The missing sequence in your email plan

Most email programs already have the pieces of a story.

A welcome series here, a cultivation email there, plenty of appeals and ways to take action.

The problem is that no single donor experiences them in order.

Max Kringen of Tellwell Story Co. has a no-nonsense framework worth stealing. He calls it the Seasons of Story: introduce, build trust, ask, then thank.

Each stage earns the right to the next one.

Introduce
Before you ask for anything, give new supporters a sense of belonging and a reason to stick around.

Answer the question they won’t ask out loud: Is this place for me? 

That means a welcome that centers on the donor, not your organization. 

NAMI’s stewardship-first welcome package includes physical touches, such as a letter from the Director of Individual Giving and a bag of coffee.

A short survey on what the donor cares about uses their answers to shape what they hear next. (Unsurprisingly, fundraising response rates nearly doubled.)

Build trust
Trust comes from the emails you send consistently, not just during major campaigns.

A donor who hears from you in July and August already knows who you are when the year-end appeals hit.

You’ve earned the next ask before you make it.

NextAfter tested sending one extra cultivation email a week to current donors and generated 21% more revenue.

It makes sense! You gave your donor something of value beyond the ask that strengthens their connection to your mission.

Ask
When the ask comes, don’t skimp on specificity.

One clear story with real stakes lands harder than a general, all-purpose appeal — and it lasts longer than you think.

Defenders of Wildlife built an entire campaign around a single “Wyoming Wolf.” One story turned into eleven emails that became familiar to the donor and raised more than $60,000.

The story didn’t get old because the stakes were concrete enough to hold up under repetition.

Thank
More programs skip this stage than you think.

A donor may have received an initial thank you email or sequence. That matters. 

But hearing nothing about what their gift actually did several months later leaves them cold. Telling donors specifically what their gift made possible helps keep the relationship alive.

The League of Women Voters found that following up with gratitude-heavy, impact-first messaging 3-5 days after a high-urgency campaign reengaged supporters on the next campaign 30% faster.

Kringen’s right: Skip this stage, and your donor might lapse by next January.

Try this
Pick one donor who gave for the first time this year. Trace what they’ve actually heard from you since.

You’ll probably find gaps: a welcome that dropped them straight into general appeals, or maybe no follow-up following a major advocacy campaign win.

You can close many of these gaps with automation or pre-planned content — a cultivation after the welcome or impact updates after a major legislative win.

After a while, closing the gaps before they have time to grow becomes second nature.

The bottom line
Those of us in the business of sending email know: we spend a lot of time optimizing individual sends.

This framework is a good reminder that a donor doesn’t always experience your program one email at a time.

They experience it as a relationship, and this order is what helps make it feel less transactional.

Check our events list for more or reply to this email to submit one for consideration.

‘Til next time!
Sara