Obama Raises $55 Million in February. Whew!
* Every e-mail message from the Obama crew conveys news — urgently reported — and urges action. You are asked to participate in a phone-in news conference, make phone calls on behalf of Obama, join the local Obama team in Philadelphia or donate money.
* In those e-mails where the campaign wants action, it sprinkles live hyperlinks throughout the message. Thus the moment a prospect decides to act, the click-on mechanism is right there. Force a person to hunt for a hyperlink and chances are you have lost the response.
* These communications are not always smooth and written by professional copywriters. Rather they are real missives from real people. The smell of stale coffee and pizza dinners along with crazed deadlines and late, late nights practically leaps from your computer.
* All but one of the e-mails stay on message. To ask a person to make phone calls, join a local campaign team or give money all at the same time is creating choices. “Never try to sell two things at once,” said the late guru Dick Benson. Or, in the immortal words of consultant Paul Goldberg, “Confuse ‘em, ya lose ‘em.”
* The exception is Effort No. 11, which is a complete directory of contacts for all facets of the campaign and its organization.
In short, this is a masterful new fundraising technique that keeps donors and volunteers involved, excited and feeling like they make a difference.
- Companies:
- Denny Hatch Associates Inc.
Denny Hatch is the author of six books on marketing and four novels, and is a direct marketing writer, designer and consultant. His latest book is “Write Everything Right!” Visit him at dennyhatch.com.
