Email marketing is an incredibly effective way to reach your audience—that is, if anyone’s listening. If you need to grow your organization’s email list, there are several think-outside-the-box strategies to implement, says Sean Kosofsky on the Wild Apricot blog.

“Most small nonprofits are trying to tackle big things, and have big agendas,” he says. “But when you can only send emails to a tiny list of supporters, it can feel like you aren’t getting anywhere—especially since not everyone opens every email.”

Kosofsky offers these four tips to expand your following:

Network with LinkedIn. You can quickly turn your connections into an exported list of email addresses. Now you can reach out to a list of individuals who are already affiliated with you and are willing to associate with you online.

Create landing pages that entice people to join your mailing list. On the page should be a mixture of elements, including a description of what your organization has to offer.

Use lead magnets. In other words, offer a service or piece of content to the public in exchange for their email address. What should you offer? “A free download, a cheat sheet, tip sheet, workbook, infographic, or a free 10-minute video course explaining something really useful related to your mission,” Kosofsky says.

Spread the word online. Once you have a landing page and lead magnet, ask any friendly organizations, nonprofits, businesses, or individuals to share your pages with their audiences.

Engaging Members With Fun Activities

Ever think about hosting a game night to entertain your members? Read our latest blog to learn about all the fun ideas we have bundled to help keep your members active! https://t.co/HRaqJCjZQC #AssnChat #associationmanagement #memberplanet #ChaptersSuccess #activememberslast

— memberplanet (@memberplanet) October 10, 2019

Need to keep your members active? Stimulate their minds, says Patrick Terrian on the MemberPlanet blog.

“Broadly defined, engagement is activity, and for your association, the activity between your organization and the member, as well as the member-to-member interaction your association provides that drives membership value,” he says.

There are many ways to go about this, but hosting  game nights or contests can make it easy for members to interact with each other and develop relationships within your organization.

Other Links of Note

All you need is love: Use kindness and appreciation to improve your team culture, suggests Kishshana Palmer on the Bloomerang blog.

How do you create content that doesn’t disappoint? Always consider the needs of your readers, writes Gina Balarin for Content Marketing Institute.

Have an event around Halloween? Smart Meetings identifies five spooky spots where you can host it.

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