I had a development director ask me at a recent nonprofit networking event about converting her organization’s direct mail list to an email list. I made a few of the suggestions below and she replied, “But that requires them (the recipients) to do something.” Yep. Afraid so. Since it is illegal to send unsolicited emails in this country, these are our options. (You COULD simply export your LinkedIn contacts to your email contacts and start blasting away, but you’re risking more than you’re gaining.)

Migrating people from your expensive, infrequent, printed direct mail newsletter to an inexpensive, and frequent email newsletter won’t be a one-time, get-them-switched-over-and-you’re-done project. It will be a process, with a goal of converting as many on the mail list to the email list as possible. Each conversion will save you money and you’ll gain a good measure of organic signups to your email list along the way.

But I’m not suggesting you ditch your fancy but expensive mailer altogether. Rather, think about scaling down the frequency of the direct mail and increasing the frequency of the email list. Many nonprofits send mailers quarterly. If you scale those back to twice a year, then you will have the budget to email people monthly, plus some money to spare. There are a few very good reasons for this.

First, there are still many people in the world who prefer direct mail (although I personally can’t fathom why!). I recently had lunch with a friend who works with a major public utility, and he said only 17% of their customers elect to receive ebills. That statistic was startling to me, but it does show that people have a hard time weaning themselves off paper. I suspect people would be more open to receiving an informational newsletter via email versus an electronic bill.

Second, one of the metrics in marketing and advertising is touch. The more times you “touch” an individual, the more likely it is they will connect with your message and mission. That’s why it’s important to have a mix of direct mail, email, social media, web, advertising, and events. If you have people who are touched by more than one of these tactics your chances of connecting with them in a truly meaningful way increases. While you lose some touch when you scale back your direct mail, you are gaining touches per person with email.

Third, your network is your net worth. Although social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are popular, they do not provide the direct-to-inbox experience an email does. Couple that with a well-crafted subject line and you can really get people’s attention.

With all that in mind, these suggestions cover direct conversions as well as indirect ones. Read on and you’ll understand what I mean:

• Ask them - This is the obvious one, but it’s important that you execute it properly. Next time you send a direct mail piece, make a Call To Action (CTA) to join the e-newsletter. Why? By opting to receive the email, people are saving your organization money and saving the environment. Send them to a page on your website that is dedicated to this task. It should reinforce the reasons for making the change and should state that they will be removed from the direct mailing list. The button on the site can say “Send Me an Email Newsletter.” You can set up your email system to drop these subscribers into their own list, which you can then compare to your direct mail list once a month, and remove the necessary names.
• Events - I’m always amazed when I go to a nonprofit event when people are NOT asking me to join their newsletter. This is by far the easiest way for nonprofits to get people on their lists. Many people who come to your events are there because they learned about them in a direct mail campaign. You can ask these people if they want to be removed from the direct mail newsletter when they sign up for the email one.
• Donors and Volunteers - Anytime anyone makes a donation, either monetary, in-kind, or volunteer, ask them on all your forms or in person for an email address and permission to send them your newsletter or ask them if they would rather receive your email newsletter. These are your most important messengers and should always be on your email list.
• Sign up on the Facebook Page - Constant Contact has a pretty easy process for creating an email newsletter sign-up for your Facebook page. Use it. You can see it in action on our Digital Marketing Department Facebook page.
• Download-only content - This is a tactic businesses use all the time and with a little creativity so can nonprofits. If you create educational content that people want, especially around your mission, you can grow your email list. For instance, a nonprofit the focuses on family health, might want to offer a booklet on how to spot common health problems early on and what to do if you see symptoms. People who are interested will gladly give you their email address to download the booklet. This, too, can be set up automatically in email newsletter systems. If you advertise the content in your direct mail newsletter you can convert recipients to the email system.

As you can see, it’s not a one-and-done deal, but a process. If you run it for a year I’m pretty sure you will see your direct mail list shrink (and hopefully your printing and mailing costs too), while you grow your email list.