Choosing a Nonprofit Email Newsletter Provider
by Deane Brengle on 2008-07-24
One of the most important decisions you'll ever have to make about your nonprofit email newsletter is which company to choose for delivery. Choose wrong and maybe your newsletter will never see the light of day in your members email inbox. Choose right and your provider will seamlessly supply whitelisting, subscription management, tracking and reporting, and much more.
Here's a comprehensive checklist of basic features you'll find important. Use it to find a good match with the right email newsletter provider.
Pricing
How is their pricing based? Some providers have tiered plans with monthly minimums. Others are pay as you go. Each has their good and bad points. Know how many email address you are sending to and how many times a month. Only then can you accurately compare providers by price.
Easy of Use
How easy is it to import your existing newsletter email list? Will everyone have to sign up again? Will they have to confirm their new subscription or will it be automatic?
Is the format for composing and sending your emails intuitive and easy to understand?
Is it easy for new subscribers to your newsletter to sign up? And to leave the list?
Formatting
Are text and HTML versions offered? Can subscribers choose their version? Do you want them to be able to?
Scheduling
Can you schedule the delivery of your newsletter to be automatically delivered at a future date?
Deliverability
Does the provider work pro-actively with large ISPs (like AOL, Yahoo, etc.) to be included on their approved senders lists (white lists)? Do they actively police their own customers to ensure their service isn't being used to send out spam? Do they resolve spam complaints and notify you when they happen? Do they stay abreast of the changing rules that affect deliverability?
Support
What kind of support does each provider offer? Email only? Dedicated 800 number? What are their service hours?
Reports
Do they provide reports on the success of the deliverability of each email newsletter you send out? How many bounced?
Tracking
Do they offer tracking for open rates (how many readers actually open your email), click through tracking (for links to articles or donation requests), and other usage data?
Personalization
Can you personalize each newsletter with the recipients name (first, last, or both)? Some providers offer many personalization options beyond just the name too.
Segmentation
Can you send a special newsletter to a segment of your list? To those that have joined in the last six month? To different donor levels? To different geographic groups?
Subscriber Management
Is there a web base subscriber form available for you to add to your website? Can you add subscribers manually? Can your subscribers manage their subscriptions (subscribe and unsubscribe) without any effort on your part?
CAN-SPAM Compliance
Is the provider CAN-SPAM Compliant? Does each message you send meet the minium requirements (name and mailing address)? Is there a way to unsubscribe automatically included in each email you send (via email, web, or both)?
Welcome Message
Can you have a welcome message that each new subscriber will get immediately when they sign up?
Message preview and testing
Can you preview your message to see what it will look like before you send it to your list? Can you send yourself a test message to see what it looks like?
Backup
Can you backup and download your subscriber list? What formats are available?
Nonprofit Discount
Do they offer discounts to nonprofit organizations.
Here's a comprehensive checklist of basic features you'll find important. Use it to find a good match with the right email newsletter provider.
Pricing
How is their pricing based? Some providers have tiered plans with monthly minimums. Others are pay as you go. Each has their good and bad points. Know how many email address you are sending to and how many times a month. Only then can you accurately compare providers by price.
Easy of Use
How easy is it to import your existing newsletter email list? Will everyone have to sign up again? Will they have to confirm their new subscription or will it be automatic?
Is the format for composing and sending your emails intuitive and easy to understand?
Is it easy for new subscribers to your newsletter to sign up? And to leave the list?
Formatting
Are text and HTML versions offered? Can subscribers choose their version? Do you want them to be able to?
Scheduling
Can you schedule the delivery of your newsletter to be automatically delivered at a future date?
Deliverability
Does the provider work pro-actively with large ISPs (like AOL, Yahoo, etc.) to be included on their approved senders lists (white lists)? Do they actively police their own customers to ensure their service isn't being used to send out spam? Do they resolve spam complaints and notify you when they happen? Do they stay abreast of the changing rules that affect deliverability?
Support
What kind of support does each provider offer? Email only? Dedicated 800 number? What are their service hours?
Reports
Do they provide reports on the success of the deliverability of each email newsletter you send out? How many bounced?
Tracking
Do they offer tracking for open rates (how many readers actually open your email), click through tracking (for links to articles or donation requests), and other usage data?
Personalization
Can you personalize each newsletter with the recipients name (first, last, or both)? Some providers offer many personalization options beyond just the name too.
Segmentation
Can you send a special newsletter to a segment of your list? To those that have joined in the last six month? To different donor levels? To different geographic groups?
Subscriber Management
Is there a web base subscriber form available for you to add to your website? Can you add subscribers manually? Can your subscribers manage their subscriptions (subscribe and unsubscribe) without any effort on your part?
CAN-SPAM Compliance
Is the provider CAN-SPAM Compliant? Does each message you send meet the minium requirements (name and mailing address)? Is there a way to unsubscribe automatically included in each email you send (via email, web, or both)?
Welcome Message
Can you have a welcome message that each new subscriber will get immediately when they sign up?
Message preview and testing
Can you preview your message to see what it will look like before you send it to your list? Can you send yourself a test message to see what it looks like?
Backup
Can you backup and download your subscriber list? What formats are available?
Nonprofit Discount
Do they offer discounts to nonprofit organizations.
About The Author: Deane Brengle is a nonprofit professional who enjoys helping organizations become more successful. He writes for the Fund$Raiser Cyberzine www.fundsraiser.com on a variety of subjects like nonprofit newsletters and fundraising ideas.