Marketing, copy and tech always take longer than expected. Give yourself ample time to build, test, and deliver for the upcoming Giving Tuesday.
Below is a basic checklist to make sure you have everything ready to go, well ahead of time.
If you’re looking for some fundraising support during potentially uncertain economic indicators as it relates to fundraising, check out this blog post by Hannah Berger.
Build Out All Content by November 15th
At least 2 weeks before Giving Tuesday, build out all of the content, forms, and marketing to give you ample time to test.
Build Landing Page
For special campaigns or events, it's generally a good idea to create a fresh landing page just for Giving Tuesday. However, you may find depending on your situation, that using your existing content will work fine.
Setup Donation Form
Whether you are using an existing donation form or creating a special one for Giving Tuesday, ensure you have your form ready and setup appropriately for one-time payments, recurring, or any other special capital campaign requirements.
Create Marketing Communications
Setup your marketing communications for email, social media, and/or print. Have your create, review, and approve your entire communications schedule and put on a calendar (or use a scheduling tool) so when it comes time to market, you have everything ready to go.
Test Everything Between November 15th and November 28th
Now that you have all of your content ready, it’s time to test everything to make sure the messaging and technical aspects are all correct.
Review Email Marketing
- Are there any typos?
- Do all of the links work and go to the correct page?
- Is the copy approved?
- Is your email list updated?
- Did you schedule your email(s)?
Review Landing Page
- Are there any typos?
- Do all of the links work and go to, or use, the current donation form?
- Is the copy approved?
Review Donation Form
- Are there any typos?
- Are the amounts correct?
- Is the copy approved?
- Is it properly tested?
In summary, the biggest takeaway is to build and test as early as possible when getting ready for your Giving Tuesday campaigns. One little typo or misconfiguration in a link can cause frustration for your constituents or possibly a loss in giving. By testing with ample time, you give your entire process from design to tech an opportunity to be vetted and correct to ensure a smooth campaign!
