Digital Marketing Agency | Nonprofits Source
Digital Marketing Agency | Nonprofits Source

Email & Direct Mail Statistics For Nonprofits

Email Giving Statistics - Nonprofits SourceMarketers need to consider widely different channels to reach all the right audiences. Besides that, they need to stand out. Social media, video, microsites, paid ads, search results, and email are saturated with messages from marketers.

Many of the newest marketing channels are proven innovative communication tools, but email remains a pillar of effective marketing. With 91 percent of all US consumers checking email daily, email marketing should be at the center of your nonprofit’s outreach efforts.

Email Fundraising Statistics

  • Email messaging drove 28% of all online revenue in 2017.
  • 68% of donors worldwide most trust websites & email addresses that use the .org domain extension.
  • The Public Media sector received the lowest share of revenue from email (10%), while 57% of online revenue for Wildlife/Animal Welfare nonprofits was driven by email.
  • Email list size increased in 2017, but at a slower rate than previous years.
  • In 2015, lists grew by 15%; in 2016, by 14%; in 2017, by 11%.
  • Public Media nonprofits saw 41% growth in list size in 2017, while International was the only sector to experience a decline (a change of -8%).
  • For every 1,000 fundraising emails a nonprofit sends, it will raise an average of $17.
  • Nonprofits sent an average of 66 email messages per subscriber in 2017, marking an 11% increase in volume from 2016.
  • The largest category of email messages was fundraising (25 emails per year per subscriber).
  • Environmental nonprofits sent an average of 89 emails per subscriber, the most of any sector; the Health sector had the lowest volume, with 38.
  • Advocacy email response rate declined by 9% in 2017, to 2.2%.
  • Small drops were reported for open rate (down 1% to 15%), click-through rate (down 1% to 2.5%), and page completion rate (down 4%, to 76%). The unsubscribe rate fell to 0.12%, 13% lower than in the previous year.
  • Fundraising email response rate declined by 6% in 2017, to 0.06%.
  • As with advocacy messages, small drops were reported for open rate (down 1% to 15%), click-through rate (down 6% to 0.42%), and page completion rate (down 6%, to 16%). The unsubscribe rate fell to 0.18%, 3% lower than in the previous year.
  • Walk/run/cycling event fundraisers who send more than 15 emails raise 76% more than non-email senders.
  • 79% of fundraising emails do not personalize their “To” line with a first and last name.

Direct Mail & Digital Work Together

  • It can take up to 18-20 touchpoints to reach a customer for the first time.
  • 90% visit website first before calling.
  • 96% leave without making a purchase.
  • Direct mail with digital ads yields 28% higher conversion rate.
  • Marketing campaigns that used direct mail and 1 or more digital media experienced 118% lift in response rate compared to using direct mail only.
  • Website visitors who are retargeted are 70% more likely to convert.
  • 26% of customers will return to a site through retargeting.

Direct Mailing Statistics

  • The volume of direct mail went down to 149.4 billion in 2016, but direct mail as a percentage of all mail went up.
  • Direct mail response rates in 2016 were 5.3% for house file and 2.9% for prospect lists.
  • At 6.6%, oversized envelopes have the greatest household response rates over other mediums (followed by postcards at 5.7% and letter-sized envelopes at 4.3%).
  • At 37%, oversized envelopes have the greatest household return on investment over other mediums (followed by postcards and letter-sized envelopes at 29%).
  • The top response rate tracking methods are online tracking such as PURLs (61%), call center or telephone (53%), and code or coupon (42%).
  • For every $167 spent of direct mail in the US, marketers sell $2095 in goods.
  • Adding a person’s name and full color in the direct mail can increase response by 135%.
  • Adding a person’s name, full color and more sophisticated database information can increase the response rate by up to 500% vs not doing any of these things.
  • Targeting customers on a 1:1 level increases response rates up to 50% or more.
  • 40% of a direct marketing campaign’s success is in the data.
  • 73% of firms aspire to be data-driven but only 29% of firms succeed at turning data into action.
  • 13% of emails are opened and read within five minutes.
  • 17% of people who send their support from email are doing so on a mobile device.
  • The open rate for nonprofit emails specifically is between 15% and 18% on average.
  • Emails with social sharing options increase click-through rates by 158

Read the full list of charitable giving statistics