In today’s fast-paced digital world, engaging members effectively is crucial for associations. PropFuel’s Association Email Engagement Benchmark Report sheds light on the most effective email engagement marketing strategies, providing invaluable insights for membership and marketing professionals. In this post, we’ll highlight key findings from the report, including successful campaigns, response rates by various criteria, and practical tips for enhancing member engagement. If you’re a bold and curious marketing or membership professional in the association space, you’ll want to read on.
The Data
The data and trends in this report are sourced from an analysis of all campaigns from 201 PropFuel clients, nearly all of them professional and trade associations. The data represents just under 13 million emails sent in 2023. The findings offer ah-ha moments and simple tactics to apply immediately to your email campaigns.
From Broadcasts to Conversations
To fully absorb the findings of the report, shift your focus from traditional email marketing—broadcasts with typical metrics, like opens and clicks—to Conversational Engagement. Unlike broadcast emails, Conversational Engagement aims to create deeper connections by starting with segmented audiences and drilling down to individual interactions. This method fosters more personalized and impactful communication, tailored to the unique needs and interests of each group. By focusing on smaller, defined segments, these campaigns resonate more with recipients, enhancing engagement. The report benchmarks your current generalized "blast" email approach against the Conversational Engagement method, showcasing how the latter significantly elevates engagement rates and offers a brighter future for your email strategies.
A New Email Metric: The Power of Response Rate
PropFuel introduces the response rate as a revolutionary email metric, designed to measure direct member engagement through questions. Rather than a simple click-through - which merely tells the sender that someone clicked - a response to a question provides valuable insights into members' preferences, needs, and interests. This method gathers data and triggers customized automated actions, seamlessly combining efficiency with personalized attention.
PropFuel's campaigns boast an impressive 8.1% response rate for small and medium campaigns, compared to a 2.7% click-through rate for the non-profit industry (Mailchimp ). Additionally, PropFuel's open rate stands at 41.7%, significantly higher than the industry average of 26.6%. These metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of conversational engagement in fostering meaningful member interactions and enhancing engagement strategies.
Rethinking the Calendar: The Weekend Edge in Email Engagement
The debate over the best day to send marketing emails has typically focused on mid-week sends (Tuesdays through Thursdays) due to high audience activity. However, with 57.2% of emails sent on these days, inboxes are overcrowded. For small and medium-sized PropFuel campaigns, weekends (specifically Saturdays and Sundays) offer less competition and yield the highest combined response rate of 10%. This suggests that sending emails on weekends can help messages stand out and engage audiences better than during the week. So, if you’re looking to maximize engagement, it might be time to break the mid-week habit and consider the weekend for your next email campaign.
Why Campaign Size Matters: Smaller, Segmented Campaigns for Bigger Impact
Relevance and personalization are crucial for effective email communication. PropFuel data shows that smaller campaign audiences lead to better performance metrics, as they allow for more tailored and relevant messaging. Larger campaigns struggle with maintaining personal connections, resulting in lower engagement. In today’s noisy digital world, well-segmented audiences help ensure messages resonate, boosting response rates.
PropFuel's approach leverages this by posing questions in every email that are designed to learn more about individual recipients. This method engages members and gathers valuable insights for further personalization. Data supports this strategy: small campaigns (less than 1,000 recipients) achieve a 13.6% response rate, while medium campaigns (1,000-10,000 recipients) see a 7.2% response rate. Better segmentation and personalized engagement clearly lead to better outcomes.
The Power of Reminders in Question-Based Campaigns
Whether it’s a gentle nudge about a lapsed membership or an invitation to contribute more actively, question-based campaigns with reminders help associations stay top-of-mind for their members without overstepping. For small and medium-sized campaigns, the data provides valuable guidance on the effectiveness of including a reminder email and the optimal timing for sending it.
A significant 37% of questions are answered post-reminder, highlighting a simple yet effective strategy to boost engagement. By ensuring follow-ups occur no later than a week after the initial outreach, associations can significantly enhance their engagement rates. This approach fosters a more interactive and responsive community.
Strategic timing and personalized communication enable associations to leverage technology to meet and anticipate their members' needs. This results in a more engaged, informed, and connected community, ready to respond, participate, and renew their memberships. For small and medium campaigns, response rates with reminders show a marked improvement, with all-time rates at 8.6% compared to 5.9% without reminders, demonstrating the clear benefit of timely follow-ups.
Response Rates by Campaign Type
Analyzing response rates by campaign type reveals valuable insights into what drives member engagement. Renewal campaigns lead the pack with a 14.50% response rate, underscoring their critical role in member retention and revenue. Opt-in campaigns follow closely with an 11.90% response rate, highlighting the effectiveness of gaining explicit consent for future communications.
Profile Building and Onboarding campaigns also show strong engagement, with response rates of 11.40% and 9.20%, respectively, emphasizing the importance of accurate data and welcoming new members. Ongoing Engagement campaigns maintain a solid 9.10% response rate, indicating consistent member interest in continuous interaction.
NPS (Net Promoter Score) campaigns achieve an 8.40% response rate, providing valuable feedback on member satisfaction. Win-Back campaigns, aimed at re-engaging lapsed members, have a 7.52% response rate, showcasing their potential to recover lost members.
Advocacy and Event campaigns, with response rates of 5.60% and 5.20%, respectively, reflect the engagement around specific causes and professional development opportunities. Acquisition campaigns see a 4.20% response rate, indicating room for growth in attracting new members. Fundraising campaigns, with the lowest response rate at 2.30%, highlight the challenge of driving financial contributions but also present an opportunity for strategic improvement.
Case Studies: Real-World Successes
VECCS: Doubling Member Engagement
In a standout campaign, VECCS asked members, "Would you like to activate your free Headspace subscription?" This clear call to action doubled the usage of the benefit and boosted engagement. The campaign achieved a 15% response rate, with over 450 members opting in, demonstrating the power of timely, strategic questions to drive member participation.
NEHRA: Setting a New Standard for Onboarding
NEHRA's 12-step automated onboarding campaign, using PropFuel’s AI Blueprints feature, has set a new standard for member interaction. By asking targeted questions about preferences and integrating the data into their CRM, they achieved response rates of 20% to 36%. This approach, applied to a small campaign size under 1,000 recipients, demonstrates the effectiveness of thoughtful, consistent engagement in fostering deeper member connections.
Pennsylvania Medical Society: Boosting Renewals
The Pennsylvania Medical Society used a straightforward yes/no question to boost membership renewals. Faced with 6,000 unresponsive lapsed members, they asked, "Are you planning to renew your membership in 2024?" This approach led to 918 responses, with 590 members (64%) intending to renew, demonstrating the power of direct questions in rekindling member interest and commitment.
Argentum: Streamlining Verification
Argentum effectively used a Yes/No question to verify billing contacts for membership renewals, achieving a 52% response rate, with 90% affirming their role. A follow-up reminder three weeks later maintained a strong 42% response rate. This two-stage approach simplified administrative tasks and highlighted the power of direct questions in engaging members.
Embracing the Future of Member Engagement
In the world of email marketing, it's clear that engagement is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. The insights from PropFuel's benchmark report emphasize the importance of experimenting with different strategies, from timing and question types to campaign objectives. By embracing these insights and continuously refining their approaches, membership and marketing professionals can foster deeper connections, drive meaningful interactions, and ensure the long-term success of their associations.
