Email Marketing: 2005 Benchmark Study
Q: What's the best day(s) for sending email messages to assure the best open and click-thru rates?
A: Friday and Sunday are running neck and neck.
Q: What type of lists generate higher response?
A: Smaller lists work better than larger lists. In fact the larger the list the more
difficult it is to improve response.
Questions like those above and the answers to them are contained in ExactTarget's 2005 Response Rate Study of Email Marketing. This is the follow-up to Morgan Stewart's 2004 groundbreaking study of which day of the week was the best day to send emails.
Stewart's most recent study includes data from more than 4,000 organizations, 230,000 email campaigns and 2.7 billion email messages.
Here's a summary of the results at a glance:
- Open rates are declining, while click-through rates remain stable.
- Average “Unsubcribe” rates aapear to be stabilizing at 0.25 percent.
- There is evidence of list fatigue for organizations that have been sending emaili for more than a year. This is being countered through re-engagement and list cleansing strategies.
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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