We all know that optimizing your fundraising landing page can significantly increase the chances of visitors becoming donors. A properly-optimized landing page communicates your organization’s mission and builds trust with visitors who could become donors. This article will cover nine tips and strategies to help you improve your landing page.
1. Understand Your Donors
Understanding your donors is a crucial step in optimizing your landing page. It enables you to tailor your page to their needs, behavior, and preferences. Donor data gives you a better understanding of what drives them to donate.
If your donor has previously donated to a specific campaign or cause, you can tweak your landing page and highlight related initiatives. Some examples of personalization include:
- Displaying an impact statement based on a previous donation
- Suggesting giving opportunities that align with their previous giving history
- Recognizing past support
By personalizing the content displayed to current donors, nonprofits can show donors that their past support is appreciated while encouraging them to continue supporting the cause.
Gathering Information About Your Donors
As you optimize your page, it is critical to ensure you gather donor information such as:
- Giving data: Past donations amounts, frequency of giving, recency of giving, and donor lifetime value.
- Engagement data: Email open rates, volunteer hours, non-monetary gifts, feedback, and event attendance.
- Demographic data: Age, location, wealth, and philanthropic data.
By understanding these data points, you can draw insights that can guide your fundraising asks, the effectiveness of your organization’s communications, lower donor acquisition costs, and determine targets for major gifts.
Using Donor Data Insights to Improve Your Fundraising Landing Page
Donor data insights are a powerful tool for improving your fundraising landing page and ultimately increasing donations.
Most donors want transparency: where donations go, tangible examples of impact, and visual stories that show the work being carried out. What differs is how they give.
- Silent generation: Prefers traditional outreach methods like direct mail and giving in more traditional ways.
- Baby boomers: This generation is financially generous and comfortable making donations online. Ensure your landing page is easy to navigate and your donation forms are frictionless.
- Gen X: Born between 1965 and 1976, this generation has one of the highest volunteer rates and values transparent business practices. Use this information to create a landing page that shows how gifts are being used and displays volunteer opportunities.
- Millennials: This generation engages through advocacy more than any other type of support. Though they have less to give, Millennials tend to give to causes based on recommendations from friends and family. They also respond well to text message campaigns and tend to work for employers who have matching programs.
- Gen Z: While a good portion of the Gen Z population is not yet old enough to make their own donations, organizations can cater to older members of this generation and work towards “future-proofing” as younger members age. They are digital natives and are able to collect and analyze information about an organization – honesty from organizations is key. Like millennials, they prefer mobile giving.
Though there are obvious differences between each generation, donors of all ages and backgrounds what to give to causes they feel strongly about and who appreciate their support.
Organizations that make an effort to understand donor data and make insightful choices related to online fundraising will always win.
2. Create a Clear Call-to-Action
A clear call-to-action (CTA) on your fundraising landing page motivates visitors to take immediate action and donate. Without it, your donors may not know what action to take, resulting in missed donation opportunities. Keep it short, clear, and straight to the point.
Writing an Effective CTA
The first step to writing an effective CTA is using clear and specific language that inspires the donor to take a desired action.
Some examples of an effective CTA are:
- Specific: Donate $25 to feed a family for a week.
- Urgent: It’s not too late to make an impact.
- Emotional: Help us change the world.
While calling for donations is the standard practice for CTAs in most nonprofit organizations, CTAs should be used for any action that you want your supporters to take: signing up for an event, volunteering, etc. However, it’s important to not have competing CTAs on the same page!
CTA Placement and Design
When placing your CTA, it’s important to put it “above the fold.” This area, which originated in the newspaper industry and referred to the top half of the front page, is the most important part of a webpage. It’s the first thing donors see when they land on the page.
Content that is above the fold should be easy to read, concise, and visually appealing. By optimizing this content, you can better encourage donors to take the desired action.
Your CTA should be prominently placed to stand out from the rest of the content on the landing page. Consider using contrasting colors with bold and larger fonts to make it more attention-grabbing and should be placed strategically to make it easy for donors to find. Using a heatmapping tool, which allows you to visually see how site visitors interact with your site, can help you understand the best location for your CTAs.
3. Visual Storytelling
Visual elements such as images, videos, and infographics can grab your visitor’s attention. They convey your message more effectively than text alone. Even better, these visuals evoke emotions and create a more personal connection with them. This enhances the likelihood of donations to your cause.
Selecting and Designing Visuals That Tell a Story
When selecting and designing your fundraising landing page, you must choose images that tell a story relevant to your cause. Your best shot would be using images of people benefiting from your initiative or as an impact of donations. Make sure you use high-quality visuals that are easy to understand, so they capture the reader at once.
Incorporating Visuals on Your Fundraising Landing Page
As you incorporate visuals, be careful to strategically place them to break up long blocks of text. You must also optimize the image size and resolution to ensure they load quickly without affecting the page’s loading speed. All this goes to enhancing the landing page’s visual appeal.
4. Removing Friction from Your Donation Process
The less friction donors encounter, the more likely it is they’ll give to your organization. Sounds easy, right? In reality, it can be difficult to create less friction in your donation process for one simple reason: you’re not the donor.
Because you understand all of the elements, it’s much easier to create blindspots because you understand the end goal.
It’s unlikely that your donor does.
Best Practices for Donation Forms
GiveWP enables you to create simple donation forms with visual cues to guide your visitors as they donate, but that’s only one part of the process. You must ensure you’re choosing the include or exclude touchpoints that impact donor conversion.
Some best practices for a frictionless donation experience include:
- Collecting only essential information in your donation form fields
- Clearly mark mandatory fields
- Ensure forms are mobile-friendly
- Remove competing CTAs or information like your navigation bar
- Limit the number of decision-making options
- Visually emphasize a specific gift amount
- Offer a variety of payment methods, including mobile wallet options
- Reinforce the security of your fundraising landing page and donation form
- Integrate personalization where possible
Let’s take a second to expand on limiting the number of decisions your donor has to make. It’s very tempting to employ a number of GiveWP features on your donation forms – recurring donations, tributes, and fee recovery are just a few.
Decision fatigue is a real thing and your organization could be converting fewer donors by requiring them to make several decisions during the donation process. Your organization will need to make tough choices about what is most impactful per campaign.
And, last but not least, ensuring that you are telling a story that inspires donors to give throughout the donations process is mission-critical.
5. Using Social Proof
Social proof is a compelling psychological concept that helps you to build trust and credibility with potential donors. When people see that others have already donated and supported your cause, they are likelier to follow suit and do the same.
Some types of social proof include:
- Testimonials
- Endorsements
- Awards and recognition
- Donor wall
- Partnerships
- Progress bar
Incorporating social proof into your marketing strategy helps your organization build trust with potential donors and increases the likelihood that they’ll give.
Including Social Proof on Your Fundraising Landing Pages
There are various ways to include social proof on your fundraising landing page. One of the easiest ways is making use of GiveWP’s Donor Wall block. This block allows you to display donations publicly and is a great way to display the success of your campaign and encourage potential donors to join in.
The Donor Wall displays up to 100 of your most recent donors (and their contributions) and allows you to enable comment functionality.
Other ways to include social proof on your fundraising landing pages include:
- Displaying real-time impact data through a progress bar
- Highlighting an interactive map that allows supporters to see all of the places in which your nonprofit operates
- Testimonials or success stories from beneficiaries, volunteers, or board members
- News stories about your organization
Your organization can also utilize fundraising campaigns like Peer-to-Peer fundraising. When a supporter creates a fundraising page and shares it with their network, they are essentially vouching for your cause. Supporters who participate in peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns leverage their social networks – friends, family, colleagues – to solicit donations while demonstrating their personal belief in your organization and mission.
Leveraging User-Generated Content
Commonly abbreviated as UGC, user-generated content is a form of social proof that is created by your supporters, fans, and followers. This type of content can be anything from photos to videos to tweets (and more!). User-generated content acts as digital word-of-mouth; it is incredibly authentic and is one of the most valuable and influential forms of social proof.
One of the biggest questions related to UGC is how your organization can encourage supporters to create and share content. While some folks are already naturally making UGC (think dedicated volunteers who are making and posting content on social media about the walk-a-thon they are volunteering for), you can also create a formal campaign.
- Hashtag campaigns
- Challenge campaigns
- A Day in the Life campaigns
You can take the best UGC and display the most impactful, relevant, or relatable content on your landing pages.
6. Mobile Optimization
According to research, over 80% of users access the internet via mobile devices. As such, you must optimize your landing page so they can effortlessly access and get the same layout as website users. Besides being a convenient way to reach your potential donors, mobile-friendliness is a perfect tool for SEO.
Best Practices to Provide a Mobile-First UX
To provide a mobile-first user experience for your fundraising landing page, you must follow a few practices.
Start by focusing on the design so that it is suitable for small screen focus on design, so it is suitable for small screens. You must also ensure the design is responsive and optimally functions on every device.
All this leads to optimizing the load time and ensuring that site visitors have smooth navigation regardless of their device.
7. Using Data to Measure Fundraising Landing Page Performance
A/B testing and data analytics are crucial metrics for checking your page’s performance. A/B testing requires that you create two versions of your landing page, with one variable changed between the two. By directing traffic to both pages, you can measure the one that performs best and determine the most effective version.
Data analytics involves collecting and analyzing data from your landing pages, such as page views, conversion rates, and click-through rates. By monitoring them, you know how visitors interact with your fundraising landing page.
Tips for A/B Testing Your Fundraising Landing Page
Here are a few quick tips for conducting A/B testing on your fundraising landing page:
- Test each variable at a time to improve the accuracy
- Get sample sizes that are huge enough for better results
- Always set clear goals for each version before beginning
- Remember to monitor your metrics
Making Improvements Based on Data
With the information collected from the testing and analytics, you can identify areas for improvement and implement them based on your results. For example, if your A/B test shows that one version of your page is outshining the other, implementing the changes from the winning version is the best way forward.
While one test would give actionable results, you must continue testing multiple variables. This will help you identify trends and make more informed decisions in the future.
8. Fundraising Landing Page Personalization
Personalizing your fundraising landing page based on donor information has many benefits.
When you tailor your landing page, you get to increase engagement with the donors and encourage them to take action. This leads to a higher conversion rate as the donors feel connected to your cause and can see their donations’ impact.
Using Donor Data for Personalization
To personalize your fundraising landing page, you can use the data in different ways, including:
- Prefilling form fields: If a donor has donated to your organization before, you can prefill the donation form with their payment information and contact. They only have to authorize.
- Segmenting landing pages based on behavior: If a donor has previously donated to a specific program or campaign, you can create a landing page specifically for that program or campaign. It makes it easier for them to find it.
- Personalized messaging: This is simple; you get to address the donor by name or reference their previous donations.
- Dynamic content: You can also use the data to create a real-time progress bar that shows how they are doing for the cause.
- Personalization tokens: You can display the donor’s name or donation history within your content or messaging.
Some simple personalization changes, like pre-filling a form on mobile devices, can result in increased conversion.
9. Say Thank You
Now that they have donated to your cause, how do you thank your donors? Showing gratitude to donors is crucial in building a positive relationship with them. They want to feel appreciated and valued for their contributions.
When optimizing your landing page, include messages such as, ‘Thank you for your generous donation!’ or ‘Your support means the world to us!’.
Creating an Effective Thank You/Confirmation Page
A thank you/confirmation page is what donors see immediately after donating. It should express gratitude and confirm the donation details, including the amount, payment method, and tax information.
When designing this page, remember to add your organization’s mission and a little insight on how the donation will be used. It makes donors feel proud, knowing they are part of a worthy cause.
It’s also important to ensure that the thank you page doesn’t open in a new window! Fewer steps always win.
Following Up with Donors After the Donation
This is a crucial step in building a long-term relationship with your donors. Consider sending them a personalized thank-you email or letter. In this letter, remember to add a CTA to encourage your donors to get involved in other ways, including volunteering or attending one of your events.
After this, send your donors period updates on the impact of their donation, including stories of how their contributions helped further your mission. It makes them feel more connected to your organization and may encourage future donations.
Optimizing Your Fundraising Landing Page: Key Takeaways
As you can see, optimizing your landing page is crucial for maximizing donations and building positive relationships with your donors. By implementing the above tips and strategies, you can create a landing page encouraging donations to support your cause.
So, what are you waiting for? Register at GiveWP and Get started for free!
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