Audience Segmentation Tips for Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Emails
Last month, I shared tips on how to find the right timing for your peer-to-peer fundraising email communications. They included key points from a five-session email communications workshop I presented with peer-to-peer fundraising experts as part of the virtual conference, It’s a Peer-to-Peer World.
In the last part of the second session, Kari Bodell and Julie Brock from Susan G. Komen and Joann Buckley Collins from Event 360 shared tips on email segmentation.
Here are some key ideas from the session:
Segmentation is about talking to different audiences in different ways, depending on who they are and how they might be interested in your cause. Email communications are most effective when you personalize the message, information and asks based on what you know about the audience.
Segmentation is different for the purposes of recruitment versus participant engagement. Here are some ways you can segment for the two different purposes:
| Recruitment | Engagement |
| Connection to organization Have they given funds to, raised funds for or been an advocate for your organization? |
Fundraising What is their fundraising history and current fundraising status? |
| Connection to cause Are they personally connected to the cause, participating because of a friend or family member, or are they just in it for the activity? |
Connection to event Are they new to your event, a second-time participant or a loyal repeat participant? |
| Location Where do they live? (This will tell you if they must travel to your event versus if they are local.) |
Connection to cause Are they personally connected to the cause, participating because of a friend or family member, or are they just in it for the activity? |
| List source How did you get their contact information? (Depending on how you got it, they might or might not be familiar with your organization or your event.) |
Current team status Are they a team captain, team member or individual? |
| Interactions with communications Are they opening and reading your emails? |
Other What is their participation type, donor status, age, location (or other information you might have asked them at registration)? |
With these segmentations in mind, here are some that are often most useful for each event type (see my article about email timing for a definition of each event type):
| Fundraising | Awareness | Activity-based | High commitment |
| Current fundraising | Participation type | Team status | Participation history |
| Participation history | Team status | Connection to cause/list source | Current fundraising |
| Historical fundraising | Participation history | Team status | |
| Team status | Historical fundraising |
Keep in mind that segmentation is about more than just what message you send to which audience. It’s also about timing and frequency. For example, you would send emails less frequently to someone who likely only wants to sign up for a local 5K run than someone with a deep connection to your organization’s cause. Team captains might get a different email series with more emails than an individual participant.
Editor's Note: This is part of a series on peer-to-peer fundraising email communications.
Part 1: How to Build a Great Email Strategy for Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Part 2: Finding the Right Timing for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Email Communications
Part 3: Audience Segmentation Tips for Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Emails
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- Peer to Peer
Mark founded Cathexis Partners in 2008 to help nonprofit organizations get the most from their existing technology tools, implement new technology to address gaps and find the best overall approach to using technology to support their missions. He previously served as director of IT consulting at a fundraising event production company focused on nonprofits.
Mark also serves on the editorial advisory board for NonProfit PRO, where he contributes monthly to his blog, “Nonprofit Tech Matters.”
