• Build Credibility: Your website should give people confidence. Make sure that the content is up to date, that there are no bad links, and that the website is attractive and easy to use. The website is your key communications point for the visitor.

• Build Relationships: Through your website, Facebook Page, and your email newsletter keep in touch on a regular basis with people who visit the website. Include specific “Calls to Action” that will encourage people to come back often and interact – sign up for your mailing list, ask a question, make a donation, volunteer, or get involved in some way.

• Build Donations: Include a method for people to donate on your website, for example with a PayPal “Donate” button, or other donation methods. Include different levels of donations so that a person can give a small donation while you are building up the relation and their comfort with your organization. Setup an automatic “Thank You” email – but also follow up with other emails and reports of how donations are being used.

• Build Your List: Your list is a powerful asset for your organization. Use the internet to build your list through having people sign up for your email newsletter, put in their email to request to download a report or article, or sign up for an online webinar or attend an event. Be sure to use non-internet methods to build your list also including adding a “sign up for our newsletter” in your email signature file.

Share your Internet communications plan with the people in your organization. Many of them may be using Facebook or other social media. Ask them to refer potential interested friends and colleagues to the website and invite them to link to you.

Denise Davies of Aleph Consulting ( http://www.alephconsulting.org ) works with nonprofit organizations and offers planning and implementation for website design, implementation and management; strategies and setup of social media; and design and management of email newsletters and overall Internet communications strategy. davies@alephinc.com

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He had a terrific product, a compelling offer, and a sound business model. He had just one problem. He wanted to make all website visitors register before they could browse his product catalog. Big mistake.

So I, along with his business partner, managed to talk him out of the idea. And he was glad that we did.

That’s because one of the fundamental requirements of direct mail is that you make it easy for your prospects, customers and donors to respond. The word to remember is “convenience.” You must make responding as convenient as possible. Here are some ways to do that with your donors.

REPLY DEVICE

• Print your donor’s name and address on it so the donor doesn’t have to.
• If your donors must complete part of the card, give them enough space (most direct mail donors are over 60 and can’t read or write without glasses).

REPLY ENVELOPE

• Pay for return postage so your donors don’t have to hunt for a stamp.
• Print your return address on the return envelope.

TEAR-OUT COUPONS

• Place coupons at the outside corners of the page (not in the gutter or the middle of the page), where they are easy to tear out.
• Perforate the edges of tear-out coupons with a fine perf, not a coarse one, so they are easy to tear out.

PAYMENT

• Offer as many payment options as possible without paralyzing your reader.
• Accept all the major credit cards.
• Accept cheques.
• Accept recurring monthly donations.
• Accept donations by telephone (toll-free, of course).
• Accept donations by mail.
• Accept donations on your website.

One of the beautiful things about donating by mail is the convenience. But that is only true if the direct mail donating experience is convenient. Use some of these methods to improve your convenience quotient and your donors will thank you for it-with their gifts.

About the author
Alan Sharpe, CFRE, is a fundraising practitioner, author, trainer and speaker. Through his weekly newsletter, books, handbooks and workshops, Alan helps not-for-profit organizations worldwide to acquire more donors, raise more funds and build stronger relationships. As the Director of Direct Development with The Gideons International In Canada, Alan manages their direct mail, major gifts and planned giving programs. Sign up for “Alan Sharpe’s Fundraising Pointers,” Alan’s free, weekly, email newsletter, at www.raisersharpe.com.

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For more tips on writing a successful fundraising letter, visit the website Fundraising Success!.

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