How using direct and specific language in an email appeal impacts donor conversion
The Navigators
Experiment Summary
Ended On: 05/16/2022
Navigators was running a high urgency campaign for Eagle Lake. They had slow traction for the first half of the campaign so we wanted to test using more direct, specific language in their email appeal. The previous emails had passive language that encouraged the prospective donor to “support the next generation.” Instead, we wanted to tell them specifically to send a kid to camp. For additional specificity, we added how many students still needed scholarships and how much it cost to send one child to camp. Our hypothesis is that this will give the prospective donor a clearer, more tangible goal and in turn would generate more donations.
As an additional note: this email was #6 in the campaign – 1 week removed from the final deadline and right before the urgency-focused emails were sent.
Research Question
We believe that adding clarity and specificity to an email appeal for prospective donors will achieve a higher donor conversion rate.
Design
Results
| Treatment Name | Conv. Rate | Relative Difference | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Control - Passive language | 0.01% | ||
| T1: | Treatment - Direct language | 0.03% | 218.9% | 98.3% |
This experiment has a required sample size of 35,573 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 106,025, and the level of confidence is above 95% the experiment results are valid.
Flux Metrics Affected
The Flux Metrics analyze the three primary metrics that affect revenue (traffic, conversion rate, and average gift). This experiment produced the following results:
0% increase in traffic
× 218.9% increase in conversion rate
× 0% increase in average gift
Key Learnings
This experiment resulted in a valid 218% lift in donor conversion rate with a 98% level of confidence. These results indicate that the Navigators’ audience responds more to a direct specific ask and goal. Being direct on what results from their gift “sending a child to camp” vs a macro goal of “impacting the next generation” will inspire more gifts.