Category Archives: fundraising
This phony best practice for subject lines has to go
You’re creating an e-appeal, and suddenly you’re staring up at the north face of the 70,000-ft mountain you must climb. You have to write the subject line. It has to stand out in the inbox, intrigue your donors, motivate them … Continue reading
3 social proof techniques that signal donors to give more
It can be tricky to upgrade donors, but the truth is that most donors would probably give more if they’re asked with social proof. According to research, if donor’s think their gifts are lower than those of others, they’ll tend to … Continue reading
How to Use Verbal Images in Fundraising Copy
When it comes to engaging your donors, you can’t just tell. You have to show. And you do it with verbal images. See my article in Fundraising Success magazine: 7 Ways to Use Verbal Images to Pull Donors into Your … Continue reading
What you need to know about GiveDirectly
Attention executive directors! Are you stressing about overhead costs? Staying up nights wondering how to prove the impact of your programs? Tying yourself into knots over infrastructure? Worry no more! Now you can forget infrastructure, forget staff, forget people in … Continue reading
Another cross-channel strategy to (maybe) add to the list
A lot of donor activity these days is cross-channel. A typical cross-channel matchup is direct mail and website. Another is direct mail and email. Now we can add one more to the list — TV and twitter. Well, maybe. This is … Continue reading
One of the real lessons from Obama fundraising
By now the fundraising tips to be gleaned from Obama’s 2012 fundraising strategy have been picked over by just about everyone. You know — the casual tone in emails, unconventional subject lines like “hey” and “wow,” the low-dollar asks, the … Continue reading
Profiting from nonprofits?
You might think that tough-minded, profit-motivated, practical business people wouldn’t have much to learn from a bunch of granola-crunchers working in nonprofits. You’d be wrong. The nonprofit sector is a huge enterprise. Think of The Salvation Army. Think of the … Continue reading
What makes people do what they do?
They’re inscrutable. Insufferable. Illogical. And unpredictable. What makes people do what they do, react the way they do, buy the things they buy, or make the decisions they make? It’s maddening. Just ask anybody in marketing or fundraising, and you’ll … Continue reading
Make your webinar sell — 3 traps to avoid
It seems as if there are more webinars on offer than ever. Just about every topic in marketing and fundraising is covered, along with just about every other conceivable subject in business or commerce. There are even all-day “conference” webinars, … Continue reading
How NOT to telemarket
Lots of nonprofits telemarket to persuade donors to give. They can, because the do-not-call laws don’t apply to them. But even so, there’s a right way and a wrong way. I received a phone call a few days ago from … Continue reading
Fundraising Copywriter George Crankovic 