How to Craft a Message for your Email Blast

Make it personal. Remember you are talking to the people you know! The power of your message is in its personal touch. Be sure to use your friend’s first names in the greeting, and subject line. This can be the difference between seeing the donations roll in and getting no return, it’s incredibly important!

Keep it short and to the point. It’s likely many of your potential backers will read your message on their phone, while out and about. Most people only read the first few lines, which means you need to grab their attention and tell them what you need in a few short lines. Tell them what you’re raising money for and the perks they can get.

Ask for feedback. There’s a saying in the fundraising world, “If you ask for money, you get feedback. If you ask for feedback…” Well, you can finish the rest. By asking for feedback, you are drawing your supporters in, and making them part of your team. People invest in things they are a part of, so get feedback, and money will follow.

Don’t ask for social shares. When you ask for social shares, you are giving people a way to feel as though they supported you, without actually contributing. You want people to know that the best way to support you is by opening their wallets! Share fatigue is real, and it doesn’t necessarily lead to dollars in your campaign. But rest assured, if someone supports you by contributing, they will very likely share the project as well.

Stay out of the gmail promotional folder. Plain text is always better. As nice as a photo may look, save that for your actual campaign page, not your email message. Design elements will lead your email to the gmail promotional folder, where your contact may never see it. Think about it, how often do you open that folder? Yeah, me either.
Over 70% of people use Gmail & Google, and photos are a one way ticket to the promotional Folder.

Free Monkey costs more! You can also avoid the promotional folder by NOT using the free monkey emailing service (or other 3rd party services). This is another one way ticket to to the Gmail promotional Folder!
Unlike Green Inbox, free services do not do manual checks on your message vs spam filters etc., and your messages are likely to never reach the recipients inbox, and just land in the promotional or spam folders.
If you want to reach your recipients' INBOX use Green Inbox.

Some words and phrases will flag your message as Spam! You’ve put a lot of time into this, and it shows. While you may feel funny at first about asking for money, don’t use negative words in your message, and above all, don’t use the word Spam! Not only will it make you seem less sure of yourself, it could send your email exactly where you don’t want it to go, the dreaded Spam Folder!

Tip: Make sure to test your message through common spam filters. If you are not familiar with the method, use Green Inbox. This is a free service we provide for each Green Inbox order.

Don’t use a link shortener! While useful, link shorteners like bit.ly are a huge red flag for inboxes! In most cases, a link shortener will get you a one way ticket to the Spam Folder.

Pay very close attention to the links in your message. You want to get those clicks! The best way to do this is use only ONE link. Direct people exactly where you want them to go. If there are additional links you want people to visit, include them on your campaign page, not in the message.

Put the link where people can see it quickly! Be sure your link is prominently written in your message, and be sure it appears above your name signature, so it’s not folded out of sight in your email since some email clients (like gmail) would hide your signature name and everything below that.

Avoid using phrases like “If 500 friends give $5, we’ll be funded today!” While this may be true, your backers want to know how much their individual support helps you, they need to feel appreciated, not like one in a crowd of 500.

Remind people who you are. A Facebook connection you met while backpacking in Europe years ago may want to support you, but they may also need a refresher. Make it easy for everyone by including a link to your Facebook profile with your signature.

Keep you message warm. You are asking people for not only their time and attention, but also their money. A warm, friendly message sets the proper tone of your campaign.