Where you update non-donor subscribers (segment them) on how the campaign is building momentum and how much has been raised so far or how many subscribers have pitched in, and give the non-donors more reason to pitch in.
TEMPLATE:
We’re on day five of our first-ever fundraising campaign and I’m thrilled to report that we’re already 30 per cent to our goal of raising $5,000!
OR: Thank you to the XX supporters who have stepped up since we launched our campaign last Tuesday. We're already XX% of the way to our goal of making [pub name] a more sustainable local newsroom.
OR: Thank you to the XX supporters who have stepped up since we launched our campaign last Tuesday.
OR: We're more than 10 days into our year-end campaign, and with your help, we've already raised nearly $1,000 to support our independent Prairie journalism! But we've still got a ways to go before we hit our $4,000 target and sign up 25 more monthly contributors. That’s where you come in.
Now, succinctly restate the value proposition and elaborate on a different angle of it or demonstrate its value in a fresh way.
Possible Angles to Use (each with an example template):
You can choose multiple angles here and run more than one update email at this stage. This could be especially useful if the rev campaign is moving slowly.
- Focus on the work you’d like to do if readers could just contribute some more money
- Example from our friends at The Narwhal and a second example from them.
- Example from our friends at The Narwhal and a second example from them.
- An honest, transparent request for money
- We love this example from Peterborough Currents
- We love this example from Peterborough Currents
- Look at the awards we just won! With your financial support, we could do more work like this
- A fresh story to illustrate the gap this pub fills
- Example from Ottawa Sports Pages as they, alone, covered Ottawa’s amateur athletes at the Canada Games mid-campaign.
- Example from Ottawa Sports Pages as they, alone, covered Ottawa’s amateur athletes at the Canada Games mid-campaign.
- Testimonials to show how much the readers appreciate this pub and why. But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what some of our readers have to say:
- (Look for compelling testimonials — strong, tight quotes from their readers on how much they appreciate the publication, preferably attributed. Check audience surveys for quotes too.)
- Example from The Resolve [Subject Line: ‘My heart is smiling, my voice is ready’] Note the importance of a strong subject line!
- Example 2 from The Flatlander [Subject line: ‘Nice to see newsworthy items from close to home’]
- Specific story impacts to illustrate the real effect this publisher’s work is having in their community. Did a story published last quarter result in a change of policy, or a wave of community volunteers, or… ?
- Example from The Frisc (Note: The Frisc readers are accustomed to long emails! If your readers are used to short emails, keep it tight)
- Example from The Frisc (Note: The Frisc readers are accustomed to long emails! If your readers are used to short emails, keep it tight)
- Ask someone else to write the update to show how much the publication means to them in their life, through their eyes.
- Celebrity Endorsement (see above tactic but even better if they’re famous!)
- Example from The Breach This video is not an email, but it worked really well.