Examples of relationship-focused emails

3 donor emails that aren’t “asks” but still bring in donations We all know the direct asks matter. But some of the most effective emails I’ve helped send aren’t official campaigns or appeals. They’re moments of relationship. Here are 3 types of emails that donors seem to love and that often lead to surprise gifts: ⸻ 📬 1. The “We Did the Thing” Email Subject: We just finished it. Thank you. You promised to build a playground / fund a program / send kids to camp. This email says: We did. Because of you. Photos. A quote. A short paragraph. That’s it. People love seeing the result of their generosity. 📬 2. The “Saw This and Thought of You” Email Subject: This made me think of you. It might be a story from the field. A note from a beneficiary. Even a newspaper article. You send it to 1–5 specific donors with a personal sentence like: “You’ve always cared about ___, and this reminded me of you.” It’s not a pitch. It’s a connection. And it works. 📬 3. The “No Reason but Gratitude” Email Subject: No ask. Just thanks. A short note that simply says: “We’re so grateful for you. No updates, no links—just gratitude.” I do this quarterly. You’d be amazed how many people hit reply with: “How can I help?” Fundraising is more than asking. It’s paying attention. It’s following up. It’s letting people feel the difference they make. Which of these have you tried or would you add a fourth to the list?

Don't be a d***k and send passive aggressive emails to people when they miss a call. At 4pm, my 2yr old daughter hurt herself. Mitch & I dropped everything we were doing. Grabbed her and rushed to A&E. No phone was grabbed. No shoes were put on. We just ran, as nothing else in that moment matterred. As we sat waiting to be seen I realised there was no way of contacting the people I was due to be speaking to that afternoon. My heart sank as I hate being late and messing people around but there was nothing I could do. When we got home I checked my emails. There was the usual "are you joining the call? and various other varieties of this. They had no idea what was going on in my world. To them, I was just being rude. In receiving their messages, only one thing crossed my mind ... "You don't care about me, you just want my money." How many times have you inadvertently made a prospect feel like that? Or maybe even a candidate? Next time someone misses a scheduled call, why not try something a little more compassionate ... "Hey X, we were due to chat at {insert time} but you didn't arrive. I wanted to make sure you were OK? The call doesn't matter, as we can always reschedule. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Sure, you might still be ignored but receiving a message like the above sends a signal to the other person that the relationship is not just transactional. You are there to help them and you care. Welcome to long term relationship building. Stop rushing and start thinking about how you make people feel. If someone makes the relationship feel like it's only about them closing... are you more or less likely to buy? Think about that. Lead with compassion and the rest will come.

One key difference between good and bad business development? The prospect receives value after the first engagement, not the business Let me explain... Go into your DMs or email inbox and look at the last ~10 prospecting messages you received. How many of them: 🙄 Were bland, cut + pasted pitches about their product/service? 🙄 Didn't mention how you PERSONALLY would benefit from it? 🙄 Ended with a CTA assuming you'd gladly give up your time to talk to them? (Mine was 10/10 🙃) But every now and then, a glimmer of hope shines through that all is not lost as someone reaches out to you with a message that is: 🤩 Actually written AND personalized to *you* 🤩 Focused on *developing* a relationship with you by injecting personality + asking great questions 🤩 Ends with a CTA saying "let me follow up with you sharing my real thoughts about our product/service" or better yet "let me prove the quality/expertise of our product/service by giving it to you, no strings attached" And that, my friends, is what leads me to the below picture of two BEAUTIFUL cutting boards 🤌🤌 I used to moonlight as a woodworker, so I have a soft spot for all things wood, handcrafted, and quality-made So when Eric Hagstrom's message found my inbox, I was pleasantly surprised 💙 He made it past my Gated inbox by donating to the charity I support + included a personal note along with it that helped connect us on a 1:1 level 💙 He quickly replied back to my response saying he DIDN'T want to share a typical copy + paste message with me about what they do, but wanted to share a detailed response with his raw thoughts about his company (Mänresa) + what would be of interest/value to me 💙 His follow-up was incredible + even explained what his company's name meant as it brought to the forefront the values they hold I was captivated + interested I sent him MY calendar link so we could chat And we had a phenomenal conversation that was just as much "demo/pitch" as it was back + forth developing a relationship Instead of wrapping the conversation with "So, are you ready to order a bunch of these from us for your corporate gifting strategy?" Eric said, "Let me send you a board on us. I believe in the quality of our work and want you to see it for yourself." And his words lived up to it after receiving these Long story long, I have some plans for late this year/early next year for some special things we want to do for key customers + prospects of ours And I bet you can guess who I'm planning on reaching out to to be a part of this effort Moral of the story: Be a human Give value before you ask for it Play the long game P.S. Not pictured is the backside of the cutting board that has our Loxo logo engraved in the bottom right corner. Subtle psychology, but the board will be used more when the logo ISN'T slapped big, front, + center of something like this #marketing #businessdevelopment #bizdev

I just logged into a client's Klaviyo account (a Norwegian health brand selling wellness gadgets). What I saw shocked me: Their top-performing email each month was consistent: a long-form, plain text problem-solution email titled "Simple daily habits for pain relief." – Some context – This email doesn't push products. It simply offers 1-4 practical tips for their target audience of older adults. It’s pretty obvious why this works. You're not asking anything from the customer. You're simply providing value and helping them improve their lives. That builds trust. We've seen this work particularly well in health-related niches, but the concept can be applied broadly. A skincare brand could do "5 tips to transform your complexion." A fitness company could share "3 at-home exercises to relieve back pain." The possibilities are endless. In fact, we've seen success with a variation on this for clients who have blogs. The email teases valuable blog content, enticing readers to click through to the full post on the website. Again, it's all about delivering real value. When you consistently show up as a trusted resource, not just another company hawking products, customers naturally gravitate toward you. And the sales often follow (but that's not the primary goal of these emails). It's about playing the long game. Building relationships. Becoming a valued part of your audience's life. So if you're not already experimenting with this type of value-first, long-form email content, it's worth testing. The results might surprise you. #email #ecommerce #emailmarketing