Presented at the 2019 Nonprofit Technology Conference with the Cancer Research Institute. With Google Analytics, we know the who, what, when, where, and how of actions on your website. But do we know WHY those actions are happening? We can, thanks to the psychology of how we see. Even if you’re a non-designer, you’ll learn why certain layouts are scientifically proven to be more effective than others (and why you should never trust your gut). We’ll look at how these designs play out in action against Cancer Research Institute’s donation goals. We’ll also leave you with 5 ideas for design elements you can test on your site today. Full resources at: https://www.wholewhale.com/19ntcdonorscience/

1. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Why Your Gut is Wrong: The Science of
How Donors Behave Online
NTC - March 2019

2. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Contents
● Behavioral model
● A/B testing overview
● How to run A/B tests
● 5 things you can try

3. #19NTCdonorsciencecancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale
Who we are

4. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
About Ann
● Design Whaler | Head of NY
● Build sites, products, and
systems
● Love A/B tests
#DollarBetBattles

5. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Who is Whole Whale?
Whole Whale is a digital agency that leverages web data and
technology to increase the impact of nonprofits.

6. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
About Alice
● Senior Marketing Manager
at Cancer Research
Institute
● Juggles a variety of
marketing responsibilities,
especially digital
● Loves data and
evidence-based marketing

7. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Who is CRI

8. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Game 1
When I say go
Everyone raise the same hand in the air.

9. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Game 2
When I say go
Everyone raise your left hand in the air.

10. #19NTCdonorsciencecancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale
Behavioral Model
Theory & reality

11. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
What makes people do something?
Passive Engaged

12. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Behavior = motivation*ability*trigger
● Motivation: Undying love for
food
● Ability: Abs + toned shoulders
● Trigger: Human command

13. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Behavior = motivation*ability*trigger

14. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
A/bility - Can I do this easily?
● Give perception of ease
○ Time: “quick survey”
○ Effort: “no credit card required”
● Minimize number of taps

15. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience

16. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Motivation - Do I want to do this?
● Focus on need fulfillment
● Social proof: Others are using it
● Authority: 3rd Party Validation
● Scarcity: Leverage FOMO (missing out)
● Reciprocity: Give something away

17. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Invigorated
Confident
Challenged
Joyful
Connected
Angry
Fearful
Anxious
Defensive
Resentful
Relaxed
Mellow
Peaceful
Tranquil
Serene
Depressed
Exhausted
Burned out
Hopeless
Defeated
Positive
(pleasant)
Negative
(unpleasant)
High
intensity
Low
intensity

18. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Trigger - What do I click?
● Clear calls-to-action
● Ask at the right time
● Ask at different moments

19. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
“Sticky”
CTA

20. #19NTCdonorsciencecancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale
Why A/B Test?
Everybody’s doing it

21. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
A B
What is A/B Testing?
A/B testing is comparing two or more versions of something to
see which one performs better.

22. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Designs = best guesses
Build
Measure
Learn

23. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Netflix + chill

24. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
40.6% lift in conversion
2.8m email addresses
$60m +/-
👏 ...👏 ...👏

25. #19NTCdonorsciencecancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale
What to Test?
Look good, sound good, do good

26. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
What to test: copy
● Body copy
● Headlines
● Calls-to-action
● Menu item name
● Donation amount

27. A B

28. B
improvement
27%

29. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
What to test: Visuals
● Hero images
● Icons
● Colors

30. A B

31. A B
Higher
clickthrough
rate
6.8%

32. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
What to test: layout
● Order of elements
● Position of elements
● Element “staticness”
● Form length

33. A B

34. A B
Improvement
in conversion
rate
21%

35. #19NTCdonorsciencecancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale
Running experiments
Ready, set, test

36. Testing Without Hypothesis =

37. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Build - WYSIWYG

38. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Measure

39. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Measure

40. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Learn

41. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Some A/B testing tools
Website Popup EmailWebsite Popup Email

42. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Getting your feet wet: 5 things to try

43. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
1. Hero image

44. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
2. Headline

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3. Preset amount

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4. Recurring opt-out vs. opt-in

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5. CTA

48. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Don’t stop A/Believing!
#TurtleTip

49. cancerresearch.org @CancerResearch | wholewhale.com @wholewhale #19NTCdonorscience
Open to #dollarbets
Get in touch
ann@wholewhale.com
anorthover@cancerresearch.org
More resources at
wholewhale.com/ntc19donorscience