Are you finding your donors or are they finding you?

By Jono Smith

When it comes to raising money, many nonprofits instinctively pick up their ‘mission megaphone’ and blast our their appeal, hoping someone is listening.  But when it comes to finding new donors and differentiating your organization from similar causes, this strategy isn’t very effective.  Nonprofit marketers need to adjust their marketing strategies to include a mix of tactics that both target potential donors, and make it easier for potential donors to find you. Consistent with our theme of borrowing corporate marketing savvy to help promote just causes, MarketingSherpa suggests some tactics for making it easier for donors to find you:

• Search engine optimization and pay per click management so prospects find you when they search
• A focus on donor satisfaction to encourage referrals and word of mouth advertising
• Public relations (including speeches, blogs, award, articles, etc.) so your brand appears wherever prospective donors are looking and reading
• Consistent advertising so donors are aware of you when they are ready to give

Here are 2 more tactics to add to the list:

• Make sure your Donate Now button is visible on your home page and throughout your website
• Carve out space above-the-fold on your home page to capture email addresses with a compelling call-to-action (i.e. sign a petition, subscribe to the newsletter, etc.)

While most people probably won’t make a donation on their first visit to your site, if you get their email addresses, you can start building a relationship and invite them back.