Creating a Strong Email Campaign

To help you create strong email programs, we have compiled a list of common practices that other email professionals use to maintain healthy email programs.

Note that these are just recommendations. We want to empower you as the manager of your email program to do what is best for your program as a whole. Switchboard does not create or approve email content or require certain email tactics.

Have a clear audience, message, and goal for your email.

Best practice recommends having one clear message for your email – if you try to fit too many angles and topics into one email, you run the risk of overwhelming your audience.
Experts also recommend that your key message is tailored to your specific audience, if possible. Depending on your email list, different messages might resonate with different people. A/B testing can help you determine which messages work best for which segments
When you’re sending an email, try and have a clear goal that you want the recipients to accomplish! Ideally, you also want to be able to track your progress to goal; that will help you understand how effective your email was.

Have one clear call-to-action (CTA)

Multiple CTAs/asks in your email can overwhelm your audience, just like multiple topics can. Most organizations try to limit each email to having one CTA.
- If you find yourself torn between CTAs, try segmentation. EX: You can send the same email to donors and volunteers with different CTAs
Occasionally, an email will have two CTAs but make sure both options are thoroughly explained and accessible to the audience.

Add some context and impact to your CTAs

Try explaining why taking that action will solve the issue you’re emailing about, or why someone needs to take that action immediately. People are busy, and they’re getting many emails asking for money – why should they donate to your cause? Explain where their dollars will go and how that money will be used, if you can.
Read more about crafting fundraising emails specifically
Another way you can think about crafting a CTA is by asking yourself: “What does this person need to hear to understand this issue and take action? Not what do I want to tell them about this issue, but what do they need to know?”

Keep your emails simple and accessible

While there are no rules about how long your emails should be, many programs like to keep the sentences and paragraphs shorter to make the emails easier to read. On average, people only spend 7-8 seconds reading an email, so you have to make the first few lines of your email clear and engaging.

Keep the links in your email to a minimum

With the exception of newsletters, most email creators stick to 1-2 links in their emails (outside of the social media buttons in the bottom “footer” of the email). While it might be tempting to link out to every term or topic that you think your audience might find interesting, you run the risk of overwhelming them (like with multiple CTAs). If they click away to read your link, there’s a lower likelihood that they will return to your email to take action.
- Please note: this suggestion does not apply to newsletters or other informational emails and is merely a suggestion. If you are having success with longer emails with multiple links, continue to do so.

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