GUEST POST // 4 Metrics to Measure Your Text Fundraiser’s Performance
By Mike Snusz of Tatango
Running a text-to-give fundraiser requires a lot of moving parts, from creating text donation appeals to segmenting your contacts so your messages are tailored to the individual. However, if you aren’t taking time to assess how your text fundraising campaigns are performing, you won’t know whether your communications are as effective as they could be.
Tracking invaluable data metrics for each text message (and your campaign as a whole) can signal ways you can reshape your approach, better reach donors with your solicitations, and meet and exceed your fundraising goals.
In this guide, we’ll explore the top key performance indicators (KPs) you should track when leading a text fundraising campaign, including:
Open rate
Click-through rate
Unsubscribe rate
Average donation amount
With these insights, you can turn data into an opportunity to grow your text fundraising strategy and drive more donations and donor engagement. Let’s begin.
How to Track Fundraising Metrics
Before we jump into the specific metrics your organization needs to take into account, you need a way to accurately measure incoming data and determine whether your nonprofit is on track to meeting its goals.
This is where the right nonprofit text messaging platform can help. Leverage a text-to-give platform that will provide you with real-time data reports and analytics for each individual message as well as a big-picture overview of how your campaign is performing overall. This way, you can streamline your data collection and save your nonprofit time that can be reinvested into its mission.
Let's dive into the four key metrics your nonprofit should consider when analyzing the data in your text-to-give campaigns and measuring your fundraising success.
1. Open Rate
Open rates are one of the most revealing indicators of the success of your text campaign. This key metric offers important insight into your constituents’ level of engagement and interest as well as the success of your texting campaign.
Why do open rates matter?
Text messages are one of the most engaging ways to engage directly with your audience. Because of the ubiquity of cell phones, text messages boast an impressive open rate of 99%, dwarfing the 20% industry average open rate of email campaigns. This statistic alone reveals the enormous potential of text fundraising.
However, high open rates are not guaranteed; they hinge on your ability to craft compelling, personalized text messages that truly engage your audience in a cadence that works for them and your organization.
How can analyzing open rates help my text campaign?
Open rates can reveal important information about your text campaign's reach and resonance. By analyzing and optimizing these metrics within your texting platform, you can significantly elevate your fundraiser's performance and achieve your fundraising goals.
What can open rate tell me about my contact list?
Just like email open rates, text open rates can reflect the quality of your contact list. If your messages are not being opened, this could signal that your messages are not reaching the right people, perhaps due to outdated or inaccurate contact information.
Strategies for improving open rates
There are many strategies nonprofits can use to increase their open rates. Tatango’s guide to text-to-give recommends infusing the following elements into your text messaging campaign:
Engaging Content: A powerful way to improve open rates is by crafting engaging, value-packed messages. Remember, your first line, often used as a subject line (similar to an email subject line), serves as a teaser for the rest of the message. Use this space wisely by invoking curiosity or highlighting the urgency of your cause. When crafting engaging content, compelling visuals can also be particularly effective, so consider adding photos of your beneficiaries or videos that highlight your fundraising needs.
Personalization: Personalizing your messages can significantly enhance their relevancy and appeal to your audience. Personalization makes supporters feel that they are a part of your mission, rather than just another donor. Including the recipient's name or referencing their past support can go a long way in securing their attention and driving them to open your messages.
Right timing: Sending your messages at the right time can significantly impact your open rates. Think about when your audience is likely to be most responsive—typically, this might be in the morning, during lunch hours, or in the evenings after work. Avoid sending messages too early in the morning or late at night, as they could be seen as intrusive.
Balanced frequency: The frequency of your messages is another key aspect to consider. If you inundate your supporters with messages, they might grow weary and start ignoring them. On the other hand, if your messages are too sparse, your audience might forget about your cause. Striking a balance is essential.
You might also reach out to your loyal supporters directly to ask for their feedback about your text messaging campaign and what would inspire them to open your messages. Consider sending out a survey in your next email campaign or text message.
2. Click-through Rate
Click-through rate is another important data point to consider in measuring the success of your campaign. The click-through rate measures the number of supporters who click on the links embedded in your text messages, such as your donation page link or an event registration page. Click-through rate metrics are a strong indicator of whether your message resonates with your audience and encourages them to take action.
To enhance your click-through rate, consider these strategies:
Include a clear and specific call to action. Let your audience know exactly what next step they should take and how they can do so. For instance, if you want them to donate, spell this out clearly and include a link to your mobile-friendly donation page.
Add a personal touch. Greet your donors by their first name to make your communication more personal and relevant. You might reference their past donation amount and explain how giving again can push forward your mission.
Segment your audience using your text messaging software. Segmentation with texting works similarly as it does in your email platform. Specifically, it empowers you to tailor your messages to specific donor groups, making your communications more targeted and effective. For example, you might segment your contact list based on factors like location, age, donation frequency, donation recency, and donation amount. This way, your donor requests feel specific to the individual and are more likely to prompt action.
Make it as clear as possible when you’re including a link in your text message, such as by stating “Donate at the following link.” This way, donors aren’t confused about how to visit your donation page or other relevant resource you include in your text message.
3. Unsubscribe Rate
The unsubscribe rate refers to the percentage of supporters who opt out of receiving your text messages. If this rate is increasing, it might be a sign that your messaging strategy needs adjusting to better resonate with your supporters and avoid an increase in lapsed donors.
To mitigate unsubscribe rates and keep your supporters engaged, use these best practices:
Diversify your communication beyond solely sending donation requests. Other types of messages could include fundraising updates, event reminders, and a request for volunteers at your upcoming program.
Thank supporters after they give. ECardWidget’s guide to thanking donors recommends including the donation amount given in your thank-you message and explaining how this will push your mission forward and make a difference in the community. This will help you strengthen donor relations and boost the rate of recurring donations. With the help of a comprehensive text fundraising solution, you can automate sending thank-you messages as soon as donors give to save your organization time.
Include visuals in your messages. As mentioned earlier, powerful visuals can tug at your donors’ heartstrings and encourage them to stay subscribed to your campaign and give regularly. In addition to photos and videos, you might use engaging visuals like gifs or emojis to grab supporters’ attention and keep engagement levels high.
You’ll also need to promote your text fundraising campaign widely so you can grow your subscriber rate and reach even more supporters with your messaging. Take a multichannel marketing approach and share your text-to-give keyword and short- or long-code in your email, on social media, and in direct mailings.
4. Average Donation Amount
The average donation amount is calculated by dividing the total number of text donations you received by the number of subscribers. A low average donation amount might suggest the need for adjustments to your suggested giving amounts, as well as a clearer explanation of their impact.
For example, an animal welfare organization might demonstrate how a donation of $50 could provide a month's worth of food for ten dogs. Concrete examples like this can effectively illustrate the value of a donation, encouraging larger contributions.
You can also regularly update your supporters about the progress of your fundraising efforts to encourage bigger gifts. For instance, if you only have 24 hours left to reach your fundraising goal, but you’re still $5,000 away, stress that you need as much support as possible to push your organization past the fundraising finish line. Use urgent and active language to persuade supporters to give right away.
Conclusion
Thousands of higher education institutions, churches, and nonprofits have all found success in leveraging text fundraising to meet their goals. However, part of this process is setting measurable goals and actively tracking your performance metrics. By doing so, you can fine-tune your strategies and propel your nonprofit to surpass its fundraising goals. So, do your research, choose the best text-to-give platform to meet your needs, and use data-driven insights to shape your strategy.
This guest post was written by Mike Snusz.
Mike Snusz brings 19 years of digital fundraising experience to his role as Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango, a text messaging platform for nonprofits and political campaigns. Prior to Tatango, Mike spent 15 years at Blackbaud leading a team of digital consultants that helped nonprofits improve their online fundraising, monthly giving, email marketing and peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Mike started his nonprofit career managing the Ride For Roswell from 2003 to 2005 in his hometown of Buffalo, NY.
