Making Money with a Website for Non-Profits
Accepting donations is as much an E-Commerce model as sales are on E-Bay. Your goal is not teach people about your cause or generate sympathy or good will. You have 2 simple goals: 1. Convert the visitor to a donor
2. Get the visitor’s email address
Most people think that making money with a website requires selling items. They envision eBay, Google Ad Words, managing inventory, even developing a new business model
But for non-profits and organizations trying to get donations and membership, making money with a website is a completely different business model.
Sites that seek donations generally need a few key elements:
1. Excellent SEO for higher search engine rank and better website SEO. Non-profits don’t generally have extra budget to buy traffic with advertising. Instead, they rely on search engine traffic, newsletters, grass roots efforts and word of mouth for making money with a website.
2. Simple donation process – non-profit websites need a simple and direct donation process. Every page of the site needs a small form with the email address, zip code and agreement to terms of use to start the donation process. At the very least, each page of the site needs a prominent link to the donation form.
3. The donation form needs to be clear, simple and uncluttered. Marketing messaging needs to support that particular form and not confuse users. Remove navigation from these pages so users aren’t tempted to leave.
4. The donation form needs to be smart – model it after Amazon and other successful retail operations, who have learned to upsell after the visitor has made their purchase. Give them the chance to increase their donation by X% in exchange for exclusive items. Offer the chance to donation to sister groups, purchase T-shirts, make donations in the name of friends and more. And do this prior to the final checkout so the user isn’t forced to pull out their credit card twice. Make making money with a website for non-profits just as effective as it is for the proven for-profit corporations.
5. The benefits of donation need to be clearly explained, including who it helps, the percentage of money that reaches the intended recipients, how the money is delivered to the recipients. Information about tax benefits for the donors should be clear, and any forms for download and printing should be available and fast to download. Let them know that yes, you are making money with your website, and that money has a very specific purpose.
6. You need the ability to test your donation process with AB and multivariate testing. These tests let you compare results of existing pages and processes against test versions so that you can keep improving your donation process. You’d be surprised by the differences a few word or color changes can make to your conversion results. Google Analytics has very solid testing tools that are free, and provide excellent decision making support. For non-profits making money with a website, these free tools are extremely valuable and effective.
7. Use a valid, secure shopping cart displaying YOUR domain name and YOUR digital certificate. Never ask people to print and fax a document with credit card or bank information. Never ask them to call or send postal mail. Shopping carts for donations are accepted, safe and convenient, and the money posts to your account practically immediately. Branding the domain name and digital certificate with your domain name further signifies that the process is safe and managed by a professional organization.
8. Collect email addresses and create members in your non-profit community. Stay in touch with people to let them know that their donations are at work making a difference, let them know how your efforts are progressing – and hit them up for more money!.
9. Create a contributor’s wall recognizing the generosity of your donors. Use their logos and link to their websites. You can even create small “About” pages for premium donors. These actions create goodwill with your donors, give them prestige, maybe a little incentive to donate a bit higher in the next round, and of course, these links to donor sites help your SEO efforts. Don’t be afraid to ask your donors for links back to your website – they likely have some marketing content dedicated to publicizing their charity efforts – links from their sites to yours increases awareness for your cause and, of course, helps your SEO.
10. Announce your donation drives in your newsletters, twitter, news releases and other website marketing strategies. Highlight donors and sponsors in your newsletters and marketing content. Feature the premium donors and also feature the some $10 contributors.
11. Don’t forget to offer the option of donating anonymously – many organizations and individuals go to great lengths to avoid extra publicity. Respect their privacy and you’ll benefit. Advertise that you have an anonymous donation program and you’re likely to gain traffic and donors.
We’ve discussed how making money with a website isn’t for the for-profit corporations only. Non-profits can bring in donations, sponsors, volunteers and more with effective website marketing strategies.
