How To Write An Effective Peer-To-Peer Fundraising Email

This post was co-authored by Kindful and Emma, building on a post on effective email tips originally published on Emma’s blog.

You may understand how important email copy is, but do you have the skills to write effective copy? An effective email is one that inspires your audience to take action. In this blog post, we’re focusing on how to write good peer-to-peer fundraising emails.

With that in mind, ask yourself: Would my emails convince volunteers to join my organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising campaign? If you’re not sure, keep reading for our email writing tips.

Before we jump in, let’s review what makes an email effective.

Peer-To-Peer Fundraising Email Template & Example

To write the best email for your readers, you must understand the anatomy of one. Once you’ve understood that, you can start to craft emails that get your messages across and resonate with your readers. Let’s break down each component of the template with an example email for each one.

Here’s are the components of an effective peer-to-peer fundraising email template:

• Subject/Preheader
• Opener
• Body
• Call-To-Action
• Closing

1. Subject Line/Preheader Text

This is the first piece of information your readers see—this is their first impression. And it’s true what they say about first impressions: They matter. In fact, this is what determines if your recipients open your message or trash it.

Your goal is to tell the reader what’s in the email. The challenge is to get them interested enough to open the email to find out more. Check out Emma’s advice for crafting the best email subject lines.

2. Opener

Once you’ve grabbed the reader’s attention, write an opener that welcomes the reader. While most openers will directly greet your reader, some will use a crafty heading to encourage them to continue reading.

Don’t overthink this! Just think about what would be appropriate for the type of email you’re sending and start there.

3. Body

The body of the message is the bulk of your content. This is where you get to the point of your communication. In fact, short and sweet is the key to writing compelling body copy—and we’ll tell you why in a moment.

4. Call-To-Action (CTA)

The CTA is exactly what it sounds like: the action you’re calling on your supporters to take. In your peer-to-peer fundraising emails, your CTA might be something like asking them to create a personalized fundraising page to raise money for your organization’s mission.

Think about your email as a vehicle for this CTA; this is the whole reason you’re reaching out to your supporters. Very rarely will you send an email without an ask in it. Don’t forget to include it as a link or button so it stands out!

5. Closing

You never want to end your message with the body of your email. Instead, include a friendly sign-off. These can be quick and simple, or they can be tailored to your audience.

You don’t have to be generic with your closers. In fact, you should avoid the more standard closers because they can come off as informal, cold, and even passive-aggressive. This is a great opportunity to end with a touch of empathy.

Peer-To-Peer Fundraising Email Tips

Now it’s time to get into specifics. These email writing tips will help you take your copy from average to excellent.

Make Your Objective Obvious

Think about how crowded your own inbox is right now. Now imagine your organization’s email landing at the top of it and slowly being pushed down as more emails come in.
Your message is just one of dozens (if not hundreds) that your reader receives that day. With so many emails popping up in the average supporter’s inbox, it’s no wonder people tend to skim messages (if they open them at all).

That’s why you need to make your email’s objective obvious from the start.

If you’re making proper use of your email subject line and preheader text, your readers know exactly what your email is about. From there, you’ll want to write clear and concise copy—then your readers can scan your message and decide whether they want to click through for more information.

Get Right To The Point

You don’t have time (or your readers’ attention) to waste so make sure you get right to the point. You’ll want to make your ask quickly and get them to act on your CTA.

Since most people skim your message anyway, don’t waste time crafting long-winded messages. Your readers want to know what your message is and why they should care—and they want to know it as soon as possible.

Write For Your Readers

At this point, you should know what your target audience wants to see.

That includes:

• Using language that’s familiar to them
• Making use of headers and subheadings to break up text
• Using varying fonts and colors to make certain sections stand out
• Including images, videos, or GIFs

Your tone matters here. You’ll want to speak to them in a professional way, as you’re representing your organization, but you’ll also want to talk with them as if you’re having a conversation with a friend.

Don’t Forget Your CTA

While some messages will perform better with hyperlinks, many readers prefer an easily-noticeable CTA button. Look at past emails that you’ve sent that have performed well and see how you can learn from those and implement those elements in your peer-to-peer emails.

Crafting the perfect email CTA follows a lot of the same email writing tips, including:

• Keeping text concise
• Having a clear objective
• Driving action

 

Looking for more information on planning and executing your best peer-to-peer fundraising campaign? We’ve put together the most up-to-date peer-to-peer and crowdfunding resources to help you get started.

And if you don’t have an email service provider yet, we recommend considering Emma for Nonprofits, available as a seamless integration with Kindful.

Go To Peer-To-Peer Resource Center »