Summer is coming. Everything “dies” in the heat of summer. Right
now prospecting for donors and members is a waste of time, right?
WRONG!!
Now is the time to venture into prospecting online. Google Ads and
target site marketing pay off. Plus you can “set” the budget to avoid overruns. I recommend you start with Google ads
because it’s the fastest way to get traffic . . . but not the only way.
And if this is completely new to you, don’t let technology overwhelm you.
It’s pretty straightforward. Here are two resources:
There are essentially 5 steps:
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Write an appeal letter. (Note: You’ll need razor
sharp direct response copywriting for this strategy; especially for the Google ads but also for the landing page.)
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Put that letter on its own page on your website – a UNIQUE
landing page (people only find it through the Google ads and links from your emails). Do NOT use your home page or any other existing web
page!!! Include links in your unique appeal letter/page to your web’s donate page.
-
Sign-up for Google Adwords and write your ads.
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Post the ads.
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Track and test.
It’s analogous to a direct mail campaign only here Google will do a chunk of the
work for you. Use the “Ad Variations” tab in Google Adwords for automatic A/B split testing. Write two
different ads and monitor to see which one gets a higher Click-Through-Rate (CTR). Keep it. Toss the other one and replace it with
a variation of the winner. Repeat this process until you’ve zeroed in on a strong performing ad.
You could also test your landing page using Google’s
“Website Optimizer” tool. Remember, test one thing at a time. Again, Google will automatically send visitors to alternate
landing pages if you set the campaign up this way.
You can also choose where your ads appear. I recommend
starting so your ad only appears when your keyword(s) is searched on in Google. Your ad appears when keywords in your ad match the search
terms. Test your ad here first. You’ll save a lot of money while fine-tuning your ad and landing page.
Revise, test, and refine your ad before you consider expanding to the
“content network.” Again, taking it a step at a time will save you money and improve your overall results.
Google Adwords is one way to drive traffic to your unique landing page. It is the
fastest and has lots of help to guide you. After you get the basics down on Google, consider the same approach on Yahoo and MSN to reach
different demographics.
That’s a quick and dirty overview of paid online prospecting. Put your
copywriting skills to work. Have fun.
Next issue I’ll address ways to cultivate your donors and
members during the summer months or anytime of the year. And I’ll include more ideas on driving traffic to your unique landing
page.
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Just for Fun - A quote for
you…
"No act of kindness, no matter how small,
is ever wasted." (Aesop)
