Did you know that 2/3 of people who donate to nonprofits do ZERO research before giving? Instead, they give to organizations with whom they’re already familiar or ones that are recommended by family, friends, and co-workers.
Even in our age of high-teach marketing, word-of-mouth marketing is still one of the most effective forms of marketing! How’s the word-of-mouth marketing going at YOUR nonprofit?
Here are two ways you can use this effective marketing tool to your advantage:
1. Turn your donors into champions who recruit others to support your cause! Provide your donors with all sorts of success stories (placing them at the center, as the heroes that they are!) – these can take the form of:
· “Did you know” questions/lesser-known facts about the issue you’re addressing and how it impacts those you serve
· Infographics
· Photos with captions
· Testimonials from those helped by your organization
· Quotes that illustrate your work or your philosophy
· Anything else you can think of!
It’s not enough to provide your donors with this material via emails and social media – you must ASK them to share it with friends, family and colleagues! Your donors are already your fans — ask them to help you reach new heights with this year’s year-end campaign by giving them a dollar amount you’re trying to reach and providing them with updates as you get closer to reaching it. Each time you reach out to them, ask them to help spread the word!
2. Did you know that volunteers are TWICE as likely to donate as those who aren’t?!
We often think of volunteers and donors as two separate groups, but volunteers are ALREADY donors – they’re donating their time (and skills)! Volunteers are already committed to and engaged with your cause – if you’re not asking them to donate their money as well as their time, you’re missing out on tapping one of the most motivated groups of potential donors your organization has at its fingertips!
As with your donors, provide your volunteers with plenty of success stories — acknowledging them as the heroes – and (a) ask them to donate financially to your organization and (b) share the materials we send them with other, like-minded friends, family and co-workers who’d be happy to support your organization!
One of the best ways to increase individual donations is to leverage the connections and enthusiasm of those who are already invested in seeing us succeed in fulfilling our mission. As they say, “caring is sharing” – we need to ask those who already care about the work we’re doing to share success stories with others who can help.
Remember: word-of-mouth marketing only works if you use your mouth and encourage others to use theirs!
Here are 3 ways I’m going to help you maximize your revenue during the 2020 year-end giving season:
- Posting a weekly blog (or vlog!) with fun facts and helpful tips on crafting your fall appeal.
- Hosting a special webinar on October 28th at 9am EST with ADRIAN SARGEANT, one of the industry’s top experts in donor loyalty, retention and psychology.
- Running a short but powerful program called Appeals that Work: a Mini Course to Help you Craft an Emotionally-compelling Appeal that Brings in the Bucks!
I’ve helped more than 200 nonprofits reach their goals and have raised over $80M. Let me put my expertise to work for you so you can maximize your year-end donations by taking advantage of all three!
If you’ve got specific questions you need answered, feel free to set up a free, 15-minute Pick My Brain session here: https://calendly.com/sbl-fundraising/15min