A Bike Crash and Mid-Year Reflections

I had big plans for this week. But then a gal opened her car door into the bike lane, just as I was biking by.

I'm fine -- a little bruised and sore. I got back on my bike this morning and had a very uneventful ride to the office. But I've fallen behind on some of my goals for the week.

The experience has provided a good lesson for me. I have to remember what most people already know: I need to take a break now and then.

Sometimes, life forces us to take a few deep breaths, be thankful for what we have -- even for that giant purple bruise running down my right arm, since it could have been so, so much worse -- and take a minute or three to reassess.

And that's not bad advice for nonprofits, either. Midway through the year, is it time for you to take a step back and reassess your programmatic and fundraising goals? What have you accomplished so far? Are you on track, or are there areas you could improve? Have local, national or world events shaped your progress?

I'm going to put my feet up, take some Advil and consider my own achievements and goals. I'll be back next week, hopefully, healed, refreshed and brimming with new ideas.

Are You Authentic -- Part 3

So I've talked about understanding your own organizational identity and knowing your audience. Today, I want to talk about the 3rd peg in keeping a nonprofit organization authentic:

Keeping It Real

Your donors have a perception of your organization. If you've done your job right, it's probably pretty close to who you really are.

And because these people are your donors, that perception is one they like. When you reinforce that, they keep coming back for more. So take some time to examine how your donors perceive you.

Do they see your organization as hard-hitting advocates? Policy trendsetters? Caring professionals? Whatever those qualities are, your donors want to see them in every communication you send.

Earlier in the week, I quoted writer and author platform guru Christina Katz about brand vs. identity. Here's another bit of wisdom from her: "Your authenticity makes you memorable and your ability to accept and embrace and share your best attributes makes you magnetic."

When you know your identity, know your audience, and keep those two bits of knowledge in the forefront as you do your work, you're keeping it real. And when you do that, you'll continue to be successful, drawing more like-minded donors, and retaining the ones you already have.

Are You Authentic -- Part 2

Earlier this week, I talked about how crucial it is to know your organizational identity. If you don't know who you are as an organization, how are you going to convince people that you're worth giving to?

But just as important is Knowing Your Audience.

One of my clients has a picture taped above his desk. It's about the size of a school photo, but it's of a woman in her sixties, her smiling face framed by a halo of curly white hair. He calls her Velma.

Velma is the person he writes to. Every sentence he types on his computer is aimed at Velma. He's though up a whole biography for Velma, and he knows what motivates her to give to his organization.

There are lots of ways to uncover tidbits about your audience. Focus groups, surveys, five-question online polls, and other tools can tell you what issues they say the care most about. (Although often people will say they care about one issue, while actually giving to other issues, so it's critical to examine actual giving histories if you want to know the truth.) Analyze your file, and you can discover the average age, income level and education level of your donors. This is handy information, of course.

But when you approach your donors to ask them for money, are you really going to say, "I know most of you care about Our Very Important Issue and earn an average of $80,000/year, so won't you please donate to our Very Important Cause?"

Nope. (I hope not!) Instead, you take that information and use it to find your Velma. Who is she? What does she expect from you, and what motivates her to give? What stories can you tell her to bond her even further with your organization?

Next up: Keeping It Real.

Are You Authentic?

One of the things I love about direct mail is that, when it's done right, it can take all those meetings and reports and outreach that you do each and every day and make it all personal. The donors reading your direct mail -- or, really, any marketing or fundraising copy you write -- should be able to feel the conviction, passion and tireless effort behind what you do and get a sense of your organization's personality.

And while there are a host of reasons that fundraising copy can fail, you don't ever want it to be because it wasn't personal.

This week, I'm going to run a series of posts about how to make your copy personal. First up:

Know Your Identity

"Brands are dead. But identities are alive...and so much more interesting." Writer and author platform guru Christina Katz sent this Tweet a few weeks ago, and it caught my eye because I think it resonates for nonprofits.

Your brand is what you're "selling," what you promise to your donor in return for their support.

Your identity is the soul and vision of your organization, what you hope to achieve, now and into the future.

Of course you want your brand to be solid because that's a huge part of what's going to attract donors to you in the first place. But your identity is going to keep them coming back. So you need to make sure you know what that identity is.

Are you a scrappy band of rabble-rousers? Or a firmly established group making changes from the inside? You may be tempted to straddle the line or try to be all things to your donors, but if you want your identity to be authentic -- and you do -- you have to make a choice about who you are as an organization. And then stick to it in all your copy.

Once you figure out who YOU are, it's time to take a closer look at who your DONORS are. So come back tomorrow for a post about Knowing Your Audience.

Tuesday Tweet Roundup

I've got a busy week ahead (that includes a much-needed day off!), so I may not be able to attend to this blog as well as I'd like. To keep you occupied until I can get back here, though, I've collected some of my favorite Tweets from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Good Fundraising Info

RositaCortez

"The Power of Stories: 3 Secrets to Successful Fundraising" http://bit.ly/cwduMR #nonprofit#nptech #blogger (PLZ RT)

Great take-aways for all donor communication! RT @AFPIHQ: Deciding What Goes Into Your Donor Newsletter:http://tinyurl.com/2d7ksux

Good advice - RT @FundraisingNews: Two steps to direct mail fundraising success http://bit.ly/aCyuhv #fundraising

Great info here! RT @kivilm: RT @Philanthropy: Thanks @kivilm for taking marketing questions. Transcript:http://ht.ly/1VN0X | Happy to!

Moral: write stronger teasers! RT @FundraisingNews: Why teaser-free envelopes work so well http://bit.ly/bQjfwb#fundraising

YES!RT @SandyRees: from my #SAWAconf talk: Make sure your communications (newsletter, email, etc) are interesting to your DONOR, not to YOU!

Back to My Blog

BLOGGED: Day 1 of Week of Tips for Writing Successful#fundraising Letters: http://bit.ly/aMZEVK

BLOGGED: Tip #2 for Writing Successful #fundraising Letters -http://bit.ly/bfWCUx Come check it out!

Blogged -- Day 3 of Week of Tips for Writing Successful#fundraising Letters: http://bit.ly/bFzOqz

Blogged -- Day 4 of Week of Tips for Writing Successful#fundraising Copy. http://bit.ly/9BKuVi Check it out!

BLOGGED -- Day 5 of my week of tips for Writing Successful#fundraising letters: http://bit.ly/bHF4Gp Enjoy!

Random Stuff

Vibratin

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together." - Vincent Van Gogh

Fun & informative! RT @yaHighway: Field Trip Friday: tension, bad decisions, swag, trends, Brit Lit, you must believe.http://bit.ly/aNkM1N

Just realized we haven't used our car since last Thursday. Love living in a #biking town.

RT @Sierra_Club: Shocking! Obama to Reopen Oil Drilling --http://sc.org/9QTQgE #oilspill

Ugh! RT @urbanmamas: What the?!? What is safe these days? Group Finds Lead In Kids' Drinks: http://ow.ly/1YgBv

Day 5 -- Use Your Resources

Welcome back for Day 5 of my Week of Tips for Writing Successful Fundraising Letters! Previous tips (You can find Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 by clicking the links if you missed them earlier.) have talked about the nitty-gritty of writing a solid piece of fundraising copy.

But what do you do if you lose your way? It happens to even the most seasoned writers sometimes. You set out with the best of intentions, and suddenly find that you're not sure where to go next. Is this really the best lead? Is my ask as compelling as it could be? Am I making the case I need to make in a way that will inspire a donor to reach for her credit card?

To fend off my own cases of Aimless Letter Syndrome, I like to keep a few articles chock-full of how-to tips bookmarked. As I said on Day 1, I love a good refresher course!

Check out these rules by fundraising veteran Mal Warwick to help you get back on track when you wander off course.

And even though I write for nonprofits, I love these sales letter tips and these to remind me of the basics of persuasive writing.

But sometimes the most helpful thing I can do when I get stuck is to take a step back and re-find my passion. Because ultimately, it's your own passion for the work you're trying to do that will inspire others to help you do it.

And since I love a good refresher course -- and to learn new things! -- tell me what your favorite tips for writing good fundraising copy are in the comments section below.

Day 4 - Let It Sit, Or You'll Regret It

Once I've polished and honed and polished again, I always set my copy aside, at least for an hour, but preferably overnight.

The next day, I read it once more before I send it out into the world. Sometimes, when I read it through again, I'm pretty pleased, and off it goes. But most of the time, I find something -- a verb that could be stronger, a gut-punching new way to craft the lead, a tweak that makes the P.S. even more powerful.

There's something magic that happens when you let a piece percolate while you sleep, like letting a stew slow-cook -- all the ingredients come together in a new way, creating a better, stronger whole.

It's hard to take that time. I have to write fast and edit fast in order to make tight turnarounds. But I'm never, ever sorry I took the time to let a piece sit, because I always end up with a better piece in the end.

And on those rare occasions when I don't let it sit, I almost always regret it.

Take the time to craft the most powerful piece you can craft. And then take a little more time. When you send your best work to your donors, you'll get a better response. And that's really what you're after.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Day 5 of my Week of Tips for Writing Successful Fundraising Copy! And if you missed Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3, check them out now.

Day 3 -- Use Your Spellchecker (and Other Grammar Tools)

Today's tip is a gimme, but still worth remembering: Use your spellchecker!

I have completely forgotten how to spell, thanks to MS Word's autocorrect feature. There was a time when I used to rock my elementary school spelling tests, but now...not so much. So even if you think you've spelled everything correctly, even if you're absolutely positive that you've double-checked all of those red-underlined words, run the spellchecker.

And after you've done that, read every word over again. I cannot emphasize that enough. Just last night, I was reading a new release by a very popular novelist, and I came across a sentence that read "It wasn't the biggest thing in the word, but it mattered to me."

Nothing in that phrase will ding your spellcheck (and it obviously didn't ding the editor's spellcheck), but I'm willing to bet it will be corrected in future editions.

Doing a careful, not-for-content read-through is one of the single-most important things you can do to improve your copy and make sure the message you send is one that benefits your organization. A few weeks ago, I did a last-minute read-through on a piece of copy for a client and noticed we were trying to "dowse the flames." Oh. My.

Many typos will pass through the spellchecker: from/form, this/tis, where/were, our/are, etc. Other common mistakes are confusing they're/there/their and your/you're. Some people will read over them, understanding the meaning from context. You might do this yourself, since you're the one who wrote them in the first place, which is why it's a great idea to ask a fresh pair of eyes to take a gander at your copy.

But make sure you do it. Run that spellchecker and read through everything one last time. You'll be amazed at what you find...and your readers will have one less reason to reject your copy and one more reason to give.

And don't forget to check back tomorrow for the Day 4 tip! (And in case you missed them, check out Day 1 and Day 2 here.)

Day 2 - Make it Easy on the Eyes

Yesterday, I wrote about a few of my favorite quick tips for calling out the important ideas in your fundraising letters and marketing copy. Along those same lines, it's critical to make sure your entire piece -- whether it's a letter they're holding in their hands, a tricked out, full-color brochure, or a quick web post -- looks like something your donor wants to read.

So, why don't you take a second to pull out one of your recent fundraising letters, or take a gander at a recent marketing piece you posted on the web. How does it look?

If it's a printed piece, how are the margins? Can your reader hold the paper without covering up any of your copy? A good rule of thumb is to leave a thumb's width (get it? "rule of thumb"!) on each side.

What about type size? It's tempting to bump it down a point or two to fit more copy in the space available, but if your donor has to go searching for a magnifying glass before he or she can read what you've written, you've lost them.

The right font can make a huge difference. In publishing, editors require submissions to be made using a straightforward, serif font like Times New Roman or Courier because they're easy to read. Sure, sans serif fonts can give you a sleek and refined look, but save them for headlines. Long blocks of copy are more readable in a traditional font.

Speaking of readability, are you reversing copy out of a dark background? Keep your paragraphs short and sweet. Eyes tire quickly.

Take a look at your sentence and paragraph lengths. Did you write an over-detailed tome with paragraphs a Russian novelist would be proud of? Or is your copy snappy and to the point? Guess which one is easier to read.

The bottom line? If you make it hard for people to read what you've written, they won't. And if they're not reading, they're not giving.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for Tip #3 for writing successful fundraising copy!

A Week of Tips for Writing Successful Fundraising Letters!

I love a good refresher course. I can pat myself on the back for all the things I'm doing right, and I usually pick up one or more things that can help me improve my writing.

So every day this week, I'm going to post one of my favorite back-to-basics tips for writing the best fundraising copy you can. First up:

Make your strongest copy stand out.

When you're writing a fundraising letter or other fundraising or marketing copy, there are some ideas you want to really it people over the head with. So you call them out.

You can see I used bold up above. I wanted you to know what I was talking about, even if you're just skimming the copy. Caught your eye, didn't I?

If you're writing on the Web, try highlighting words in color. But be careful! If you go too light, you'll make your copy harder to read and risk having people skip over the thing you thought was so important.

Pick up any fundraising letter, and you're bound to see a lot of underlined copy. This, too, draws your eye and forces it to pay attention. I always like to underline the Ask, and any particularly outrageous statistics or compelling arguments get that treatment, as well.

Some copywriters use italics for additional emphasis. I like to use them to highlight any quotes. Since quotes lend authority to my arguments, I want to make sure readers see them.

Once you've finished your copy, go back and look over your emphasis. Sometimes, those ideas that you want to highlight change as you refine your copy. So double-check them. Are you using enough underlines? Too much bold? And most important: are the phrases that jump out at you really the ones you want people to see?

Check back tomorrow for the next Tip for Writing Successful Fundraising Letters!

What's Your Problem?

I like to surround myself with positive people, people who have a can-do spirit. But I’m going to take a second to be negative:

If you don’t have a problem you’re trying to solve, you can’t raise much money.

Your donors want to feel like they’re making a difference, fighting the good fight, with each dollar they give you. And they really feel that when you present them with an immediate problem that needs to be solved.

It’s a huge, if intangible, benefit that you are offering to your donors: the ability to contribute to a solution to a problem.

It’s no accident that donations to humanitarian agencies surge when there’s a humanitarian crisis. When people see suffering, they want to help alleviate it. Right now, as we’re all seeing the horror of pelicans in the Gulf of Mexico unable to fly because their wings are coated with crude oil, contributions to those environmental and relief agencies who are conducting the clean-up are on the rise.

It’s such a truism that every single one of the nonprofits I work for has said at one time or another, “Bad news for the world is great news for the development department.”

Of course, you can’t just send a letter whining about the problem and expect the checks to start rolling in. People don’t want to give you money simply because there is a problem that needs to be solved.

They want to know that YOU have the solution. And they’re hoping that you can engage them in that solution.

First, they want to know that when they send you money, you are going to use it wisely and thoughtfully. But they also want to feel the satisfaction that comes with acting to right an injustice or alleviate suffering in the world.

In the mail, we often use Petitions to engage donors further. Sponsor-a-child campaigns are also effective at making a donor feel like he or she is doing more than just throwing money at a problem. Many organizations use cause marketing, although you have to be careful that you don’t run into this problem

So take a minute to think about your problem AND your solution before you sit down to write your fundraising copy.

Telling Your Story

So you find yourself in the non-profit world.

Maybe you stumbled into non-profit work like I did, thinking you’d get some experience and then move on…only to find yourself seduced by the idea of getting paid to do good. Or maybe you followed your passion into the non-profit world, determined to put your skills to work for a noble cause.

Was your organization the brainchild of one charismatic and driven individual? Or was it a grassroots effort that blossomed into something more? What problems are you trying to solve, and what successes have you had?

However you and your organization got here, you’ve got a story. And your donors want to hear it.

Telling a story is one of the easiest ways to convey your passion. It can be about a life that was changed because of your work -- even if it’s your own! You could focus on a hard-fought victory, or a battle still to be won.

Of course, a story by itself isn’t enough. You’ve got to tell it in a way that draws people in. Almost all of us love a good story, especially one with heroes and villains, rich with details and atmosphere.

I love opening a direct mail letter and reading about the plight of a polar bear stranded on an ice floe in the arctic…or the line of families waiting for emergency relief at the local food bank…or the appalling practice of blowing the tops off pristine Appalachian mountains to reach the coal buried underneath…

…not because I like hearing about these horrors, but because when I see those kinds of vivid details and strong, evocative story-telling, I know that letter-writer is doing a great job of moving donors to give.

Details bring your story to life. Set the scene to draw the donor into your world. Action words help – stay away from is, does, seems. Words that paint a picture, enabling your audience to feel as if they’re right there with you, give you a unique power to capture donors’ attention.

And when you’ve got their attention, don’t forget to hit them in the gut. Tap into the emotions of your story, and you’ll tap into the emotions of your audience.

And an audience who is moved is an audience ready to give.