You’re sending emails, but are they reaching full potential?
Tips for increasing your email marketing fundraising efficacy.
Resending your email appeals is an easy way to lift results. We see 10-30% lifts in revenue when adding resends to campaign strategies. There are a few ways you can resend your email, and depending on your email service provider, implementation should be easy. Try out these resend tactics and see which works best with your audience:
People tend to think that email is only checked M-F, 9-5. Business hours right? Wrong. Remember donors are also checking their email on their phones, and when are people on their phones? All the time! Maybe not all the time, but definitely outside of business hours.
Some donors enjoy reading stories, while others prefer pictures and little text. Whatever story you tell, it may be different and vary between donors.
A strong and updated donor email file will help keep you up to date on who to continue and discontinue contacting. Just by cleaning your email file, you’ll uncover a handful of contact types. With this knowledge you can:
Once you’ve developed a set plan for different strategies and tactics you’d like to test, it’s time to put those into action. Some tests may provide impressive results - and some may seem like a flop. No matter the result, there will still be available data that can be pulled to help you learn what does and doesn’t work for your donors.
Create a testing log to track what you test, when you test, and the key takeaways.
The best way to engage with donors is to give back via communication. Here are examples of ways to create more of a relationship with donors. This way it won’t feel one-sided after they decide to give to your organization. Build a relationship by sharing:
Just showing your appreciation for the donors’ gift can go a long way. One way to show them this is by sending a thank you. Some donors even feel compelled to give more once they see this donation was appreciated and put to use. Reporting back on a campaign can also be a way to say "Thank You." Donors want to know that their gift really did make a difference and made an impact on the people they were trying to help.
Gain full insight into your campaign effectiveness. Implement these tactics for a more sophisticated analytics program.
Ecommerce tracking is not just a Digital Do, it’s a Digital Must. Take the time to set up ecommerce tracking in Google Analytics. This will help you analyze where donations are sourced, and what marketing efforts are the most valuable for your fundraising revenue. Our top four tracking priorities are: Real-time Revenue Tracking, Comparison Reporting, Page Values, and Email Revenue. Here is an example of what revenue tracking could look like in Google Analytics:
By taking your traffic and splitting them into different groups based on factors like age or giving level and giving amount, you can find details like:
UTM codes can help you track your campaigns within Google Analytics. These simple parameters can be added to any URLS that you’re adding to webpages, emails, landing pages, and social media posts. Google even has a handy tool for building a URL with UTM parameters. Here’s an example of one:
Within Google Analytics, events are user interactions with content: downloads, link clicks, form submissions, video plays, etc. Setting this up in your GA account can help you track engagement and see what web content is the most successful. Here is an example of event analytics for this lightbox:
This demonstrates how effectively your organization achieves objectives and reaches certain business targets. Here are some of our frequently used KPIs:
Tips for increasing your donor list and email list.
Ask your donors to opt-in to your email marketing and updates at the donation form. They’re already filling in their information, so it’s a great place to add a simple checkbox. Data regulations are becoming the norm, so getting permission to email your donors and supporters is more important than ever.
Widgets are a great way to direct traffic to your site while expressing your brand. Try to display them in spaces that will have the best chance of being seen, such as blogs or social media posts.
There are many important factors to keep in mind when creating landing pages, such as design, CTA placement, etc. Build landing pages with content that is strong and geared toward the overall goal of driving your donors to sign up to receive emails.
When building a google ad grant strategy, you want to focus on advertisements that are strong enough to bring in new donors. You also want your ads to encourage them to sign up via email.
Tips for taking your website to the next level.
Take a look at the design of your main navigation panel. Can donors quickly and easily find a donation button? If not, it’s time to consider some simple changes to your navigation design. Your main navigation bar should include:
When donors are on your donation page, that should be their sole focus: donating to your organization. Be sure to remove top navigation and sidebars so they will have nothing else to distract them from giving a gift.
Before a campaign is fully complete, you must review the UX on a mobile device. Be sure to check the following formats for proper mobile optimization:
Don’t leave money on the table! Campaign tips that can help you close the gap on digital fundraising goals.
This is a great way for donors to feel more inspired to give. By matching a donor’s gift with a double or triple amount, they feel their donation is helping more people, which inspires them to give more and more often. Try implementing the below match campaigns for an effective result:
Year-End campaigns are a great way to gain extra donations. Let donors know you’ve reached the end of your budget cycle, and that the end of the year is the most crucial time to receive gifts for those in need. Don’t be afraid to create a sense of urgency.
Let donors know how close you are to reaching your goal. You can increase donations by using email to urge donors to give more using the campaign tactics below:
Showcase a lightbox page on all pages excluding your Get Help or Find Food pages. Lightboxes pop up when a user visits your homepage or a designated landing page. Implement a clear CTA and make it easy for visitors to act.
Be aware of Google's lightbox parameters for mobile, and consider supressing lightboxes from mobile display.
Facebook fundraisers are very popular amongst most donors. Make them
more aware of this option by taking the following actions:
This is a great way to encourage your staff to participate in fundraising.