Email’s like the measuring tape of your marketing toolkit. It’s not the fan...
Online raffles are a convenient fundraising tactic. There’s no cash needed. No paper tickets falling out of pockets and getting lost in purses. And from a marketing perspective, there’s more opportunity to get your brand in front of new people and quickly convert them to donors.
Online raffling does provide a challenge, though. Those emotion-driven moments — the conversations that create genuine connection with your donors — happen a lot less often, and a lot less naturally, when you’re not face-to-face.
Experienced fundraisers know with a little strategy (and a lot of creativity), there are ways to stay at the top of your donors’ minds when your raffle wraps up. We’re not suggesting getting complicated, either. Email marketing is tried and true for a reason.
Are people even reading these?
Wondering if email marketing could be an effective strategy for your organization? Consider these stats from Funraise’s 2020 Global Trends in Giving Report:
- Most donors (33%) say that email is more likely to inspire them to give than any other communication tool.
- And of those donors inspired by email, 45% want quarterly updates (and 29% want to hear from you even more — monthly.)
- Overall, regular email communication is, by far, the most successful way to get repeat donations.
So, are people reading? The statistics say yes. If building and nurturing donor relationships is a priority, read on to see what kinds of messages turn your subscribers into lifelong donors.
1: Clear, concise fundraising goals.
Simon Sinek said it. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
What you’re doing: Selling raffle tickets for a 50/50 cash prize.
Why you’re doing it: Because you’re raising money to support and improve peoples’ lives. That’s what people care about.
Yes, it’s true that an exciting prize is a major draw for potential ticket buyers, so promote it by putting it:
- In the subject line.
- In the email heading.
- On the hero image.
Then, be clear about where the funds are going. You can be specific here. For example, instead of:
“Thank you for supporting Our Organization.”
You could say:
“Thank you for supporting Our Organization in funding new Thing We Need to support People or Animals Who Need It."
If you’re sending out more than one or two emails over the course of your raffle, you could get creative, too.
Are you raising money to buy your swim team new uniforms? Share a photo of the old uniforms and remind your donors how new uniforms would impact the team (they’d look more professional, they’re more comfortable and confident, etc.).
Are you trying to rehome 10 pets through donations? Share photos of the animals and other successful adoptive families.
There are lots of conversion-focused ways to engage donors through email, but if you’re playing the long game with your audience, let them really get to know your organization and its goals.
2. Showing where the funds go after the raffle wraps up
The raffle ends. Your winner collects their prize. Your work is over, right?
For organizations who want to consistently use raffling in their fundraising strategies, after-the-fact (or between raffle) engagement is where the relationship building really happens.
You need a plan to touch base with your ticket buyers once the raffle wraps up. Remember the stats above about donors wanting updates? Send them content that’ll keep them interested, like:
- Photos or videos of the winner. Share a few lines on who won, where they’re from, and a quote about how the money changes their life.
- Photos or videos of where the funds went (or are going).
- Perhaps your raffle supported 10 students in travelling for a soccer tournament. Share photos from the event and a thank-you message from the players.
You can repeat this strategy for social media, too (but we get into cross-channel marketing in other blog posts). Organizations consistently see their most popular posts feature people. The people benefiting from the prize, and the people benefiting from the fundraiser.
Speaking of that fundraiser, when’s your next one? Now’s also your chance to remind people another chance to win is coming (and how they can make sure they know when it launches.)
Building an email list is easy when you run online raffles. Every time someone buys a ticket, the Rafflebox platform adds their email address to a list.
3. Ask for feedback (and send that thank you.)
You’ve promoted your raffle and given your donors a chance to win an exciting prize while supporting an organization they love.
You’ve updated your donors on who won the raffle with a heartwarming story and showed them how their donation makes a community impact.
So, you’ve been telling your donors a lot of stuff. And that’s great, don’t get us wrong. But the best way to engage with a donor (or really, anyone) is asking a question — because that requires a response.
During your post-raffle follow ups, dedicate an email (or a few, depending on your organization’s strategy) to ticket buyer feedback. Send them a quick survey (they’re easy to build in Google Forms or Survey Monkey) and ask questions you actually want the answers to. Questions that provide valuable insight on what people thought of your raffle and what they know (or want to know) about your organization.
And during all of this communication, don’t forget what your mother taught you. A thank you note goes a long way. While you likely have lines like “thanks for your support!” in every email or social media post, there’s something to be said about a genuine thank you. Share personal quotes here. Relate statistics back to real life experiences. Be brief, but be heartfelt. You’d be surprised how these personal messages stick with your donors and how they view your organization, whether they know it or not.
Ready to run a raffle?
If you’re still thinking about running a raffle but don’t have a plan in place, book a call with someone on our Sales team. Don’t worry, they’re not pushy — but they can explain:
- How to get ready to run a raffle.
- How to easily launch your raffle online (no technical experience required).
- How organizations of your size, in your industry, etc. are seeing success with raffling and Rafflebox. Book a call so you can chat through it all with our team.
