Five Tips for Emails to your Tribute Owners 

A targeted email campaign can help you build a relationship with your tribute owners that maintains their attention, interest and passion for your work

This article provides ideas for an email trigger campaign to encourage your tribute owners to visit, contribute to or share their tribute.  It is also a way for you to build your relationship and support them, especially if recently bereaved.   

The campaign could  be a monthly rolling set of communications, or a series of standalone messages would work just as well.  If you have the MuchLoved subscription service, you can access contact details for your tribute owners, but you’ll need to use your own email marketing platform to run the campaign. 

What are the benefits of the campaign for your tribute owners? 

• Tribute owners feel truly valued because the communications are not just about financial contributions but include emotional involvement and support from the charity  
• They also feel connected to the charity or hospice which helped them at a very sad time, and this can help them as they grieve 

  

Tips for making your campaign a success 

Personalise - If you have the resource available, personalise the emails so that you address recipients by their name and also  include a link to their loved one’s tribute page so they can find it easily.  
Thank your tribute owners - Kick off your campaign with a simple ‘thank you’ message. Offer your condolences on the loss of their loved one. Let them know that you are grateful that donations in memory of their loved one are coming to your charity and show them what difference the money makes, for instance helping to fund an extra member of staff or buy a price of equipment. 
The financial ask comes later - Don’t rush to ask for a further financial contribution to your charity. Focus on building a mutual relationship and also remind tribute owners of all the ways they can use the tribute page as a place to remember their loved one, such as lighting a candle, writing a story, or adding a virtual gift. 
Share your fundraising ideas - Once you have formed a connection, introduce ideas such as regular giving and fundraising events. Families and friends often find comfort in organising or taking part in an event, either to raise funds for charity or just to remember their loved one. 
Design the campaign to suit you - Be flexible in how you design and deliver your campaign. Emails can be timed to fit with other stewardship activities or designed as the in-memory part of a wider campaign.

Looking for more practical help to build a successful stewardship campaign? 

Watch this 30-minute webinar presented by MuchLoved Account Managers, which includes ideas and suggested content for a rolling campaign of 10 emails. 

Please note that the example we’ve used in the webinar is MuchLoved's fictional charity, called ACSS. Subscribers are welcome to use the imagery suggested for the different communications together with your own branding. 

Our MuchLoved subscription service gives charities access to contact details and GDPR preferences for their tribute owners. To find out more you can contact us on support@muchloved.com or call our team on 01494 722818