The newest release of the Artez online fundraising service includes HTML-enabled emails for your events and donation forms! If this is new to you, we have some practical advice to help you get going.
Email remains a crucial part of the fundraiser’s repertoire, and it’s simple to understand why. It’s easy for recipients to access and share with others, and with the right tool, can be perfectly customisable by the sender.
In our October release, we’re giving you the tools to create stunning, image-rich HTML emails for your campaign.
Customise every part of the emails you send to your supporters. The length, the layout, the colours, the fonts, the images – everything!
To help you get going, here are five tips for sending beautiful HTML emails.
1) Sign up with different free email providers to test your e-mail
Your donors and supporters will open up their emails on a variety of different programs and websites, which means that the email might look a bit different on every one. Sometimes, that might mean an image gets pushed to the wrong area, or your email ends up with too much or too little empty space.
Luckily, services like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo! let you sign-up for free email addresses. You can register an address with these websites, and then send tests to them all to make sure your email looks the way you want.
2) Avoid large file-size images and attachments
It may be tempting to load-up your emails with the most vibrant, highest-resolution graphics you have available, or attach files full of extra information. However, the larger these get, the longer it will take for recipients to open and read your emails. Even worse, it might send them straight to a junk mail folder!
Instead, optimize your images before you send them, and compress any necessary attachments or link to them online.
3) Keep it simple when it comes to fonts
Despite hundreds of fonts existing for you to use, this is one area where simplicity is key. From a design perspective, sticking to one or two fonts is recommended to keep your email looking clean and consistent.
Not every computer will be able to read each font. To make sure your email appears the way it’s intended to, stick to the most common system fonts, which are pre-installed on Windows and Mac computers.
4) Light backgrounds with dark text are ideal for easy reading
If you want to make sure that supporters and donors take the time to read your emails, it’s important to make it easy for them. Dark backgrounds with light text can be hard on your eyes, so using light backgrounds and darker text is much preferred.
Another note: avoid having any white text on a white background, as it can sometimes trigger spam filters which think the text is being purposely hidden.
Here’s an example of a recent Artez HTML e-mail. It has simple, consistent fonts and light backgrounds with dark text.
5) Use keywords to personalise the email
Perhaps most importantly, you want your supporters to know that what they’re reading is intended for them.
Artez makes a wide variety of custom keywords available to you, including the answers to User Designed Fields (UDFs) that your organization has configured.
For example, you might have asked your registrants or donors a question like: “Where would you like to direct your donation?” With UDFs, you can personalise your automatic responses to them by including the answer.
For instance: “Thank you %FirstName% for supporting the %NameofFund% in %Location%!” When this email reaches your donor, they’ll see:
“Thank you Amy for supporting the Terry Fox Run in Brighton!”
That personal touch can go a long way towards making your supporters feel truly appreciated and more likely to continue giving to your organization in the future.
Good luck! We hope that these tips help you get started on sending fantastic HTML emails. If you have any best practices or questions of your own, feel free to share them with us on Facebook or Twitter!
Questions? Need support?
If you have any questions about Artez HTML emails, or if you would like to find out how we can help you reach your online fundraising goals, please get in touch with our dedicated Client Support Team. They are available to answer your questions Monday-Friday, 9am to 5.30pm. Just phone 01293 601111 or send an email to support@rapidata.co.uk
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