But how do you effectively write a campaign announcement email?<\/p>\n
In this template, we\u2019ll take a look at how a few successful campaigns\u2019 email announcement was structured and explore how you can structure your own successful campaign launch\u00a0email using best practices.<\/p>\n
Soft Launch Campaign Email<\/h2>\n
Before you send out the campaign announcement email to your email list, you\u2019ll want to send a personal email to your strongest supporters to get them to make the first round of donations up to a week before your official campaign launch.<\/p>\n
Known as a \u2018soft launch\u2019 this helps you to engage your strongest supporters in your campaign before the rest of your audience, giving them the feeling that you\u2019re including them in a sneak preview (and affirm your relationship with these supporters) and giving you the opportunity to raise some funds before the official campaign launch.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll want to send this email to:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Board Members<\/li>\n
- Major Donors<\/li>\n
- Recurring Donors<\/li>\n
- Longtime Donors<\/li>\n
- Volunteers<\/li>\n
- Members (if applicable)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The key is really to target people who are already giving and ask them to give specifically to the campaign. There are many benefits to engaging these donor groups ahead of time, including:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Strengthens donor relationships by letting them in on your campaign ahead of time.<\/li>\n
- It gives you the opportunity to test out your email messaging and change it for the larger release, if needed. Additionally, if you hear of any feedback about your campaign site as well, you\u2019re able to make changes ahead of time.<\/li>\n
- When you do send out your main email announcement, there will already be funds raised and a filled recent donors listing. This helps the social proof of your campaign by showing that there\u2019s already campaign activity, which in turn sparks more campaign activity.<\/li>\n
- It gives your strongest supporters time to set up their fundraising page (if applicable) so they\u2019re able to promote their completed page on the date of official launch.<\/li>\n
- On the day of official launch, any of your strongest supporters that haven\u2019t donated during the soft launch are reminded to give, which also helps get some larger donations rolling in throughout the first day of your campaign.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here\u2019s a look Playwrights Guild of Canada\u2019s soft launch email announcement:<\/p>\n
![\"pgc](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-18-at-12.53.00-PM.png\")
<\/p>\n:
![\"pgc](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-18-at-12.53.28-PM-608x1024.png\")
<\/p>\nIn the Playwrights Guild of Canada\u2019s particular email announcement, they did a few key things that should be noted:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The content is addressed to and is specifically written for their closest supporters.<\/li>\n
- They positioned the email as a \u201csecret\u201d they were letting their supporters in on- which helps them feel included and intrigued in the content.<\/li>\n
- They introduced what their new initiative is, why they\u2019re doing it, and explained how their crowdfunding<\/a> campaign fits into it.<\/li>\n
- They told them exactly when the campaign was launching and how long it was running for.<\/li>\n
- They had one specific call to action that engaged their supporters.<\/li>\n
- They offered an incentive (that wasn\u2019t a physical perk) for their involvement in the campaign.<\/li>\n
- They provided a direct person to contact that email recipients to address their questions regarding their fundraising campaign to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While a lot of soft launch emails\u2019 call to action is to donate, instead the Playwrights Guild of Canada actually used their soft launch to invite their supporters to write a short piece of content that would help generate promotional materials for the overall launch of the campaign.<\/p>\n
So, while they didn\u2019t actually raise funds with their soft launch, they still used it as a tool to both inform and engage their community and generate social proof in a creative way. This kind of content driven soft launch email meets a lot of the same goals as a donation based soft launch email.<\/p>\n
Campaign Announcement Email<\/h2>\n
Now that you\u2019ve seen a good soft launch email, we\u2019ll explore what you should include in your official campaign announcement email. While the soft launch is particularly aimed at close supporters, your campaign announcement email is directed to your entire email list on the day you want your campaign to officially begin.<\/p>\n
With your entire audience in mind, you\u2019ll want to direct this email to even your newest followers that may not be too familiar with your organization.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Here\u2019s a few things you\u2019ll want to be sure you include in your campaign announcement email:<\/p>\n
- \n
- An eye catching subject line<\/a> that introduces the campaign<\/li>\n
- An Image depicting an example of who your campaign is helping (or your video)<\/li>\n
- Header text that encourages action<\/li>\n
- A brief introduction to the campaign<\/li>\n
- An introduction to your campaign\u2019s central story<\/li>\n
- An explanation about what their donation does to help<\/li>\n
- Call to action asking them to view the campaign site<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By having these essential elements in your campaign announcement email, you\u2019re bound to capture attention and get people to view and donate on your site.<\/p>\n
Campaign Announcement Email Best Practices<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s take a look at how 3 different successful campaigns announced their campaign and explore best practices learned from each.<\/p>\n
1) Playwrights Guild Of Canada<\/h3>\n
![\"pgc](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-18-at-12.57.29-PM.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"pgc](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-18-at-12.58.13-PM.png\")
<\/p>\n\u00a0In the Playwright\u2019s Guild Of Canada\u2019s campaign launch announcement, you\u2019ll see there\u2019s some big differences in the soft launch email and this one. Here\u2019s a look at some best practices we can glean from their email announcement:<\/p>\n
Keep It Concise:<\/strong> Playwright\u2019s Guild Of Canada\u2019s entire email is less than 200 words. Keep your audience engaged by only putting the information they need to take the next step, they don\u2019t need all the campaign specifics- that\u2019s what your campaign site is for! A good trick to help you keep your emails short is to use active voice<\/a> throughout the email.<\/p>\n
Include A Video:<\/strong> One of the ways the Playwright\u2019s Guild Of Canada was able to keep their email so concise is that they included their campaign video in the email. This allowed interested viewers to easily hear more about the campaign. This engages viewers further by telling the campaign\u2019s story in a easy-to-digest medium while also communicating more about the impact of the campaign. A video really is worth 1000 words!<\/p>\n
Relate Your Cause To A Current Event:<\/strong> Playwright\u2019s Guild Of Canada\u2019s email immediately started off by introducing their campaign on Valentine\u2019s day. Even closing their email with something as simple as \u201cDon\u2019t forget to show PGC some love this Valentine\u2019s Day,\u201d roots their campaign in the broader culture, answering the question- Why now?<\/p>\n
Similarly, it can be helpful to officially launch your campaign on a holiday, awareness day, anniversary, Giving day, or even just a current event. This answers the question \u201cWhy is your organization fundraising now?\u201d and can help your audience quickly see the importance and get them on board quickly.<\/p>\n
Give Your Audience A Point Of Contact: <\/strong>Playwright\u2019s Guild Of Canada\u2019s email listed a particular person that anyone with a question can contact. This is helpful to help establish that this campaign is run by real people, assures the potential donor that they can contact can get in touch with someone if the need to, and helps keep things organized (instead of a donor needing to search for the person they need to address their question to.)<\/p>\n
2) Centro Comunitario (CEUS)<\/h3>\n
![\"ceus](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-18-at-12.30.31-PM-455x1024.png\")
<\/p>\nUse An Engaging Heading: <\/strong>CEUS\u2019 email begins with two headings \u201cSupport Central American Refugee Children\u201d and the subheading reads \u201cMeet Martha Hernandez.\u201d Right from the beginning of the email, the potential donor knows what the campaign is all about, is asked to support, and is introduced to the campaign\u2019s central character. Make use of headings to introduce the purpose of your email, call the audience to action, introduce your campaign\u2019s story, and more.<\/p>\n
Tell Your Campaign\u2019s Story: <\/strong>As opposed to the other examples, CEUS\u2019 campaign announcement email takes the approach of telling the story behind the campaign. The reader is immediately engaged in the story, and a quote directly from the story\u2019s character is inserted in the middle in bold, which also draws the reader in.<\/p>\n
\u00a0CEUS effectively uses the story to leads up to the reason they\u2019re fundraising and shows how the donor can make an impact. This gets donor\u2019s emotionally invested in the campaign and sets up the call to action really well.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Include A Clear Call To Action:<\/strong> While you may think your email appeal<\/a> speaks for itself, it\u2019s essential to include a strong call to action asking them to donate, and including a large, bright donate button in the email that links directly to your CauseVox campaign site. This will ensure your donors are clear about how they can contribute!<\/p>\n
3) Schoolyard Farms<\/h3>\n
![\"schoolyard](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-18-at-12.43.10-PM-580x1024.png\")
![\"schoolyard](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-18-at-12.43.53-PM.png\")
<\/p>\n