Tracking your fundraising emails
Although I can't donate to campaigns in the US (something about Clinton accepting donations from Chinese businessmen) I signed up to John Kerry's email list last year to see how the campaign went about fundraising. One thing that frustrated me about the emails was the apparent lack of tracking about who clicked on links in an email.
What do I mean? Well, I believe it is crucial to know not only who gave to you and thank them accordingly (which you should know by the payment information) but also which communication triggered the donation, and how many people clicked through to look at information, but didn't donate.
How do you do this? Well, assuming privacy laws allow it (and if we could do it in the UK, I am sure it is allowed here), you make sure that every link in an email is coded with two bits of information - a unique id identifying the email, and a unique id from your CRM system identifying the individual. Then, when anyone clicks on a link, you can capture that information in the Website's database, and build reports to show you which communications are working best - e.g.
The IPDI report stresses the importance of a CRM system, and to set up this integration does require close cooperation between a web team and the CRM team. However, the benefits were considerable, and anyone considering online fundraising should aim to achieve that level of integration.
What do I mean? Well, I believe it is crucial to know not only who gave to you and thank them accordingly (which you should know by the payment information) but also which communication triggered the donation, and how many people clicked through to look at information, but didn't donate.
How do you do this? Well, assuming privacy laws allow it (and if we could do it in the UK, I am sure it is allowed here), you make sure that every link in an email is coded with two bits of information - a unique id identifying the email, and a unique id from your CRM system identifying the individual. Then, when anyone clicks on a link, you can capture that information in the Website's database, and build reports to show you which communications are working best - e.g.
- Are there certain issues that work best?
- Do text or HTML emails work best?
- Do people respond best to positive or negative emails?
The IPDI report stresses the importance of a CRM system, and to set up this integration does require close cooperation between a web team and the CRM team. However, the benefits were considerable, and anyone considering online fundraising should aim to achieve that level of integration.
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