Tailoring your call-to-action (CTA) according to your relationship stage with your audience can significantly boost effectiveness. In another article on call-to-action, we discussed why effective CTA for nonprofits would guide your audience's next steps. Today let's focus on call-to-action examples for your donor journey.

Stage 1: Introduction / Awareness

At this stage, the audience is just getting to know your organization. The focus is on low-commitment activities that build awareness and interest. Social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing [HubSpot].

Follow Us on _______ {name the platform): A simple but effective way to continue the relationship.
Read Our Blog: Educate them on issues related to your cause. Companies with blogs generate 67% more leads [HubSpot].
Subscribe to Our Newsletter: Keep them in the loop with updates and opportunities—open rates for nonprofits average at 25.17% [Mixpanel].

Stage 2: Engagement / Education

Here, your audience is more familiar with you and is open to learning more about your cause. The Call-to-Action examples here deepen engagement.

Watch Our Latest Video: A compelling video can deepen understanding and elicit emotional responses. Videos improve user understanding of a product or service by 74% [HubSpot].
Take Our Quiz: Interactive and educational, a quiz can offer personalized recommendations for how the participant can get involved. Quizzes can significantly improve engagement rates, with some seeing up to 64% completion [Mixpanel].
Attend Our Webinar: This option offers a deeper dive into an issue, providing education and interaction. Webinars can result in conversion rates of up to 19% [HubSpot].

Stage 3: Evaluation / Trust-Building

By now, the audience trusts you enough to consider taking more meaningful action.

Download Our Free Guide: Offer valuable, actionable information in exchange for contact details. Free guides can achieve conversion rates of over 20% when well-executed [HubSpot].
Join Our Online Community: A space for like-minded individuals to discuss, share, and motivate. Communities foster retention, with 69% of companies seeing an increase in customer retention rates [Mixpanel].
Volunteer for a One-Time Event: Lower commitment than regular volunteering, but tangibly involve them. Event marketing usually generates a 25%–30% conversion rate [HubSpot].

Stage 4: Commitment / Action

The audience is ready to make a more substantial commitment. Try these call-to-action examples:

Donate Now: You've earned their trust to ask, so make it easy and straightforward. Donation pages with three or fewer fields have an average conversion rate of 11% [HubSpot].
Become a Monthly Donor: Elevate their commitment by introducing a subscription model of support. Monthly donors give 42% more in one year than one-time donors [HubSpot].
Sign Our Petition: A significant but non-monetary way to effect change. Online petitions can have conversion rates ranging from 3% to 12% depending on the cause and audience [Mixpanel].

Stage 5: Advocacy / Loyalty

They are committed and active. Now it's time to turn them into advocates.

Share Your Story: Encourage them to share their experiences to inspire others. User-generated content is 20% more influential on purchase decisions than any other type of media [HubSpot].
Refer a Friend: Leverage their network to expand your own. Referral marketing generates 3–5x higher conversion rates than other channels [Mixpanel].
Become a Volunteer Leader: Offer a path for them to take on more responsibility and ownership.

Conclusion On These Call-to-action examples

The idea is to guide your audience through these stages, making it easy for them to take the next step at each point. Tailoring your CTAs according to these stages can help you create a more engaged and committed community.

So, whether you are new to this or an old hand, these donor journey call-to-action examples should be an indispensable part of your strategy.

Continue reading here to see an example of a clear CTA that missed the relational stage mark.

Sources:

Boost Engagement with These 15 Proven Call-to-Action Examples