If you are sending out e-blasts, and that’s what you call it — blasting your list — then I’m pretty sure they suck. (Sorry to be so blunt about it, but it’s true.)
Here’s why: If you really understood the people on your email list, knew what they wanted from you, and delivered that regularly, you would never think of that as blasting them, as if you were spraying bird shot across the sky and praying that you hit some little bird way up there who would then fall to your feet.
Instead, if you knew the people on your list and delivered what they wanted, you’d feel guilty if you blasted them! You’d feel much better about it if you treated your email communications more like gift giving.
Think of the great gift givers in your life. What makes them great? They think about you, the recipient, before they even start shopping. They think about what you’d like and maybe even what you really, really desperately want. If they give you something on the more practical side, they think about the situation you are in right now and make sure that the gift is really helpful or useful. If they aren’t sure what to get you, they ask you or someone else who knows you really well for suggestions. The same criteria for good gift givers applies to good nonprofit marketers too.
Now think about the bad gift givers. What they give you is impersonal. Maybe even re-gifted. It’s more about what they think is important and what they (in their infinite wisdom) think you need. They buy lots of generic gifts in advance and dole them out whenever they need to check your birthday off the to-do list. Sounds a bit like email blasting, doesn’t it?
Ready to stop e-blasting and start gift giving?
Our training schedule this month at Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com is all about doing that. We have three webinars, which you can take one by one for $35 each:
November 4: How to Create and Reuse Your Online Content
November 10: Getting Your Emails Opened and Your Links Clicked
November 18: E-Newsletter Makeovers: Simple Fixes You Can Make
Or, if you really want to tackle your email marketing in a more serious way, you can sign up for this month’s small group coaching e-clinic, 15 Days to More Inspiring, Engaging Email Newsletters. The e-clinic includes
- All three webinars, plus an additional coaching call for e-clinic participants only
- My review of your e-newsletter
- A 15-step plan to go from “annoying, painful e-blast” to “inspiring, engaging gift”
- A private discussion board where we’ll answer all of your email marketing questions and have a little fun too.
The e-clinic is $249 if you register by Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Registration is capped at 20 participants.
Already have an All-Access Pass to the webinar series? Watch for a special e-clinic coupon in your weekly Pass Update.
Can’t join us for the training? Check out some of our free articles on e-newsletters.
