A Little Something Extra

Mailing list incentives can be used by all organizations

Ron Cates,

by Ron Cates, Constant Contact Development Director, Southwest Region

We'd all like to think that all it takes to get someone interested in learning more about a nonprofit or another organization is a charitable nature. But sometimes it takes more than that to entice someone to join your mailing list or become a supporter.

Of course, when you don't sell something tangible -- products or food, for example -- you can't offer a two-for-one special or a percentage off. The good news is that even if you're a service business, there are ways to build your mailing list by offering something extra to a potential subscriber.

In the nonprofit world

For many nonprofits, the idea of giving something away for free runs counter to the mission of the organization, especially if someone hasn't yet made a donation. But so few nonprofits use an incentive to reach people that an organization that takes this route could easily differentiate itself.

One suggestion is to offer an item with your organization's logo on it for anyone who signs up for your mailing list -- a t-shirt, tote bag, hat, or something similar. This allows your organization's cause to be exposed to more people, and offers relatively low-cost promotion in places you may not be. After all, a nonprofit's goal is to raise money, and you can't do that without first raising awareness.

Another way to differentiate yourself is to offer a benefit to signing up. For example, hosting an event and only allowing email list members to get in, or finding a partner to match donations and saying you have to be on the mailing list for that to happen. If you're a membership-driven organization, like a YMCA, you could offer a free month or a discounted rate when people also supply their email address. You may find that these subscribers will waive the discount anyway because they want to support the group's mission.

Whatever you do, you don't want to dilute the mission of your organization, so you always want to bring it back to that. You also don't want to sound overtly commercial. In the messaging itself, talk about your mission: yes, you're going to send fundraising requests, but all the proceeds will go toward helping people with arthritis, for example.

It works for B2Bs too

If you're a B2B company, one way to increase mailing list sign-ups is simply to show off your expertise. Sometimes that could be as easy as offering a free white paper when someone provides his or her email address. In this case, you're giving away something, but you're also showing off what differentiates your business.

Another way to entice new subscribers is to offer exclusives. For example, those on your mailing list could get advance access to new services before they're offered to other customers. Another exclusive is to offer people on your mailing list the chance to have their business be included in your future mailings. Then it's a win-win: You get content for your newsletter and your subscribers get additional exposure that could be reciprocated later.

The thing to do is to not get hung up on whether anyone in your industry has done something similar in the past. Thinking differently can have a large return that will pay off down the road.

Of course, you don't have to offer an incentive to get someone to join your mailing list. But doing so could bring the extra benefit of added exposure and a longer-term relationship.

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