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If your fundraising appeals aren't bringing in the kind of responses you'd hoped for, maybe the problem is your message.
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Linda Ziskind / z2 Consulting NTEN 2011 Ignite Presentation
Do your annual appeal letters suffer from the dreaded blah-blahs?
Dear Donor,
As I reflect on the many blah, blah, blah, one of
blah, blah, significant has been the blah, blah
to engage blah, blah and our mission to blah,
blah, principles of a three-pronged approach.
Blah blah, economic downturn, blah blah
believe that every one should have blah, blah,
blah, and a chance to blah, blah the future in
order to blah, blah, vitally important blah,
blah, blah, regardless of blah, blah, blah.
Every year, nonprofits churn out thousands of appeal letters hoping their message will make us open our wallets.
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But the reality is different. No matter how compelling we think our message is, if it isn’t meaningful to the audience, it’s just a bunch of blah-blah.
Cartoon by the brilliantly funny Gary Larsen
+ …served and supported over 1,220 young people, ages 8-18, from urban schools around the region. Our focus remains on instilling the skills needed for the 21st century: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and effective communication. While we have traditionally relied on the generosity of regional foundations, we can no longer depend on the
We are experiencing unprecedented requests for financial aid during this
economy. Your assistance in making this unique education available to
all who qualify, regardless of economic background is greatly
appreciated.
Why should you give? Because we have affected the lives of so many
students…because testimonials say that we inspired them in their future
choices and even changed
This year, the needs of our Foundation are greater than ever before. Your donation to our annual appeal will directly support the Foundation. This, in turn directly supports the mission of the museum and enables us to offer programs for all ages, such as the popular Kids Summer program, teacher
Here’s the problem: boil all the copy down to the essence and they
they all say the same thing. “We implement mission-critical
programs. We need money to continue. Please give it to us now.”
+How To Recognize A Blah-Blah
If a piece blathers-on and on, uses coma-inducing phrases like,
“as I reflect on…” and is indistinguishable from any number of
similar pieces – it’s a blah-blah.
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Stanford Graduate School of Business Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania Simon Graduate School of Business at University of Rochester Northeastern University College of Business Administration
..tendency to ramble ..use pretentious vocabulary
..get tangled in too much data
James Yang
Information and graphic from Wall Street Journal article: “Students Struggle for Words” by Diana Middleton
March 3, 2011
Bad communication habits have reached such critical proportions, business schools have been forced to start teaching writing skills.
Business Documents Have Always Suffered From Blah-Blah
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The Declarative Sentence Is A Lost Art
One of the most difficult student assignments in Northeastern’s MBA program is to create a compelling sales story in less than 150 words, which is roughly four times the number of words on this slide.
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This Is Not A Heretical Premise: Business sales pitches and nonprofit fundraising pitches are not that different.
A donation and a purchase are both business transactions.
+What ‘transaction’ means to a business definition: The exchange of items of value, such as information, goods, or services, and money.
reality: People don’t buy products and services, they buy benefits and solutions.
+What ‘transaction’ means to a business
“People don’t buy a quarter-inch drill bit, they buy a quarter-inch hole."
- Ted Levitt, Harvard Business School Marketing Professor / Brilliant Thinker
+What ‘transaction’ means to a nonprofit
definition: the giving of a gift, or free contribution, especially to a charity or public institution
reality: People are paying for the emotional benefit of a specific and personal act of good.
+The most direct path to a donor’s wallet is message-reduction
Donor Action: Buy a goat
Donor Benefit: Giving this family a sustainable livelihood
Boil down the mission to its simplest, most personal component.
+The most direct path to a donor’s wallet is message-reduction
Donor Action: Send $10 via text
Donor Benefit: Help the victims of the Haiti earthquake
Dead simple, instantly gratifying and takes cash, credit cards & checks out of the equation.
+The most direct path to a donor’s wallet is message-reduction
Donor Action: Choose an item to fund
Donor Benefit: See who you helped and learn about the difference your gift made
Donor benefits organically integrated into every part of the organization.
+4-Step Cure For The Blah-Blahs 1. Find your story.
a) In one sentence, describe what your organization does. b) Now describe the benefits of what your organization does. c) Now rewrite that sentence in simple, conversational language.
This is the foundation of your story.
+4-Step Cure For The Blah-Blahs
2. Reduce your story. a) Turn macro into micro. b) Your story has 2 main characters, a donor and the end
beneficiary. c) Write your story from the perspective of each of those
characters.
+4-Step Cure For The Blah-Blahs
3. Get right to the point. a) The only people who read the entire appeal are you and your
assistant. Everyone else skims. b) Leave the hardcore data at the door. c) If you want them to read past the first line, get them at “hello”.
+4-Step Cure For The Blah-Blahs
4. You’re not selling the drill-bit, you’re selling the hole. a) People get dozens of appeal letters and they all say the same
thing: “We need your money because….” b) Turn the proposition around.
“You’ll be a hero for just $15, which buys a 3 month supply of vitamins to help this child survive.”
“You’ll change the lives of an entire family with the $120 purchase of a goat.”
+Follow-Up = Big Returns
Pick up the phone o Study showed: donors who got a thank you phone call from a board
member within 24 hours of receiving the gift gave 39% more the next time they were solicited than donors who didn’t receive a call. After 14 months, the calls were netting 42% more.*
Discover motivation o Find out why they chose to make a gift. Add the information to your
donor database and reference it to personalize your next solicitation letter.
*Penelope Burk
+Follow-Up = Big Returns
Show their money at work o Keep donors engaged with news about the people and programs
their donations targeted.
Talk to lapsed donors o Give them the opportunity to come in at a lower donation level. o Keep them up-to-date on the benefits of your organization. o Personalize & tailor your messaging to them for your next appeal.
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Linda Ziskind / z2 Consulting NTEN 2011 Ignite Presentation
Your Homework:
When you get back to your office, take a look at your last fundraising appeal. If it’s more than one page, if you can win buzzword bingo in the first paragraph, and if it says “we” twice as much as it says “you,” take out the red pencil and get rid of the blah-blahs.
