How to Design a TapKat Sweepstakes Fundraiser that Will Attract New Donors
99% of TapKat sweepstakes bring in new donors for the nonprofit, helping to build a donor base and create ongoing income for the organization.
At TapKat, we encourage our nonprofit clients specifically to design their sweepstakes so that they will attract new donors, get them excited about the sweepstakes prize, and stay connected to your cause so they’ll continue to donate, time and time again.
But how exactly can a nonprofit attract those new donors in the first place? In today’s blog post, we’re going to look at some proven strategies for bringing in new donors with your TapKat sweepstakes.
Select a Highly Desirable Prize for Your TapKat Sweepstakes
First things first: Choosing a highly desirable prize for your sweepstakes will help you attract new donors.
By “highly desirable,” we mean items or experiences that are typically out of reach for the majority of donors, or a special once-in-a-lifetime experience. Here are some examples:
Tickets to a sold-out musical or sporting event like Hamilton or the Super Bowl
Trips to beautiful and luxurious locales, like Cabo San Lucas, Napa Valley, or Paris
Exciting vehicles, like a new Mustang, Corvette, or vintage Jaguar.
When considering which prize to select, it’s important to also think about what kind of donors you want to attract. If you primarily want to bring in new donors ages 20-40, the prize you select may be different than for the 50-70 crowd. Start by thinking about the kinds of people you want to attract and your prize options will become clear.
In addition, if you have any corporate sponsors or partners that may be willing to promote your sweepstakes, think about their audience and consider what kind of prize would appeal to them. For instance, if your corporate sponsor is a company that manufactures skis, a luxury ski weekend to Park City, Utah might be just the ticket to attract people from that audience.
For more insight, read ‘How to Choose the Best Prize for Your TapKat Sweepstakes.’
Craft a Super-Appealing TapKat Sweepstakes Fundraising Page
When a new potential donor lands on your sweepstakes site, you have a matter of seconds to impress them and motivate them to donate to your sweepstakes.
Our technical team has done extensive testing to design our sweepstakes sites to showcase photos and text of your prize, as well as your nonprofit, while guiding the donor to make a donation quickly and easily. We've optimized this step in the process, and the result is that our conversion rate is way above the national norm!
Tapkat provides the optimized template for your sweepstakes site and the software features to manage your sweepstakes. It is up to you to provide the “assets”, that is, the text describing your prize and good photos of the prize. And these two things are crucial to exciting a potential donor enough to make a donation.
The first thing a new donor will notice are the photos of your prize. We highly suggest that your photos are great — eye catching, colorful, and very flattering to your prize. Read more about sourcing and selecting great images in this blog post.
Next, the donor will want to read about the prize, and this is where it’s important to have clear language describing how incredible it is. Help the reader envision themselves winning the prize; how will they feel when they’ve won that new dirt bike? Sometimes writing good descriptive text like this is challenging, so we’ve created a guide, ‘How to Write Engaging Text for Your TapKat Sweepstakes Site.’
Promote Your TapKat Sweepstakes to Outside Audiences Plus Your Current Donor Base
Here is the secret sauce to bringing in new donors with your TapKat sweepstakes fundraiser:
To bring new donors into your sweepstakes fundraiser, and therefore onto your donor database, you must promote your TapKat sweepstakes beyond your current donor base on a consistent basis.
This might feel like a big task, so let’s break it down.
Who does your prize appeal to, and where are they hanging out?
If you’ve selected a Ford Bronco as your sweepstakes prize, consider where Bronco fanatics spend time. What are they reading and watching? What social media are they consuming? Is there a YouTube channel, Facebook page, or club dedicated to Broncos where you could advertise? These avenues are all worth exploring.
Same goes if your prize is a trip or experience. Think about the people who would really want that prize, and find ways to get the sweepstakes in front of them.
Will your corporate sponsors promote the sweepstakes on your behalf?
Your corporate sponsors will likely be thrilled to promote your sweepstakes to their audience. This is an impactful way for them to give back to your organization without actually writing a check.
Here’s how it works: say your prize is a Hawaii vacation travel package. Approach your corporate sponsor and ask them if they will post on social media on your behalf, linking them back to your sweepstakes site. Additionally, ask if they’ll send a dedicated email to their marketing list (email is statistically the most important and lucrative marketing channel for nonprofits promoting sweepstakes). In each case, be sure to make it as easy for them as possible by providing ready-to-post imagery and text.
Use social media to reach new donors.
Social media is a great avenue for connecting with new potential donors. Do some research to understand what key hashtags are associated with your prize, and use those hashtags in your posts. Join Facebook and LinkedIn groups that cater to your prize niche, and share the sweepstakes there.
Organic reach can be really powerful, especially if your donors are sharing about the sweepstakes and your partners are posting on your behalf.
We have also seen our nonprofits have success with paid social media advertising. TapKat has developed relationships with online advertising companies who offer special rates to our nonprofit clients, and this is certainly something to explore — especially if your target donor audience is using social media.
Promote Your TapKat Sweepstakes Fundraiser on a Regular Basis
Consistent outreach is key to a successful TapKat sweepstakes and key to bringing in new donors. The nonprofits that raise the most money with TapKat sweepstakes are constantly on the lookout for promotion opportunities that will widen their reach, and they utilize all the tools we have to offer, including flash contests, promo codes, and exploring other avenues we recommend.
In our experience, there isn’t “one magic type of promotion” that will make or break your sweepstakes; it’s the consistent practice of reaching out to new audiences, and emailing your current donor base monthly to encourage them to re-enter the sweepstakes.
Consistency is truly the name of the game when you’re working to attract new donors — and 99% of TapKat sweepstakes are successful in this. You can be, too!
If you’re ready to set up your TapKat sweepstakes, let’s talk. Fill out this form to get started today.
