Time is valuable, especially during an end-of-month push, annual giving day, or other fundraising campaign. With looming deadlines and often, lack of resources, you’ll want to spend your time wisely. Your constituents value their time, too. They don’t want to feel talked down to or pestered.
Fundraising strategists and digital marketers need a communication method with higher open rates and engagement, helping them stay in close contact with supporters. Finding the right timing with fundraising emails and ads can be tough. Emails have an open rate of just 20%, which often leads to sending more and more messages in the hopes that one makes it past the spam filter. Luckily, email is not your only option.
Text messaging is a fantastic fundraising method that directly connects you with supporters and potential donors. Text fundraising offers speed, reliability, and a 99% open rate. But how can text messages help you bypass the competition and hit your fundraising goals? How many times should you text donors and ask for donations? In this blog post, you’ll learn some essential text fundraising optimization tips and strategies.
How Text Fundraising Works
Text marketing is the perfect foundation for your fundraising efforts, whether you’re telling your brand story or raising money for a specific. But getting the ball rolling can feel daunting. Setting up your campaign correctly and asking people to opt in to get your messages is vital. Text marketing begins with a text platform like Tatango and subscriber list. And you’d be surprised, you probably already have your subscriber list.
A platform like Tatango can provide the tools and expertise to build a sustainable and effective fundraising campaign. As an industry leader for almost 15 years, Tatango has helped many nonprofits achieve their fundraising goals and expand their support base. By partnering with us, you gain access to software that can handle subscriber lists of any size and millions of messages an hour. Whether starting an text campaign for the first time or revamping your current system, Tatango provides the best foundation.
Once you’ve chosen a text platform, focus on building your subscriber list. Legally, you must obtain supporters’ explicit opt-in before sending them text messages. There are several effective strategies for expanding your subscriber list.
- Look at your current opt-in lists.Depending on how your subscribers opted in to your current list, emails or lead magnets for example, you may already have a subscriber list that could easily be used for texting marketing.
- Promote your text marketing campaign everywhere. Add your shortcode or 10DLC number to printed signs and campaign ads, Text talk about your text message subscriber list at in-person events and with volunteers. SMS fundraising works best as the central communication channel, helping funnel support toward where you need it most.
- Use Tatango’s smart integrations for expanding your subscriber list. Using a few lines of code, Tatango can link your subscriber list to your website. When supporters visit your page and add their contact details, they’ll automatically receive an opt-in message. These automated invitations speed up the process and help avoid missed opportunities.
With a growing subscriber list, you can send fundraising text messages and cultivate long-term, sustainable relationships with your constituents. Now you may be wondering how often you should contact supporters and what you can do to boost the number and size of donations you’re receiving. Let’s look at the best strategies for text fundraising messages.
Improving Fundraising and Response Rates
It doesn’t matter if you’re part of a large fundraising organization, a tiny team, or even just one person. On average, Tatango’s clients, regardless of size, see a 500% return on their investment.
Use these strategies and Tatango’s resources to hit your goals and make each text message count.
1. Segment Your Subscribers
While building your subscriber list, ask supporters to send keywords about their interests, time zone, location, or donation preference. When people respond with MOUNTAIN or NEW YORK, you can segment your subscriber list into categories that will come in handy later.
Tatango helps you track how messages perform and fine-tune your strategies in different areas. Without actionable analytics, your team will be sending messages in the dark. Break down and understand your subscriber list so you can tailor text messages for specific situations:
- Reminding supporters about deadlines
- Sending urgent updates
- Sharing donation options in embedded links
- Click to message functions can increase brand awareness as subscribers share with their friends and family
2. Provide Value for Your Supporters
Add incentives and value for subscribers. People joined your list because they believe in your cause and want to know more. Rewarding supporters with behind-the-scenes updates and exclusive merchandise are fantastic ways to boost engagement and avoid sending basic, repetitive messages that can annoy supporters.
3. Integrate Donation Links
Make the donation process as easy as possible. People can quickly lose steam if they need to look up a separate website and complete multiple steps and confirmations before donating. With Tatango, you can add one-tap donation links directly into messages, streamlining the process and saving supporters valuable time and effort.
4. Work with the Tatango Design Studio
Your text messages should be eye-catching, balancing shorter updates and donation links with longer updates and embedded media. Designing these messages on your own can feel overwhelming, particularly if you’re new to text marketing. The Tatango Design Studio is a dedicated in-house design team available to all our clients. With a rich library of options and templates and the support of a skilled design team, you can create an engaging text campaign, increasing the impact of each message for better results.
5. Include a Call to Action
Ensure every message uses active, easy-to-understand language that inspires people and calls them to action. If you want to see donations come in with as few messages as possible, ensure each message is authentic and direct. Spell out your mission and don’t hesitate to ask for support.
Supporters should never feel uncertain about the next steps. They can easily stay updated and engaged with clear calls to action and embedded donation links.
Text Messaging Supporters: Your Magic Number
There’s no magic number that works every time in every situation. Each campaign and cause is different and requires carefully crafted strategies and messages. However, by partnering with Tatango and following the steps outlined in this blog post, your text messages will strike the right tone and hit their mark, which will help you avoid unnecessary messages and keep supporters invested long term.
Fundraising success isn’t just about getting single donations or text messages. A strong SMS marketing campaign can build lasting success with a segmented subscriber list, eye-catching messages, clear calls to action, and links for recurring donations.
To find out more and start growing your subscriber list today, contact the text marketing experts at Tatango!
