10 Steps to Online Fundraising Success and 4 Mistakes to Avoid

In a Feb. 12 post on Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog: Getting to the Point, FS columnist Katya Andresen, vice president of marketing at Network for Good, listed 10 important steps nonprofits need to take when heading into the world of online fundraising.

They are:

1. Get the tools (decent Web site, Donate Now button, e-mail signup, e-mail campaign tool)
2. Put your Donate Now button and Web site address everywhere.
3. Create and fuel your e-mail engine.
4. Make sure people give by focusing on the audience.
5. Have an answer for prospective donors who ask, "Why me?"
6. Have an answer for prospective donors who ask, "What for?"
7. Have an answer for prospective donors who ask, "Why now?"
8. Have an answer for prospective donors who ask, "Who says?"
9. Thank early and often.
10. Do the advanced stuff (like social media)

What to avoid?

1. Thinking a Donate Now button alone as an online fundraising program.
2. Putting yourself at the center of every message — that’s where your audience belongs.
3. Having a lame, confusing or ill-considered call to action.
4. Being ungrateful — thank your supporters lavishly, over and over.