The ONE thing you need to know to be successful in digital fundraising

Digital fundraising is not rocket science.

Why didn't you do the dishes last night? Because you didn't ask.

Why didn't you make the bed? Because you didn't ask.

Why didn't you donate? Because you didn't ask.

"But we DID ask! There was a link on our website but nobody clicked on it. I guess that means our supporters don't like donating online. We won't do that again."

Hello. My name's Emily and I'm a fundraiser. I've been fundraising for over 10 years. I'm really into digital fundraising at the moment. (I actually run an online fundraising platform if you're interested... but that's beside the point)

It seems that some fundraisers think digital is out of their league. So I thought it was worth sharing this... If you want to have a successful digital fundraising campaign, THIS is the only thing you need to remember.

*** THE NORMAL RULES OF FUNDRAISING ALSO APPLY TO DIGITAL FUNDRAISING ***

If you want people to give, you have to give them a REASON to give.

1. You have to tell them WHY you need money.
2. You have to tell them why they should WANT to give you money.
3. You have to tell them HOW they can give you money.

How this applies to digital: If you have an online donation form, that's a great start. But don't just write a social media post that says 'We accept donations online' and then paste a link to your donation form. That's not compelling or inspiring. It's boring. Nobody will give.

Instead, use your social channels to tell stories about what you do. Tell real stories about the people your charity has helped. Ask your current donors to give quotes about why they give and what it means to them. Then, having inspired your readers, ask them to play their part by including a link to your donation form.

Good fundraising requires good execution.

Community fundraisers - Would you buy loads of buckets, and then keep them stored in a cupboard without ever booking any collections?

Corporate fundraisers - Would you verbally agree a new partnership with a business, and then never get round to preparing a contract?

Event fundraisers - Would you spend months planning the perfect event, and then forget to invite anyone?

Individual giving fundraisers - Would you write the most compelling appeal in the world, and then not bother to send it to anyone?

I really hope your answer is NO to all of the above.

How this applies to digital: There is no point in creating a brilliant digital fundraising campaign if you're not going to tell anyone it's there. Just writing one Facebook post or hiding a link somewhere on your website means that most of your supporters won't even realise you're fundraising. Great digital fundraising requires great marketing.

Promote your fundraising campaign by email, social media, paid ads, etc. Schedule multiple posts throughout the duration of your campaign, reminding people about your campaign and providing updates on how much you've raised or what you've achieved. Don't forget to use offline channels for marketing either - include a web address in your next mailing, tell the local press about your campaigns, talk to your donors by phone at events and tell them what you're doing!

Be inspiring, be bold, be different. And don't be silent. If you only use one channel, you're restricting your reach massively.

Analysis makes a massive difference.

When we try new things, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. There is nothing wrong with failing.

But regardless of whether your fundraising campaign went well or it didn't, it's important to understand why. Otherwise, you risk making the same mistakes again. Or, if it went well, you'll want to find a way to replicate this success across everything else that you do.

How this applies to digital: This is where you have the upper hand over all your other colleagues in the fundraising team. Your colleagues have to wait until the end of an appeal before they can do any analysis. You can do this in real-time.

Digital fundraisers can use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights & Twitter Analytics. At any time, you can see exactly how many people are visiting your fundraising page, where they come from, and how much they give. You can see analytics on every social media post you send, so you'll know exactly how many people have seen your promotional posts, how many of them clicked the link, and how much they gave.

Use this information to tailor the donor experience. If you spot that more people give when you post a picture of a child instead of a picture of an adult, start using more images of children in your posts. If you see that more people click through when you ask for a lower donation amount, adjust your language.

Summary

Digital fundraising is just another way of raising money. It's not a miracle cure that will solve all your funding problems. Just creating an online fundraising page does not mean people will give. That's only the beginning of a successful campaign. The real skill in your digital fundraising team is in the execution.

So, as a final reminder, one last time... The normal rules of fundraising ALSO apply to digital fundraising. Remember this and you're off to a great start.