Segment your outreach for a successful campaign

Segment your donor lists and do outreach in phases.

Email is the best way to get support for your campaign. We recommend segmenting your donor list and only emailing specific donors at certain phases throughout the campaign.

Phase 1 - Pre-seed donors: Start with your inner circle. Ask your staff, board, or any die hard supporters to make a donation to help get the early momentum going. Even a series of smaller contributions will help set the tone early on. Having some money in the pot, and supporters on the page, will make your next phase of donors more inclined to give.

Phase 2 - Seed donors: Target a short list of core supporters. It's important to first target a smaller list to build early support. Identify and reach out to your most loyal supporters. The goal of this phase is to create momentum and reach your 30% milestone. Building this important momentum in the beginning will give future donors hope that you will reach your goal, which will increase your chances of donations at later stages.  

Sample ask, "Since you've been such an amazing supporter in the past, we are hoping we can count on you can help us reach our first milestone goal of 30% by <specific date>?" 

(Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you hit about 30%, then proceed to step 3)

Phase 3 - General Donor list: Mass market the campaign. Once you reach 30%, now it’s time to shout it from the rooftops! Email your full donor and volunteer lists (multiple times), include the campaign as the main call to action in your newsletter, write about it in your blog, share it on facebook, and ask your supporters to help you get the word out. 

Not sure what to say in your emails? We have pre-written templates! Open your campaign & click the 'promote' button to check them out.  

Download our checklist below to see our recommended timing of when to do donor outreach. 

Top mistakes to avoid

Mistake #1: Hitting up your full donor list too early.

Don’t share on Facebook or email full donor list until you’ve reached 30% of your goal. Online donors want to give to things with momentum. If they click into a campaign with only a few % raised, they will not be motivated to give. 

Mistake #2: Writing looong appeal emails.

Always be clear, concise, and to the point. 55% of all emails are opened on a mobile device. Your window of opportunity is small, literally. Just as you are very busy, so are your donors - save you and them time by keeping your emails short and sweet. Also, subject lines are important! We recommend keeping them short, try 5 words or less. 

Open your campaign & click the 'promote' button to see our email templates

Mistake #3: Not linking to the campaign.

Make it easy for your donors to find the campaign by providing a link front and center. Don’t make your donors search. Not providing a direct link to click makes the ask pointless. Make it foolproof!