Planning and process pay off. These steps apply whether you’re running a major appeal, a peer-to-peer campaign, or a GivingTuesday push.
Step 1 — Develop donor personas that reflect the supporters you’re trying to reach. Who are they, what do they care about, where do they spend their time?
Step 2 — Identify the key motivators for each persona group. What would make them give to this cause right now?
Step 3 — Develop messaging that speaks to those motivators. Test different angles if you can.
Step 4 — Assign clear calls to action for each persona and channel.
Step 5 — Develop a channel strategy. This might include email, social media, your website, direct mail, events, SMS, or paid advertising — choose based on where your personas actually are, not where you wish they were.
Step 6 — Map out the campaign timeline with touchpoints to keep the audience engaged throughout.
Step 7 — Create the marketing materials — landing pages, email sequences, social content, any print materials.
Step 8 — Soft launch to existing donors and warm supporters. They’re your best advocates.
Step 9 — Hard launch across your channel strategy.
Step 10 — Give regular updates on progress. Share milestones. Thank publicly and often.
Step 11 — Close the campaign with genuine thanks and tangible impact reporting. This is where the next campaign begins.
