Fundraising Jon Powell Sr. Director, Research and Education - - PDF document

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Cracking the Code of

Fundraising

Jon Powell

• Sr. Director, Research and Education

NextAfter @jonpowell31

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Your worst enemy?

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And the Likes kept

• n piling up…

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“But I didn’t get in early on the whole ‘Facebook Like thing’ and I don’t have any fans—will this webinar still work for me?”

GOOD NEWS!

You can turn LIKES

into

DONORS even if they are not your own

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= Data Point

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Most of us have already tried this…

The Ad Donation The Ask The Ad Donation The Ask

$0 Donations

...and experienced this:

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Your worst enemy?

But hold up… Maybe we have been doing it WRONG.

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New Donor Acquisition Test (A/B/C/D)

A national faith-based educational institution

The Testing Partner

Determine which source/channel produced the lowest cost per acquired donor.

The Testing Objective

Four different new donor sources were tested against each other equally

The Testing Approach

Which gets the lowest cost/donor?

List Owner 1 List Owner 2 List Broker Same Offer

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Key Success Metrics

Names (Emails)

1. Total Emails (Leads) Acquired 2. Gross Cost Per Email 3. Net Cost Per Email

Donors

4. Total Donors Acquired 5. Instant Conversion Rate 6. Gross Cost Per Donor 7. Net Cost Per Donor

Dollars

8. Average Gift Size 9. Total Gross Cost 10. Total Revenue 11. Total Net Cost

Here’s what we DISCOVERED

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Facebook Yielded the Most Emails

Compared to the nearest competitor, Facebook produced 193% more leads.

961 5279 1055 1803

List Rental 1 Facebook List Rental 2 List Rental 3

Names

Facebook is also the Cheapest Source

Compared to nearest competitor, Facebook had a 44% lower gross cost.

961 5279 1055 1803 $6,575 $2,818 $5,007 $5,000

List Rental 1 Facebook List Rental 2 List Rental 3

Names vs. Spend

Names Cost

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Facebook Yielded the Most Donors

Facebook produced 285% more donors than closest competitor.

40 154 14 33

List Rental 1 Facebook List Rental 2 List Rental 3

Donors

Lowest Gross Cost Per Email

Leads acquired through Facebook had a 419% lower cost to acquire.

$6.84 $0.53 $4.75 $2.77

List Rental 1 Facebook List Rental 2 List Rental 3

Gross Cost Per Name

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Lowest Gross Cost Per Donor

Cost per donor acquired was 728% lower on Facebook.

$164.38 $18.30 $357.65 $151.52

List Rental 1 Facebook List Rental 2 List Rental 3

Gross Cost per Donor

Acquiring Emails at a Net Profit

For every name we acquired on Facebook, we made a profit of $1.64

$4.45

• $1.64

$3.74 $1.49

• $2.00
• $1.00

List Rental 1 Facebook List Rental 2 List Rental 3

Net Cost Per Name

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Acquiring Donors and Making Money

Facebook produced a net profit of $56.19 for every donor we acquired.

$107.00

• $56.19

$281.93 $81.67

• $100.00
• $50.00

List Rental 1 Facebook List Rental 2 List Rental 3

Net Cost Per Donor

• 192% More Emails (Leads) Acquired
• 44% Lower Initial Investment
• 285% More Donors
• 419% Lower Cost-per-Email Acquired
• 728% Lower Cost-per-Donor Acquired
• 398% More Revenue

Facebook as your new acquisition source?

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Your worst enemy?

#Besties

So why aren’t fundraisers getting those results?

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We’ve become so obsessed with being

LIKED

that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to be

LOVED

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• 1. Emails
• 2. Donors
• 3. Dollars

Love can be Measured

Combines the perpetual learning of a marketing and fundraising Research Lab with the practical application of a Consultancy:

• 1,100+ unique experiments spanning a

combined sample of more than 8 million donor interactions.

• Research with 158 not-for-profit
• rganizations to-date
• 5 Major studies, 6 Whitepapers, 19

Instructional videos and Database of over 54,462 messages

About NextAfter

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Combines the perpetual learning of a marketing and fundraising Research Lab with the practical application of a Consultancy:

• 700+ unique experiments spanning a

combined sample of more than 8 million donor interactions.

• Research with 158 not-for-profit
• rganizations to-date
• 4 Major studies, 6 Whitepapers, 19

Instructional videos and Database of over 54,462 messages

A New Type of Organization What have we learned from over $12,465,390 in nonprofit research?

People do NOT go online to

GIVE

they go online to

GET KEY POINT 1

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“We’re in the relationship business… fundraising always happens in the context of a relationship. ”

• Tom McCabe

People give to organizations they

ALREADY AGREE WITH

and

TRUST KEY POINT 2

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The “Yes” Ladder

As we make multiple small commitments to someone/something, or even if we just perceive similarity through agreement, we’re more likely to make a larger, unrelated commitment later or even immediately after (which we may not have originally made).

The SIZE and QUALITY

• f your EMAIL LIST is the

most important factor that will influence your ability to raise money online.

KEY POINT 3

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Here’s What We Learned by Examining Google Analytics for Four Very Different Nonprofit Orgs

What Not-for-profit data says… An Education Organization

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An Association A Faith-based Organization

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An Advocacy Organization

THEREFORE…

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If you want to acquire donors on Facebook, you must first focus on

EMAIL ACQUISITION

NOT on donor acquisition

KEY POINT

About this Test

Founded in 1844, Hillsdale College is an independent liberal arts college with a student body of about 1,400. Hillsdale’s educational mission rests upon two principles: academic excellence and institutional independence. The College does not accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies for any of its operations. As part of their service, they offer free courses, such as Constitution 101, as a service to the public. Like other not-for-profits, they need donations to survive.

Partner Background

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How Do We Get More Donors?

Version A

How Do We Get More Donors?

Version B

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How Do We Get More Donors?

Version A Version B

What Happened

∞%

Version S1 Click Rate Donation Rate

• Avg. Gift

Version A (2-Step) 0.41% 0.000% $0 Version B (3-Step) 1.26% 1.18% $58.33

Relative Difference

209%

∞ ∞

Increase in

DONATIONS

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Not This…

An Ad Donation The Ask

But This…

An Offer An Ad Email Ask Donation The Ask An

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What’s the most important part of each step?

On the Offer

An Offer An Ad Email Ask Donation The Ask An

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OFFER

/’ôfər,ˈäfər/

• 1. Something of value that your fans would

be willing to trade their email for.

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OFFER

/’ôfər,ˈäfər/

• 2. Something attractive that helps my ideal

donor see that we could be the solution to the problem they want to see solved.

JUST A

SPOONFUL

OF SUGAR

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Example 1: Quiz Example 2: eBook

Unpacks the horrific human rights atrocities happening within North Korea.

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Example 3: Resource Center

Free online archive of 66,000+ articles about Texas History after email registration.

Example 4: Free Online Course

8-week free online course with video lessons delivered via email.

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It is NOT your organizational value proposition. It is NOT a request to help you. An EXPRESSION or DEMONSTRATION of your organizational value proposition in action, be it through knowledge transfer, an action on the visitor’s behalf, or even a tangible.

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THE OFFER

ATTRACTS your ideal donor to

EXPERIENCE

your organization’s value proposition firsthand.

There is one caveat…

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Your offer has to deliver more value than it mentally costs to get it.

The Ad and Landing Page

An Offer An Ad Email Ask Donation The Ask An

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1 Text [Description] 2 Image / Video 3 Headline [Call to Action] and News Feed Link Description

The Research Process

After examining our library of 1,100+ published experiments, we’ve discovered 70+ Facebook Ad experiments to help us understand patterns of successful Facebook ad messaging.

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Do people really read the description? Does it really matter, especially with Facebook being such a mobile medium?

Do people really read all that text?

From this To This

21.5%

Emails Acquired

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Do people really read all that text?

From this To This

316%

Emails Acquired

Do people really read all that text?

From this To This

426%

Clicks

410%

Emails Acquired

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People don’t see

EXCESSIVE TEXT

when they see something

RELEVANT

They clicked on this ad…

Because… I might actually get past that initial fear he described in me and learn to enjoy this thing I know is really important to my faith. versus

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They clicked on this ad…

Because… I want to know about the physical place of heaven – nobody talks about that! versus

They clicked on this ad…

Because… I didn’t realize the guy that created Narnia was a super smart theologian too; and I like smart theologians! (…we knew that) versus

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You won’t truly

ACTIVATE IT

unless you

ARTICULATE IT.

HINT: We’re talking about the value proposition…

Example (#7020):

From this To This

104.4%

Emails Acquired

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So I have an offer, and an ad, does it matter what kind of webpage I make for it?

The Research Process

• After examining our library of

1,100+ published experiments, we’ve discovered 100+ relevant experiments to help us create an ideal starter template:

• Used only experiments that

focused on email acquisition pages

• Used only experiments that

isolate elements either of FORM or of SUBSTANCE

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The key to making

A GREAT PAGE IS

to make it properly

CONVERSATIONAL

People react to

WEBPAGES

in the same way they react to

PEOPLE

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Which one will win? It’s the same offer…

Version A Version B

31.6%

In Emails

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Why Version B lost

The headline doesn’t state the desired effect, or even explicitly state that visitors will get an eBook. Plus, the size of the headline is a little small.

Headline

Why Version B lost

While the main image is somewhat iconic, it doesn’t communicate the essence of the offer or at least what they are going to get. Plus, it is so big that it has become a major distraction.

Main Image

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Why Version B lost

While the body copy length seems OK, it talks only about the facts ABOUT the book, not about WHAT’S INSIDE (the what instead of the why).

Body Copy

In addition it uses a complicated widget like browsing tool to try and help people see what’s inside

Why Version B lost

Notice that it emphasizes first what you have to do, not what you get. It would perform better if reversed.

CTA header

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Why Version B lost

While the button text isn’t bad, the problem is that we don’t know what “Struggle and Success” is, UNLESS we decided to use that complicated widget tool. Ultimately, it underperformed because it did not reemphasize, it instead introduced something new.

CTA button text

Now look at Version A again…

Version A Version B

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So how again do we get donations?

The Instant Donation Ask

An Offer An Ad Email Ask Donation The Ask An

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How is this possible? Why does it work?

When people accept

YOUR OFFER

they are simultaneously beginning to accept

YOU

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Is it enough to just use my main donation page?

About this Test (#1393)

Hillsdale College

The Testing Partner

To determine if we can get more instant donations with on-page changes.

The Testing Objective

The original page against a new page with multiple edits

The Testing Approach

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?

Version A

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Version B Can We Get More Donations?

Version A Version B

35.8%

Donations

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If the accepted offer is already providing us donations, how was version B able to attract more?

The Research Process

After examining our library of 1,100+ published experiments, we’ve discovered 141 relevant experiments to help us create an ideal starter template.

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Desire

0- No Interest 1- Possible Interest 2- High Interest

Exclusivity

0- Anywhere Else 1- Somewhere Else 2- Nowhere Else

How to Quickly Rate Your Donation Page

How bad do they want to support what you’re offering?

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How to Quickly Rate Your Donation Page

How quickly do they understand your offering? Clearness

0- Takes 4+ seconds to understand 1- Takes 1-3 seconds to understand 2- Understand it instantly

How to Quickly Rate Your Donation Page

How likely will they believe what you’re claiming? Believability

0- Unbelievable 1- Somewhat believable 2- Easily believable

Trustworthiness

0- Questionable, sketchy 1- Comparably OK 2- Feels safe

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What about targeting?

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half. ”

• John Wanamaker

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1,860,000,000 Users

But we’re not going after all those users…

Something we can’t ignore… Something we can’t ignore…

1,860,000,000 Users

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How?

You already told them all about yourself.

Geographic Targeting

• Find users in a specific zip code,

city, state, or region.

Facebook Targeting Options

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Device Targeting

• Find users on a specific platform

(mobile, desktop, tablet) or

• perating system (Android, iOS)

Facebook Targeting Options

Demographic Targeting

• Find users by age, gender,

household income, life stage, home ownership status, and more.

Facebook Targeting Options

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Interest Targeting

• Find users who have specific

interests, advertise to fans of competitors

Facebook Targeting Options

Custom Audiences

• Advertise to very specific lists of

people.

Facebook Targeting Options

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Lookalike Audiences

• Let Facebook model your data to

find similar prospects.

Facebook Targeting Options

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Getting an initial win

Already on your list Visited site, liked your page Similar interests/organizations Lookalike audiences

Courses.NextAfter.com

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A Pretend Organization and Offer

Making American Polite

BringBackManners.org

A Pretend Organization and Offer

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A Pretend Organization and Offer

5 ways your kids can learn manners and respect in a world of text and video chat

New eBook

QUESTIONS?

Courses.NextAfter.com