The Five Basic Steps to Acquiring Donors Online

Step 3

Persuade your site visitors to take action (or donate)
Once you drive potential donors to your Web pages, the last thing you want is for them to click away immediately. The key is to convert their initial interest into a tangible action, one that makes it easy for them to leave their calling cards — their e-mail addresses — with you before they go.
To do this, be sure there is agreement between what drove them to your Web page and the Web page itself. This is particularly vital for paid ads. Have you ever had the experience of searching for a specific product online, only to be driven to a Web page for a store where the product you want isn’t even mentioned? To avoid this 
scenario, don’t drive searchers to your homepage, but instead to a donation form or action page that relates directly to whatever they clicked on to get there.

The second critical element to maximize conversion is compelling content. Tell your story, and make it easy for the prospective donor to do whatever action you’d like her to do, whether that is taking some action online, making a gift or something else.

Step 4

Get permission to stay in touch
Once you’ve driven a prospective donor to your site and persuaded her to take whatever action you’ve asked her to take, your next step is getting her permission to hear from you in the future.

The e-mail opt-in check box should be ubiquitous across your Web site, and it should entice the prospective donor with a clear and compelling value proposition: “Sign up to receive action alerts, tips and news you can use” or “Yes! I want to keep helping people with 
disabilities.” Some organizations offer premiums in return for signing up; if you try this idea, choose a premium that is somehow related to your mission.