Beth Dunn, inspired by Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog, has some good thoughts on why you should write conversationally. She’s been looking at a book with old-fashioned “sales copy” and doesn’t like what she sees.
One of the reasons why it’s worth while to build relationships with current and potential donors, members, constituents, et al., by using social networking and two-way communication like blogs is so that we can dump these outdated, alienating, and only ever marginally effective methods once and for all.
I’ll go a step further and challenge you to write conversationally in your other printed materials, too. Why let a committee suck the life out of everything you’ve written before you spend $3,000 on slick brochures? The message will be far more effective if someone can pick up your brochure and see it’s been written by a real person. So ditch the committee of copy editors. Have 2 or 3 people check for typos next time you’re writing brochure copy, and that’s it. Just try it to see how it works out.
The #1 goal of your communications strategy should be to determine what your organization specializes in. Seth Godin sums up why you want to be a specialist.
If I need an animator, I can find the world’s best animator. If I need a bond to insure my movie, I can find the best broker at selling completion bonds. If I need SEO help, get me the world’s best SEO person. If I need braces, I can find the best orthodontist in my area. Not the second-best or someone who will try really hard or someone who is pretty good at that and also good at other things.
By virtue of the fact that you have a room full of people who work on the same issue every day, your organization is specializing in something. But too many small organizations fail to understand that they have experts on staff with important information to share with an interested constituency. So figure out what’s your specialty, then figure out who needs that specialty. The rest of your communications plan will fall into place.
Yesterday, I posted a photo that floated down from the sky near my home, after the tornadoes over the weekend, 70+ miles away. The Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader is inviting readers to upload the photos they’ve found to the newspaper’s website, in hopes that the owners can retrieve them. It’s a great example of the network effect of the Internet, and how easy-to-use Web tools can be used for good.
The photo on the left ended up near my home this weekend, after tornadoes hit southwest Missouri and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. I have no idea where it came from, but it traveled at least 70 miles, I think. It’s just one piece of the debris that was scattered across the area. There’s another piece of paper — apparently some kind of order form for a builder in Miami, Oklahoma.
I’m posting this here in the hope that you’ll help find the owner of the photo by spreading the word about it on your own site. Five years ago, there would have been almost no way to get the photo back where it belongs. But the way we’re all linked together online now, I think it’s actually a possibility. At least it’s worth a try.
Seth Godin has advice on marketing your charity auction.
If you’re only willing to bid $19 to buy a $20 bill at this auction,
you’re not doing charity, you’re bargain hunting. There’s nothing wrong
with bargain hunting, it’s fun, but it’s not philanthropy. I think
bargain hunting for a good cause is just fine, but wouldn’t it be great
if the event could raise far more money and change the way people view
the organization?
The Robin Hood Foundation raised more than 24 million dollars at
their last auction, because people competed to overpay. And that’s the
secret. The story the charity must tell is: “don’t pay $19 for this
twenty dollar bill, don’t even pay $30, we need you to pay $40!” The satisfaction of overpaying (whether you overpay anonymously or in public) is what they sell, not a bargain.
Seth points out that this is not the easy way. It’s easier to convince people to hunt for bargains than to donate their money. But the payoff is a lot bigger if you do the extra work, and make the act of donating the reward in itself.
