nonprofit email list-growth

Copyright ©2008 Care2, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 04/12/23

Nonprofit Email List-growthJustin Perkins, Director of Nonprofit Services

Rules of Thumb for Nonprofit List-growth

1. Viral is a myth (usually)2. You get what you pay for3. Always get transparent, cost per lead pricing if

you can4. Most nonprofit online fundraising is generated

through email5. The groups with the largest email lists can

capitalize quickly on crises or timely windows of opportunity if prepared

6. Guerilla marketing and social networks are not free – takes lots of time and expertise

Copyright ©2008 Care2, Inc. All rights reserved 04/12/23 3

Buying Attention

• Look before you leap!

• Goal. What are you trying to achieve? By when?

• Audience. Who are you trying to reach?

• Traffic. What kind of volume are you looking for?

• Rates. What is the net cost per name and does the media site guarantee performance based terms? How much does it cost to create the ads on top of placing the media buy?

• Resources. How much staff time needed? Can your staff create good ads? How are you going to track campaign performance? Is your website equipped to convert traffic?

Options for Nonprofit List-growth• CPA/CPL• Co-registration • Shepherded Emails• Banner/ Display Ads (CPM, CPC)• PPC & SEM• Guerilla marketing (social media, PR, etc)

CPA/CPL Advertising

CPA/CPL Advertising• CPA (Cost Per Acquisition or Cost per Action)• CPL (Cost Per Lead)• Net Cost per name ~ $1.00-$10.00+ depends on quality, targeting, quantity• Highest quality is through niche sites with relevant campaigns.

PROs:•Lowest risk option – risk is on the media site when paying for performance only•Easier to predict results of ad campaigns•Positions nonprofit further along in fundraising sales cycle if lead is quality•Can be less creative development cost and effort for nonprofit•Can require less media buy management time and complexity•Can cost less and yield higher ROI than other advertising

CONs:•Not many sites willing to offer CPL terms – too risky for the site•Quality of names depends on quality of site and opt-in process•Quantity can be limited by size of site’s audience or targeting•Up front cost can seem higher for high quality leads (harder to sell internally when costs are seen – actual cost not seen till after campaign with CPM or CPC)•Can require complex management if multiple networks used•Not all networks are transparent so difficult to track quality

Co-registration (Co-reg)

Co-registration (Co-reg)• Co-reg is priced the same as CPL – you pay per name. Usually not a high-quality option

unless site is targeted. “Agree to receive emails from our partners” usually means low quality because user does not see your brand.

• Net Cost per Name ~ $.01-$100.00+

PROs:•High volume - lots of names of people who “agreed” to receive email•Cheap

CONs:•Low quality (you get what you pay for)•High risk that folks will not respond or report you for SPAM•Quality and source of name not always known if buying from a network•Context for recruitment may be irrelevant•Net result may be negative due to poor response and danger of SPAM ratings

Banner/Display Ads

Banner/Display Ads• CPM based pricing. CPM = Cost Per 1000 Impressions.• Net Cost per Name ~ $1.50-$100+

PROs:•Can work with a broader array of sites and leverage creative•Good for branding if done well•Rich Media can catch attention•Can sometimes work for direct response to fundraising or event promotion

CONs:•Few instances where we’ve seen results end up cheaper than CPL•Very risky – risk is entirely on nonprofit•Sites have different creative req’s•Difficult to implement and track – very complex to do well•Requires lots of staff time and expertise or experienced consultants•Net result is expensive and usually low ROI•When was the last time you clicked a banner ad?

PPC & SEM

PPC & SEM• PPC = Pay Per Click usually refers to Google Adwords and the equivalent on Yahoo

and MSN• SEM = Search Engine Marketing (paying for search engine ads)• Net Cost per Name ~ $.75-$100+ (click doesn’t = name !!)

PROs:•Can be great, high quality response due to targeting•You only pay for clicks, not impressions•Can sometimes work for direct response to fundraising or event promotion if context is ripe•Can see good ROI over time if done well•Google Grants are “free” for nonprofits

CONs:•Learning curve for SEM is steep•Risk is still high – nonprofit must have excellent landing page and keywords to convert well•Difficult to implement and track – very complex to do well•Requires lots of staff time and expertise or experienced consultants•Net result is expensive•Volume can be limited for nonprofits unless during crisis or major news event

Guerilla Marketing

Social Network Widgets

Guerilla Marketing• This is a catchall phrase for all efforts to drive traffic to your website including link swaps,

PR, social networking, blogger outreach, SEO and “viral” campaign efforts.• Net Cost per Name ~ $.50-$200+

PROs:•Good to develop long-term capacity and raises overall awareness – builds foundation for quicker donor conversion and constant list-growth•Can require less cash outlay with the right skills on staff•Quality of names recruited can be higher than paid efforts•Good campaigns can go viral with a perfect storm•Once list is large, impact of guerilla campaigns can be increased greatly

CONs:•ROI is very low especially for smaller groups with no brand recognition•Quantity of list-growth is low – hard to drive consistent traffic sufficient for list-growth•Extra effort put in social networks can be opportunity cost for cultivation of email list•Very complex to manage effectively•Requires tons of staff time and/ or outside consultant costs•Requires excellent, interesting website and campaigns = time and money to accomplish

Budget, List-Growth Rate, List Quality

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Low Quality

High Quality

Slow Growth(<1k/month)

Rapid Growth(>8k/month)

Collecting Opt-ins on your site ($)

Large Targeted Community ($-$$)

Viral Campaigns (priceless)

General Portal($-$$$)

Canvassing/ Events($$)

Co-reg($-$$$)

Targeted List Swaps($)Guerilla Marketing

($$ - $$$)

List Append($)

CPM Advertising($$$)

SEM ($-$$$)

Small Niche Community ($-$$)


Tracking, Tracking, Tracking

Campaign Summary:

Budget: $50,500Actions: 2,483Cost Per Action: $20.34

What does it take to make a paid promotion campaign work? There is no guarantee any one ad or landing page will perform to your satisfaction.

• Test and track results of ad images

• Test and track results ad content

• Test and track results landing pages


Control Your Risk & Costs

You can end up paying $105.63 or more for a single supporter. It’s less risky to maximize sites that guarantee CPL pricing, first.


Example of Media Buy Tracking (Fundraising Goal)


Media Buy Tracking (Advocacy Goal)

© Care2, Inc. p. 21

Care2’s Approach to CPL Advertising

Organizational Branding

Care2 develops the content with Client’s logo and final approval

This is the standard infoset collected by Care 2.

Comment box. This component is optional, and could be used to collect comments.


Promotion of Campaigns via email

PromotionCare2 sends millions of emails to our members to drive traffic to petitions sponsored by nonprofits.


Contextual, Permission-based Recruitment

Permission-based MarketingAfter signing a petition the user is given the option to sign up for your list.

Campaigns Without Advocacy: Pledge

Organizational Branding

Care2 develops the content with Client’s logo and final approval

Other Campaigns: Surveys & Polls

SurveySurvey

Contextual Sign-ups: Care2 News

Care2 News Network

When a Care2 member shares a story they are then invited to sign up for a group that is relevant to the new topic they promoted.

Case Study: Children’s Defense Fund

© Care2, Inc.

Care2 Results: Recruited about 30,000 people

from three campaigns focused on Child Health Care, and about 45,000 signatures from the three petitions.

Save Darfur: 10 Days to $415,000Power of Email vs. Social Networks•In June of 2007, M&R helped Save Darfur raise $415,000 via email series to about 1 Million supporters in 10 Days

•Over 1 year on Facebook Causes, Save Darfur raised $28,000 from nearly 1 million “friends”.~ 3 cents per friend

•Very few cases of replicable, profitable campaigns on Social Networks when investing staff time

•Nonprofits raised $3 Million on Facebook Causes in 2008, but at an estimated cost of $300 Million to sector

Predicting ROI from Social Networks

Social Networks Aren’t FreeFor staff to spend 10 hrs/ week @ $10.00/ hour managing social networks (or interns) you can expect:•a negative 75-95% ROI for fundraising•$5.00 per email acquired•$7.00 per action taken on emails acquired from social networks

Run the numbers first!www.frogloop.com/social-networking-tips


Nonprofit Marketing Tips & Care2 Info

Justin PerkinsDirector, Nonprofit Services

(303) [email protected]

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