SMS Marketing for Charities & Non-profits

How can I send personalized “thank you” messages to supporters?

TextMagic allows you to set up SMS templates with merge tags. Here’s how you can send personalized “thank you” texts:

• Log in to your TextMagic account or sign up for a free trial.
  
• From your Dashboard, navigate to “Templates” and then click on “New Template”.
• Name your template and write your message. Click on “Insert Tag” to personalize your text. You can include tags such as first/last name, email, birthday, etc.
• Navigate to “Compose”. Fill out the “To” and “From” fields and then click on “Insert Template” to use your new template.
• Sending the text to a list will automatically transform the tag to an appropriate value.

How can I automate replies to incoming messages or text donations?

You can create automation rules to respond to SMS donations, information or support requests. Here’s how you can set-up an automation rule for your mobile fundraising campaign:

• From your TextMagic dashboard navigate to Services -> Automation Rules and click on “Create New Rule”.
• Select the account for which the rule should be created, name your rule, and add the number (or Sender ID) from which the message should be sent.
• You can set up automation rules for various keywords such as “donation”, “Christmas”, etc. TextMagic also allows you to generate unique automation rules for every country. After filling out all the necessary fields, click “Continue”.
• You can choose from a variety of auto-responses, such as “text message”. “Text-to-speech”, “Voice broadcast” and “No automatic reply”. We will choose “text message”.
• Write down the message that you want to be sent out when the rule is met. You can insert SMS templates, new tags, and even attach files. Once you are ready, click “Continue”.
• The last step is to define contact management actions. You can set a rule to automatically add people to your SMS lists after sending an SMS. Click “Continue” for the last time to complete your rule.

How can I convince more people to donate to my charity through SMS marketing?

There are several ways to raise more money to your charity using mobile. First and foremost, you need to find a strategy that works for your audience. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

• Help people FEEL their emotions with persuasive texts. Include emotional triggers in your SMS broadcasts.
• Give supporters a sense of accomplishment, identity, and purpose. Whenever your charity meets a goal, take the time to send a short SMS update or ‘thank you’ message. Add tangible details to your mobile cause.
• Make giving feel good. Congratulate your supporters.
• Use power words in your text-to-donate campaign. Studies show that words such as “small”, “instantly”, “you”, “because”, “get involved” have a positive impact on people.

Is mobile donating secure?

Of course! All mobile donations are secure because donors never submit any sensitive information via text. Our platform simply allows you to communicate with them and request basic information such as name, phone number, etc. Donations are completed through third-party platforms.

For more information about text message marketing for your upcoming charity or non-profit campaign, please visit our latest article.