The Nonprofit Email Report Data-Backed Insights for Better Engagement

III. Creating Effective Emails

Browse The Report

  1. Introduction
    1. A Note from Neon One
    2. Who’s Represented In This Report?
    3. Why Is Email So Important?
    4. Anatomy of an Email
  2. Nonprofit Email Deliverability & Engagement Benchmarks
    1. Introduction
    2. Nonprofit List Sizes
    3. Ask The Expert: Is List Segmentation Really That Important?
    4. Nonprofit Email Bounce Rates
    5. Nonprofit Email Open Rates
    6. Nonprofit Email Unsubscribe Rates
    7. Nonprofit Email Click-Through Rates
    8. Nonprofit Email Fundraising Performance
    9. Nonprofit Email Performance by Date & Time
    10. Email Sender Superlatives
  3. A Data-Driven Approach to Subject Lines & Preview Text
    1. Introduction
    2. Convey Positive Emotions in Subject Lines
    3. Ask the Expert: How Did You Use AI for Subject Line Sentiment Analysis?
    4. Words to Include (or Avoid) in Your Subject Lines
    5. Experiment with Emojis in Subject Lines
    6. Write Compelling Preview Text
    7. Words to Include (or Avoid) in Your Preview Text
    8. Put It All Together — Performance Benchmarks & Word Usage
  4. Creating Effective Emails
    1. Introduction
    2. Ask the Expert: What Should I Keep In Mind When Creating Compelling Emails?
    3. Tip #1 — Include Imagery in Your Emails
    4. Tip #2 — Pay Attention to Salutations
    5. Ask The Expert: Do Salutations Really Make a Difference?
    6. Tip #3 — Use the Word "You"
    7. Tip #4 — Make Your Message Scannable
    8. Ask The Expert: How Do I Create a Great Call to Action?
    9. Tip #5 — Include Great Calls to Action
    10. Put It All Together - Build Clear, Compelling Emails
  5. Lessons from the Most Engaging Email of 2022
    1. Introduction
    2. Top Engagement Email Dissection
    3. Go Build More Engaging Emails
  6. Data-Backed Insights for GivingTuesday and Year-End
    1. Introduction
    2. Who’s Included In This Data?
    3. GivingTuesday Fundraising Totals
    4. GivingTuesday Email Data
    5. End of Year Fundraising Totals
    6. End-of-Year Email Data
    7. Use These Data-Backed Best Practices to Nail Your GivingTuesday and Year-End Goals
    8. Now Get Out There And Write Some Emails
  7. Methodology & Appendix
    1. Methodology
    2. The Dataset
    3. Terminology and Definitions
    4. Metrics Definitions
    5. Analysis by Mission & Organization Income
    6. Analysis by Time & Date Sent
    7. Analysis by Content Sentiment
    8. Data Privacy & Security
  8. About Neon One
    1. Learn more about Neon One

Tip #4 — Make Your Message Scannable

Illustrated icon of a grid or list to symbolize scanning a structured text
Your readers receive hundreds of emails every week. Some receive more than a hundred a day! There’s no way someone could deeply read every message they receive—many will frequently scan an email to see if they’re interested in reading further.

If you want to engage your email recipients, make your message easy to scan. Here are some things you can try:

  • Choose a font that’s easy to read. This generally means avoiding elaborate fonts, using a font size that’s easily decipherable on different devices—typically 12- to 14-point font—and a font color that contrasts with your email’s background.
  • Embrace white space. Even the most passionate supporters don’t want to read a wall of text! Adding line breaks between paragraphs, using wide margins, and making sure to add plenty of space around images will make your email easier to read.
  • Try using bulleted lists. They’re easier to scan and help people process the information you’re presenting to them. There’s a reason this list is broken up into bullet points instead of a single long paragraph!
  • Bold key words and phrases. When someone scans your message, any bolded words will stand out from the surrounding text. Try bolding important takeaways, specific calls to action, thank-you language, and anything else you want to stand out.

When your email is easy to scan, you boost the likelihood of catching your readers’ attention and inspiring them to read the rest of your message more closely.