3 Segments Your Nonprofit's Email Marketing Needs

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Hi friends,

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Looking to boost your email open rates?
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Maybe make your audience feel more seen and heard?

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And what about a boost in engagement while you’re at it?

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Then it’s time to work on your nonprofit’s segmentation strategies!

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The idea behind email segmentation is simple:

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Different audiences care about different things.

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Your dedicated volunteers and long-time supporters don’t need the same information as someone who just learned about your organization or attended their first event.

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Here are three different ways you can segment your nonprofit’s email lists to get the right message to the right people at the right time.
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1 – New community members

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This segment could include:

• New donors
• First-time event attendees
• Brand-new email subscribers
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Content ideas for new community members

• Basics about your organization
  • “Did you know?” facts about your nonprofit
• Educational information
  • Share top statistics from your annual report
• Service or program highlights
  • Explain who you help with your services

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Effective Call to Actions (CTAs) for new community members

• Learn More
  • Link to content about your programs, annual report, etc.
• Follow Us
  • Link to your most-used social media channels

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New community members chose to support your organization or sign up for your mailing list, so they will know some things about you. But, sharing more details about your programs and mission keeps your organization top of mind so they’ll feel involved — and more inclined to support your organization.

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2 — Long-term supporters ​
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This segment could include:

• Board members
• Long-time volunteers
• Committee members

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Content ideas for long-term supporters

• Updates on your organization
  • Highlight what a recent donation helped you achieve
• Program successes or wins
  • Share a milestone one of your programs has hit
• Event invitations (and reminders)
  • Offer an exclusive invite to an up-and-coming event
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Effective CTAs for long-term supporters

• Share Now
  • Link to your latest post on social media to help spread the word
• Get Involved
  • Invite them to join a new committee or attend your next event

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Treat long-term supporters as friends and keep them in the loop. Update them about new staff, invite them to celebrate milestones with you, and let them be the first to know details about upcoming special events. They’ve stuck by your side for a long time. Make sure they know you appreciate them!

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3 – Program participants/service users

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This segment could include:

• People who attended a class
• Parents of kids who are part of a program
• Supporters who have shown interest in a service
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Content ideas for program participants/service users

• Information about how to participate
  • A step-by-step on how to receive benefits
• Highlight FAQs about using your services
  • "This is the paperwork you’ll need to sign up for X”
• Share details about classes
  • Showcase this month’s class schedules

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Effective CTAs for program participants/service users

• Call Us
  • Share your program coordinator’s phone number to answer questions
• Learn More
  • Link to your program’s website page or a landing page with more details

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Remember: this is not the group you should be asking for donations or monetary support. The content you send to this segment should be focused on how you can help them through your programs and services. Focus on sharing information about how they can get involved — and what you can do to help.

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See you in two weeks!

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Catrina

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P.S. Need help getting started with segmentation? Reply to this email to book a call with me and I’ll guide you through it step-by-step.

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© 2025 Catrina Ossmann - Clever Ideas Marketing®