With some strategic planning, your website not only can draw new customers, it can ultimately make hard-hitting contributions to your organization's growth. If your site has been sitting around just looking pretty, consider these ways you can get it to start flexing muscle:
- First, is your site search engine-optimized to attract the most and best traffic? By performing search engine optimization (SEO), you can use strategic keywords, site design, and HTML coding to improve your site's rankings in online searches. Generally, websites that rank highest (the ones that appear earliest in search results) receive the most visits.
- Once you've increased your traffic, is your website converting it into valuable marketing assets? Generating website traffic without parlaying it into mailing lists, leads, and donations is like having a highway billboard-you get visibility and brand awareness, but no tangible assets once the billboard comes down. By adding online information forms and incentive offers, you can actively convert your site traffic into names and contact information, create goodwill by providing beneficial information or resources, and begin developing relationships. Over time, your website visitors may produce online fundraising dollars and become regular givers or even major benefactors. Check out these websites that are effectively using Pathmaker techniques to transforming traffic into assets:
- A strategic eWelcome series introducing people to your ministry is a great tool for traffic conversion. Here's how it works:
- Step one is to ask for basic information (first name and email address) in exchange for downloadable incentives such as resources, ideas, or news. This basic contact information immediately enables you to communicate through email.
- Step two is the thank you page, where in exchange for complete contact information (full name, snail mail address, phone number) you can offer free welcome gifts by mail.
- Step three is to send an email each week for four to six weeks, introducing the various aspects of your ministry or organization. These communications are strictly informational, without requesting donations, and will help develop relationships by providing valued information.
- Finally, these names are added to your regular email list and can begin receiving appeals for money.
Pathmaker Marketing has found that for every 100 email addresses collected, 65 convert into full names and mailing addresses for receiving welcome kits. And once you have this information, you can also begin traditional direct marketing fundraising efforts.
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