Nonprofit Newsletter Tips and Best Tools
Nothing keeps your donors connected to your nonprofit like a great newsletter! With newsletters, you can keep them up-to-date on the latest news and make them feel like they're a part of your incredible work.
To help you on this mission, we've rounded up our top tips and best tools for nonprofit newsletters. So whether your newsletter needs a little facelift or you're just getting started, get ready to power up your mailings and keep your supporters in the know.
What is a Nonprofit Newsletter?
A nonprofit newsletter is a regular, often digital publication that's sent out to an organization's supporters. It usually covers topics like events, upcoming projects, and general news about the organization.
It's an important tool for keeping donors informed and engaged with your nonprofit's mission and activities. Plus, it's a great way to remind them that their donations and volunteer work make a real difference in the lives of those you're helping.
Best Practices for Nonprofit Newsletters
Nonprofit newsletters effectively keep your supporters, donors, and community members informed and engaged with your organization.
Here are some best practices for creating a successful nonprofit newsletter:
1. Define your audience:
Understand who your audience is and what type of content they want to see in the newsletter. Consider creating different versions of the newsletter for different segments of your audience, such as donors, volunteers, and community members.
With more targeted content, you can drive higher engagement and keep people subscribed to your newsletter for longer.
2. Keep it brief:
Most people have limited time and attention spans, so keep your newsletter concise and to the point. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and headlines to make the content easy to scan.
Plus, you can always provide additional information and links to your website or blog if readers want to learn more.
3. Make it visually appealing:
Use images, infographics, and other visual elements to break up the text and make the newsletter more engaging. Ensure that the visuals are relevant to the content and consistent with your brand.
Not only will this make the newsletter more appealing, but it also helps to keep readers' attention longer.
4. Include a clear call to action:
Every newsletter should have a clear call to action (CTA) that encourages the reader to engage with your organization in some way, such as donating, volunteering, or attending an event.
In addition, you should make it easy for readers to take action by including links directly in the newsletter.
5. Be consistent:
Send your newsletter regularly, whether it's weekly, biweekly, or monthly, and stick to a consistent schedule. This helps build trust with your audience and keeps them engaged with your organization.
6. Personalize the content:
Use personalized greetings and content that speaks directly to the recipient. Consider segmenting your audience based on their interests and preferences to deliver more targeted content.
7. Measure your success:
Use analytics to measure the success of your newsletter, including open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Use this data to optimize your newsletter content and improve engagement with your audience.
8. Optimize for mobile:
Most people access their emails from mobile devices, so make sure your newsletter is optimized for mobile. This includes using a responsive design that looks good on all screen sizes and ensuring that all links work properly.
This makes your newsletter look great and improves the user experience.
9. Include Social Media Buttons:
Including social media buttons in your newsletters makes it easy for readers to share the content with their networks. This helps you reach a larger audience and encourages engagement with your organization.
10. Test, test, and test again:
Test different versions of your newsletter to see which works best. Test different subject lines, visuals, content formats, and CTAs to find out what resonates with your audience.
By testing different elements, you can improve the performance of your newsletter and increase engagement with your audience.
11. Subscribe to other nonprofits' e-newsletters:
To get inspired and learn from others, subscribe to your competitors' e-newsletters. Pay attention to the content they use, how often they email, and the types of visuals they include.
This will help you get an idea of the types of content that your audience will find engaging and inspiring.
12. Have fun with it!
Your newsletter is an opportunity to show off your brand's personality and connect with your audience. So have fun with it! Use humor, storytelling, and other creative techniques to make the content more engaging.
This will help you stand out from the crowd and show readers that you're more than just a nonprofit organization — you're an engaging, entertaining source of information.
By following these best practices, you can create a nonprofit newsletter that effectively engages your supporters, donors, and community members and helps advance your organization's mission.
Best tools for creating newsletters:
There are various tools available to create newsletters, each with its own features and capabilities.
Here are some of the best tools for creating newsletters:
Mailchimp:
Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing tools available. It offers a user-friendly interface, a variety of templates and design options, and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. Mailchimp also includes features for list management, audience segmentation, and analytics to help measure the success of your newsletter.
Constant Contact:
Constant Contact is another popular email marketing tool that offers an easy-to-use interface and a variety of templates and design options. It also includes features for list management, audience segmentation, and analytics. Constant Contact also integrates with a variety of other tools, such as social media and e-commerce platforms.
Sendinblue:
Sendinblue is an all-in-one marketing platform that includes email marketing, SMS marketing, and marketing automation features. It offers a variety of templates and design options, as well as a drag-and-drop editor. Sendinblue also includes features for list management, audience segmentation, and analytics.
HubSpot:
HubSpot is a marketing and sales platform that includes a variety of tools for email marketing, marketing automation, lead generation, and more. It offers a drag-and-drop editor as well as a variety of templates and design options. HubSpot also includes features for list management, audience segmentation, and analytics.
Canva:
Canva is a design tool that can be used to create visually appealing newsletters. It offers a variety of templates and design options, as well as a drag-and-drop editor. Canva is especially useful for creating graphics and other visual elements to include in your newsletter.
Final Thoughts:
Creating a successful nonprofit newsletter is more than just writing content and sending it out. It requires careful planning, thoughtful design elements, engaging visuals, and an understanding of your audience's needs.
By following these best practices for creating newsletters, as well as leveraging the features offered by tools like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Sendinblue, HubSpot, or Canva, you can create a powerful newsletter that not only informs but also encourages engagement with your organization.
With thoughtfully designed emails tailored to their interests and preferences in mind, you will be sure to get closer to achieving your mission goals!
