AIDA, the most reliable sales formula I know
File under: Selling (i.e., fundraising) well
A.I.D.A., the treasured sales formula
(not the acclaimed tragic opera by Verdi)
Of all the "trade secrets" I've collected over the years, one from the world of advertising stands out as especially useful. I think about it every time I start a project. Heck, I think about it every time I start a paragraph.
It's known by the acronym AIDA. Which stands for, in order....
A. Attention. Grab mine.
I. Interest me. Connect with what's already in my head.
D. Awaken desire. "Yes, I want this to happen!"
A. Call me to action. Give me an easy way to respond, to say Yes!, to underwrite a better life for someone, to join an urgent movement, be counted, add my weight.
Pronounced Aay Eye Dee Aay
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How the A.I.D.A. sequence works
Step one: You bust into my busy world and SOMEHOW get my ATTENTION!
This doesn't have to be complicated.
In the run-up to Barack Obama's 2012 successful re-election bid, a one-word subject line — "Hey" — was by far the biggest money-maker, to the surprise of the staff. Friendly won.
When you're trying to snag my attention, consider the slightly offbeat.
In 2024, Mardi Gras in New Orleans officially kicked off on February 13. That celebration made world-wide news. The Salem Athenaeum held a similarly-themed fundraiser more than a month later. They renamed their event "tardy" ... with rhyming good humor and tongue-in-cheek misspelling ... from Nathaniel Hawthorne's hometown library.
Step two in A.I.D.A.: You somehow hook my INTEREST!
And what could be more interesting than...
Tijuana orphanage, Vida Joven, has a need for diapers, for instance ... and, well, everyone poops, as the best-selling Japanese children's book reminds us. It's easy to identify with the problem.
Highlight an easy-to-understand problem and its easy-to-understand solution (as The Better Fundraising Co. teaches.)
At this point in the AIDA sequence, tighten up your expectations.
You've started to ask for help. Helpers are few and far between.
Even amongst your best friends — the cherished folks on your "warm" list — few will respond. (A nonprofit's "warm" list will include anyone who's given in the last 12-18 months. I.e., these will be your most recent donors and also your best prospects.)
Step three in A.I.D.A.: Appeal to the best me, hoping to spur DESIRE!
A quick, vivid story puts "me, the donor" at the scene of the problem. I'm looking on. I want to help. There's urgency and the gift is affordable.
Step four in A.I.D.A.: ACTION!
Here comes the exciting conclusion ... where you do whatever it takes to maximize the number and size of donations.
Checks? STILL WELCOME in mainstream America, even by thirty-somethings (we just ran an informal survey, and so it showed). Change be a-coming, though: smaller countries like New Zealand and Norway already have anti-check policies.
DO push monthly giving. Monthly giving — sustainer giving — thrives when you offer a low entry point, guru Erica Waasdorp advises. Giving $5 monthly to a cause might seem cheap compared to your daily coffee tab ... and yet those small "why not!" $5 gifts of yours add up, equaling an annual charitable yield per donor ($60), which is far above the U.S. average.
In many countries, smart phones are in every hand ... so QR codes have a growing audience, leaping people instantly to a giving page.
But, again: adjust your expectations.
Direct mail expert John Lepp supposes something like 5-20% of those on your warm list will respond to a well-crafted offer, depending on the time of year. Expert Jeff Brooks has seen "warm" response rates come in as low as 2% ... and yet a profit was made.
Attention.
Then interest.
Then desire.
Then action.
A fundamental sales sequence....
Aay Eye Dee Aay
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