Did you know only 19% of people who visit a donation page actually donate? Whether it’s because of distractions, difficulties, or something else, this means over 80% of visitors to your giving page don’t actually give. What can you do about it?
Giving is crucial to your ministry. Not only does it ensure day-to-day operations are possible, but it helps you to take the Gospel to your church, your city, and the ends of the Earth.
Here are 4 ways you can improve online donations so your church can better fulfill your mission.
1. Simplify the Process
Start by answering these questions:
- How easy is it for people to donate?
- How many clicks does it take for someone to give?
- Where is your “give” button located? Can it be easily found?
- Does the “give” button stand out on your website?
The easier it is for people to find, click, and donate, the more likely they are to give. If you want to improve online donations, the first step is to simplify.
Key Action Item: Set the goal of making sure your donation form is only one click away from any page on your site.
2. Improve the Experience
After you’ve simplified, the next step to improving online donations is to make sure the journey to give is as smooth as possible.
Picture this: someone scans a QR code on your bulletin to donate, but the page takes forever to load, and then when it does load they have to pinch and zoom and scroll to try to enter their information. Then, they realize they have to sign in and can’t remember their password. At that point, they’re annoyed, frustrated, and decide they’ll just give another time… the unpleasant experience means you’ve lost them.
Instead, work to improve the experience by:
- Considering Their Path: how did they end up on your giving page (email link, QR code, app, website, something else)?
- Reducing the Steps
- Optimizing Your Page
- Optimizing Your Form: consider adjusting form fields to be side-by-side
- And, Not Requiring a Sign-in
Key Action Item: Make sure your page loads quickly and is mobile-friendly.
3. Convey Your Vision
Why should people give to your church? What ministries will their money help to fund? How are you stewarding what has been given? Can you be trusted? You can communicate your vision by creating a value proposition.
A good value proposition has 4 essential elements:
- Appeal: how strongly do supporters want to give?
- Clarity: do supporters understand what you’re asking?
- Exclusivity: can supporters make this impact elsewhere?
- Credibility: can supporters trust you?
Work to answer these four questions above the form on your giving page. Keep in mind that this is more than just a catchy headline. In fact, when testing a donation form with ‘Headline-only’ vs ‘Value Proposition Copy’, telling the user the impact of their contributions (the value prop) resulted in a 116% increase in donations!
Also, be sure to include information about security. People want to know they can safely give through your platform. Don’t be afraid to be clear, transparent, and honest.
Key Action Item: Write a value proposition and add it to the top of your giving page.
4. Remove the Distractions
Do you remember how over 80% of the people on a donations page get distracted and don’t donate? You can help to improve online donations by removing those distractions in 3 main steps.
Clean the Page
It starts with creating a clean and decluttered donation page. Remove any extra buttons, the navigation bar, distracting photos, and anything else less important than the actual donation.
Simplify the Form
Next, simplify the form. Do you really need their home phone number? Can you remove some of the giving options? Make sure the form itself only asks for the information you actually need.
Consider the Processing Fee
Lastly, consider the processing fee. This is an area where potential givers can easily get hung up. In fact, when users were asked to cover processing fees, there was a 39% decrease in donations. One option would be to ask for an additional contribution on the thank you page to help cover those processing fees after the donor submits their gift. Don’t let the processing fee be the reason someone doesn’t give.
Key Action Item: Ensure your giving page only has one button and work to remove any unnecessary form fields.
More Ways to Improve
While these 4 things will help you to improve online donations at your church, it’s not all that can be done. We’ve created an online giving guide with Next After full of:
- Real-life online giving statistics
- Additional details for the above tips
- 3 more proven ways to improve online giving
- Practical takeaways you can implement now
>> DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE HERE <<
This guide was designed with you in mind and it’s our hope as you improve online donations, you have more resources to further your mission right where God has placed you.
