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Allyson Kapin 4 min read

Reaching Millennials Through Email

The conversation on email’s demise and how Millennial’s refuse to use it continues to be debated. According to Nielsen’s report, State of the Media: Advertising and Audiences, 61% of the general population checks email while they watch TV. And 52% of 13-17 year-olds check email while watching TV.  It’s interesting to note that 62% of Millennials checked social networks while watching TV, which is only a 10% increase over checking email.

Although the study didn’t reveal what devices Millenials were checking email on, it’s safe to say that a significant percentage was checking it via mobile. This is why it’s important that organizations tweak (not abandon) their email strategy to reach Millennials and other target audiences who are increasingly using mobile email.

According to Cynthia Hamlin at Net Atlantic, Millennials who open and read your email are more likely than any other age group to share it on social networks. So make sure there is a web version of your email that your activists and donors can share on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Hamlin also says that “Millennials are more than willing to signup for email campaigns; they are less concerned than older generations about spam or privacy. Since they have an endless supply of information available to them online, there has to be a compelling offer to entice them to share their email address or cell phone number.”

Designing emails for Millennials is important too, since emails need to be optimized for mobile devices.

Four Key Mobile Email Tips

  1. Keep emails short and to the point. People are reading your email on a small, 4 inch screen and are often in a rush.
  2. Don’t use large graphics. They take up a lot of room on a small screen. They can also take a while to download, which will annoy users and cause them to delete your message.
  3. Content should be scannable and flow down the screen.
  4. Use a mobile style sheet to setup your email in an email/CRM system.

 

By the way if your nonprofit is looking grow your email list, check out Care2's list building campaigns.

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Allyson Kapin

Allyson has been named one of "Top Tech Titans" by the Washingtonian, one of the Most Influential Women In Tech by Fast Company, and one of the top 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter by Forbes for her leadership role in technology and social media. As Founding Partner of Rad Campaign, she leads the firm's client and online strategic services. For over a decade Allyson has helped non-profit organizations and political campaigns create dynamic and award-winning websites and online marketing and recruitment campaigns. She works side-by-side with her clients to meet their web needs and maximize their online effectiveness to create real world impact.

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