It seems like every time something happens to a campaign the temptation is to leverage the moment to raise money. After all, that’s what you desperately need, right
But while it’s true that major events can trigger a spike in donations, that’s not a repeatable, scalable strategy and second, not every supporter is able or ready to donate at a given moment. The event may have just sparked their awareness of your campaign or maybe now they’re more interested in the race.
Remember your conversion funnel:
You can’t skip a user to the bottom of the funnel before they’re ready to be there. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be focused on driving these newly energized supporters down your conversion funnel.
Here are 9 things you can do instead of asking supporters for money.
- Surveys – Transform unsolicited advice into engagement by asking supporters for more information about themselves, including email, ZIP code, mobile number, and any issue interests.
- Polls – Similar to surveys, you can help prime supporters for further action.
- Petitions – Encourage supporters to join you in taking an action and build your list. Petitions are the best way to follow the news cycle and take advantage of social media trends.
- Letters – Write a letter about an issue and invite your supporters to co-sign it.
- Mobile Opt-Ins – If you’ve already got a robust email list, create a call to action to grow your cell phone number opted in list. It’s cheaper than peer to peer texting and is the best way to turn out voters.
- Recruitment – Ask supporters to volunteer. If an event triggers them to engage, use the opportunity to get them to commit to helping out.
- Share Content – Invite your supporters to share specific content, like a video or blog post.
- Communities – Ask them to join online communities, like the Facebook group for your supporters in a specific county.
- RSVP – Get them to attend an event in person and meet the candidate.
On campaigns, you never know when you’re going to get your moment, but you should always be prepared to take advantage of it. If a supporter isn’t far enough along in their conversion funnel journey, don’t force the issue. Instead, give them additional opportunities to engage with your campaign.
