GC Outreach + Online Giving: Getting Started with Basic Personalization

*We’ve created a new Personalization Workflow! Personalization is now integrated into segments in GC Outreach. Instead of uploading multiple separate files, you can now configure personalization within each segment—choose donor greetings, preview the experience, and export or send outreach from one place. Learn more here!

Step 1: Loading Data via the School Level Data Importer

Personalization begins from the School Level Data Importer. 

• Review Recommended & Required Data Fields
  • For Basic Personalization, Column C notes recommended and required fields.
  • If you'd like to use Smart Ask Amounts in combination with personalization in the future, we recommend including the required fields from Column K in your initial import as well.
• Preparing Your Files
• Mapping & Importing Files

The initial import of basic constituent data (the required fields for personalization) will create a basic personalization token* for each constituent that is added via the Data Importer. 
*What is a personalization token? Learn more!

The basic personalization will include two components: 

• Pass-Through Constituent Data Personalization
• Greeting Name

Here's an example of a basic personalization:

Step 2: Viewing, Exporting, and Sending Basic Personalization Tokens 

By importing relevant data, you've already created the basic version of personalization for every constituent -- and you're ready to use personalization! 

Option 1: Send Basic Personalization links via GC Outreach

• You are now ready to send Basic Personalization! Learn more.

Option 2: View & Export Personalization Tokens for External Email & Direct Mail

• Exporting
  • Head to your Fundraising Dashboard > Personalization
  • As you're getting ready to solicit constituents via a personalized link, select which Form or Campaign you want to direct constituents to, then click 'Get Personalization Tokens through Email'
    • This will send you a CSV file of the personalized links and tokens for every constituent. 
      
    • This will export both a full personalized URL for each person and the token which can be separately attached to any GiveCampus URL.
• Emailing through Non-GiveCampus Email Providers.
  • Personalization Tokens work best with:
    • Salesforce Marketing Cloud
    • MyEmma
    • Constant Contact
    • Blackbaud Luminate Online
    • Hubspot
    • ⚠️ Not supported by certain Blackbaud products or iModules (which don’t allow links as merge tokens).
• General steps:
  • Add the token to each constituent’s record.
  • Insert the merge field into your email content, appending the token to the giving form URL.

Helpful links:

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Personalization Strings in Marketing Cloud
• MyEmma: Adding Personalization Tags to a Mailing, How to use merge tags for personalization
• Constant Contact: Insert Dynamic Links in an Email
• Blackbaud Luminate Online: Personalize Content Based on Custom Fields
• Hubspot: Add Personalization Tokens to a Template or Snippet

Step 3: Post-Payment Form Data Collection

We know how important it is to keep your donor information up to date. Personalization is hugely beneficial to conversion and helping donors give quickly, but we still want to give them the opportunity to update any of their contact information. You can still do this with personalization using the post-payment form in two ways: 

The post-payment form allows donors to update their information after checkout. You can configure it in two ways:

Option 1: Default Update Fields

• By default, update fields appear for any uploaded pass-through data (except external ID, amount, designation).
• Example: If you upload phone, street, and ZIP, the post-payment form will ask:
  “Have you recently moved or do you need to update any contact info?”
• Updates appear in reporting as new columns (update_phone, update_address1, etc.).

Option 2: Create Your Own Fields

If you want more control:

1. Go to Giving Forms > Form Settings > Forms > Post-Payment Form > Personalization Update Fields and uncheck Display Update Fields.
2. Use the form builder to add the fields you want.

Example:

• You only want phone numbers updated.
• Turn off defaults, add a single phone number field.
• For reporting:
  • Keep the same column name to overwrite old data.
  • Use a new column name to store updated data separately.

Next Steps: 

• Enhancing Personalization with TAGs for appeal specific personalization.
• Smart Ask Amounts & Personalization