Animal lovers are a breed of their own (sorry, best pun I've got at 8am). Last weekend I joined a group of self -proclaimed animal enthusiasts for a National Disaster Animal Response Team (NDART) training workshop hosted by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
What's that, you say? Think Hurricane Katrina, Southern California wildfires, Kansas flooding. NDART teams can be deployed anywhere animals are caught in the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster or emergency.
Yes, this is an email marketing blog. Patience, friends.
Non-profits face many of the same questions as for-profit B2B and B2C organizations. Is email worth the investment? Can it show any real ROI? Can it really spread awareness and drive action?
I have to give HSUS props for their email marketing program. Just check out just a few ways email engages website visitors, increases issue awareness, and delivers transactional email communications:
- The Humane University email newsletter (eScoop)
- Pet Tips, Action Alerts, and Seal Watch email online opt-ins(complete with explanations of each type)
- "Email this page" website functionality to raise issue awareness
- Triggered transactional emails for training & event confirmations
- And much more!
And it gets better. Yesterday I visited the NDART site and had the the opportunity to opt-in for SMS messages. Major kudos for leveraging one of the latest one-to-one marketing technologies before most for-profit companies!
I started this post and 8am. Now it's 6pm - and I'm just getting around to finishing it. But that's life at ExactTarget - busy, busy, busy!
Take care,
Nicole
Marketing Communications Associate
ExactTarget
