Updated June 2024

What’s a landing page you say? Well, it’s where people “land” when they visit a website address. That’s the most simple definition I can come up with! (Some website platforms also call it a cover page).

With a landing page, you have two options. You can make the landing page your home page if you want to guarantee people see it. Or, you can simply give it its own URL and direct people there via social media, direct marketing appeals, flyers, etc.

Landing pages are great for so many reasons and I’m going to give you five different ways you can use them for your nonprofit. But first, a few tips about creating them:

1. Your landing page should have only one call to action. Yes, just one. If you start giving people too many choices on the landing page, you’ll lose them. Ask them to do one thing — donate, sign up, RSVP, or give you an email address. If you need them to do more than one thing, consider building a traditional page on your website instead.

2. Your landing page design should be very simple. You should preferably only use one or two images maximum. Keep your text super short and to the point. Use bullet points if needed. Remember that at least half, if not more, of your audience, will be reading the information on a smart device (aka a very small screen).

3. Research shows that branded landing pages (think logo and brand colors) see up to 700% more donations than generic pages. Think about it - if you’re being asked for money online, you want to make sure you trust the person asking. Branding your page gives that credibility factor to your potential donors.

4. Always provide a link to your main website in case someone wants to bypass the landing page info. Give the people what they want!

Our landing pages take us less than 10 minutes to create (using Squarespace) and we just make a copy and edit for the next campaign, Super easy and really effective. —Squarespace user and One Nine Design client

Here are five creative ways to use a landing page that will ultimately help you raise more money:

1. Use your landing page to create a stand-alone, short-term campaign

   Are you running a short-term campaign to raise funds for a specific purpose? Save yourself valuable time by using a landing page instead of updating your donation page on your website. By using the landing page instead of your regular donation page, you can make it coordinated with your design and messaging to match the ask. Plus, you give readers a super easy opportunity to donate without them getting lost on your site or distracted by other info (translation: more money in your account).

   Example: If you’re raising money for kids to go to a summer camp outside of your typical activities to raise general funds, use a fun camp-themed photo, a very short testimonial, and a simple donation form right on your landing page.

2. Customize your landing page for different appeals to help you better track your campaigns.

   If you’re running several different types of appeals throughout the year, you can use a landing page for each appeal, customizing the URL, design, and message of each one. This will help you better track the effectiveness of each appeal and result in more conversions (i.e. visitors become donors).

   Example: If you’re running an annual campaign and then you add a Christmas appeal on top of that, create two different landing pages. Include the URL of each landing page on your direct mail piece and track the results.

3. Use separate landing pages to test your social media impact.

   Wondering if your efforts on Facebook are working better than Instagram? Trying to figure out which social media channels are best for your nonprofit? Use two different landing pages and test it out!

   Example: Create a page to direct FB visitors to and thank them for being FB followers! Ask for something simple like an email address and promise to send interesting updates (and then do it!). Create another page for Instagram followers and encourage them to visit the Instagram-specific landing page. Include a note to let them know you appreciate the Instagram engagement and then again, ask for an email address. Then track the results! Which social media audience responded best? This will give you insight into your different groups of followers and what they are most likely to respond to. Then, when it’s time to drive social media friends to donate, you’ll know the best strategy to use!

4. Create a landing page for your next event.

   Is your nonprofit hosting an auction? A charity golf tournament? An annual dinner? While you’ll need to do some updating of your website to reflect these events, a separate landing page is a great way to promote the event and make it easy for visitors. Bonus tip - keep the URL super short so it fits easily on your other event promo materials. Customize your page to have the same look and feel as your flyers, your social media post, or your invitations. Remember to keep your call to action simple, though. While you can offer a “one-stop-shop” page for all the event details, only ask for one thing - either RSVPS or money. (And if you’re working on events, don’t sleep on your chance to grab the Sponsorship Proposal Template & Scrips in the Nonprofit Template Library!)

5. Use your landing page to grow your email list

   Without a strong email list, you are at a big disadvantage when it comes to fundraising. Why? Because when you have a strong, loyal following of email readers, you have direct access to people you know care about what you do and why you do it. We can never guarantee our social media posts are going to get the right people. And we have to hope that people come to our website when we ask them. But with email, we can send our extremely targeted message directly to them and take out all of the guesswork!

   Example: Using a service like MailerLite, MailChimp or Constant Contact, create a short, simple sign up form and then add that to your landing page. Don’t forget to set things like where they are directed once they sign up and have welcome emails in place for once they join.

So, there you have it - five creative ways to use a landing page for your nonprofit. When you start to implement these ideas over time, you’re going to send a clear message that you know your audience, you value their time, and you are being a good steward of funds you have already received. Hopefully what follows are more donations that allow you to continue to fulfill your mission!

One more resource before I go — the talented team over at Visme published an article about How to Create a Landing Page That Converts and it’s packed with useful tips and great advice about things like how to research your competitors, how to work out a value proposition and how to write clear CTAs for your page. This is a quick read that I know you’ll find to be helpful as you figure out how to design and market your next landing page.

Are you using landing pages? Tell me how you use them and what ideas you would add to the list!

Until next time, keep making a great first impression!

Andrea

Check out the Nonprofit Template Library for quick and easy templates to make your life (and job) easier!