Three Fatal Mistakes of Direct Response Email

From the Desk of: Steve Elliott

My organization has delivered tens of thousands of unique email blasts and billions of total emails.

I'm not sure that makes us experts, but it does give us an inside track on what NOT to do.

Here are three fatal mistakes of direct response email communications...

+ + Mistake #1...

The first mistake is the killer.... not sending people directly to your donation (or action) page.

It's amazing how many times I click on a link in the email only to be sent to a landing page that is not the actual donation page. I then have to click another link to give.

This is fatal mistake #1, unless the purpose of your email is NOT to raise money. If you are trying to raise funds, then ALWAYS land your supporters on a donation page.

Here's why.

If you haven't noticed, everyone is a bit ADHD when it comes to our devices. We are always jumping to something else. If people have to click twice, you'll lose most.

In our experience, about 80-90% of your clicks will not click again to go to your donation page. That means, if 5% of your supporters click, about 1% will make it to the subsequent donation page. So if you want them to read a "report," put the report on a donation page. If you want them to see a video, embed the video on the donation page.

Preferably, keep your donation pages clean and simple, and focused. And make sure the message on your donation page directly corresponds with your email appeal (for example, if you're asking for $50, make sure there's a $50 button).

+ + Mistake #2...

Which leads to fatal mistake #2....

...trying to do two or three things in your email, such as "make a gift, join our prayer team and like our Facebook page."

We're all too busy. We don't need to be spending a lot of time trying to figure out what your organization wants us to do. Keep your emails focused on one core action (which also happens to be your success metric). 

I know you want to accomplish multiple objectives in one email. But you're thinking like a manager and not a marketer. Marketers organize everything in the presentation to the "sale." For non profits, the "sale" is the contribution inspired by a cause or outreach that you are doing. If you want to "sell" Facebook likes, send a separate message for that.

+ + The third fatal mistake...

The third fatal mistake is an easy pitfall to stumble in to.... not designing your emails for mobile.

Your production team works on laptops and desktops. They write and edit your organization's email on laptops and desktops. But how often does your team actually test your emails and view them on their mobile devices?

Here's why this is vital...

Anywhere from 70-80% of personal emails are viewed on mobile or tablet devices, with the vast majority of those views on mobile.

Your audience is receiving your email on their phone but your team is writing it on their laptop. The phone is a totally different experience. Even if your email provider automatically "optimizes" for mobile, your team should be testing and re-testing every email you send to their smartphones and asking themselves...

• What is the mobile experience like?
• Did the subject line grab them?
• What did they see when they opened the email?
• Was the action clear and obvious?
• Any funny line breaks, page breaks or text wrapping?
• Do the images present well?
• How large is the point size?
• Did the message feel long?
• Did your email provider mark your test as "spam" or "from a mailing list"?

So to review, here are three things your team can do today to greatly improve your email program:

1. Make sure all your clicks land on a donation page.
2. Stay focused on one thing you want your supporters to do.
3. Write and design for mobile. And do real tests in mobile. That's where your donors are living.

Here's one more mistake...

If you don't have someone who LOVES direct response email communications creating your emails, your message likely won't hit the mark. My team loves email. We started with our first viral email over two decades ago, and we still relish the challenge and the opportunity of creating messages that communicate vision and get results.

We'd love to help you. Set up a time to chat using the link below or send me an email.

Steve Elliott
[email protected]

P.S. A great place to start is with a Strategic Assessment of your direct response program. Go here to find out how a Strategic Assessment might help you. Next week: to text or not to text.

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