Breast Cancer Care achieve an 81% open rate for fundraising welcome email

Using a simple design with targeted content and timing, this welcome email attracted high engagement rates from key stakeholders.

Brand: Breast Cancer Care
Designed and developed by: Tom Dixon from Adestra
Created by: Isabel Devaney
Website: breastcancercare.org.uk

Campaign details

Subject line: Your Pink Ribbonwalk event pack
Open: 81%
Click: 56% of opened, 93% higher than the previous year

Context

What data was used?

This campaign was sent to anyone who signed up to enter one of the charity’s fundraising events.

Objective

• Keep new registrants for the Pink Ribbonwalk event engaged
• Share the ways in which Breast Cancer Care supports their fundraisers for this event

What makes this a performing campaign?

Welcome emails have become a standard practice in most industries but they are perhaps the most impactful in the charity industry. Charities depend on the passion of their donors and supporters to raise money for their cause. That’s why it was important for Breast Cancer Care to make registrants for the Pink Ribbonwalk feel supported in their undertaking. The email campaign is highly targeted to the recipients in terms of both content and timing, with it arriving within 24 hours of signing up.

The design was created by the Adestra Digital team after a detailed briefing with Breast Cancer Care. The welcome email uses a simple layout and visual brand consistency throughout, with the email banner used in line with their marketing creative so that it is instantly recognizable to the reader.

Each subscriber is greeted with first name personalization, as well as friendly and enthusiastic copy like ‘a big hello from everyone in the team’ and ‘we are thrilled you will be joining us’. To make the email even more relevant, Breast Cancer Care used conditional content to automatically insert the walk location that each fundraiser had signed up for. Testing revealed that segmenting these triggered emails and their content for supporters who had signed up for night or day walks improved engagement.

To keep the excitement after signing up alive, the charity included:

• a guide, with tips and advice
• a training plan, to help fundraisers prepare
• a sponsor form, to help them keep track of the donations they receive

The Results

This campaign has seen fantastic results in terms of engagement with their audience. The great timing and relevant subject line convinced 81% of the receivers to open the email. Once opened, 56% of those fundraisers proceeded to make use of the resources offered, with the highest engagement rates coming from the guide and sponsor form calls-to-action.

Compared to the email campaign sent in the previous year for Pink Ribbonwalk, this strategy brought them a 19% increase in open rates and a massive 93% increase in click-throughs (from 29%). Breast Cancer Care will continue to monitor the success of these campaigns and their impact on fundraising for Pink Ribbonwalk.