Inspire More Sign-Ups to Your Nonprofit’s Email List

As a nonprofit, you have a lot of options to build your email list.

It’s not enough to implement a generic sign-up form, and it’s important to consider how you’re asking people to sign up as well. No one wakes up in the morning saying “I can’t wait to get more email today.” At least I never have.

Your emails should provide value that builds relationships and keeps people in the know about your organization. This needs to translate onto your sign-up form. The verbiage you use should inspire people and entice them to sign up to receive all of the valuable content you send.

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So how do you create an engaging sign-up form? Take a look at these ideas inspired from across the web:

Be inspirational

If you browse almost any nonprofit website, you’ll see that most are basic and simply ask people to “Sign-Up for News,” “Join Our Newsletter,” or something similar.

Unfortunately, wording like this on your sign-up form isn’t very inspirational.

It’s time to stand out from the crowd. Your sign-up form’s headline needs to catch your supporters’ attention and encourage them to get involved in your cause.

Take a look at these 12 examples to inspire your own form. Use these ideas and fill in the blanks for the details about your organization and your cause:

1. “Add impact to your inbox. Sign up for our emails and get inspiring stories about ____________.”

This first example catches attention because it shows that your organization’s emails will be important and value-packed.

It also lets readers know that they’ll receive inspirational stories about the cause they’re fighting for.

2. “Stay involved to help fight ___________. Stay in the know about what’s happening at _____________.”

Many people sign up to help you fight your cause. This phrasing keeps people involved and lets them know they’ll receive information on what’s happening at your organization.

3. “Change starts with you. Sign up today to get involved!”

Focusing on the subscriber is a great way to let people know that they’ll be a part of the solution and that it can’t happen without them.

4. “See our work in action. Stay connected.”

This one’s fairly simple, but still inspiring nonetheless. It lets people know that they’ll be able to see what’s happening to support the cause when they sign up.

5. “Join the movement: Get updates on the issues you care about.”

This example came from a nonprofit that supports different types of causes. This form allows people to sign up to support and receive information on the causes they care about.

6. “Join the community: Take a stand for ____________.”

Who doesn’t like to feel a part of something? This lets the subscriber know that they’ll be involved in a community of people who are taking a stand for a particular cause.

7. “Join hundreds of supporters who stand with us in taking action for __________.”

As with the one above, this let’s new subscribers know how many others already support your cause. It gives that “fear of missing out” component so that they are enticed to take action on the cause.

8. “Be an advocate: Your knowledge and passion help to raise awareness.”

When someone signs up, you want them to be an advocate for your organization. This lets them know that they are needed to raise awareness with others.

9. “Join our community! Compassionate people like you are changing the world. Enter your email to join the movement.”

Just another way to ask people to get involved. This serves as a reminder that their support will be helping to better the world around them.

10. “We need you with us. Sign up to our email list to support __________.”

This example lets subscribers know that you need their help to support your cause.

11. “We need your voice. Sign up to stay up to date.”

This example is just another way to let people know that your cause needs their voice in order to make a change.

12. “Adopt a ____________ [wolf, animal, child, family]. Join our mailing list to support ____________ in need.”

If your organization works with animals or people, your sign-up form can ask people to “adopt” one. This is a great way to let supporters know that they’ll be directly supporting a child or family.

I’m sure you’ll all agree these are much more engaging and inspiring than the initial “Join Our Newsletter” example.

Use these examples to improve the effectiveness of your online sign-up form. Whether you take verbiage from one or a few of these examples, you’ll be letting people know how to get involved in your cause.

Inspire More Signups to Your Nonprofit’s Email List

Offer a bonus

You’ve got some great ideas to be inspiring in your form. In addition, you can entice people to sign up with some sort of offer in exchange for their email address.

Incentives aren’t just for businesses and provide the credibility that your organization needs to get your supporter’s full attention. You can provide exclusive content for your email subscribers.

Use a welcome email or series to fulfill on whatever offer you decide.

Use content you already have, it doesn’t have to be a hundred page eBook.

Your exclusive content can include information about your cause, how you accomplish your goals, or who you’re helping.

Here are 3 types of bonus incentives for people who sign up:

1. Case study
Show how valuable your organization is by sharing a story about a client, member or recipient who’s been helped by your organization. It can be a simple, one-page pdf file.

2. Toolkit
Depending on your organization, you may already have a collection of useful information that subscribers would find interesting. Combine it into a helpful toolkit. It could include video tutorials, checklists, and blog posts.

3. Online course
If you already offer online workshops or events for your supporters, you can offer a recording for free in order to entice people to sign up for your emails.

Start growing your list today!

You now have several ways to be inspirational and entice people to sign up to your mailing list. You can use inspirational verbiage in combination with exclusive content.

No matter what you do, make sure you’re letting people know that they are subscribing to your email list. You want to let people know exactly what they’re getting when they provide their email address.

Set up your online sign-up forms or update your existing forms to add the information you need to better inspire people to sign up to support your cause today!