Web Bonus: The Art and Science of e-Cultivation

2. Grow your list size by providing incentives to register. Consider offering compelling site functionality that requires registration to use, such as sending e-cards, or completing and reviewing the results of surveys and polls. For example, Paralyzed Veterans of America has seen success by offering free mailing labels; Easter Seals provides opportunities for supporters to gain national exposure for their creative talents while at the same time helping Easter Seals raise funds through its annual art contest; Environmental Defense asks site visitors to vote on which of the organization’s “Five Big Ideas for the Environment for 2007” is their favorite and provides real-time voting results; and The Humane Society of the United States gained an additional 225 monthly sustainers by sending an online survey to a cross-section of its housefile.

3. Make the ask as tangible as possible. Be specific about how a gift will help your organization accomplish its mission and objectives. Where feasible, illustrate what a specific gift level will help achieve. For example, Our Voices Together enables supporters to give “Gifts That Count,” such as $35 to provide a year’s supply of educational materials to an underprivileged child in Thailand or $25 to cover the approximate cost of one desk, or a supplemental stipend for a teacher or school staff member at a school in one of several villages in Afghanistan.

4. Remove distractions from the donation flow by removing the ability for visitors to click onto other pages. Test different page layouts, language, use of images and page sequences. Maximize conversion rates by inserting a VeriSign logo or equivalent. For example, the World Wildlife Fund greatly simplifies the navigation once a site visitor selects the donation link and uses the VeriSign Secure logo to provide additional assurance to the donor that her online transaction will be secure.