What's in YOUR donor newsletter?
File under: Donor newsletters ... in the black
4 kinds of content help your donor newsletter sing a siren's song
> According to expert Jeff Brooks
My dear subscriber: a few issues back, we highlighted ONE kind of content. It has a good track record for inspiring additional gifts via donor newsletters.
Psychologists call this content "social proof."
But ... there are, altogether, FOUR kinds of "donor-stirring" newsletter content, according to long-time test-veteran Jeff Brooks.
A curious and ambitious reader asked: "SO ... what ARE the OTHER kinds of content?"
Well, here you go, below: All 4
Bit o' background: This issue is the edited transcript of emails I exchanged with Brian John Stevens, Engagement Director at Beyond Borders. "Beyond Borders works to overcome poverty, prevent violence and abuse, and develop leaders in Haiti."
Brian also asked me to comment on their Impact Report, a quarterly donor newsletter. He later replied, "Thank you so much, Tom, for the feedback. Very helpful for our next Impact Report! And of course we would be happy for you to share this any way you like. Anything that contributes to helping fundraisers raise more money and make the world a better place is something that we are all for!" Bravo, Brian!
The design for this Impact Report newsletter is done in-house by the well-trained and talented Angela Galbreath. Bravo, Angela!
BTW: If you, cherished subscriber, find what follows at all useful, you might grace Beyond Borders with a bit of support ... just to see. Monthly giving is the best; start with $5; see if you fall in love. I give monthly to at least a dozen applaud-able charities, small and BIG; to stay abreast of how they talk to their supporters ... and to learn.
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4 kinds of effective donor-newsletter content
1. Take the reader on a journey ... especially into a family situation.
Tell stories from the field. (Which Beyond Borders does vividly!) The pay-off for the donor isn't just the smiles shining on this front page ... it's the fact that a philanthropy-funded Village Savings and Loans program is really improving family futures.
As for Heart of the Mission? (The 2nd example below; this time from a digital newsletter.) This faith-based newsletter, originally brought to money-making perfection by Michelle Brinson, has reported for years on the truth of the daily struggles of the addicted and homeless ... and their extraordinary triumphs, thanks to donor support! One of Michelle's secrets? She got to know the people served first ... then, eventually, asked -- no pressure! -- if they'd be willing to share their real-life stories. Most were eager. Superb photography and typography helped elevate the tale.
2. Social proof
Share what other donors have to say about "Why I/we give/care about this cause." Beyond Borders didn't have that in its latest issue. But St. Luke Productions did! (See example below.)
Think of social proof as "testimonials by another name." Testimonials reassure fence-sitters that this is a COMPETENT charity doing worthy work. Social proof doesn't have to be long, either: 100 words or less in a box under a headline like "Why I'm happy to give to Beyond Borders...." is plenty.
3. Ask beneficiaries to talk about what the program/mission has brought into their lives
… and maybe thank your donors for their help at the same time.
Brian (my comment went): You're Impact Report ALMOST does this ... but the thanks is buried. Here's why:
The last paragraph of your page 4 story starts with "This program is a blessing...." which is a "donor thanks" in disguise. A simple rewrite? "You and the other donors who have made this Rethinking Power Program possible should take a bow. You're changing attitudes and family life. As Gibson tells us, it opened his eyes: 'This program is a blessing....'"
And then make it the FIRST paragraph, not the LAST.
Good research says that with every paragraph in a long article, you're losing readers.
100% look at the photos. 90% read the headline and "deck" (the subhead just beneath the headline) ... and if that headline's good (which Beyond Borders was! ... because I had to know more), then 85% will read the opening sentence. And maybe the second sentence. And maybe a few more.
They're not reading every word, by the way. They're skimming down the left-hand edge of the text.
By the end of an average article, research warns me, maybe a mere 20% are still hanging on my every word. Reality sucks.
It's IMPORTANT to be a realist (pessimist) in communications. If 80% are likely NOT hanging on your every word by the end of the article -- and yet THAT's where you've got a really important new message to drive home -- then predictably most of your readers will miss that message.
Fixes: (1) Move your important point to the front of the parade: make it the first thing said, not the last thing said. (2) Repeat that important point at BOTH the beginning and end of the article.
4. Make plenty of offers.
Give your donors OTHER things to do. These offers don't always have to be about money, by the way. Faith-based charities encourage people to pray, for instance; or read a line of scripture every day. Or you could preview a vision of some project/good you hope to do down the road ... with donor assistance.
(To Brian:) Dear Beyond Borders, in this issue I didn't see any overt offers.
Just to give you some ideas: here are two offers that appeared in a successful donor newsletter, from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California. They're posted on the back cover, page 4.
The offer at the top is "soft" (it's social proof).
The offer at the bottom is "hard" (i.e., it comes right out and asks for a gift). The hard offer is relevantly, urgently timed to the spring pupping season ... when newborn seals are sometimes suddenly orphaned (mom got chased away by a dog off its leash, for instance). The pups are rescued, fed, grown, taught to hunt and then returned to the wild.
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Dear Reader: This is an excerpt from Tom Ahern’s e-newsletter. Did you miss crucial back issues of this how-to e-news? Immediately available! Just GO here. (And scroll down just a bit to sign up for Tom’s revenue-boosting tips and insights. In your inbox regularly. It’s free.)