Among the most impressive traits of the Mahoning County Land Bank is the busy schedule it manages as it acquires vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent properties and makes them productive again.

So there wasn’t much difficulty in developing and launching “The Dirt,” a quarterly email blast that updates the land bank’s key audiences about its heavy slate of demolition, greening and other projects.

“The Dirt enables us to communicate our mission-driven activities to the community, our partners, contractors, investors and others who may be interested in getting involved in our work,” said Debora Flora, the land bank’s executive director and a former news reporter. “There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes and many people contribute to the positive impact we’re making on communities across the valley. So we’re excited to share that with others.”

The email, developed with Pecchia Communications, spotlights recent projects as well as news coverage and key messages from the executive director. Many of the items link back to the land bank’s website, where readers can learn more about the nonprofit community improvement corporation and how they can partner with it.

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Content for “The Dirt” includes updates on the Land Bank’s activities and plans for the future.

The email blast offers a mobile-friendly design with large photos, headlines, short text blurbs, and visually appealing call-to-action buttons.

Kelli Hulea, project manager at Pecchia Communications, pointed out that quarterly email programs do not require much work or time and they can increase engagement with existing and new contacts.

“For organizations like the land bank that have a good base of contacts and a lot to talk about, putting together an email program can be very easy and cost-effective,” she said.

A successful email program includes tracking the open rate, click through rate and other metrics of each edition and comparing those over time to determine what types of content generate the best response. The land bank uses ConstantContact to support development and distribution of “The Dirt,” as well as metrics.  

“This first edition of ‘The Dirt’ had strong engagement with a good open rate and an above-average click-through rate for nonprofit organizations,” Kelli said. “We look forward to comparing these analytics with those of future emails and shaping future content based on what the numbers tell us”

You can learn more about the land bank by visiting its website here and signing up for “The Dirt.”

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