Emailing your members is a great way to connect and engage with them directly. Whether you’re wanting to notify them of a new upcoming event, internship opportunities in the industry or let them know updates in your clubs executive team, emails are a great way to make sure your members know important information, instead of just hoping they stumble across it in their Facebook feeds or on your website. 

While sending emails to your members is an exciting tool, there are things to watch out for. We’ve put together the top things you should and shouldn’t do when emailing your members. 

Do

Include all the relevant information

No matter why you’re emailing your members, it’s important to include all the important information about that topic. Whether you’re wanting to let your members know about an upcoming event or internship opportunities in the industry, they don’t want to finish reading your email and be wondering how to buy tickets or how to apply. Be sure to include all the details of the topic, with the most important topic and information at the very top of the email so it doesn’t get missed. 

Make it visually appealing 

Emails aren’t just about getting in touch with your members - it’s about engaging them and connecting them with your club. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your emails, create stunning visual content and add images, headings and hyperlinks. You can also make important information, like dates and locations, in bold text or in a different colour to make it really stand out.

Have a call to action

Encouraging your members to act within your email is a great way to make sure that even once they’ve read your email, they continue to engage. If you’re emailing about an event, this means calling them to purchase a ticket. Even if your email is a little more relaxed and doesn’t necessarily require them to do anything after reading the email, why not encourage them to follow you on social media? Include these links at the bottom of your email so your members don’t feel lost afterwards. If you’re emailing your members to simply check-in, think about including some links to some wellness hubs online or your club’s favourite meditation. 

Email regularly

Let’s face it - the last thing you want for your club is for it to be forgotten about. This means engaging with your members is always important, no matter the time of year or what situation we’re in. Your members signed up to your club because they believe in your club and want to hear from you, so make sure you’re utilising this membership base and connecting with them regularly. 

Don’t

Include too much information

There’s nothing worse than receiving an entire essay in an email. If your emails are too long, your members will disengage and are unlikely to read the entire thing. It’s better to keep your emails concise and clear - the shorter and more to the point, the better. 

Email too frequently 

While it’s great to receive emails and as much as your members love to be kept up to date with everything happening in your club, it’s important not to email too frequently. Not only do you risk your emails ending up in your members junk or spam folder, but you also risk your members not opening your emails at all. You can keep your emails consistent and email your members with updates every fortnight or every month, or you can keep it just to events… ultimately, choose a frequency that suits your members and their level of engagement. If you’re a smaller club with highly engaged members, they probably wouldn't mind receiving really regular emails from you. But, if you’re a larger society with members who aren’t religious event attendees, only reach out to them with the most important information when it’s necessary. 

Schedule your emails for weird times of the day

Sending emails at the right time of the day can be critical to their success. When scheduling emails, make sure they’re going out at a time when they’re more likely to be opened immediately, rather than forgotten about later. If you’re not sure what time is best, it’s safe to assume that outside ‘business hours’ is a good bet (either before 9am or after 5pm). If you have a strong social media presence, checking your insights to see what time of the day your members are most engaged with your club can also give you an idea of when to send emails. This decision isn’t just restricted to the time of the day, but also extends to the day of the week - think about whether your members are more likely to engage and actually read your emails on a weekday or the weekend.