I'm Bored!

The beauty — and curse — of a website is the ability to keep current. Focus on having a manageable number of pages that are fresh and up-to-date, and take down the ones that aren't current (or never get any traffic). Trying to do too much is a sure way to fail.

Culprit No. 3: E-mail that doesn't get to the point
I recently received an e-mail that was 97 words long. The gist of it was, "Help us reach our goal/your gift will do this and that/your gift will be matched/our commitment to you is that we will do what we say/thanks."

That summary doesn't do it justice, but you get the point — this e-mail quickly told me everything I needed to know to make a decision. Add in a great photograph and a prominent "Give now" button, and it was a compelling fundraising effort.

By contrast, another nonprofit sent me (a lapsed donor) an e-mail that went on for 500 words and led with a request to give a monthly gift. I was bored before I got past the subject line, to be honest.

You're passionate about the work of your nonprofit (or at least you should be). Unfortunately, your donors only know what you tell them — and what they then choose to read, watch or listen to. To stave off boredom, always ask yourself, "What will my donors learn that's new from this communication? Will it matter to them?"

Let's face it — feeling excited about what a nonprofit is doing is a compelling reason to give again. But boredom just turns us into whiners.

Pamela Barden is the creative juice and the copywriting machine behind PJBarden Inc. Pamela also serves on the FundRaising Success Editorial Advisory Board. You can follow Pamela on Twitter @pjbarden