This article walks through Double the Donation's recommended approach for the automated outreach and highlights a case study on email conversion rates.
Within your automated outreach, we give you a variety of options that include customizing emails using your organization's logo, header image, wording, and email template variables. You also can enable a certain number of emails, as well. We often get asked about our recommended approach, so you can view our recommended approach when dealing with automated outreach below:
Enabling Email Streams
Match Eligible
We recommend enabling the match-eligible email stream and sending at least 2 out of 3 emails within this email stream to these donors. This is because the majority of your donors in the match-eligible stream will be able to get their donation matched, so this is the #1 email stream you should be directly emailing regarding matching gifts.
Unknown Company
We recommend enabling the unknown company email stream and sending at least 1 out of 2 emails within this email stream to these donors. There will be a large population of donors in this email stream that could potentially be matching gift eligible, they just haven't identified where they work.
For more information on understanding automated email streams, view this article.
Sending Time of Emails
Match Eligible
- Initial email: 0 hours
- Follow-up email: 72 hours
- Final email: 720 hours
Unknown Company
- Initial email: 0 hours
- Follow-up email: 192 hours
We recommend enabling AT LEAST 1 out of 2 emails in the Unknown Company stream.
In a study of Double the Donation clients, it was found that activating the second email in the Unknown Company stream resulted in at least a 40% increase in matches initiated by donors (compared to sending 0 emails).
Customizing Emails
You can edit the following:
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The sending time
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The subject of the email
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The body of the emails
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Include email template variables within the body of the emails
We recommend including the following items in all of the emails:
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Your organization's logo
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Header image
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The following variables in the match-eligible email stream:
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{{form_available_link}}
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{{indicate_match_submitted_link}}
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{{matched_company_info}}
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{{matched_company_name}}
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{{indicate_ineligible_link}}
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The following variables in the unknown company email stream:
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{{plugin_link}}
- {{indicate_match_submitted_link}}
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{{indicate_ineligible_link}}
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For more information on what the email template variables mean, view this article.
We've configured the email streams to be turned on right away. Often organizations may edit the introduction of the email and the signature but keep all the variables within the original email template as they are very important.
Case Study: Email Conversion Rates
Match Eligible automated outreach stream
# of Match Eligible emails enabled | Total % of eligible donations submitted for matching | Impact of the final email vs accounts with 1 fewer email sent |
1 email | 31% of eligible gifts submitted for matching | N/A |
2 emails | 45% of eligible gifts submitted for matching |
45% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 1 email 18% of remaining match-eligible donors submitted their matches after receiving the 2nd email |
3 emails | 49% of eligible gifts submitted for matching |
58% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 2 emails 5% of remaining match-eligible donors submitted their matches after receiving the 3rd email |
Unknown Company automated outreach stream
# of Unknown Company emails enabled | % more requests submitted than accounts with 0 emails |
1 email | 40% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 0 emails |
2 emails | 67% more matching gift requests submitted than accounts with 0 emails |
Takeaway: Each additional email enabled by the organization increased matching gift revenue!
FAQ
Q: Should I enable my emails before or after my donation platform, CRM, or data import file has been integrated with Double the Donation Matching?
A: You should enable your emails before you integrate your donation platform, CRM, or data import file with the matching module. The reason is that this will prevent any donation records from missing an automated email.
Q: I've integrated my platform with Double the Donation Matching, but my emails weren't turned on. Can I enable my emails now and have the automated emails be sent to donation records retroactively?
A: No, the automated email streams will start going out the date/time you turn it on. The matching moduledoesn't retroactively send emails. Therefore, if any emails did not receive an automated email outreach, we recommend sending manual emails to those donors.
For more information on sending manual emails, view this article.