September/October 2004

Beyond Email Greeting Cards: Convio eCards Help Nonprofits Acquire New Constituents

Many people who use the Internet have sent them. Many have received them. They are online greeting cards, and they are proving to be a great way to communicate.

Convio clients are taking advantage of this powerful communication tool, using Convio eCards to leverage one of their greatest assets — existing supporters. With eCards, nonprofits offer online greeting cards on their Web sites so constituents can send them to friends and relatives.

eCards are different from email messages that an organization sends to its email list. Because people send eCards to others with whom they already have a personal relationship, recipients are more likely to open these communications and read the content, which in some cases may be a call-to-action. eCards, therefore, are an efficient, effective method for spreading an organization’s message and acquiring new supporters.

What is an eCard?
Convio’s eCard capabilities — included with Convio’s email marketing software — allow an organization to create its own unique online greeting cards by uploading photos, logos and other graphics into eCard templates on its Web site. These cards can include a message from the organization as well as a link to its Web site home page, newsletter registration page, membership form or any other Web page. Web site visitors can then choose a card, enter the email addresses of friends or family members, add a personal note and send the cards.

Fig. 1: The ASPCA uses Convio’s eCards to offer e-greeting cards on its Web site. Site visitors can select a card, add a message and send to one or more friends.

Fig. 2: Example eCard sent from the ASPCA’s Web site.

Beyond General Awareness
While eCards, such as those that the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) offers, help increase awareness about an organization’s mission, issues and activities, they also can be used to:

• Build an organization’s email file — As in the example (above) of the ASPCA, an organization can include a message that encourages card recipients to visit the organization’s Web site and sign up for an email newsletter or other online communication. Compelling content, including an attention-getting graphic, helps drive response. This type of eCard is a simple way for an organization to add new constituents to its email file.
  
  
• Get people to take action on a timely campaign or in the wake of current events — A nonprofit can use eCards to respond to a current event by quickly sending a high-impact message. For example, a relief organization could include a photograph of flood victims with information about the extent of damage the people have suffered. This kind of communication can motivate people to donate, volunteer or become involved in a timely cause.
  
  
• Expand a campaign’s reach — eCards can increase the effectiveness of almost any campaign. For example, an organization promoting a membership drive through email, direct mail and telemarketing could add a series of membership eCards to its Web site, encouraging existing members and other constituents to send them to friends and family.
  
  
• Provide constituents with an online service — Constituents typically are involved with an organization because they care about its mission. By offering visually pleasing, motivational, humorous, fun or informative eCards, an organization provides a valuable service for constituents. They now have an easy and fun-to-use tool for promoting the group and its cause to others. Compared with a form letter sent from an organization’s Web site, eCards are a friendlier, more personal way for a constituent to encourage someone he or she knows to get involved.

Convio’s eCards can help nonprofits incorporate email greeting cards into their online strategy. By offering existing constituents this powerful online tool, any organization can reach out to a new, untapped network of potential supporters.

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