
Campaign Monitor’s newest features
These enhancements are part of Campaign Monitor’s ongoing commitment to provide a modern and intuitive email platform for our customers. We aim to constantly optimize our features and offerings so we can better serve marketers around the world—marketers like you who have a lot on your to-do list and a shrinking amount of time in which to do it.
Unsubscribe survey
The unsubscribe survey is a new tool that gives marketers the option to add a survey when a recipient unsubscribes from their email list. The results provide valuable insights into why subscribers are choosing to opt-out, helping marketers understand how to adjust their email marketing strategy to be more relevant, effective, and targeted with their messaging.
Some amount of list churn is acceptable and even expected. In fact, email marketers see an average of 0.15% of their subscribers opt-out of their lists per month. Even with this normal amount of churn, marketers can still glean important information on how to better serve the subscribers who remain with the insights gained from an unsubscribe survey.

You don’t have to stay in the dark. Instead, our unsubscribe survey tool can quickly reveal the reasons behind the unsubscribes, allowing marketers to adjust their strategy to retain a greater portion of their subscribers.
Campaign tags
A common frustration for marketing teams is the process of organizing, searching, and reporting on all of their email campaigns. With this new tagging feature, teams can create a bespoke organization system, empowering them to work more efficiently and save time when filtering and searching for drafted and sent campaigns.

Tags increase collaboration and decrease limitations by allowing you to add multiple categories to a single campaign, making it a useful collaboration tool for large teams.

For instance, you can tag a campaign by email type, as well as audience segment. You can also create tags around department or team members, empowering every team to operate quickly and efficiently without disrupting the workflow of any other team.
Layout templates
We already offer a wide selection of beautiful, customizable templates via our drag-and-drop builder. To complement these, we added new layout style email templates to the template library. These templates don’t have existing design elements, allowing small business marketers to create an email from scratch without having to go in and change every small design element. 

To make designing an email even simpler, the placeholder text used in these templates outlines best practice guidelines for crafting an effective email. 
What customers say
“The unsubscribe survey is now one of my favorite features,” said an Australian-based industry-leading ticketing provider. “Before we never knew why people were unsubscribing from our emails, so it’s been very helpful to see their answers, especially because people have been very open and honest with their feedback.”
“Campaign Monitor’s new tagging feature allows us to group and categorize emails efficiently — whether by brand, niche, or email purpose,” said Alex Dalland, digital producer at Universal Media Co. “This helps us not only to better view our strategic goals against core metrics, but also easily identify new opportunities.”
Wrap up
Email has come a long way since Campaign Monitor was founded in 2004. What constitutes a beautiful email has changed, but the makings of a sincere, genuine connection have not.
Our mission has always been to provide customers with the tools they need to create meaningful connections with their audiences. Like any good relationship, email is about getting to know your audience and letting them get to know you; it’s a two-way relationship. That’s why we’ve built our tools to help you understand your audience, which in turn allows you to do what you do best: To be yourself and tell your story in your own unique way.
Over 250,000 customers worldwide use our easy-to-use design, personalization, and automation tools to create and deliver stunning emails that drive real business results. 
 
The post Gain Confidence and Build More Effective Email Campaigns appeared first on Campaign Monitor.