Email marketing for crowdfunding

According to a study by Indiegogo, the well-known American crowdfunding platform, conversion rates from email are 34 percent higher than other forms of contact used to reach potential investors in a crowdfunding campaign. Email marketing for crowdfunding is a strategy that cannot be excluded from the communication plan.

Emails are a personal, direct, professional means of communication, as opposed to social media and corporate website, so it is essential to know how to use them to deliver personalized, persuasive and engaging messages to your target audience: let's find out together in this article.

Goals of email marketing for crowdfunding

Like all marketing strategies, email marketing has two main goals: to sell and to build a relationship between recipients and brand.

In the context of crowdfunding in particular, this means:

• Promote the crowdfunding campaign and increase the visibility of the project
• Building a community of followers and maintaining contact with investors and interested parties
• Sharing updates and news about the campaign and project
• Solicit feedback and suggestions 
• Create a direct channel of communication with supporters, investors, customers, and potential such to keep alive even after the crowdfunding campaign.

Using email allows social media's 1-to-many messages to be flanked by 1-to-1 messages that can more effectively capture the attention of the public. This is especially important when the goal is to lead to investment, an action that takes time and thought far more than a compulsive T-shirt purchase, which can be concluded in minutes from a sponsored post on a social network.

Email also accredits communication as more professional and validates its credibility and trustworthiness, if well constructed. And we know that trust is an indispensable element in turning a user into an investor.

Finally, emails are a cost-effective tool and easy to analyze from a performance perspective, facilitating optimization.

Email marketing for crowdfunding step by step

We summarize the steps to be taken to build a good email marketing strategy:

1. Choose email marketing software with marketing automation tools.
2. Define the target audience and segment it within it.
3. Create a mailing list with the contacts you already have and divide them into the segments identified in the previous step.
4. Establish communication goals and the general outline of content.
5. Define posting frequency and create an editorial plan with calendar.
6. Gather feedback to optimize the email marketing campaign going forward.

Email marketing software

To manage your email marketing activities, you need to use newsletter software. These programs allow you to create and segment email lists, provide templates to easily build well-structured and personalized emails, and automate sending, with pre-selected times and audiences. 

The most interesting aspect of these software, however, is the ability to integrate marketing automation tools that go beyond mere sending automation and analytical tools to monitor the performance of each email campaign. For example, it is possible to ask the software to send a second preset email after a preset time to all those in a given segment who did not open the first one, and a different message to those who did open it, yet another to those who opened it and performed a certain action within it (clicking on a link, etc.). In parallel, it is possible to integrate these software with CRM tools to track the actions taken by the users receiving the emails and build an organized database on this information, so that you always have an overview of the progress of the campaign and the potential of each contact.

The choice of email marketing software, therefore, needs to evaluate the tools provided, ease of use, integrability with other software (to embed enrollment forms on websites, social media, etc., to use CRM, tap into other databases, and convey contacts from other platforms), customization options, and data protection according to the legal standard.

Some of the most popular include:

• Mailchimp
• Constant Contact
• Sendinblue
• Mailjet

How to create an effective mailing list

The starting point of any communication strategy is targeting, and email marketing for crowdfunding is no exception.

The best target audience for raising capital with a crowdfunding campaign are the company's customers or potential customers of the company, so the mailing list must target these people. The first email addresses to fill it will be those already in the company's database as a result of purchases, subscriptions, newsletter or event sign-ups, or other types of customer interactions.

However, the database thus created must be divided within it into smaller, specific groups: this is called segmentation.

Audience segmentation: examples

Not all contacts are the same: just as in real life we address people differently according to the relationship we have with them, in email we also need to differentiate communication according to the characteristics of the interlocutors and the connection with them.

Here are some useful segmentation criteria:

• Customers vs. non-customers
• Newsletter subscribers vs. non-subscribers
• Time elapsed since enrollment
• Open rate of emails already sent
• Origin of the email address
• Biographical data (e.g., age)
• Geographical origin

Loyal customers can be given more confidential emails and exclusive content, while new contacts should be given more detailed information about the company and its projects.

Contacts that have arrived in the database via a webinar on a specific topic should be targeted with content related to that topic as a hook, just as the interests of younger versus more adult users may vary in terms of the range of products or services offered by the company.

People who reside in a particular geographic area are probably not interested in receiving communications about events taking place far away from them.

Segmentation also varies over time: specifically, for crowdfunding, a key example being those who invest in the campaign and then move into the "investor" segment, who will receive communications about the importance of word of mouth and updates on the company's activities, but no longer invitations to participate in the campaign (at least in the current one!).

Segmentation criteria are not reduced to those listed and they do not all always apply in the same way: they depend on the type of company, its activities, type of audience, and communication goals.

Searching for new contacts

Contacts already in the company's database may not be enough to do email marketing for crowdfunding effectively and achieve the goal of the campaign. To collect new email addresses, mailing list subscription forms can be included in several channels:

• Corporate website
• Landing page dedicated to the crowdfunding campaign
• Social media
• Webinar hosting software
• ...

Marketing automation tools will be used to convey all email addresses from the different sources into the database.

To persuade users to leave their email address there is a wide variety of possible strategies:

• Promising newsletters with useful content and information on a topic of interest to the target audience
• Offer discounts in exchange for membership
• Organize webinars on topics of interest 
• Offering exclusive content in exchange for the release of contact information (so-called lead magnet, e.g., a market report, an in-depth ebook, etc.).
• Organizing competitions that require an entry 
• Propose a survey that requires the release of data to participate
• ...

It is important to note that when collecting email addresses from multiple sources, it is critical to obtain users' consent before adding them to the mailing list. Also, it is important to comply with privacy and data protection regulations and always include an unsubscribe link at the bottom of emails.

Content marketing for crowdfunding

Having identified the audience, it is time to think about content. Texts, images, videos, and links that will fill the emails of a crowdfunding email marketing campaign must meet the following objectives:

• Generate interest in the target audience
• Strengthening brand awareness
• Creating an emotional involvement and connection of the target audience with the brand
• Retaining readers
• Explain what crowdfunding is, how it works, what are the benefits for investors
• Communicate the timing and deadlines of the crowdfunding campaign
• Provide updates on the progress of the campaign and invite word of mouth
• Maintain contact with post-campaign supporters.

For each objective, the messages to be conveyed, the key concepts to be later transformed into content, and the order in which they are to be presented should be established: it is important to construct coherent and logical paths of meaning, with bottom-up approach.

How to write effective emails for crowdfunding

• Use clear and concise language
• Put a short text as the subject line of the email that stimulates the opening of the message: not necessarily referential text that summarizes the content, but not misleading text either
• Do not write too long texts and divide them into short paragraphs
• Use bold and italics to visually enliven the text and guide reading, but sparingly
• Don't overdo it with special characters and emoji
• Storytelling about the project, the goals, the team behind it, the supporters themselves
• Offer content that is truly interesting to the target audience as well as merely advertising
• Always personalize emails with the recipient's name
• Include in each email one - and only one - Call to Action (CTA) that is clear, compelling and direct, as well as immediately identifiable graphically and easy to execute
• Use images and videos to make emails more appealing, making sure they are not too heavy to load
• Insert links to other company content (blog, social, site, landing page dedicated to crowdfunding campaign, etc.), but sparingly
• Insert buttons for sharing the content with other people and inviting word of mouth
• Always summarize key information about the company and crowdfunding that recipients should keep in mind
• Make sure the email is optimized for mobile devices, as most people read email on their phones.

Distinction between cold email and hot email

Cold emails: messages sent to people who have never interacted directly with the company before, who know nothing about the crowdfunding campaign and have not actively expressed interest in learning about it.

Cold emails should be cautious, not too frequent, short, clear and use more formal and polite language, focus on explaining why they deserve the attention of the person you are bothering. The call-to-actions in these emails should point to simple actions that are not strenuous in terms of time and data required.

Warm emails: messages sent to people who have already interacted with the company, have a lot of information about it and the crowdfunding campaign, or have actively shown interest in receiving it.

Warm emails can be more frequent, need to use more personal language, and focus on personalized and specific content to keep recipients' attention and trust. Calls to action can point to more challenging and conclusive actions.

Examples of email marketing for crowdfunding

Here are some examples of the must-have content in emails to send before and during a crowdfunding campaign.

• Welcome email for new subscribers to the mailing list
• Informational emails
• Thank you email for expression of interest in crowdfunding campaign during the precrowd phase
• Pre-launch, launch, pre-closing and closing of campaign emails
• Campaign and project update emails
• Email request for feedback and suggestions on both communication strategies and the crowdfunding campaign itself
• Email thanking investors for supporting the campaign.

These examples are not exhaustive and are generic, so they should be tailored to the needs of the company and its target audience. In each one there should be a call to action corresponding to the theme of the email and customized to the target audience, gradually from simpler to more challenging.

The email marketing calendar for crowdfunding

To be consistent and build a meaningful path, the best way is to create a content calendar, establishing for each type of content and for each target segment the frequency of sending. It can also be useful to establish precise days and times based on the habits of the target segment to identify times when the open rate and reading time are highest.

To be consistent and build a meaningful path, the best way is to create a content calendar, establishing for each type of content and for each target segment the frequency of sending. It can also be helpful to establish specific days and times based on the habits of the target segment, to identify times when the open rate and reading time are highest.

One can divide the crowdfunding email marketing campaign into 5 stages:

• Pre-launch phase: during precrowd, emailing is aimed at providing previews, information, and countdowns to build expectation and interest in the crowdfunding campaign. Frequency should be low on average, e.g., 1 time per week + 1 extra in case of special communications to be made or specific user actions that trigger other emails, and may increase in the week immediately prior to launch.
• Launch phase: 1 launch email on the opening day of the campaign to urge you to participate right away.
• Fundraising phase: email frequently several times a week, up to a maximum of about 3. Automatic updates can be set when a certain goal is reached, in addition to the obvious automatic thanks for those who invest.
• Pre-closing phase: emails several times a week, up to a maximum of 4 or so, to countdown to closing and invite the final sprint.
• Closing phase: 1 or 2 emails of thanks and conclusion to thank supporters and end the campaign.

These are not prescriptive directions, but rather ranges within which variations can be significant depending on the target audience. Thereafter, communications with supporters and customers can be maintained at a steady pace with a frequency ranging from 1 email per week to 1 per month as needed.

A/B testing to improve the performance of your emails

A/B testing is a technique used to compare two or more versions of an item, such as an email, to determine which version works best. This type of testing can be used to improve the performance of marketing emails and increase their effectiveness.

In email marketing for crowdfunding you can do A/B testing creating two versions of an email and sending them to two or more groups of recipients within the mailing list.

The versions may differ in some aspects, such as:

• Subject 
• Text 
• Images used
• Call to action
• Layout.

The results of the two or more versions are then compared to determine which worked best. Evaluation criteria may include:

• Opening rate
• Click-through rate
• Conversion rate
• Response rate.

The best performing email will be the one chosen to send to all the rest of the mailing list that was not involved in the test.

A/B testing thus makes it possible to identify the most effective strategies, improve email performance, and reduce costs.

Many email marketing software include A/B testing in its functionality, so it can be avoided manually, saving time and averting errors.

Regardless of this technique, however, it is always important to monitor the progress of email marketing for crowdfunding with the criteria just listed above so that you can correct your course if necessary.

How to do crowdfunding email marketing and avoid spam

Preventing emails from ending up in spam is crucial so that the communication campaign is effective, the company's reputation is not damaged, and resources are not wasted.

Here are some pointers for crafting spam-proof emails:

• Clearly identify the sender of the email and its IP address.
• Avoid spam words, such as "free," "offer," "win," "buy now," etc., where not essential and well contextualized.
• Avoid aggressive language.
• Do not use too many special characters.
• Do not insert images that are too large.
• Verify that the HTML codes entered are correct.
• Avoid links that can be perceived as phishing (too long, full of special characters, with similar domain to others, opening pop-ups, etc.).
• Include privacy and unsubscribe information required by law.