Use kicker emails to boost action rates

Get the Tip of the Day by Email

Sometimes even your most ardent supporters need a reminder to take action on an email you sent them. That's why you should strap on your boots and send a follow up email called a kicker.

Here are a few key considerations for your kickers, as well as an example from a campaign I helped run.

• Send a kicker 3-5 days after you sent the initial email.
• The kicker should be short, to the point and have a somewhat more urgent message.
• Reinforce your theory of change and why it's critical that the reader takes action.
• Send the kicker email from a different person within your organization.

Here's an example of an email campaign including kickers that we ran at Freedom to Marry.

In September, we surveyed our supporter base as we began setting our priorities for 2012. The response was decent, but we wanted to hear from more of our supporters.

After tabulating the initial results, we sent two follow up emails. We sent one email to supporters who had taken the survey and a second email to supporters who had not taken the survey. Both emails reported back what areas our supporters told us they want us to focus on next year. The email to survey takers asked them to share the survey with family and friends to get more people to take the survey. The email to non-survey takers encouraged them to add their voices to the feedback we'd already gotten.

From the kicker email to non-survey takers alone, we more than doubled the number of people who took action simply by sending a follow up.

Simple kicker emails can dramatically increase your email action rates and increase the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Have additional thoughts on what makes a successful kicker? Share them in the comments.

Michael Crawford is Director of Online Programs for Freedom to Marry.

Photo from sam metal xvx, via Creative Commons