The shift from traditional fundraising to integrated fundraising has been well documented. But I am amazed at how few charities are taking this seriously. The last post (link here) cited the first five email best practices.  Here are the next five that will improve your results.

1. Avoid using too many images, Flash, JavaScript, etc.: There are two good reasons for this: 1) It can hinder deliverability; 2) More importantly, this will not work in all mailing programs. For example, Microsoft entities (Hotmail, MSN, even Outlook) will not display animated .gif files properly. A healthy mix of text with fewer images will make for better deliverability.
2.  Make sure your subject line is relevant: This may seem like something very obvious; however, if you think about it, the subject line is what we look at to determine if we are opening the email, even when it comes from friends or family. Make sure that your subject is relevant to the mailing and try not to have triggers that will make somebody think “SPAM.”
3. Encourage engagement: In today’s world of sharing, people love to know what other people are doing. This goes beyond the simple “click to donate.” Forwarding to a Friend is a great start, but what about being able to post on Facebook or send a tweet about your message? Make sure to not only provide information about where a donation may be going, but also provide links to your social media pages so your message can be shared.
4. Reply handling: Question . . . What would happen if somebody responds to your message? Not everybody is going to take the time to unsubscribe via a link. What if they just responded to your message talking about how your program helped them in the past? Are you going to see that information? It is always a good idea to make sure that if somebody replies to your message, somebody in your organization sees it.
5. There is no best time to send an email: There are debates from those in email marketing that say Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days to send emails. There are those that say Monday morning is the best time. The honest answer is that the best time to deploy is going to be based on your strategy. There is no way to determine when somebody is going to look at an email or how somebody will view it. There are tools and services in place that will help give you insight on when people on your lists open your messages. You will want to work with what is best for your organization. This is determined after you have made several sends. The best recommendation is to make sure, over your first few emails, that you deploy at the same day and time to make sure you can track this information.

Have I inspired some action items that you will implement to improve your email program?  If so, write them down now to implement today.

What is your email value proposition?

To begin a cultivation or fundraising email program, you should make sure you have a value proposition; your emails must say more than just “read me” or “donate now.”  They must offer value to the recipient, and that value can come in a variety of forms – e.g., information on a key issue of importance to the reader, opportunities for the reader to act, updates on how the reader’s/donor’s gifts are being used, etc.

Likewise, your email is competing with an inbox full of both permission emails from your competitors and spam, all with something to push.

Your organization surely has a value proposition for its services. Your email program also needs one that reflects your organization’s value proposition but clearly sets out what benefits it delivers for recipients. (more…)

Hubspot just released a great report on the “25 Must Haves for a Remarkable Website.”  While it is written for businesses, many of the steps are very relevant for fundraisers.

Today, the web is social and interactive. It’s not static like most websites tend to be. As such, a website can no longer sustain as its own island. We now need to consider integrating search, social media, content, blogging, and more with our websites. Gone are the days when all it took was a URL, fancy Flash graphics, and an expensive advertising campaign to temporarily boost traffic. The reason for this shift is largely due to changing buyer behavior.

Here are a few of the takeaways from the report:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an absolute must have to any website strategy, but it takes hard work and consistency when aiming for the top spot.
2. Make a great first impression with great design and usability.
3. While design is important, don’t forget that offering great content is what your visitors are ultimately after. A well-designed website might convince visitors to take a closer look, but they won’t look twice if the content isn’t useful and well organized.
4. Make sure to have a clear call to action.
5. Make content shareable and social.
6. Add a blog. Companies with a blog have 55% more traffic.

Many organizations still are not taking their website seriously. Some don’t understand best practices, some are in too many silos to have an effective site and some are more focused on social media. It doesn’t matter how good you are on Facebook, or how many followers you have. If your website is bad, you are not going to have success online.

An eviction notice is the last thing you want to get. But the Milwaukee Rescue Center – a local animal shelter – turned this obstacle into an opportunity.

They found a new location with the space they needed. Their challenge? Raise $40,000 for a down payment – and raise it fast.

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I have enjoyed reading all the predictions, trends and outlooks for our industry. Many of them are right on the mark, and some are way out there.

The one common theme I am seeing is all about increasing your social media presence, making video a significant strategy and, of course, you have to be addressing mobile fundraising. After all, Haiti brought text to give into the mainstream, and it is going to change our fundraising industry. Without a doubt, all of these are important and play a role in successful integrated campaigns. I’ve blogged and tweeted on integrated fundraising best practices, but for most organizations there is no strategy, the messages are not integrated and they are not maximizing the fundraising potential.

If you want to double your online giving this year, get back to the basics and start at home . . . your homepage, that is. In a recently released study from Nomensa, 47% of donors give up before they have made the donation because the online journey is not intuitive and engaging. These donors already have strong feelings about the charity, but they give up because it’s too complicated or uninspiring.

Four Steps to Improve Online Giving

The report describes four stages along with some specific recommendations. Some include:

1.       Engage – Promote outcomes and convey a sense of urgency

2.       Nudge – provide a clear next step for making a donation

3.       Support – Streamline the donation process

4.       Reward – Say thank you and encourage donors to spread the word on social media channels

If you have all these down, then social media, video, mobile and gaming might be your next step. But if 47% of donors are abandoning the donation process, I would think it should be an area of focus.

Have you taken steps recently to enhance your online giving?  Is it working?  Please share your experience below.