Open Newsletter
How can I create an easy on-line family newsletter?
I want to make a monthly editable newsletter or a site? via email 30 family members. It must be easy for them to receive and open; private and secure, (login/restration required)so only family will have access to it. sort of like a “wiki”-style editable family geneology encyclopedia- one for each of the 2 branches of my family tree.
I don’t know if this is what you are looking for, but I would make a family blog. You can just go to www.blogspot.com to make one. You have to have a google account, but that takes about as much time as setting up a yahoo account. Then you can make multiple authors of the blog if you’d like, and you can set privacy settings so only people you invite can see the blog. It’s fun, free, and cute! Good luck!
Open Newsletter
The last time I checked, which is to say, yesterday, the average open rate for an email donor newsletter was 37%. That means 63 percent of donors are not opening the email newsletters they’ve asked to receive.
If they’re not opening them, then they’re not reading them. And if they’re not reading them, then they’re not clicking any of the links, including the ones that lead to online donation pages. Thus, one sure way to boost your online donation rates is to boost your email open rates. One way to do that is to write good subject lines. Here are some proven methods.
1. Put your newsletter name in the subject line
With email donor newsletters, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt. Familiarity breeds trust. And trust is the single most important ingredient of online fundraising success. Donors who receive your emails need to see in a split second that your email is from a source they trust and contains a message they want.
The most predictable subject line is the name of your publication. Donors who see the publication name month after month will easily recognize it and look forward to reading each issue.
2. Put your organization name in the subject line
If you received an email today with “July 2006 E-Snapshots” in the subject, would you know for sure who the message was from and what it was about? Only if you knew the charity well. Or had a terrific memory.
If the name of your organization isn’t in the name of your newsletter, then consider putting your organization name in your subject line. This is especially vital when your email newsletter has an obscure name that only makes sense when paired with your organization name. Some examples of obscure newsletter names:
Organization: Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Email newsletter name: Bullet Counter Points Blog
Organization: Trans World Radio
Email newsletter name: E-Snapshots
Organization: World Wildlife Fund Canada
Email newsletter name: Panda Mail
These newsletter names can all be improved dramatically as email subject lines by simply adding the name of the organization. “E-Snapshots from Trans World Radio,” for example.
3. Use donor-centered keywords
If you are still concerned that jumpy donors will mistake your email newsletter for spam~, then write your subject using words and phrases that describe your mission and the cause that your donors and members support. Here are three examples:
From: Greenpeace Canada
Subject: Driftnets, dolphins and your chance to tell us what you think…
From: Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA
Subject: Supreme Court Delivers a Victory for Human Rights
From: Insight for Living Ministries
Subject: A Message from Insight for Living
Just make sure that the keywords in your subject line, even if they appeal to your donors, will not set off spam~ filters. Phrases like “free,” “prizes” and “save,” and symbols like “!” “$” and “XXX”) will trigger spam~ filters and route your newsletter to the trash folder.
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About the author
Alan Sharpe is president of Raiser Sharpe, a full-service direct mail fundraising agency that helps non-profit organizations raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors. Sign up for free weekly tips like this, and discover other helpful resources, at http://www.RaiserSharpe.com.
How can i update my netobjects fusion website with out having to open NOF?
I’ve been given the task of creating a website for a club and one of the criteria is i have to have a page with newsletters on it and it must be updatable without open NOF. Help!?
NOF will create the HTML and CSS for you so once that’s done, those files can be maintained outside of NOF. BUT, if they are maintained there, in order to be used again within NOF, you’d have to import the existing site info NOF. Otherwise, when you start NOF you won’t see any of the changes made manually.
Beware though, NOF creates some funky looking files so maintaining them manually may not be easy.
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