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All of your outreach activities will support your overall fundraising strategy.
As you develop communication plans for your next initiative, consider this as the starting point: the digital landing page.
Each communication channel, from email to direct mail, phone to word of mouth, are driving at the same goal of engaging your supporters in your organization’s work, all in their own unique way. Your digital landing page is the one tool can tie all of these channels together.
While you should continue to seek an immediate action by way of whatever channel you’re reaching out through, you can and should direct your supporters to the initiative landing page in each. With the presentation of the initiative’s impact, the means to give, and updates on progress made and who is involved, your digital home base for the initiative supports engagement on multiple levels, and provides the transparency and social proof the cultivates trusting, meaningful connection with your organization.
Organization
First, let’s talk about the beautiful simplicity of beginning at the engaging landing page before building out your multi-channel approach.
One should always start with the story they’re trying to tell, and the digital landing page is a great means of organizing all the pieces. What is the impact the initiative makes? How can you convey it in concise, emotive text? What visual assets will capture attention and support your storytelling? By considering these questions in light of the digital page they’ll exist on, you’ll ensure your storytelling is designed for an audience turning more and more to digital for giving and engaging.
With the core of your story built in to your landing page, each channel can in its own way expand on the story. Now, the individual channel specialists have their guiding light and can doll out additional pieces of the story. This digital first fundraising strategy lends itself well to utilizing the relatively inexpensive channels of social media and email, meaning that in resource-strapped office, every initiative should have at least a chance at digital promotion.
As participation grows and progress is made toward the specific impact, the digital platform warrants updates that can also feed in to each channel. Each stewardship communication, newsletter or other means of communicating with supporters can easily grab up to date impact sharing from the central source of information.
Engagement
Think of your donation platform as the hub in which all other channels are the connecting spokes. Each and every channel can convey further or continued engagement through the landing page. Whether it’s a direct mail appeal with the opportunity to make your gift online, or a print newsletter that offers one the ability to “learn more” by visiting the digital landing page, your supporters can always have the chance to go further, no matter where you are catching their attention.
By reflecting the support of every channel on this landing page, you give an accurate picture of the breadth of support and reflect value of every individual donor. Your supporters do not consider themselves “direct mail donors” or “email donors”: they’re supporters of your institution and the work you’re doing. By reflecting their support, no matter the channel, in one place, your supporters understand they are valued and a part of a greater community.
With the landing page approach, it is easy to engage advocates in promoting the cause without having to make an ask. Rather, they can simply be the ones to invite their networks to learn more. Your storytelling, and the ability to easily click to join in with a gift or engage in other ways, will entice action. All you need to do is compel a group of ambassadors to get the word out about your initiative, and your reach easily multiplies.
All roads should lead back to the landing page. Tell your story, convey supporter impact, provide progress updates, and supporters will feel more and more a part of the great work being done.
