Creating A Successful Nonprofit Newsletter

The best way to communicate with donors and supporters before the Internet was to send out newsletters.  These (usually quarterly) communications would keep them up-to-date on the most recent accomplishments of the nonprofit.

Newsletters are still around today, but they usually come in the form of eNewsletters, like the ones that The NonProfit Times sends out weekly and monthly.  With the change in format comes a change in expectations, so the old way of communicating won't cut it anymore.

It all starts with frequency.  In "Nonprofit Management 101,"  Kivi Leroux Miller, president of NonprofitMarketingGuide.com, wrote that the first thing nonprofits have to adapt to is sending out communications more often.  Most eNewsletters are sent out weekly or monthly rather than quarterly, and will contain fewer words than print newsletters (between 500 and 1,000 words).

Even if you are still sending out print newsletters, Leroux Miller recommended changing your style. She listed five techniques to keep your supporters happy and informed:

• Frequency: Send fewer words, more often.
• Look Forward: Preview more, review less.
• Personality: More of them, less of you.
• Next Steps: More action, less FYI.
• Integration: More planning, less improv.

Make sure to sign-up for NPT's free eNewsletters on our website!