Here’s a good article from Philanthropy News Network about online fundraising campaigns. The best part, to me, is the section on building relationships.
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Getting to know donors by building a profile of
their interests and online interactions with the organization helps develop a
loyal online relationship that, in turn, drives ongoing support. Consider these
metrics when tracking results in relationship building:
- Percentage of the email file providing a detailed personal profile —
Detailed profiles about constituent interests, geography and other demographics
allow an organization to segment its list and target constituents with relevant
information. - Email open rate — This shows what percentage of all message recipients
actually opened it – indicating how well an organization is engaging and getting
through to its constituency. - Email click-through rate — This metric is the percentage of email
recipients who clicked on a link within the message — such as a donation form,
petition or survey — showing how effective the email is at stimulating
recipients to take action. - Email forwarding rate — This rate indicates how important the
organization’s messages are to each constituent based on how often constituents
forward them to friends and family. - Response rates to surveys and polls — Surveys and polls enable constituents
to provide feedback and additional information about themselves. Measuring the
percentage of recipients who fill out surveys indicates how many are open to
developing a deeper relationship with the organization. - Opt-out rates on email newsletters — This measures the number of people who
unsubscribe to the organization’s emails. It is important to minimize the
opt-out rate to maintain a list of engaged constituents, and to avoid getting
labeled as a spammer.