July/August 2004

Building an Email Address File: The Fuel for Online Marketing

by Gene Austin, Chief Executive Officer, Convio

There aren’t many nonprofit organizations these days that don’t understand the importance of the Internet to their missions. The Internet is a key channel for reaching out to new and existing constituents with regular communications, so many nonprofits are investing in software tools for email marketing, online fundraising and online advocacy. But they quickly face a challenge: How do they get started?  We have some answers.

In this issue of Convio Connection, two articles focus on building a file of email addresses — the fuel for any online marketing effort. In Best Practices for Electronic Email Appending, guest columnist Dave Best, director of marketing at HEP Data Services, explains how an email appending service can help an organization quickly build its email file by matching a database of email and mailing addresses with the organization’s existing constituent database. Effective Email List Building: Creating and Growing Your Online Database takes a look at proven approaches and tools for building an email address file of both existing and prospective constituents. (For more information about building your email file, please download the free guide, The Basics of Email Marketing for Nonprofits: Using Email Communications to Build and Strengthen Constituent Relationships Online.)

Also in this issue: Donor Treatment — The Real Impact of the Internet, by Convio founder and chief strategy officer, Vinay Bhagat. Vinay explains why there is more to online success than how much money a group raises over the Internet. More important: enhancing the way donors and prospects are treated to develop stronger, more loyal relationships that drive both online and offline giving as well as other forms of constituent support and participation.

Take a look, too, at this edition’s Ask an Expert article, where Convio’s chief technology officer, David Crooke, answers the question, “Are nonprofits experiencing considerable problems getting messages through to their list members who are subscribers to major consumer email providers?”  Find out why this may be happening to your organization and what you can do about it.

Additionally, we’ve included a case study about how Chicago Public Radio grew its online donations, exclusive of pledge drives, more than 150 percent in 2003 compared with 2002. This included a single two-week campaign in which the station raised $32,000 — primarily from new donors.
 
As always, we strive in Convio Connection to deliver the latest about online best practices and software tools for nonprofits. We trust that this issue will give you fresh ideas about your own online strategy, and the information you need for online success.

P.S. Did you enjoy reading this issue of Convio Connection? Why not forward it to a colleague who might also find it helpful?