BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU FOR E-MAIL FUNDRAISING

BUILD YOUR INTERNAL FILES - Understandably, your donor file will always give you the most return on any given e-mail.  Next would be your internal prospecting file and finally any external prospecting file.  As a point of clarification, the internal prospecting file are those people who have shown an interest in your organization but have not donated and, as one would expect, are more apt to give than any external list.  In other words, the “priority order” is to solicit those who have given before, those who have shown an interest in you, and lastly strangers.

GET A DECENT ESP - To conduct an E-mail Fundraising campaign you must have an Email Service Provider (ESP).  Basically, there are three types - Entry Level, Intermediate, and Advanced.  There are a variety of things that will differentiate ESPs.  One is the size of your list.  Another consideration is the “billing” process.  Typically, for Intermediate and Advanced ESPs billing is “volume based,” while for the Entry Level ESPs it is “file size” based.  Functionality is another determining factor:  The more advanced the greater the number of functions - especially in the realms of integration and reports.  As can be expected, the more advanced your ESP the more expensive it will be.

An example of an entry level ESP is iContact, and will usually be used when your mailing list is 10,000 or less.  Bronto would be a middle level ESP, and is for the organization whose list is 10,000 - 100,000.  An advanced ESP is for lists of 100,000+, and a good example of this would be Exec Target.

To learn more about the other strategies in email fundraising, visit my blog now!

5 Proven Search Engine Marketing Ways to Bring Qualified Traffic

PPC advertising - Instead of waiting for months to see results from organic SEO strategies, pay-per-click or PPC will give you results within weeks. Through paid advertising, you can then identify which keywords are often search and thus, will be viable in your organic SEO. Although this means you have to spend a little bit of money, the returns are great and that is why you should not neglect this strategy as well.

Social networking - The success of websites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube has taken Internet marketing to new territories. No longer do we bring clients to our websites, we bring our websites to where they are gathered and from there, hope that things will take off. It is therefore the job of the online marketer to seize the opportunities presented by captured and possibly hungry niche because these websites have the power to bring huge awareness to your brand.

These approaches to Search Engine Marketing will ensure that you are able to drive a highly qualified traffic to your website, convert visitors into clients and increase your revenue. Often times they overlap, nevertheless, they work hand in hand to drive that much needed traffic so that your online marketing success is guaranteed.

Proven Search Engine Marketing Ways to Bring Qualified Traffic

Link building - No website is an island and that is why you have to build bridges to yours. If you can build links to authority websites, this will make your more credible and authoritative. If a visitor finds a link to your site from Wikipedia for example, he will think that you are indeed genuine in your desire to help and will remove the stigma of selling in his mind.

Blogging with targeted keywords - The purpose of blogging with targeted keywords is two-fold; to drive traffic and to pre-sell visitors to the helpfulness of your product or service. If you don’t target keywords with your blog, visitors will not find it even if they want to. On the other hand, even if you can drive traffic to your website, but you are not able to convince them of the usability of your product or service, they will also not buy from you. Blogging with targeted keywords then requires the mixture of naturally incorporating keywords into your blog and be as convincing as possible without being too pushy with your prospects.

These approaches to Search Engine Marketing will ensure that you are able to drive a highly qualified traffic to your website, convert visitors into clients and increase your revenue. Often times they overlap, nevertheless, they work hand in hand to drive that much needed traffic so that your online marketing success is guaranteed.

eFundrasing and It’s Advantages

Despite any negative press about email, efundraising is alive and well and raising lots of $.

Unlike many newcomers into the efundraising field, Pathmaker has a respectable history in all aspects of fundraising -- traditional and online. We fully understand both worlds.

In addition to all our offline and online experiences, we also bring a recent track record of integrating the newer online technologies with traditional fundraising to achieve improved results that neither could produce on their own. Ask us about our comprehensive approach to fundraising that harmonizes your offline and online fundraising strategies.

Plus, we provide far more than general ideas! We provide specific and detailed input - and if needed, we can carry a plan through from concept to complete implementation.

We can tell you WHAT needs to be done, WHEN it needs to be done for optimum results, HOW it needs to be done - and we can back our recommendations with RESULTS.

How to Use Email to Promote a Local Fundraising

If you are having a local fundraising event, why not exploit email to get the word out? I mean let’s face it, who do you think doesn’t have an email account? If you can get the word out through these media, you can expect more results and lesser expenses compared to having to rely mainly on flyers and tarpaulins.

Before there was Facebook or other social media accounts, email is the way to send our words for fundraising and it still a very effective tool to inform. A lot of infomercials are still using emails and the trend will like to continue in the years to come. Here’s how you can use email to send the word out:

1.  Design the flow of mails - You don’t just send the mails blindly, it has to follow a design flow. For example, you can start with a request, then you follow it up with supporting quotes and related client’s story. You can then send a third mail encouraging people to donate and a fourth, thanking them.

2.  Build an subscriber list - We have put together an article detailing the importance of a quality subscriber list. If the list is not qualified, you cannot expect a good performance.

3.  Create an effective email - When writing an email for fundraising, make sure that you fill in the necessary details but don’t make it too verbose that the recipient will be tempted to delete it.

4.  Choose the best broadcast tool - This is the caveat of email; without a good broadcast tool, you will be sending it one by one or you can cc it to everybody in the list. A broadcast tool will make the job a lot easier because it can send thousands of emails at once.

When creating a charity event, your goal should be to minimize the overall expenses so that all the proceeds raised will go directly to the charity. Using email accomplished just this so if you haven’t done it yet, you better start now.

HOW TO BE PART OF THE e-BOOK PHENOMENON

The world is expanding technologically speaking, and that’s why we would like to discuss the “latest and greatest” trends of the day, of which one of those is the booming eBook Phenomenon.

Your first step is to get your book into a digital format. If you wrote your book on your computer as a Word.doc you have already accomplished this project. However, if your manuscript was completed a number of years ago and you have only a “hard” copy you have two choices: you can either scan your manuscript and convert it to digital that way, or you can simply have someone re-type your manuscript and save it as a Word.doc.

Once you have your manuscript in digital format (either Word.doc or PDF) you can proceed and convert it into an eBook format. To date, there are two of these that you can choose from: The iPad needs an ePub format, while Kindle needs Mobi. Now, you can upload it as a PDF, but this is typically problematic for both iPad and Kindle, as it mandates a lot of scrolling and the pages may not “fit.”

Once your book is in eBook format you next need to make it available to the public. To do this you should go to Kindle and set up what is known as a KDP, or Kindle Direct Publishing, Account. In doing so, this makes your book available on Amazon, as Amazon owns Kindle. (Currently, Amazon is selling more eBooks than hard copy books, and it is most likely that the trend is not going to reverse itself.)

Accomplishing this is a process, but you can do it! (AUTHORS NOTE: You can expect to receive about 70% of the sales price with eBooks sold on Amazon, though this can vary due to fulfillment arrangements and so on.)

To learn more about this process, contact Pathmaker Marketing today!

Simple Ways to Grow Your Facebook Page from Zero to 5,000

Facebook is far more than the name “social media” implies. It has become one of the most effective marketing venues the world has even seen. So why is it that, although you’ve created a Facebook page for their business, it just sits there? Why don’t people notice it? With countless people with Facebook accounts, why do you have only two fans after an entire year of exposure? Well, it might depend on your concept of exposure. And it might amaze you that there is nothing new under the sun.

You see, the essence of marketing is the same, whether it’s down at the town square or whether it’s on Facebook. We’re about to share some ideas that will draw crowds to your Facebook page or you table on the town square.

Rule Number 1: Let People Know You Are There - Tell people that you are “in the square and open for business.” Tell people you are on Facebook and tell them where to find you. Tell them everywhere you go. Advertise everywhere they go. It’s called cross-promotion. Put up banner ads on associate websites. Do you have a business card? Put your Facebook address on it – and do it prominently, not in teeny- tiny fine print. PROMOTE IT! Every email you send should have a link to your Facebook page. Every print ad should feature your Facebook page. Incorporate “Like” buttons for your page on other websites. And always – underline that – always talk about your Facebook page during every phone call, incoming or outgoing. Finally, create a sense of urgency. For example, “Don’t miss out on this one-time offer.” HERE’S A BONUS IDEA: Create a QR code and put in on all of your print collateral, even your business cards. They are cheap and easy to create and they can drive anyone with a smart phone to your page or website almost instantly.

Rule Number 2: Don’t Just Be There. Have A Purpose. - Not everyone needs a Facebook page. But everyone with a product or cause to promote does. Share your passion on your page. Let people know what you are all about. Let them know what supporting your cause can do for others. Let them know what your product can do for them. Then, go back to Rule Number 1 and cross-promote by driving them to your website(s).