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HOW TO RAISE FUNDS WITH NEWSLETTERS
Written by: Billy SharmaArticle Overview: Pitfalls to avoid when producing a fundraising newsletter.
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Free Download - WHEN ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS OR DONORS MOST RECEPTIVE? By Billy Sharma |
HOW TO RAISE FUNDS WITH NEWSLETTERS
One of the easiest ways to produce a good newsletter is to avoid the following pitfalls:
MISTAKE 1
Forgetting the age-old ‘WIIFM’ (What’s in it for me?) question. Your donors want to know how important a role their donation played.
This is the most important thing to keep in mind while writing your newsletter copy.
Reading about yourself as a good human being is always interesting. Use the word YOU often. It has strange magical powers.
No other word, not we, us or ours attracts the reader like the word, you.
Treat your newsletter as if it’s a form of direct marketing letter. Direct your newsletter copy at your donors.
MISTAKE 2
Forgetting that a newsletter should have news that is worth reading.
Many charities use this important medium to relay what is happening in their organization, e.g. what staff had children or who got promoted.
When you write for your newsletter, ask yourself: “Why would this interest the donor?” These are busy people. Is it any wonder that newsletters are the least read item you send them? It is estimated that only a handful of donors bother to even browse through a newsletter because it too often has little to do with them.
MISTAKE 3
Forgetting that, like a newspaper, the most read items are human-interest stories.
People give to events like tsunamis or disasters because they have been moved by the plight of the people affected.
People attend a funeral of an innocent victim featured in the newspaper because their hearts go out to the family of the victims.
People give to a charity from the heart and not from the head.
People generally give to people; always keep that in mind.
MISTAKE 4
Forgetting donors want to know what you did with their money.
Make your newsletter ‘donor centric’. Remember people don’t give to your charity, they give through your charity. They want to help the cause you are working so hard for — be it improving the environment or people’s lives.
Rephrase that popular saying from Jerry McGuire: “Show me the money” to “Show me what you did with my money”.
MISTAKE 5
Forgetting that your readers want to hear about your fiscal acumen.
They want reassurance that most of the money they donated went toward an important project and not toward administration, advertising or fundraising.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, only 11% of donors think that the charities they support are doing a 'very good' job of spending money wisely.
The other 89% have their doubts as to how well the money is being spent.
To keep your donors on board, inform them as to how you spend their hard earned money. Merely including a pie chart with the breakdown of donations by percentage is really not enough.
MISTAKE 6
Forgetting your readers are all ready on overload.
Readers want to be able to skim through your newsletter quickly.
We are all bombarded by over half a million dollars worth of commercial and media messages every day. As a result, today’s audiences have developed a form of ‘selective intake’ mechanism.
Make it easy for the reader to skim through your material. Make your copy pleasing to the eye - capture their attention.
Cut down the number of words per sentence. Reduce the size of your articles. Learn from the free newspapers available to subway riders. Their articles never continue to another page.
MISTAKE 7
Forgetting to make your stories interesting.
Use headlines that capture the reader’s interest. Just like they do in newspapers.
If your headlines aren’t enticing enough to draw the reader’s attention, your best article will never get read.
MISTAKE 8
Forgetting to acknowledge your donors’ support and hogging all the credit for your own accomplishments.
Your charity survives due to the generosity of people, organizations and government grants. They need acknowledgement. Need I say more?
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Article Tags: charities, charity, direct marketing, disasters, donors, handful, heart, hearts, human interest, innocent victim, magical powers, mistake, money, newsletter copy, pitfalls, plight, rsquo, tsunamis, worth reading
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About the Author: Billy Sharma RSS for Billy's articles - Visit Billy's website  Click here to visit Billy's website   WRITING FOR FUN AND FUNDRAISING WHY ARE EMOTIONS IMPORTANT WHEN SELLING ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE HERES SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT DIRECT MARKETING WORKS WHY CHARITIES ARE GUILTY OF A BIG BLUNDER AND HOW THEY CAN LEARN FROM ANOTHER BUSINESS ITS ALL A MATTER OF TIMING |
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