In these days of social media, some rescue groups and shelters forget just how important an email strategy is. Does your organizatation have one?

“Email is something that you’re always testing. It’s never solved,” said Amy Starnes, online fundraising manager for Best Friends Animal Society. “One important thing to remember, no matter what kind of email you send: Have one goal for that email, and make it measurable. Too many goals or calls-to-action are confusing to the reader. Make it easy for them by telling them exactly what you want them to do. Don’t try to cram too much into one email.”

Measurable analytics are key to understand what’s working and what isn’t. “Everyone always asks when the best day or time to send an email is. There’s no right or wrong answer. You’ll want to consider your audience, test different days and times, and then determine what works best for your specific organization.”

Just getting started? At the 2015 American Pets Alive! Conference, Starnes dove into four key components of a great email strategy:

• Something to send: appeals, events, stories, newsletters
• Someone to send it to: your audience(s)
• A way to send it: email software like MailChimp or Constant Contact
• People to do the work

When it comes to great content, the bottom line is to always share something useful to your audience. “If you have nothing useful to say, don’t send it,” she said.

Another tip? “Always include social sharing buttons in your email.” Nearly 30 percent of donors will share an email with their friends and family. Take advantage of this!

To learn more about building a successful email strategy, staying out of spam, and creating content your audience will open, watch the full presentation of “How to Keep Your Newsletters Out of the Spam Folder.”

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