Raising more money isn’t just about driving as many people as you can to your donation page; it’s also about converting them to donors. Not everyone who will land on the page will give. This is why it’s important to optimize the page for conversions so that the majority of people who get to it will donate.
In this article, we will look at the six ways you can use to increase your conversion rate so you can raise more funds through your donation page.
What is conversion rate?
Conversion rate refers to the number of people who take the desired action after landing on a certain page. Since it’s a donation page, this would be the number of people who donate after landing on the page.
For example, if 1,000 people visit your donation page and 10 donate, your conversion rate is 1%.
Why is conversion rate important?
The reason conversion rate is so important is that you can use it as a measure of how effective your marketing is. And most importantly, a good conversion rate equates to a good return on investment (ROI).
Let’s assume that the average person donates $10. With 1,000 people visiting the page and only 10 donating (1% conversion rate), it means you will have $100.
But if you double your conversion rate, then you will have a 2% conversion rate (20 people donating for every 1,000 visits). And that will raise the funds collected from $100 to $200.
All this without further promotion—you only took the time to optimize the page to convert better. This is why landing page optimization is one of the cheapest ways of increasing your funding.
What is a good conversion rate for a nonprofit donation page?
According to the 2016 M+R Benchmarks Study, on average, the conversion rate for a nonprofit’s main donation page is pegged at 15%.
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Tips to increase donation page conversion rate
1. Keep the landing page clear, user-friendly and intuitive
One of the biggest killers of conversions are distractions on the page. Having sidebar menus, navigation buttons, or links to articles means giving potential donors an excuse to click away and start browsing other pages.
This is why your donation page should always be clean. It has only one mission—get a donation. It should not show last week’s articles or link to any other page that has nothing to do with getting a donation. Be ruthless about removing these distractions. The most prominent clickable thing on the page should be the “donate” button.
Also, use lots of white space. Having large blocks of text has shown to scare people from reading your compelling message on the page, meaning most end up leaving without donating. In addition, white space will help direct people to focus on what you want them to look at.
2. Write compelling copy and provide comprehensive information
How you present your cause also has a big impact on how much you can raise. With the right message and words, you can make people care and feel connected to your cause.
So spend time on your copy (or message). The first tip is to ensure that it is of the right length. This means only providing the information a donor needs to be compelled to give—no filler info.
In addition, the most important information should be at the top of the page. Because this is what people will see first. So spend more time working on your headline, subheading, and leading paragraphs.
Also, make sure you narrow your message. Limit it to specific causes, mentioning names if you have to. This will allow donors to visualize how their donation will make an impact (and not make them feel like their contribution will merely be a drop in the bucket).
3. Use compelling, concise, and targeted CTAs
Your call to actions (CTAs) are also crucial. People need to be told what to do. You have invested a lot of effort to get them to the page—don’t lose the donation just because your CTA is confusing.
The #1 rule is to never get creative at the expense of clarity. Tell them “Donate Now” or “Buy Your Ticket.”
In addition, don’t have too many CTAs saying different things like “Donate Now,” “Volunteer,” and “Tell a Friend” on the same page. The CTAs should revolve around one theme, which is—donations.
Also, remember to experiment with your wording. Try using different words and see if they improve conversions.
4. Make it easy to donate
One of the biggest mistakes nonprofits and charities make when asking for donations is making people jump through numerous hurdles to complete the donation. If they have to click through four pages just to give, you will lose most of them.
They don’t need to create an account, so don’t force them to. You should also be cautious of including captchas or asking for information you don’t need—where they live, phone numbers, etc. For first contact, a name and email address works well.
Also, ensure you provide multiple payment options. Most donors prefer to give with credit or debit cards, others prefer PayPal. So make sure you choose a payment processor that allows you to offer these options.
5. Optimize for mobile
Pages don’t look the same on a desktop computer as they do on mobile. So after you are done creating your donation landing page, review how it looks on mobile.
Is the text the right size or will readers need to zoom in to see? Do they have to scroll vertically just to see the rest of the sentence? Are the images loading properly? Are buttons accessible and easy to tap?
Ignoring any of these tips can discourage people from donating. And that’s a cause for concern since 51% of people who visit nonprofit websites are on mobile devices. And further research has indicated that having a mobile-responsive design can increase donations by 126% on average.
6. Highlight your brand
Online fraud has made people cautious about giving their financial details online. This is why your donation landing page should build trust and be secure.
One of the simplest ways of doing this is by keeping the page consistent with your overall organization branding. Research has shown that custom-branded donation pages can raise up to 6 times as much money on average.
In addition, it would be best to ensure you are using a payment processor that integrates with your website. Don’t take donors to a third-party website where they will see different branding. It breaks trust and it makes you look unprofessional.
Yes, creating a donation page and having it live is quick and easy. But you should ensure that you are maximizing its effectiveness by optimizing the page wherever possible—this requires a well thought-out strategy and industry experience. A full-lifecycle service provider like Ascend can help you achieve (and exceed) your fundraising goals by guiding you every step of the way.
