Thursday, September 18, 2014

Online Donations Weak? Check for Common Errors

Nonprofits dissatisfied with online giving dollars and growth should inspect their online fundraising for some common donation-sapping mistakes, per the advice in a recent post by Julia Campbell of J Campbell Social Marketing. She outlines six ways nonprofits often get it wrong when it comes to online giving, and here are just three takeaways that we'll pass along.. Basic Error No. 1: Online fundraising doesn't work if it leads potential donors to a badly executed, hard-to-navigate website, especially one that is not mobile-friendly. With more people projected to access the web via mobile devices than via desktop as soon as next year, it's shocking that 84% of nonprofits still aren't making donation pages readable by mobile users, as reported recently by Philanthropy.com. Basic Error No. 2: Online fundraising doesn't work if it is hard to find and hard to do. Yet, as the article notes, a recent study found that 65% of nonprofit websites ask visitors to click through three or more pages to donate, losing about 40% of visitors with each click per research. Also, many websites simply fail to clearly ask for a donation. Get rid of that vague "Get Involved" button and put a bold "Donate Now" button on all pages, and then link every button to a single page with an easy-to-use form for entering credit card information. Basic Error No. 3: Online fundraising doesn't work if it is not promoted. If you build a great donation page, donors will not just come. Online giving needs to be promoted in e-mail channels, social media channels, and direct mail pieces, as well as at events and in other interactions with potential donors. For more suggestions on removing roadblocks to online donation success, see http://jcsocialmarketing.com/2014/05/6-ways-nonprofits-getting-online-fundraising-wrong/

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

These Smart Brands Offer E-Mail Success Lessons

We often pass along articles on common mistakes in e-mail marketing, but how about the positive lessons, the success stories? Kevin Ward, recently posted an inspirational piece for Business2Community about tips gleaned from six well-known brands' e-mail campaigns. All are producing e-mails that have personality, easy readability, user-friendliness, and attention-grabbing appeal  -- plus specific, well-executed tactics to stay ahead of the competition. For example, Ralph Lauren wins sales with its clear, targeted call to action. Amazon leads the field with personalization. Betty Crocker's recipe for success is warm Pinterest-style personality. ThinkGeek thinks about conversions with extra coupons and deals. Huckberry revs up the urgency with limited time offers for its deals. Crate & Barrel has lots to peddle but uses e-mail focus, with a single customer-driven product offer, to funnel sales. For e-mail creative examples: https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/six-brands-doing-email-marketing-175149715.html