Four Email Best Practices to Maximize Your Hospital Foundations’ Digital Fundraising
By Nat Philp, Content and Account Manager
January 14, 2022
If you’re anything like us, you’re constantly obsessing over every aspect of your fundraising emails. What can I do to boost my open rate? Is my content engaging enough? What changes can I make to raise more money? The smallest details can make or break your email campaign. As you know, less engagement means fewer donations. And that leaves your foundation with less to invest in your patients, caregivers, and community.
Here are four simple email best practices to set you up for fundraising success:
1. Use your physicians and clinical staff to your advantage.
Emails from a physician or other clinical leader can produce open rates 2-3x the industry average*. Your supporters see them as trustworthy, familiar, and authoritative. And they can provide a unique perspective about the impact of philanthropy. As an added bonus, engaging with physicians is a great way to build a relationship between clinical staff and your foundation. *(Source: Digital Health Strategies Internal Data)
2. Yes, the subject line matters — more than you’d think!
The subject line is the first piece of content your supporters see in their inboxes. It should be catchy, engaging, and make the reader want to learn more. Avoid direct asks in your subject line, be careful with emojis and punctuation, and be concise. This ensures that your message gets through spam filters and is opened by your supporters. When in doubt, use A/B testing.
3. Find a time that suits your supporters.
Even half an hour’s difference in send times can have a drastic impact on your engagement rates. Every audience is different, so it’s important to take a look at your personal trends. In general, avoid sending fundraising emails on the weekends, late in the afternoon, or very early in the morning. For us, 8:30 am is usually a safe bet.
4. Keep your ask simple.
Your email should have a single call to action: “Donate now, Honor Your Caregiver℠ today,” or “register soon.” Too many asks can clutter your email and cause confusion for your supporters. Make sure that your ask is direct, and make it as simple as possible for your supporters to follow through.
Want to learn more?
At Digital Health Strategies, we obsess over the details so that you don’t have to. Through years of working with non-profit hospital foundations of all sizes, we’ve identified the trends that drive success in digital fundraising. If you’re ready to learn more and maximize your fundraising opportunities, we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email and let’s get to work!
