What if we told you that you could go against some of the most widely held advice in the digital marketing space and not only improve the quality of your leads, but also gain important insight into your supporters in the process? We’re all about testing and optimizing at GoodUnited and our favorite tests are the ones that are low lift and bring big opportunities, just like this one.
But first, some background. There are a few perspectives on lead forms in the digital marketing world, so let’s talk through them:
Perspective 1: Fewer Lead Form Fields ➜ Higher Conversion Rate
On one hand, you should keep the fields of information collected to a minimum. There are a multitude of studies about this topic all suggesting that fewer form fields result in a better conversion rate due to a decrease in cognitive load when compared to a more lengthy form. Because of this, we recommend keeping a lead form streamlined for most of our campaigns. By making sure our messaging is appealing and specific in the creative, and by ensuring good conversion on a lead form by limiting form fields, we often see very strong campaign performance. And, with Meta’s new lead form default opt-in feature we can build a relationship with these supporters in Messenger and learn more about them later!
Perspective 2: More Lead Form Fields ➜ Lower Conversion Rate
On the other hand, including more form fields can work to qualify your lead. There may be a fall off in conversion, but the leads are of higher quality and therefore either more likely to take the follow-on action (what you ask them to do immediately after filling out the form) or more engaged in taking the action in the first place, improving the return. Additionally, the algorithm then has a pool of qualified leads to learn from and can serve the ads to more folks like them, filling your supporters bucket with qualified leads who are more likely to take action on your behalf.
Introducing…”The Affiliation Question”
While we don’t often recommend including additional questions on our lead forms beyond contact information, we’ve worked with several of our non-profit customers to test a simple addition to their lead forms: what we call, “The Affiliation Question”. In this test, we ask potential leads how they are connected to the nonprofit’s mission. We provide between 3 - 5 options for affiliation, which are totally unique to the non-profit and can be customized based on the organization’s goals. Once the potential lead answers this affiliation question, we collect the standard contact information, and immediately send the lead to create a fundraiser.
Internally, when we discussed this test, we were concerned that supporters wouldn’t want to answer this question up front and that we’d see the fall off in conversion rates associated with longer lead forms. We set up the ads in a true A/B format, pitting this Affiliation lead form against our standard lead form and the findings were a pleasant surprise.
- Cost Per Lead (CPL) difference was negligible compared to the shorter lead form (<4% difference) with Conversion Rate on the lead forms driving the exact same rate of 18.5%.
- Affiliation form submitters converted into active fundraisers (fundraisers that raised money) at a 36% higher rate than standard leads, meaning the Cost per Active Fundraiser was more than $20 lower for the Affiliation test.
- Both lead form submitters raised the same amount of money per fundraiser.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) for the affiliation test was 42% higher than the standard lead form approach.
Put simply: these leads created more fundraisers and raised more, for no additional cost. And, they gave us an important piece of information up front that we can use in the future to send them relevant content and cultivate them in-channel toward further action.
How you can use these learnings
Now, these awesome results don’t mean you should start including any (or every!) question you have about your supporters in your lead forms. Especially because with GoodUnited’s platform you can get to know your supporters in a more natural way through meaningful conversations in Messenger. But, there are some situations where these questions might be helpful in driving follow-on action.
1. Your question is meaningful
A core reason we believe this approach was so successful is the intentional connection the question created between the supporter’s motivation and the desired action—starting a fundraiser. In this case, asking why a supporter wanted to participate in the challenge tapped into their personal connection to the cause. By presenting options that reflect different ways supporters might be personally affected or connected (like "a family member or friend is impacted"), the lead form doesn’t just collect data—it prompts supporters to recall their reasons for caring about the mission and why they clicked on the ad in the first place.
This kind of question does more than provide a generic incentive; it invites each person to emotionally re-engage with the purpose behind their action, enhancing their commitment to taking the next step. For example, a supporter who selects "a family member or friend is impacted" is now reminded of that loved one’s story as they’re about to start their fundraiser. This emotional tie can make the fundraising action feel more purposeful and driven, leading to more active participation and dedication to reaching the goal.
When supporters feel that your nonprofit recognizes and honors their personal motivations, they’re more likely to see themselves as part of the mission—and that engagement is much more powerful than simply filling out a form. So, the question isn’t just a qualifier; it’s a chance to deepen the bond between your cause and the supporter, sparking an intrinsic motivation that drives their actions forward.
2. Your question is valuable
Another important insight from other areas of social media is that manufactured engagement isn’t nearly as valuable as genuine engagement. Asking a question that provides you value, that you could use in the future to extend the return and turn these leads into long-term supporters, will provide better feedback from which the ads can learn and give you a valuable data point to use in the future.
By asking about something of value – a lead’s connection to the cause – the ads can find more folks with a connection, who will likely be better fundraisers and more likely to engage with your non-profit well into the future. That sincere engagement will play out better than a throw-away that isn’t quite related to the cause, such as “how did you hear about us?”
As we roll out additional features on the platform, you can segment these leads based on their affiliation to provide a more custom and personalized experience in communicating with your non-profit. For example, if you typically start your subscriber conversations by confirming contact information or offering generic encouragement, you can instead offer a personalized follow-up. “Thank you so much for taking on the challenge. We’d love to hear more about the family or friend you're fundraising for and how we can help you reach your goal in their honor!” sounds much more encouraging than a generic thank you message!
3. Your question is aligned with the intent of your campaign.
We’ve tested variations of questions on lead forms, and one thing we’ve learned is that not all questions will perform as well as the affiliation-based one described above. For example, we tested a soft commitment to either fundraise or donate during the campaign with another non-profit. This question ultimately also saw improved fundraising performance, but to a lesser extent, and the negative impacts on cost for a commitment were greater than we saw when we simply asked why an individual was participating.
Now, this non-profit prioritizes acquiring quality fundraisers and donors, so the increased cost was an acceptable trade-off for the intent of their campaign. And, they valued understanding what portion of their leads would rather donate than fundraise– a prime opportunity to follow up with a meaningful, personalized message based on the interest the supporter expressed when filling out the lead form. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, though, so ensuring your question is aligned with the goals of your campaign is ideal to ensure you’re getting the value intended.
When deciding on a question to further qualify your leads, we recommend thinking about not only the present campaign’s goals, but also how you might use the information in the future. How might you further cultivate your supporters in-channel or use these supporters to fuel other campaigns? Or, something simple to get the supporter thinking about their “why” is a good place to start! If you’re interested in seeing how GoodUnited can help you identify these types of strategies, get in touch with us today.
Adding a meaningful, valuable, and intentional question to your lead form doesn’t just give you a richer understanding of your supporters; it can also deepen their connection to your cause, translating into more committed fundraisers and stronger campaign outcomes. By including a single, meaningful question that aligns with your campaign’s intent, you can boost both the quality and effectiveness of your leads while gaining valuable insights for future engagement in Messenger and beyond.
At GoodUnited, we’re committed to helping you connect with supporters in ways that matter. This simple but impactful addition could be the key to not only optimizing your current campaign but also creating a more engaged community in the long run. Remember, your supporters want to feel connected to your mission. A thoughtful question at the outset can be a powerful tool in making that connection last.
