E-mail Marketing and the Generation Gap

With the rise of technology it seems that the internet, especially emails, have become the go-to marketing strategy for most organizations. Why? Because it's relatively easy and, if done correctly, can communicate a message to hundreds, if not thousands, of people. For many for-profit companies, the key to email communication is finding the right balance. You don't want to flood your customers' inbox. You want to make sure that the email is quick to convey your point. You have to avoid being filtered into the dreaded "spam" folder. These are some factors that large corporations must consider every day.

In the non-profit world, things are a little different. They must address all of the above factors, of course. Email marketing is still a large contender in the donor-outreach arena. But many non-profits have to deal with an additional factor: the age range of their audience.

Now, I'm a proud member of the "tech-savvy" generation, so when my internship supervisor told me that one of our donor groups was looking for a way to communicate dates, events and meetings with all of its members in one fell swoop, my instant response was, "Let's make a gmail account!"

It was brilliant I tell you! Brilliant! Calendars! Emails! Documents! You name it, gmail has it, all in one place. Boom!

My ego was quickly deflated when my supervisor said, "Well, there's a tiny problem. Only about a third of the group owns a computer."

Say what?! What bizarre group of people DOESN'T walk around with their eyes glued to a touchscreen mobile device? The answer? Our donors.

You see, the donor world is getting older. As Jenna Weiner points out in The Daily Tell, AARP members are almost TWICE as likely to donate money to organizations that serve the public need. Not to mention the fact that volunteers over the age of 65 donate the most time out of all age groups, averaging about 96 hours per year, with 10% of that population exceeding 500 volunteer hours per year! Compare that to the 25-34-year-old population, which only donates 34 hours per year on average.

In order to communicate with this awesome audience, organizations need to rely on "old school" marketing. I personally have created numerous brochures, made tons of reminder phone calls, and sent countless letters to ensure this population remains "in the loop." The 65+ population can make all the difference in the world, yet they are often overlooked.

In the non-profit world, if you are willing to go the extra mile to reach out to this population, you might just be surprised how much support comes back to you.

Photo By: Xavi Talleda