Tag Archives: donor psychology
What’s wrong with using emotion in fundraising?
When we use strong emotions in our donor appeals, is it poverty porn or just good fundraising? See my guest post on the topic here. One of the conclusions of a recent article in SOFI is that negative emotions can … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged copywriting, donor psychology
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“The Science of Ask Strings” and a surprising idea to test for fundraising results
The gift string is one of the most overlooked parts of fundraising but also one of the most important. That’s the assertion in “The Science of Ask Strings,” a fascinating paper by Nick Ellinger. (You can download it here.) Ellinger … Continue reading
When stories in appeals kill your fundraising results
With all the articles, blog posts, and white papers about storytelling in fundraising, it’s easy to think that all you have to do is drop a story into an appeal and there you go — success. Not necessarily so. See … Continue reading
When too much emphasis ruins your fundraising appeal
To add emphasis to fundraising copy, you can use boldface, italics, underling, all caps, and even asterisks and other symbols. But if you overuse them, as legendary adman Herschell Gordon Lewis says, “When you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing.” Sometimes … Continue reading
What political speeches can teach us about fundraising
When they’re speechifying, politicians want their audiences to respond, and they love it when a line in a speech sets off thunderous applause. But they don’t leave this to chance. They use specific techniques to get a response, and getting … Continue reading
Posted in donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
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One big reason to ramp up your major donor marketing
Now’s the time to do more than ever to engage major donors, and here’s why. The U.S. economy is minting new millionaires at a stunning pace. According to one study, the number of millionaire households shot up from 13.7 million … Continue reading
Is this the easiest, most direct way to motivate donors to give?
It’s no secret that giving confers all kinds of benefits to donors. People who give are generally happier and even healthier than non-givers. But if that’s true, then how would donors react if we pointed out those benefits in an … Continue reading
