Who cares about your appeal?
The number one question to ask: Who Cares?
A client recently sent through copy for an appeal letter written by a contract copywriter. She wasn’t happy with it but couldn’t put her finger on why.
I replied with the question: Tell me, does this letter make you care?
The letter contained the elements that an appeal letter should contain, but it missed the essential ingredient- it didn’t make me care. I didn’t read the story and believe that there was a real and urgent need. Nor did I feel a real sense that I could make a significant difference by contributing to the cause.
Not-for-profit marketing and fundraising lives (and all too often dies) on how well the need and the impact is communicated. As people, we make decisions based on emotion and then rationalise that decision with logic.
When thinking about your most recent campaign can you easily tell me?
- Who cares? About your vision, your product, your marketing?
- Why do they care? Why does it matter to them? What difference does it make in their life?
- Why should they listen to you? In a world in crisis, why should people care about what you have to say? What impact is your organisation having?
By framing campaigns and appeals around purpose and impact you go from surface level giving, that forces you to convince the donor over and over again, to building deep, ongoing relationships.
Here are three practical strategies to improve your campaigns and appeals:
1. Become intensely clear on purpose and impact
- What is the need you’re addressing? Why does it need to be addressed? What happens if it isn’t? How can you communicate both the breadth of the need and the effect on at an individual level?
- What is your solution to the need?
- Provide evidence of the impact
- What role can the donor play? How will their role make a difference? Why do you need them to partner with you?
2. Find people who have a heart for your cause and understand why
- Know everything you can about them – their values, their behaviours, how they view themselves
- Understand why they care: Have they had a family member suffer from that disease? Are they parents who hope to see all children given the same opportunities? Do they love the outdoors and want to see the environment protected and thriving?
3. Craft a campaign that will engage their hearts
- Show that you genuinely care. Use personal and emotive language. It’s not about emotional manipulation, it’s remembering we’re interacting with real people.
- Use visuals to capture attention and help tell the story. People take only a few seconds to choose to engage based on what they see, so use design strategically to build engagement.
- Choose moments and channels wisely – What channels are your audiences interacting on? What moment in their day are they most open to engaging with you? How do all your channels work together to enhance the donor experience?
Not everyone will care about your cause, and that’s ok! There are simply too many issues in our world for everyone to care about yours. But most people will care about something, so aim to engage like-minded people with a message that resonates, in a moment that they’re open to listen and in a way that makes it easy to respond. By doing this, your campaigns and appeals will be positioned to become significantly more effective in generating both short term financial results and long term donor relationships.
So tell me, who cares?
If you’re in the process of planning for your 2024 campaigns and appeals and seeking assistance with both strategy and creative, we’re here to collaborate with your team to help you maximise your impact.
