Turn Facebook Fans Into an E-mail Donor List

Your cause or campaign is getting lots of "likes" on its Facebook page, but how do you transform more of those fans into donors? One way is to get Facebook supporters to move from one digital stage to another by joining your e-mail list, where they are more likely to donate in response to a private and focused appeal. Socialbrite.com, a website of "social solutions for nonprofits," has a good tutorial to help you do that. Step one is to come up with a way to make the value of joining the e-mail list outweigh the potential nuisance. Socialbrite suggestions include offering a free e-book as reward, or regular e-mails of relevant information, or a chance to sign a petition. The next step is obvious: Put an opt-in form on your Facebook page. You don't have to be a tech guru to do it; you can turn to a service like Aweber or MailChimp to create the form and then add it to your custom tab. Create an opt-in call to action that is simple, visual and compelling, and don't get pushy and scare away sign-ups: Ask for only the name and e-mail address. Remember to make that form mobile-friendly, too, to catch supporters on the go. Then promote your e-mail list sign-up with updates and ads. For easy to follow examples, go to http://www.socialbrite.org/2013/02/19/use-facebook-to-build-nonprofit-email list/