Are your supporters eagerly opening every email your shelter or rescue group sends? If not, you may want to try a new approach.

In a world where an average of 28 percent of the work week is spent on email, it’s no wonder we’re all opening fewer messages than ever before. We’re barraged with manipulative subject lines, pleas for donations, and straight-up spam dozens or hundreds of times every day. Who can cope?

To break through that noise, you need to make sure you’re not making any of these three mistakes:

1. Too long. Even if your supporters open your emails, if what they see when they do is overwhelming, they’ll close the message without getting to the part where you ask them to do something. Keep your messages tightly focused on the information they need and want, and if it has to go beyond a few brief paragraphs, consider making it a link to information on your blog or website instead.

2. Too confusing. Have you ever received an email that was clearly asking you for money or some other form of support, but it wasn’t equally clear what specifically you were supposed to do, or why? Read every email carefully before sending to make sure that it’s crystal clear what action the reader should be taking, and they’re given an obvious way to take that action.

3. Too much. Stop asking for multiple actions in one email. If you want a donation, send out a donation plea. If you want people to come to an event, send out an event invitation. If you want to educate or raise awareness, send out an informational email. Trying to cram multiple messages into one email means most people won’t do any of them.