LGL Direct Email is here!

Starting today, Little Green Light customers now have a fully integrated email platform included with their subscription, which we’ve dubbed LGL Direct Email. LGL Direct Email makes it possible to send transactional emails right from within your Little Green Light account, without needing to integrate with a third-party software provider such as Mandrill or SendGrid. Customers can create and send individual emails, send emails to a list of constituents, and send acknowledgment emails to donors, right in LGL, without incurring any additional cost.

Why did we build our own transactional email platform?

Many of you who are our customers are probably familiar with our third-party integrations with the transactional email providers Mandrill and SendGrid, and you may be happily using those services now. And some of you who are early adopters may not even be incurring a cost. Over the last year or so, however, these providers have moved away from offering a free option for nonprofits. Little Green Light wanted to make this functionality available to our customers at no added cost, because we believe that communicating with your constituents is integral to your donor management work and there shouldn’t be any barriers to using it. So, we built our own solution that is entirely free with a Little Green Light subscription.

Why should I use LGL Direct Email?

Now, that’s a great question! If you haven’t been using our integrations with SendGrid or Mandrill yet, the biggest reason to give LGL Direct Email a try is because it includes some nifty tools that can really help simplify your workload. Here are some examples:

1. You can create email templates, complete with merge fields, that allow you to send prompt and personal email acknowledgments, pledge reminders, member renewals, and a whole lot more. Once the template has been created, you can use that template whenever you want to—no need to stop and draft another carefully written email. The perfect email template is ready and waiting for you!

2. A copy of every email you send is automatically tracked in each constituent’s record in Little Green Light. Not sure if this month’s pledge reminders were sent? No problem, just look up the constituent and view a copy of the email, if it exists, in their record.

3. You can view Open, Click-thru, and Bounce rates for each individual email that you send. Did you see that only half of the constituents you sent a member renewal notification actually opened your email? With LGL Direct Email, you can easily re-send the email to those who didn’t open it, or develop another followup strategy. The key is that you’ll be on top of who is opening and taking action on the emails you send.

Should I switch from Mandrill or SendGrid to LGL Direct Email?

Yes! With LGL Direct Email, you won’t incur an additional cost for sending emails to your constituents managed in Little Green Light. And, don’t worry—there’s no need to learn a new system. Everything will work exactly as it did when you were using Mandrill or SendGrid, and you’ll still have access to all of your previously created email templates and past sent emails. It’s just that instead of Mandrill or SendGrid powering the email functionality, now Little Green Light will be powering your email delivery system. Learn how to set up LGL Direct Email in your account now.

Frequently asked questions about LGL Direct Email:

Are there limits on how many emails I can send for free?

Yes. Paying accounts in good standing can send up to 4 times the maximum number of constituents in their applicable account tier, per calendar month. For instance, if you are in our lowest tier, which covers up to 2,500 constituents, you can send up to 10,000 emails per month.

Can I use LGL Direct Email during my free trial of Little Green Light?

Yes, but you’ll be limited to sending 100 emails per day.

Is it possible to send marketing emails with LGL Direct Email?

No. At this time, LGL Direct Email is a transactional email service, not an email marketing service. Sending unsolicited marketing emails is not encouraged because it may affect your reputation as a sender. If your messages are flagged as spam, that could hinder future deliverability of emails sent from your email address.

Can I add images (e.g., logos or signatures) to my email templates?

Yes! You can upload image files and insert them into your email templates.

How do I get started with LGL Direct Email?

First, be sure to set up a Little Green Light account. Once you’re logged in, go to your Settings > Integration Settings > LGL Email page, and click the Activate LGL Email button.

Have any questions about this new feature? Reach out to us at support@littlegreenlight.com and we’ll be happy to assist you!