So you’ve gone out and done what your “tech guy” or “web gal” or “generationally hip executive pastor” has been begging you to do for months. You’ve gotten your church setup for online giving!
That’s fantastic! High fives and backslaps all around.
As you probably already know, one of the coolest things about Mogiv is the fact that all of our giving tools can be added directly onto YOUR website. (See HERE for a cool example.) This allows your givers to engage in generosity while remaining 100% connected to your organization’s digital “home.”
It’s a better experience for them, AND it also works better for you. Studies have shown that branded, integrated giving pages are 6x more effective than their more generic counterparts.
But…simply copy/pasting Mogiv’s giving form onto a blank page on your website does NOT a maximized giving page make. The form needs “company!” And by “company”, we mean content. Scripture verses, instructions, photos, videos, links to FAQs. Some of the above. All of the above! Just don’t leave the giving form all by it’s lonesome. (See HERE for another stupendous example.)
Summertime is a great time to do a bit of “house keeping” with your giving page. And, when it comes to house keeping, like all dutiful husbands, I’ve come to appreciate the value of a To Do list. Which is why I’m writing this post!
Consider the items below your “marching orders” for the rest of the summer. Hold this list up against your ministry’s Mogiv-powered giving page. If anything is missing, there’s no time like the present to fix it!
Can’t get to all of them? No worries! Pick 2 – 3 of the easier tasks and see if you can implement them by Labor Day. A small change in August can make a BIG difference in December.
Happy House Keeping! 🙂
1) Make sure the “Give” button is easily visible on your website’s homepage.
If I’ve been on your website for 10 seconds and am still not sure where I can give, you’ve already lost me. Having an easy to find giving link on your homepage is absolutely one of the most important things you can do to increase digital giving to your ministry. We suggest having it somewhere in the upper right of the homepage. It doesn’t need to be the first thing people see on your website, but you want it to be immediately available if/when a potential giver is looking for it.
2) Add some additional content to the giving page itself.
This was mentioned already, but seriously…DO IT! Mogiv’s embeddable giving tools provide the “how” of giving, but it’s always helpful to include a “why” as well. At the very least, we recommend adding a line or two of thoughts/theology about generosity. Even just adding some basic Mogiv instructions can go a long way. Got pictures? Got a video you could embed? Even better! (See HERE and HERE for a couple great examples.)
3) Add a sentence about support.
One of the unspoken questions/fears that often plague first time online givers is, “what do I do if something goes wrong?” Answering this question ahead of time with a single sentence is often enough to give them the confidence they need to proceed with their gift. Something like this would work beautifully: “Questions? Concerns? Feel free to contact us in the church office or to reach out to Mogiv directly at support@mogiv.com.”
4) Add a link for anyone looking to make account updates.
Sometimes givers will head to their church’s giving page not to give, but to simply make an update to their Mogiv account. Oftentimes, these givers have never even been to mogiv.com and aren’t aware that they can login to their dashboard right there. A quick fix for this is to add an account link to the giving page. This can be as simple as a single sentence (see HERE), or adding a button to your give page (see HERE), or – if you feel like getting fancy – you can even go with a tabbed approach (see HERE).
5) Consider getting an SSL cert for your giving page.
This one is purely optional. Since all Mogiv gifts are being submitted via our secure iFrame, the gifts themselves are secure whether you have an SSL cert of not. The issue here is simply one of giver perception and confidence. Seeing an “https” at the top of a page helps givers feel more secure and might be enough to get any especially cautious members to give online giving a try. Better still, these certs can be obtained relatively inexpensively. Comodo is one of the largest and most trusted providers. GoDaddy is another good one and I’ve heard good things about RapidSSL as well.
6) Make a monthly gift the “default” option of the giving form.
One of the greatest features Mogiv provides is an easy recurring giving option. If you’d like to be even more intentional about encouraging your givers in this direction, you can add the string “&repeat=month” to the end of your embedded URL. This will have gifts default to the monthly option, but – of course – one-time givers can always change them back. A subtle change, but it can be very effective!