by Eric Rardin
Now that the 2016 election is officially underway, it’s safe to say that most Americans will spend most of the year inundated with appeals for support from political candidates for president, governor and senate all the way down to city council and dogcatcher. Voter fatigue and apathy is something we hear about in every election cycle. In fact, nine months before the first primary of the 2016 presidential election, there were already articles purporting to help citizens who were already sick of it.
With the sheer amount of appeals for support confronting people every day this year in particular, it can be hard for all nonprofits and issue organizations to win new supporters. That said, there are some rules of thumb that apply both in and out of election years that can help your organization reach new people and get them excited—not annoyed—about your work. Here are five important things to keep in mind:
- Target well
There are more than 7 billion people on Earth, and it’s safe to say a lot of them either don’t agree with or don’t care about a host of issues. Thankfully, there are a lot of ways for nonprofits and advocacy organizations to find the people who care and want to take action on your issues. They key is finding the right audience and the right tools for your issue, your message and your ask.
In the online world, where I’ve built expertise helping nonprofits recruit supporters, there are myriad platforms available to find new supporters. Google may offer the widest breadth of access to people, but chances are, most of them aren’t that into you. Organizations like Care2, where I work, have a smaller reach, but the audience is primed to be interested in progressive issues.
There are reasons to use both avenues, but it’s important to tailor your message, strategy and expectations to each. The average Google user may not be familiar with the specific threats lead bullets pose to wildlife, so a broader, more educational message may be necessary, and you should expect fewer folks of the total universe reached to convert. Conversely, a targeted audience of people who have already liked multiple environmental organizations on Facebook likely don’t need an explainer on why climate change matters, allowing you to focus your ad on specific climate legislation or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking.
- Be timely
The news cycle both moves and moves on quickly. When congressional Republicans were threatening to defund Planned Parenthood in 2015, that organization and many others devoted women’s and reproductive rights leapt into action. It seemed every email from every progressive group or progressive elected official used the controversy as an urgent call to action to sign petitions, take pledges and give money. It’s effective: Planned Parenthood’s donations soared and others rallied constituents and supporters.
But imagine receiving an email today from an organization warning of the imminent threat to Planned Parenthood. I’m not saying that the political conditions have changed or that reproductive rights are more safeguarded now than they were in the summer of 2015. But since then, the world has moved on. There are more recent examples of threats to reproductive rights and others issues loom larger in the public eye. Sending a message focused on defunding can at best make your organization look out of touch or behind the times, or, at worst, spark frustration from supporters who are weary of hearing the same message over and over again.
- Be relevant
As a fundraising professional in Washington, D.C., I’ll admit that I know reporting deadlines. I know they’re important to campaigns to show their level of support and ability to continue. But you know who probably doesn’t know or care about reporting deadlines? The people you’re asking to contribute.
Having a sense of urgency in a political or donor appeal is a great way to get people motivated to act now. But too often, fundraisers allow this rule of thumb to trump common sense. People get involved with campaigns, nonprofit, political and charitable causes because they care about an issue or a person. That’s what makes the urgency strategy work in cases where Congress is voting imminently on Planned Parenthood funding or people in Haiti are suffering now in the wake of an earthquake. We give now, rather than later, because it’s urgent, but we give at all because we care about reproductive health or human welfare. Always remember who your audience is and center your campaign appeals around them—their lives, their needs, their desires and their passions.
- Engage people
This one sounds obvious, but hear me out. Any passionate staff person can make a compelling case for why climate change, social justice, women’s rights or any issue merits people’s attention, support and funds. But people don’t just want to self-identify with a cause or organization, they want to be part of the solution. This is particularly true of your most ardent supporters or potential supporters. I’ve spent the better part of 10 years helping nonprofits recruit new supporters online through targeted advocacy asks. Unless, that is, it’s not advocacy. We’ve found that it’s much easier to spark interest when you’re asking a potential supporter to do something concrete to support a cause or issue.
So take your passionate plea and add something concrete. If your organization supports gun control, don’t just stir up passions talking about the murder of children in Newtown, Connecticut; ask your supporters to support a new assault weapons ban. If your cause is farm animal welfare, don’t just explain why conventional hen raising is inhumane; ask people to commit to buying cage-free or Certified Humane eggs. Don’t just ask people for donations; show them how their money is providing cash assistance or in-kind help to families living in poverty. Making your supporters your advocates, activists and workers can build a deeper connection between them and your organization while helping to further your cause at the same time.
- Build a relationship
One of the cardinal sins of supporter recruitment and engagement is asking too much, too soon. I tell my clients that supporter recruitment is like dating. No matter how compatible someone seems on a first date, you don’t want to start by asking them to move in. Similarly, asking for money may not be the best first “date” with your new supporter.
Instead, think of your communications as relationship building. You want your support to get to know you and your cause before asking for too much of a commitment. Share your theory of change and tell them about the laws and policies you support and how you plan to get them enacted and implemented. Also, pay attention to how they respond. Every email marketing and social media platform today gives you statistics and analysis on how much people are engaging with your content. This information can both inform how you talk to your supporters, but also how you approach your issue. This doesn’t mean the number of retweets you get determines the merit of an initiative, but the feedback you get could help you better understand what your supporters prioritize. Take advantage of the two-way exchange of information to build a nimble and thoughtful organization that both helps your mission move forward and builds larger and stronger networks of support along the way.
Eric Rardin is the Vice President of Business Development at Care2 and the ThePetitionSite where he advises on donor lead acquisition and multichannel conversion strategies. He has contributed to integrated conversion efforts on behalf of nonprofits in the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom and over 100 other countries. Prior to joining Care2, Eric designed and executed integrated advocacy campaigns for environmental nonprofits for more than seven years. He also has extensive experience working on political and issue campaigns from Wyoming to South Africa. Eric has an MBA from the Carey School of Business at Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in government and international studies from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. in political science from the University of Wyoming.