Creative

Sharing success is important, but make sure it is a shared success because of you and the donor. Otherwise you may only be talking to yourself as your donors move on to where they feel part of the solution.

Stories are fundamental to how we communicate as human beings. Tell the right story and you can capture attention, entertain, enlighten and persuade … all in the course of just a few minutes.So we can all agree that stories matter … but how do you tell them? What, specifically, makes for a good marketing story? Here are five critical components and talk about how they fit into your marketing: 1. You need a hero. 2. You need a goal. 3. You need an obstacle. 4. You need a mentor. 5. You need a moral.

Getting personal in your fundraising communications is key to strong relationships with prospects and supporters. Here are five techniques that are doable for you no matter what’s on your to-do list.

Is your nonprofit outreach falling flat? It may not be your message, but rather who is delivering it that is the problem. Think about who might be a more relatable, believable messenger for your nonprofit's outreach. It might not be who you think. So who are messengers that wield more influence than you when it comes to your organization? Whom should you tap to talk about you?

Communications and development can, and should be, the soup and sandwich of fundraising.

If your donors are leaving because of something they are not hearing, feeling or reading … the good news is we can do something about it. So I ask you: Does your communication cause the people who give you their time, talent, “stuff” or money to feel totally awesome about giving? Or do they receive “ho hum” thank-you letters, occasional mentions in an annual report listing and are continually invited to give more? What to do to cause people to feel like a superhero? It’s simple. Communicate with passion. Talk to them, not at them.

When you publish that e-mail, direct-mail letter, tweet or Facebook update … what are you offering donors? And are you making it an attractive offer that they don’t want to ignore? Yes, your offer and call to action are — in my opinion — some of the most critical elements in your appeal.

Ah, I could talk about direct mail forever ... but I'll stop here! All this old dog asks is that all you skeptics out there take a few minutes to consider (or re-consider) direct mail — an old-fashioned fundraising tool that can breathe new life into your year-end fundraising.

Your year-end appeal letter just might be missing the boat. I interviewed the great direct-mail genius Tom Ahern for our 2013 Year-End Fundraising Telesummit. Here are five things I bet you are doing wrong: 1. Your call to action is weak. 2. You are not asking enough times in the letter. 3. Your type font is too small. 4. The word “you” is not showing up enough. 5. You are not mailing often enough to your donors asking them to renew.

Are engaging visuals a priority in your organization? With so many things competing for people's attention today, images and photos are a more important aspect of your communications toolbox than ever before. Here are some tips to help you improve your image content: 1. Seek out great images. 2. Be strategic about your subject matter. 3. Choose the right message for just the right photo. 4. Share the images you are capturing.