Want 50% Lift In Email Conversions?
Then read this excellent case study provided by Marketing Sherpa. But you must read by June 24 unless you’re a subscriber.
In this example, a travel destination raised its conversion rates on marketing emails by 50% by embedding a brief video that automatically played when the email was opened.
If you missed the deadline, here’s the bottomline: Test everything in advance.
They tested:
- The video content itself (what was most compelling?)
- The optimal video length (from the perspective of being accepted by the filters of the major email clients)
- Email subject lines (putting the word "video" in the subject line performed best.
I wonder how many online marketers in the nonprofit space are this meticulous?
Tom
One response to “Want 50% Lift In Email Conversions?”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]
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Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (“everyone’s giving today”), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]
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When a subject line leads with the match (“Your gift matched!”), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]
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There’s no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]
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What you’re experiencing is very common. Resistance often isn’t about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]
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That’s a really thoughtful question, and you’re not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, we’ve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]
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Video is an excellent way to engage an audience and elicit an auction. We have a number of nonprofit clients who have created and distributed flimps generating fantastic results.