Have you thought about running Google Ads to promote your nonprofit? Maybe you have but then immediately dismissed the idea, thinking, “No one is searching on Google for nonprofits to support, except maybe on Giving Tuesday.”
This is largely true. People aren’t necessarily on Google to find nonprofits to donate to. Some are, but most are going to search engines like Google to find the answer to a question, solve a problem, or be entertained.
Because we know this to be true, at Beeline, we tailor our nonprofit advertising approach accordingly. So, instead of trying to get people to click on ads that are asking directly for donations to a nonprofit, we get them to a nonprofit’s website and get them to subscribe to their email list in other ways.
One way we do this is by offering something of value that would incentivize someone to click on your nonprofit’s Google Ad. In the marketing industry, this is often referred to as using a “lead magnet,” and this is a strategy we often employ with our Google Ad Grant management clients. Depending on what type of nonprofit you run, the lead magnet you offer could be a case study, a webinar, or some other type of resource. We use your nonprofit’s skills, knowledge, and/or expertise to meet someone’s current need for information or entertainment and then, eventually, turn them into a donor or supporter.
One of our nonprofit clients with which we took this approach is an established Jewish food bank in the great Chicago area that provides food boxes to families to help them celebrate Jewish holidays. We first helped them with the application process to secure the Google Ad Grant, which provided them with $10,000 per month in advertising credit. Then, we strategized with them as to what type of lead magnet we would offer in an effort to attract the highest number of visitors from their Google Ads.
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What we landed on was a recipe e-book that contains authentic recipes for Jewish holidays—something that aligns perfectly with their mission! The nonprofit asked various well-known Jewish chefs and influencers to contribute recipes to the e-book, and they got a great response! They ended up with more than 30 different recipes to include in their e-book.
By creating this e-book, the food bank is offering something of value for people searching for information about authentic Jewish recipes, while at the same time, attracting people who are likely to be aligned with the mission of the food bank. These people might not click on an ad to learn more about a food bank, but they would happily provide their email address to receive a free e-book that meets their need.
We built a landing page specifically for the e-book. On that page, visitors enter their email addresses in exchange for the free e-book. They get the e-book delivered to their inbox, and after that, they continue to receive communication from the food bank. The new subscribers learn more about the work the food bank is doing in the Chicago area with the Jewish community, and they are presented with ways to get more involved—either by donating or by volunteering.
The food bank is getting about 150 new subscribers per month through this one lead magnet! The best part? Now that the e-book is complete, they don’t have to do anything else to bring in the leads. The Google Ad Grant management team at Beeline handles everything for them using their free Google Ads. We run the Google Ads on their behalf, changing them up based on the next upcoming Jewish holiday.
The lead magnet approach can work for your nonprofit as well! If you want to learn more about how Beeline uses lead magnets and other creative tactics in Google Ad Grant management, we’d love to talk with you! Contact us today to set up a call or Zoom meeting with someone from our team.
