Email Overload

Email Overload

Over the holiday season I read a number of articles on how to kick-start fundraising for the new year. Several of them touted the finer points of emails, providing tips on how to get optimal usage and communicate with donors.

I’m all for establishing the very best in email practices. However, in my view, emails are greatly overused.  According to a study by the Radicati Group, there are 215 billion emails sent out every day, which comes to 145 emails per minute. That’s a lot of emails competing for attention.  

Think about your own In Box.  How many emails do you send to the Trash without even reading them?  Quite a lot, I'm sure.  I’ve heard countless tales of woe from fundraisers who get upset when donors don’t respond, even when they’re using snazzy Subject lines, being relevant and friendly, and getting right to the point.  Why are they ignoring me, the fundraiser asks?  

Well, they probably aren’t ignoring you. Your donors are very busy people. More than likely they haven’t seen your email.

Let me suggest this; pick up the phone and call your donors as a first resort.  Or, if you need to send them a note of introduction, think about snail mailing them with a hand-written letter and envelope.  After all, how many actual, hand-written letters do we receive these days?  Most of us get a lot of junk mail and bills. Very few of us get hand-written letters.  My prediction: a hand-written letter in a hand-addressed envelope will stand out and may even get read.

I’m not talking about mass mailings.  I’m talking about a personalized, one-on-one communication to an individual donor.  

Sure, you can email, wait a few weeks for a reply, then try emailing again. Or, you could write a personalized note via snail mail and a week later follow up with a phone call.  This way, you know they’ve probably read your letter and they will be aware that you’ll be calling.  

Better still, you may be astounded how personal correspondence prompts a donor to pick up the phone and call you first. By the way, enclose your phone number.

As Director of Fund Development at a university, whenever I send out student letters of gratitude to my donors, I do not sent a typed, cover letter.  I take the time to hand write a personal note that highlights certain points in an attached student letter. I thank them and inquire after their life.  My donors have told me that they read every letter I send them.  

Hand-written mail is getting to be a lost art.  

Think about it.