Future Fundraising Now

5 email "worst practices"

We've been raising funds with email for a lot of years now. We're learning a lot, though you might not see evidence of that learning in you inbox.

Want to raise money by email? Check out this post at the Hubspot Marketing Blog, at Is Email Marketing Dead? No, But These Practices Are:

1. Impersonal subject lines. Generic subject lines like "March E-News" don't get the open rates you want. Make it clear you're connecting with a living person through their inbox. Make it about something. Use their name. Be interesting.
2. Ignoring GDPR standards. That's the law in the European Union for marketing email. It's mostly about having clear permission for emailing someone. We don't have laws like this in the US, so you may think if you don't have donors in Europe you can ignore it. Nope. You should at least act like you are GDPR compliant because it's good for you donors!
3. Using templates that aren't mobile-friendly. A lot of people read your email on their phones. Make sure they can read your emails there!
4. Poor email design. That means your call to action is clear and easy to see. That it's visually interesting. That there aren't pointless distractions. And the load time is fast.
5. Not strategically using metrics. Pay attention to how people are interacting with your emails. Emails give us a lot of metrics. Learn from them.

Ready to discover more fundraising things to do -- and not do? Check out The Fundraisingology Lab? It's top membership for smart fundraisers around the world -- with the best training, best resources, and best community you'll find. Enrollment is open until Wednesday, March 18. Check out The Fundraisingology Lab here!

That "Do Not Reply" email address is killing your fundraising

If you're sending emails to your donors that have a Do Not Reply return address, you are hurting yourself.

They look something like this: no-reply@charity.org or donotreply@charity.org and they're supposed to save time -- the time you'd spend answering emails from your donors.

That has to be just about the dumbest time-saver out there!

But it's even worse than that, according to the Hubspot Marketing Blog at What You Need to Know About Creating a 'Do Not Reply' Email. Here's what it does:

• It negatively influences email deliverability. that's right, if you're using a Do Not Reply email, it's more likely your messages are ending up in spam folders. Ouch!
• It dissuades two-way communication. People actually reply to emails with questions and comments. What are you telling them when they try to do that and nothing happens?
• It isn't compliant. GDPR and CAN-SPAM laws require that customers need to be able to request information about the data collected about them and opt-out of your messages with a reply email. Your Do Not Reply email could get you in trouble!

Don't bring this on yourself!

3 tests for improving your nonprofit website

If something is making your website unusable for would-be donors, there's a good chance you have no idea that's the case.

Here's a post from the Donorperfect blog -- Does your nonprofit website pass these 3 tests? -- that can help you uncover hidden problems that could be making your site ineffective:

1. The 8-Second Test. Can visitors to your website tell immediately what you do and what means to them?
2. The Blur Test. If you blur out your website so nothing is readable, can you still find your DONATE button?
3. The Site-Speed Test. Does your website load quickly on all devices?

7 steps to raising more money online

Want to know the most impactful place to spend your time on money for online funraising?

Your donation pages.

That's where it all happens.

Or not.

Here are 7 Donation Page Strategies That Actually Convert from Fundraising Coach:

1. Don't neglect page design. Make sure it looks like the rest of your website. Remove distractions, like links to other things -- if they are on a donation page, assume they are thinking about donating. Remind them what their gift will do.
2. Remember mobile-accessibility. A meaningful percentage of your people are looking at your website on a phone. Make sure it's readable and functional for them.
3. Make recurring giving easy. Online donors are more open to giving monthly than offline donors. Make sure it's easy for them to do so.
4. Suggest gift amounts. You will do better if you suggest some donation amounts.
5. Nail down your payment processing. Make sure you can accept a variety of credit cards (and seriously consider PayPal). Be sure it is completely secure, fast, and accurate, and that processing fees are reasonable.
6. Keep your gratitude personal. You can't over-thank, and even when you're online, make sure your thank yous have a human, emotional touch.
7. Consider bringing on a consultant. A good consultant can be a large net-revenue booster. Get help from people who really know what they're doing!

Quick fixes for your broken donation pages

When you raise funds online, the donation page is where it all happens.

Or doesn't.

Sadly, too many donation pages just don't work to move donors from thinking about giving to actually doing so.

If you want to raise funds online, you need to pay close attention to your donation pages. A great start would be to read this post on Proactive Content: Why Donation Page Content Turns Away 83% of Potential Donors.

Especially these quick fixes for your donation pages:

• If it's very short (under 4 sentences), make it longer.
• Give it a headline and make the headline impossible to miss.
• Focus the content on the donor and not on the organization.
• Focus on what the donor will accomplish by giving.
• Reduce your use of video, graphics, and imagery.
• Tell them what to do.

Get digital fundraising in order for the big time

The big giving month is around the corner.

Starting with Giving Tuesday (December 3) and ending with the even bigger December 31, it's show-time for online fundraising!

Are you ready? From Wired Impact, here are 9 Common Mistakes to Fix Yesterday:

1. It's hard or confusing to give. Complex donation pages kill your fundraising. Simplify. And make sure it actually works.
2. You send donors away from your website to give. Big mistake. If you're using an third party to process gifts, at least make sure the donor isn't being carried away to some site they've never heard of!
3. You're not properly thanking your donors. Failure to thank donors will crush your donor retention rates. Make it part of all our planning.
4. You don't use visuals to your advantage. Use images that tell the story your donor wants to be part of.
5. Your donate page is too busy. The page should do one thing: make it easy to donate. Don't have a bunch of unrelated material that will distract people away from the reason they are there.
6. You focus on donations over cultivation. Remember, even online, fundraising is a relationship. Not a transaction.
7. You fail to relay your impact. Or rather, their impact.
8. You don't know who your donors are. Understand who they are -- both as individuals and by their demographics and psychographics.
9. You don't segment your emails to donors. Be relevant by saying the right things to the right people.

5 types of winning subject lines (with samples)

If you want donors to respond to your fundraising fundraising emails, you've got the get them to open your message in the first place.

Not easy in crowded and spam-burdened inboxes.

Here's some research from the Bloomerang Blog that can help, at How to Get More People to Open Your Nonprofit Email:

1. Create an aura of mystery
   • You won’t believe how awesome this is going to be
   • You can’t even imagine…
2. Be useful
   • I want to help you
   • Here’s some new research you’ll find helpful
   • Here’s a unique opportunity
3. Get personal
   • You are going to love this!
   • This was made for you
   • I want to help you
   • This will surprise you
   • Also, if you can, use the recipient's name in the subject line
4. Leverage the power of recency
   • Guess what’s happening this Monday?
   • The doors open at midnight
   • What’s special about today?
5. Be authentic
   • hey! (the famous winner from the Obama campaign emails)
   • quick question
   • take a look?

How to make more effective donation pages

Your donation page just might be barriers to your donors' generosity.

They are for many.

Want some insight on making your donation pages work better? Check out this new study from NextAfter and RaiseDonors: The State of Nonprofit Donation Pages (downloadable; registration required).

Here are the topline findings of the study:

• Everyone has room to improve their donation page.
• Nonprofits aren't giving donors a great reason to give on their donation page. (Only 1 in 3 organizations have a strong value proposition on donation pages.)
• There is too much friction on donation pages -- distracting links, unnecessary fields required, etc.
• Online recurring giving remains a big opportunity for nonprofits.
• The mobile giving experience is improving, but can still be improved.
• Many donation selection and gift array strategies are similar.
• The thank you/confirmation page remains an underutilized asset in the donor journey and online giving experience.

Improvements to your donation pages can yield great results for your online fundraising. Put some quality time and thought on this!

Have you heard about The Fundraisingology Lab? It's the top membership for smart fundraisers around the world -- with the best training, best resources, and best community you'll find. Enrollment is open until Thursday, September 19 and not a second longer. Check out The Fundraisingology Lab here!

How to make Facebook ads work with your fundraising

Finding and cultivating donors with Facebook ads just might work for you. But you have to know what you're doing. Here's a great post from the Hubspot Marketing Blog that can help: Facebook Advertising Advice: 10 Tips:

1. Keep track of qualitative metrics. "Vanity metrics," such as shares and likes, shouldn't be what you're after on Facebook (see #8), but pay attention to them, because they are connected with success.
2. Take advantage of Facebook's precise Ad targeting. Target specific people on your list (by uploading their email address, or tightly defined groups as defined by geography, demographics, and interests.
3. Test different creative assets for best results. Test everything!
4. Pay attention to what visitors do after they click. That coveted click on Facebook is just the beginning. Make sure you know what happens after that, so you can turn those clicks into donors.
5. Don't force new trends into your Ad strategy. Shiny new objects are constant on Facebook. Some will be great. Before you grab the new, make sure you understand what you're already doing.
6. Find inspiration from your competition. Steal smart.
7. Publish videos that are short and sweet. 30 seconds or less is best.
8. Don't fixate on vanity metrics alone. Big mistake that will force bad decisions.
9. Focus on the mobile experience. Mobile is where most of the action is. Make sure whatever it is you want donors to do, it's easy on their phones.
10. Experiment with video. Try different things.
11. Diversify your ad format. There are many different ad formats; not all will work for you.
12. Pay attention to load time. If it takes more than 7.5 seconds for your website to load, you're in trouble..
13. Convert high-performing content into ads. Your best stuff already exists. Take what's working elsewhere and turn it into Facebook content.

11 things that make your website ineffective

If you're not getting much action from your website, the problem could be self inflicted. This post from Wired Impact, 11 Web Design Issues That Hurt Nonprofit Website Conversions, might help you uncover things you're doing that are making it not work as it should:

1. Making text a low contrast color.
2. Hiding your links. Make sure they are underlined, in a visible color, and easy for people to see and identify as links.
3. Not having a responsive website. Make sure you know immediately if anything is broken.
4. Setting a pop-up to show immediately. Pop-ups that load immediately when someone lands on your page are disorienting. Have them show at least 10 seconds after someone loads a page.
5. Adding a prominent image carousel. Rotating images on the homepage are bad news. Don't do it!
6. Not using the homepage to say what your organization does. Make it what you do inescapable to visitors.
7. Using poor quality images.
8. Long, detailed forms. The longer your forms, the less they work.
9. Using generic button text. Have buttons say what they do, like DONATE, GIVE, or SAVE A PUPPY. Not SUBMIT.
10. Writing content that’s hard to scan. Use short paragraphs and plenty of headlines to make reading easier.
11. Not prioritizing your calls to action. Have only one CTA on any given page.