M+R recently released their 2016 Benchmark Study of 105 US non-profits. Like most studies their benchmarks serve to show how your organization compares to the “normal” of the organizations in the study. But they also looked at what the 25 organizations with the largest year-over-year growth in total dollars raised online were doing differently.
They boiled success down to 3 secrets:
1. Email is a large part of the fundraising pie
The top 25 groups in the study saw a full 1/3 (34%) of their online revenue come through email appeals. Compared to 27% for the rest of the study. These groups also saw email increasing as an overall percentage of their fundraising.
Email is not dead. In fact it’s growing. Here are 6 simple steps for doing effective email marketing.
2. Ask more, get more
The top 25 online revenue growers in the study averaged 27 email appeals a year, compared to just 16 from the rest.
To win in the crowded email marketplace you have to focus on frequency. Here’s a case study from 1 email marketer and 3 considerations for increasing your email frequency.
3. Invest in digital media
In their study, the top 25 organizations invested $0.12 in digital media for every dollar raised in digital media. The rest of the groups averaged only $0.02 per dollar earned.
In our experience there is no better time to start investing in digital media. We’ve seen tremendous success in lead generation, donor acquisition and cultivation through email rental, search and Facebook advertising.
Is your organization giving email and digital media the focus they deserve?