You're ready: Your email calendar is planned. Direct mail is locked and printed. But, is your digital program all set? Joining the Ad Council, Kacey Read and Orwin Evenson from Blue State Digital and Captain Shelley Marshall from the Navy-Marie Corps Relief Society share top tips and lessons to make the most out of your year-end program, even if you are already in full swing. You'll get helpful hints into what nonprofits - of multiple sizes - can try and test to get the most out of your donor base, and how you should be planning for the next few months to make it your best yet. You'll learn how to: - Send more effective fundraising emails; - Go beyond the A/B test and better understand your audience; - Make the most out of Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday; - Create more effective, cross-channel campaigns.

1. 1© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential
Year-end 2015:
Make it your best yet
Presented by Ad Council, Blue State Digital, and NMCRS
October 8, 2015
#EOY2015
#EOY2015

2. 1. Introductions
2. Overview
3. Lessons from 2014
4. Looking Ahead
5. Next Level
6. Discussion
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 2
CAPT Shelley Marshall
NMCRS
Orwin Evenson
BSD
Kacey Read
BSD
Kate Emanuel
Ad Council
Agenda and Introductions
#EOY2015

3. 1
Introductions
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 3#EOY2015

4. Hi, I’m Captain Shelley
Marshall.
Vice President, Chief Development and
Communications Officer
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 4
Introductions
#EOY2015

5. Hi, I’m Orwin Evenson.
Digital Analyst
Blue State Digital
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 5
Introductions
#EOY2015

6. Hi, I’m Kacey Read.
Account Manager
Blue State Digital
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 6
Introductions
#EOY2015

7. 2
Overview
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 7#EOY2015

8. Year-end fundraising is here.
Your calendars are planned.
Your direct mail has shipped.
You’re ready.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 8
Overview
#EOY2015

9. Last year at BSD:
17 fundraising strategy clients
252 BSD Tools customers
653,216 donors
993,277 donations
$51,764,462 dollars
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 9
Overview
#EOY2015

10. Online giving increased by
32% in 2014 alone, according
to M&R Benchmarks.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 10
Overview
#EOY2015

11. And the Navy-Marine Corps
Relief Society (NMCRS) has
taken its program to the next
level.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 11
Overview
#EOY2015

12. 3
Lessons from 2014
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13. Court your donors.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 13
Lesson #1
#EOY2015
How do you convert that signup into a donor
who will never leave your side?

14. Smart segmentation and
personalization are key.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 14
Lesson #1: Court your donors
#EOY2015
Previous EOY donors
had the highest
donation rate of any
email segment —
nine times higher
than the average.
Donation Rate
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
Average 2013 Donors
3.51%
0.38%

15. Make the ask based on what
they’ve given before.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 15
Lesson #1: Court your donors
#EOY2015

16. Make it easy to give.
Donation form
completion
rate grew 4.7%.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 16
Lesson #1: Court your donors
#EOY2015

17. Double down on a good thing
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 17
Lesson #2
#EOY2015
How do you get the most out of every single
send, especially the best ones?

18. Use kickers & resends to
leverage over-performers.
There was no
statistical difference
between the donation
rates of our kickers &
resends and our
regular emails.
Donation Rate by Send Type
0.00%
0.25%
0.50%
Kickers
& Resends
Regular
Email
0.38%0.37%
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 18
Lesson #2: Double down on a good thing
#EOY2015

19. More email doesn’t always
increase unsubscribe rates.
Unsubscribe Rate
0.0%
0.3%
0.6%
2013 2014
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 19
Lesson #2: Double down on a good thing
#EOY2015

20. Make the most out of Cyber
Monday and Giving Tuesday.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 20
Lesson #3
#EOY2015
They’re here to stay — so how do you make
your campaign stand out?

21. © Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 21
Lesson #3: Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday
#EOY2015

22. Be transparent.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 22
Lesson #4
#EOY2015
How can you demonstrate the impact of a
donation?

23. 23© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential

24. © Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 24
Lesson #4: Be transparent
#EOY2015

25. Mobile. Mobile. Mobile.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 25
Lesson #5
#EOY2015
Mobile donations grew 250% in 2014 — how
can you be sure you’re not leaving dollars on
the table?

26. Make it as easy as possible.
Get to the point of the email, quickly.
Make sure your pages are optimized.
Leverage lightboxes and splash pages if your
full site isn’t responsive — yet.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 26
Lesson #5: Mobile. Mobile. Mobile.
#EOY2015

27. Surprise and delight.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 27
Lesson #6
#EOY2015
How can you ensure that your donors have
the best possible experience on your list?

28. Give them
different ways
to engage.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 28
Lesson #6: Surprise and delight
#EOY2015

29. Say thank you.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 29
Lesson #7
#EOY2015
This one is self-explanatory, right?

30. Make your
supporters
feel like
they’re part of
your success.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 30
Lesson #7: Say thank you
#EOY2015

31. Let’s review.
1. Court your donors.
2. Double down on a good thing.
3. Make the most out of Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.
4. Be transparent.
5. Mobile. Mobile. Mobile.
6. Surprise and delight.
7. Say thank you.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 31
Lessons from 2014
#EOY2015

32. 4
Looking ahead
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 32#EOY2015

33. September:
Planning finalized.
Goal and benchmark setting
Concept Development
Integrated Calendar created
Communications plan
Site development plan
Testing plan
Media plan
Acquisition programs running
33© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential
Looking ahead
#EOY2015

34. October:
Prepare all assets
and cultivate with
content.
Source code scheme
Email communications
Social graphics
Ad designs and copy
Lightbox design and development
Splash page design and development
Landing page variations for testing
Value-driven content campaigns
Acquisition program running
34© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential
Looking ahead
#EOY2015

35. November &
December:
Send, optimize, and
send again.
Everything written, planned, and
implemented before Thanksgiving
Final Push:
Shift to volume
Real-time adjustments
Daily revenue monitoring
35© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential
Looking ahead
#EOY2015

36. 5
Next Level
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 36#EOY2015

37. Personalization
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 37
Next level
#EOY2015
Take “Court Your Donor” to the next level
with the Ladder of Engagement API and
customization in emails

38. Smarter Email
Use the “Over/Under” approach to actually
predict what your audience will respond to —
and act quickly.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 38
Next level
#EOY2015

39. ECommerce Lessons
Learn from ecommerce about how to create a
useful and transparent user experience for
your donor.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 39
Next level
#EOY2015

40. Enhanced Creative
Hunger Games style. Yes, you heard that
right.
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 40
Next level
#EOY2015

41. Ask us anything.
sales@bluestatedigital.com
© Blue State Digital | Proprietary and Confidential 41#EOY2015