From The Political Online Fundraising Front
It pains me to do this already in July 2011, but here’s a rundown on what the emergent 2012 political campaigns are doing with respect to online fundraising.
The 2008 Obama campaign re-wrote the online fundraising handbook, and all the wannabees have studied it closely.
This report from Clickz.com provides several articles for you political groupies, covering Obama, Romney, Palin, Bachmann, Pawlenty, Huntsman … and even Ann Coulter.
As always, my interest in this political propaganda is chiefly from the perspective of … Anything here for us legitimate, principled fundraisers?
Tom
One response to “From The Political Online Fundraising Front”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]
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Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (“everyone’s giving today”), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]
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When a subject line leads with the match (“Your gift matched!”), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]
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There’s no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]
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What you’re experiencing is very common. Resistance often isn’t about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]
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That’s a really thoughtful question, and you’re not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, we’ve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]
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I LOVED today’s post on political campaigns because nonprofits absolutely learn from the online-fundraising-petri-dish-on-steroids that we call political fundraising. In fact, I just published a paper on “Borrowing from Obama’s Online Fundraising Playbook” sharing how the online fundraising strategies that Obama (OFA) uses can be used immediately by nonprofits to boost their online response. Tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/3q9qb86.
Not every nonprofit is the focus of 24 hour news cycles like Obama. However, Obama’s entire online strategy is paying huge dividends in advance of his direct mail and television flights and I encourage us all to watch closely. What OFA has done right the past ninety days include strategies nonprofits can implement immediately, including:
· Online Advertising. Smart nonprofits are already using geo-targeted advertising to reach people who care about their issues to grow their supporter base.
· Insider Information. OFA let donors and supporters know in advance how successful second quarter fundraising had been and are making donors the hero of the story.
· Video. OFA gives you insider access to Obama’s campaign manager using video.
· Multivariate Testing. Like Amazon, Zappos, and Apple, a one percent (1%) conversion uptick for a campaign like OFA makes a huge difference. It looks like they’ve spent quite a bit of testing on online ads and their sign up to maximize conversion.
· Frequent Communication. Using multiple channels, email, Facebook, Twitter, the campaign didn’t shy away from sharing relevant information, especially on key dates.
· Celebration. The campaign, like almost all nonprofit issues, are a long haul. OFA is smart making milestones a big deal and then celebrating those milestones to keep momentum and enthusiasm up for the duration.
· Social media was fully integrated into the communication. Rather than treating Facebook, Twitter, Blogs as a separate channel, the campaign stayed “on message” through multiple channels.
Finally, the ClickZ article missed one major political-digital story: Using Facebook to defeat a Florida Ballot Initiative: https://www.facebook.com/notes/connectednonprofit/facebook-ads-help-defeat-a-ballot-initiative/128768493872469. Facebook advertising has been the poor relation to Google Advertising, but these stories are beginning to paint a picture that nonprofits and political campaigns can’t afford to overlook Facebook advertising one piece of an overall fundraising strategy.
Thanks again!