Copywriting

“Dear Bernard…”

I’ve been reading The Nation all my adult life. I’ve subscribed to it for 30 years. And I used to give a donation every month — but not anymore.

“Bernard, don’t let them win!”

Sorry. There are other progressive organizations. Hell, there are other progressive magazines. If I want to do my part to keep the right-wingers from stamping corporate logos on people’s minds, I can give my money elsewhere.

“Bernard, we want you back.”

Too bad. Because my name is not Bernard.

In "The Missing Middle" report on midlevel donor engagement, authors Alia McKee and Mark Rovner of Sea Change Strategies lay out six key points for creating a good content marketing strategy to engage midlevel supporters: deep substance, consistent narrative across all channels, major focus on stewardship, branded name, personal point of contact and reduced ask frequency.

I love this approach. In fact, let’s talk briefly about how your technology can help you do this.

Your job as a fundraiser is to be the outside force that puts your donor in motion, emotionally and physically, so he or she cares about your mission and cares enough to make a gift. Here are six ways to jump-start the process.

No matter how skillful we become, it’s a good idea to dust off these prewriting skills because sooner or later they’ll come in handy.

In order for any fundraiser's words to resonate with donors and compel them to take action, those words must feel genuine — which is to say they must feel and sound like the type of passionate speak people use when they converse with one another. In March 2008, Willis Turner, senior copywriter at Huntsinger & Jeffer, shared "The Watergate Guide to Straight Talk," in which he wrote: "The Watergate Transcripts became a template for the kind of 'real' writing I wanted to do."

At the DMA Nonprofit Federation's 2011 New York Nonprofit Conference, veteran fundraising consultant Tom Gaffny provided 10 timeless keys to fundraising success that he's crafted over the past two decades during his session, "The 10 Commandments: 10 Ageless, Irrefutable, Non-Negotiable Keys to Optimizing Your Fundraising Success."

In a webinar, "How to Write Moving Personal Profiles About Clients, Donors and Other Supporters," Kivi Leroux Miller, president of Nonprofit Marketing Guide, offered five steps on "The Ins and Outs of Writing Profiles":

You should avoid focusing on things your donor really doesn't have any interest in. With that in mind, here are "Three Things Your Donor Doesn't Give a Hoot About," from Willis Turner, senior copywriter at Huntsinger & Jeffer.

Here are three ways to make sure your fundraising appeal stays on-message for maximum impact and response.

Remember that you're sending engagement communications to donors. Your most important job is to keep them motivated to donate.