Case Study: Email Marketing for Barnardos

by Jean O'Brien - Digital Consultant

EmailBuilding an email marketing infrastructure and strategy at Barnardos Ireland.

The challenge

The Challenge

When I joined Barnardos, the situation with email was as follows:

  • The organisation was sending 14 separate newsletters, all with manual signup processes managed by different staff members
  • No organisation-wide email strategy was in place
  • Different templates were used for each newsletter, with no consistent branding
  • The email marketing system in use was very limited and needed a lot of manual care
  • Some email newsletters were sent through Outlook so were not adequately tracked
  • Staff were not confident in developing email content
  • Email templates were not mobile-friendly

My Solutions

I undertook to transform Barnardos' email marketing, improving the process for end users and increasing efficiency within the organisation.

Identified needs

Identified needs of organisation and users.

Researched & tested platforms

Reviewed and tested a number of email marketing services with organisation’s goals in mind; set up Mailchimp.

Developed strategy & content

Created email strategies for the organisation and individual campaigns; developed schedules and content calendars.

Migrated data

Cleaned and imported data from old email system and multiple spreadsheets.

Streamlined process & improved user experience

Simplified and streamlined suite of email newsletters - reducing number from 14 to 6. Set up integrated forms on website.

Created new email templates

Created branded, mobile-friendly, attractive email templates.

In-house training & collaboration

Devised in-house training in best practice for email content, ran regular cross-departmental collaborative meetings.

Email campaigns

Devised concepts for numerous successful email campaigns, for fundraising, advocacy and information services. Many of our campaigns have been featured on the Charity Email Gallery as examples of best practice.

Acquisition campaigns

Set up multiple streams for email subscriber acquisition, including Google Ads, paid social, organic social, and inbound marketing campaigns.

Data-driven campaigns, automation, welcome series

Created many data-driven campaigns, automated emails and welcome series for diverse user segments.

The Results

  • 12,000+
    New subscribers acquired from 2012-2016
  • 24%
    Average open rate across thousands of emails
  • 7.5%
    Average click rate across thousands of emails
  • 60%
    Of new subscribers opting in to multiple communications
  • 55%
    Open rate on welcome series for new subscribers

Further results:

  • Fundraising appeal emails regularly raised five figure incomes
  • Emails featured as examples of best practice on the international site Charity Email Gallery
  • High level of self-sufficiency developed among Barnardos staff in creating and delivering email campaigns

Need help with email?

I can work with you on all aspects of email marketing - from developing a strategy, to creating templates and content, to training your team.

Get in touch...