Before starting any non-profit marketing campaign, you need to answer the question, “Why should anyone give to your mission?”
This question might be harder to answer than it seems. What you think about your mission and what matters to potential donors are not always the same thing. Donors aren’t content to hear about the work you do. They want to hear about the impact you make. And they want to see themselves in the extended role of a missionary making that impact themselves through their gift.
So, before thinking about getting traffic to your website, engaging them in your subscription program, and converting them into donors, take some time to formulate your Non-Profit Value Proposition.
Once you can clearly articulate a Value Proposition, display it on your website and include some form of it in your Welcome Series emails and in each of your appeals. And with it, you can begin building your mission marketing blueprint.
Non-profit Digital Marketing
Tools are not the most important part of your marketing efforts. But in some ways they are the most urgent. So take an inventory of what you’ve got and what you need, starting with:
- A solid CRM (Customer Relationship Management system)
- An email marketing platform
- A website
- An analytics system to track success
- A place to get social
I’ll try to elaborate on each of these in time. As I do, I’ll link articles to the list items.
Now let’s talk about the donor journey. Where is your donor coming from? (I.e., how does he finds you?) And where are you hoping he’ll go? (Presumably to your donation form.)
This “journey” can also be looked at as a funnel (widest at the top). It’s called a funnel because the further along (or down) they go, the fewer the people there are that make it to the end.
You can have an overall funnel (the general journey) and mini funnels (particular journeys or campaigns). Although your potential donors start at the top of the funnel, your setup should start at the bottom.
Bottom of the Funnel (BOTF): Conversions
It may sound counter-intuitive to start at the bottom, but it’s really not. If you start by driving people to your website (TOTF) but have no system in place for engaging them (through a subscription process) or converting them (through a donation process), you’ve just started a party before you bought the chips and beer.
Start with the end in mind. Build from the ground up. Or . . . use whatever metaphor you like to convey getting things ready before you invite people in.
The first thing you need for a solid BOTF setup is a good CRM. This is where all your contacts reside, and where their giving history is recorded.
Some CRMs have an email marketing system built in. This is a nice little bonus. But make sure it’s a solid tool. Here’s a list of what a CRM should include.
Once you have your CRM in place, you need to create donation forms on your website.
Middle of the Funnel (MOTF): Engagement
Not everyone who comes to your website will be ready to give. (I hope you’re not surprised at that.) So before they leave, you want to try to get them to sign up to your email list so you can cultivate a relationship over time.
It’s a lot like dating. They’re at your site (read bar, party, dollar store); they look around at your site content (read strike up a conversation with you); and you look for the opportunity to get some contact information in order the hopes of securing a first date.
So how do you get them to give over that precious contact information? Yes, you offer them a lead magnet, just like you would at a party.
Ok. Not exactly.
A lead magnet is the equivalent of finding something in common that you can talk about later. It’s like, “Hey, I see you’re interested in these helpful articles I have on my site. Here’s something that might also interest you. Can I have your email address so we can discuss it later?”
If you’re not too creepy, and you exercise a little bit of charm in your approach, you might just get a “yes.”
Notice that this is not the same as just posting a form that says, “Sign up for my email list.” This would be like walking around at a party asking prospective dates, “Would you like to go out with me” as your opening line. Not very charming. Or effective.
A Daring and Effective First Ask
I’m going to refrain from continuing the dating metaphor for now, but I want to share an effective first-ask technique. I learned this from the Nonprofit Innovation and Optimization (NIO) conference in September 2022.
It’s called the Instant Donate Page.
Top of the Funnel (TOTF): Attracting Traffic
You’re now ready to receive donations. And you have a back-up cultivation system in place for the hesitant.
Chips are on the table. Beer is in the fridge. And you’re feeling good all over.
Open the doors, and let the party begin. . .
. . . (crickets)
What? No one is showing up?
Of course they’re not. We haven’t even invited anyone yet!
How to Get Visitors to Your Website
Driving traffic to your site can be done in many ways. But they all fall into one of two categories:
Earned Traffic and Paid Traffic.
Earned Traffic comes to your site because of what you have to offer. They might hear about you through social media. Or they might find your site through one of your articles that come up in search engines. Or they might follow a link through an email you sent out. In any case, you’ve earned it through the work you’ve done in providing a worthwhile website to visit.
Paid Traffic comes to your site because you’ve bought ad space. This could be through social media platforms, search engine ads, or display ads on like-minded websites.
Whether your traffic is earned or paid for, this is where the party starts. It’s an open house. And it’s your house. And all your preparations just might pay off in building that support for your cause.
Reporting
This is like the morning-after assessment of how things went at your great house party. If you were smart, you set some expectations, and you’ve got some criteria for determining whether or not your party was a success. This is where your analytics come in.
What’s Next
In the weeks and months to come, I plan to elaborate on each of these points in greater detail on this blog. Soon, I’ll setup an email sign-up form to get notifications of new content. But if you’re an early-party visitor, you can email me here.