Websites help direct mail

Does Your Website Support Your Direct Mail Fundraising?

Research published by The NonProfit Times1 indicates that your website is more important than you thought. Almost 50% of people surveyed say that they look up an organization online when they receive a solicitation from them in the mail.

Does your website make your direct mail prospect more or less likely to give?Web Sites Help Direct Mail Chart

The percentage of people who look up an organization online is almost double what it was when the same question was asked a few years ago. In 2005, just 25% of respondents said they looked up an organization online.

Not only are more people doing research online, they’re looking more places and looking more often.

  • Your organization’s own website is by far the most important, with 37% of all respondents saying they look there. 
  • 24% say they look up your organization on the websites of “independent rating organizations” (we believe this number is probably inflated; people think they should look up your organization there. Still, it’s important that your information be up to date and positive at Charity Navigator, BBB, Guidestar, etc.).
  • 10% go to online discussion groups and 8% go to blogs, which means that you need to look out for your organization’s reputation online.

Some key steps you can take to bridge the gap between your mail and donors’ online research:

  1. Post a page on your site that contains an image of the mailing you just sent. Link to it from the home page with a thumbnail of that image. On the page, answer the basic questions that prospects may have about you:
         What’s your mission?
         How are your financials?
         Show pictures or videos of your organization in action.
  2. Make sure your presence on the main charity rating sites is current. You can generally edit this information yourself once you’ve established a valid login.
  3. Monitor what’s said about your organization online with a Google Alert. Google can send you an email every time your organization’s name is mentioned in a web page, a blog, or news release.
  4. Send a post-mailing email driving them to a landing page that answers their question and provides a clear call to action.

The results of your effort will be more donations coming in online as well as in the mail.
 

1The NonProfit Times, Web Triggers Direct Mail Response, July 15, 2008