Making First Impressions
Unfortunately, your nonprofit might have literally only one or two interactions with a new donor or member before they tune out and disappear forever.
So first impressions indeed matter, whether delivered by mail, telephone or email.
In most cases, your second opportunity to make a “first impression” is when you acknowledge the donor's initial gift … your welcome letter, call or email.
Increasingly that second contact is an email.
Here, from the commercial world (Avenue A/Razorfish), is some useful advice on making as positive an impression as possible with your welcome email. The core principles apply to the nonprofit fundraising setting — personalize, reinforce benefits, include a call to action of some kind — plus some considerations unique to the online medium.
And as one commenter noted, it's also smart to establish some expectation about how future contacts might unfold — e.g., likely content, frequency. Even better, provide your donor with some options to customize the communications flow.
Worth a look.
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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