Boost your online donations and sales

Jeff Roman

The digital world keeps growing with no clear end in sight. As more and more aspects of our lives continue to move online, you will see your donor’s and purchaser’s financial lives and decisions happening there as well (heck…they already are!).

This means as a nonprofit or if you are operating a revenue-generating website you MUST make it as easy as possible for your donors to give or buy online — QUICKLY.

By providing them with an easily accessible website and payment platforms, and multiple ways to pay, you’re much more likely to see consistent giving from your supporters and followers.

But simply having a payment gateway and a big DONATE or BUY NOW button on your website is not enough. 

Today, I am sharing FOUR important ways you can connect with your donors and boost your online donations and sales. (Bonus: They don’t have to cost you a thing.)

1. ALWAYS consider mobile devices.

As of July 2021, 56.75 percent of all web traffic came through mobile phones. This statistic means that half of everyone reading your emails or viewing your website is on a mobile phone. Make time to follow your donor experience on mobile to ensure it’s easy, comfortable and welcoming.

“But Jeff, my audience is older and many aren’t even online let alone using a mobile phone.”

In all the recent studies, the statistics and the metrics tell us that even the oldest segment of the Baby Boomer generation is online and many are online with their mobile phones. They are a happening bunch!

Keep your pages and messaging simple. Give easy checkout options with as few clicks as possible. Make sure you have a mobile responsive website, too. This will help prevent any unnecessary barriers to giving, even when your donors or buyers are on the go.

2. Give them a deadline.

With so much of our lives now online, whatever is urgent will always demand our attention — even if it’s not necessarily the most important thing. Have you added a sense of urgency when communicating with your donors? Most supporters do care, but are distracted easily. Are your product or resource offers time sensitive or do you reward quick decision making?

When you create deadlines for your campaigns, you let your site visitors know why it’s important they act NOW instead of later.

Even if you don’t have a specific deadline, you can create an internal goal date and share that in your campaigns. Use urgency in your communication and then make it as quick and easy as possible for your supporters to give and buy.

3. Encourage repeat donations and sales.

Do you currently have a way for your donors to set up recurring donations? If not, stop what you’re doing and get started NOW. If you are selling products or resources, consider what a recurring subscription could look like.

Studies have repeatedly shown that recurring monthly donors give as much as 440 percent MORE over the lifetime of giving than one-time donors.

That’s a large percentage. If you can get consistent monthly support and buy-in from your followers, even at a lower amount, you will see higher, more consistent support in the end.

While offering one-time and recurring gifts on your donation or sales page is great, we also suggest creating a dedicated landing page for your recurring donors and purchasers with language explaining WHY their consistent support is so important.

4. Use consistent, branded messaging.

Finally, you’ll want to be very intentional with the communication around your campaigns to see the best results. Make sure the wording in your emails matches the landing page that you direct them to. Lean on your organization’s branding, colors and calls to action so your entire giving and sales process feels seamless.

Branded donation and sales pages will win over a generic non-specific page every single time. Take the extra time and effort to give details about your campaign and make sure your messages match on all fronts. This builds loyalty and trust in your organization.

By keeping these points in mind, you’ll be well on your way to boosting your online donations. What are some other tactics that have worked for you and your organization? We’d love to hear about them!