Communication mistakes happen to everyone…but what if they are hindering the level of donations that you can expect this year? We have five mistakes that are easy to make and even easier to fix. Review your existing fundraising text to make sure you are not guilty of these offenses:
1. Assumed Familiarity
We are all so familiar with our cause and our organization that it’s easy to assume everyone else is too. However most donors only know a fraction of what you do. Their main focus is in learning who you are and how they can help. Here is a great list of “Don’ts” from Karen Zapp’s Nonprofit Blog:
- Don’t assume donors know much about your organization.
- Don’t assume donors remember their last gift, date, or amount.
- Don’t assume donors consider you their pal and want to chit-chat; especially when they don’t even know who they’re talking to yet.
- Don’t assume donors remember everything you’ve told them or everything you’ve written to them (because they probably only read a fraction of it).
2. Telling them EVERYTHING you do
Most nonprofits have many programs and want to tell the public everything they do for the community…in one email. The hope is that at least one program will resonate with the potential donor but this often has the opposite effect. The reader gets overwhelmed and stops reading quickly. Focus on one program at a time and make your marketing emotionally charged and full of impact. In a world of constant information, a short and emotional appeal will garner better results.
3. Failing to Show How the Donor Makes a Difference
Your donors are looking for a reason to give, and if you do not give them one in your marketing messaging, you will quickly lose your audience. Show how their life will be different because of the donation. Who will they help? What, specifically, will their money go towards? How will they be emotionally rewarded? Keep those points in mind while writing an appeal to make it more, well, appealing.
4. Using text Written by a Committee
Sharing text with a team of five people and dealing with each of their perspectives dilutes it faster than anything. Write it out then share it with a go-to proofreader to make sure you haven’t made any egregious grammatical errors. You will end up with more authentic messaging that gets to the heart of the matter quickly and effectively.
5. Your text is ALL about YOU
When you say, “Our charity provided a prosthetic limb to this veteran,” or “We flew this man 250 miles for his cancer treatment,” you are not telling the truth. Your donors did those things and your communications should read that way. This will connect the dots for donors so that they see that it is their money or time that is making these things happen. The donations will increase when they see they are making a personal impact.