Yeah; I know a lot of folks working at nonprofits dislike advertising and marketing.  But whether YOU call it that or not, you’re already doing a boatload of marketing.  And I think online advertising offers an opportunity you shouldn’t ignore.

Why do I say that?  As more newspapers, magazines, news sources and books continue to move to the digital world, I think online advertising will become more prevalant as a viable acquisition method.   Hone your skills now.  Beat the rush.  Get ahead of the curve.

Adhere to the guideline … be where your donors, volunteers and advocates are.  That includes online.

1 – Showcase a great website tailored to how your supporters think; to their preferences.

2 – Have a presence in social media (i.e., networking sites, YouTube, etc.)

3 – Be “in the news.”  Send out regular enticing online press releases that journalists want to feature in their online publications.

4 – Get discovered through value-added online ads in the “display network” (formerly the content network); have your ad show up in search results; on social networking sites; or all of these locations.

As a nonprofit you have access to Google Grants.  Up to $10,000 per month in free advertising is possible — and in some cases even more.  This is tremendous.

The point is this: People of all ages are spending more and more time online.  Make it easy for them to find you and support you in a variety of ways:

- raise awareness

- get volunteers for an event or other need

- engage them with your video, quiz or other interactive call-to-action

- raise money for your mission

And on it goes.  Consider every source of funding and donor acquisition.  Our world continues to evolve.  Don’t wither away because you didn’t adapt to the changes.  Read how advertising online pays off for your nonprofit.

Hopefully you’ve applied for and received a Google Grant to fund your nonprofit Google Adwords campaigns.  Regardless of whether you’re paying for the ads out of your budget, or using a Grant . . . you still want to approach the campaign wisely.

I interviewed Howie Jacobson, PhD, author of “Adwords for Dummies.”  Dr. Jacobson has worked with large and medium-sized corporations as well as numerous nonprofit organizations.

I asked him: Before a charity spends a dime on Google Adwords, what is the ONE question they must clearly answer before getting started?

Click here to watch the 2:15 minute video with Howie’s answer for your nonprofit.

Related posts:

Is Google Adwords a good strategy for nonprofits?

Google Grants and Adwords … which is more valuable? A click or a conversion?

Let’s set the scene:  You have applied for and received a Google Grant for Adwords.  You’re excited and launch a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign for acquisition – you want more donors.  (NOTE: There are many ways to use Adwords to help your charity; acquisition is just one way.)

Your PPC campaign has a click through rate (CTR) of say, 2% at the end of a week.  You make some adjustments and it increases to 3.5%.  You’re feeling pretty good.

Is your PPC campaign a success?

I don’t know.  CTR doesn’t equate to a new donor or additional revenue.  What you really need to know is how many of the visitors that click on your ad become donors after reading your landing page.  In other words: What is the conversion rate for your landing page?  Are they taking the desired action such as making a donation?

Let me say this again: You don’t acquire a new donor when they click on your ad.  Therefore high CTR’s are not your ultimate goal.  The conversion rate for your landing page is where you find the payoff.  Conversion is what brings in new donors, more revenue, etc.

Look at the big picture

A successful PPC campaign depends not only on ad quality, but also on your keyword research, how you structure your campaign, and it most definitely depends on a quality landing page.  Your landing page continues the conversation the ad started.  And again, the landing page is the secret to higher conversion rates.  That’s a snapshot of the big picture.

Your PPC campaign will also benefit by executing the work in this step-by-step sequence:

1. keyword research
2. structure the ad groups and campaigns
3. write the landing page (and you will likely need more than one landing page)
4. write the ads (each ad must compliment the corresponding landing page)
5. go “live” with the campaign

Your nonprofit can benefit in many ways by running Google PPC campaigsn.  But first you need a good start.  I interviewed Dr. Howie Jacobson, author of “Adwords for Dummies.” I asked Howie for 3 tips to help your charity get started with Adwords … he replied with FOUR tips.

Click here for Howie’s 4 Google Adwords tips for nonprofits video with Karen Zapp.

Related posts:

One question you MUST answer before launching Google Adwords for your nonprofit

Is Google Adwords a good strategy for nonprofits … and why?

That question is succinctly answered in an interview I did with Howie Jacobson, PhD.  Howie is the author of Adwords for Dummies and Google Adwords for Dummies.

There are many benefits for charities that wisely include Google Adwords in their fundraising and marketing strategies.

For example: You can draw in prospects to your inspiring stories and content through Adwords. This is a viable form of inbound marketing which people are becoming more and more receptive to at the expense of “outbound” efforts.

Watch this 2 ½ minute video with Howie Jacobson where he answers the question: For nonprofits with a tight budget, is Google AdWords a good strategy for finding new donors?

PLUS he shares a valuable tip on how Adwords can also help testing of your direct mail campaigns.

Click here to watch the video.

Related posts:

ONE question to answer BEFORE launching Google Adwords

Which is more valuable? A click or a conversion from Adwords?