Tag Archives: donor psychology
Get fundraising emails opened
With all the articles and blog posts on email fundraising, it’s easy to get the impression that the subject line reigns supreme in the ongoing battle to get fundraising emails opened. It’s not that the subject line doesn’t matter – … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged advertising, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, nonprofit
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Not doing a year-end appeal? Uh-Oh
December is the biggest giving month. So, if you’re not doing a year-end appeal, you’re probably missing out. That’s because, according to nonprofit software firm Neon: 31% of all annual giving takes place in December. 12% of all giving happens … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, fundraising
Tagged copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
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Donor retention keeps falling – what to do about it
Donor retention was down again last year. It’s part of a steady downward trend that’s been going on for the past decade. What’s going on? There are four possible reasons for donors’ increasing lack of loyalty: Completing the story in … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
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5 ways to build rapport with donors
If we want to engage donors, it’s important to reach out to them on their terms and in ways that avoid being seen as too pushy or too salesy. So, we want to build a friendly rapport with donors and … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
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Why donors give
Thanks go to fundraising expert Tom Ahern for this. In his excellent e-newsletter, he included the moving and inspiring words of Damian O’Broin on why he’s a fundraiser. The occasion was the opening of the 2017 Ask Direct Fundraising Summer … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
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Why informing donors doesn’t work in fundraising
It’s all too easy to think that if donors had enough information about a nonprofit’s work that they would donate in droves. But, unfortunately, that’s not the case. Truth is, as fundraisers we run into a roadblock called confirmation bias. … Continue reading
Posted in donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged donor psychology, donors, fundraising
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Rage donating — what does it mean for our fundraising?
Donations to progressive charities took off after President Trump was elected. And since then, this kind of ‘backlash’ giving has come to be known as rage donating. It’s been called a lazy, middle-class citizen’s form of protest as well as a … Continue reading
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
Fundraising Copywriter George Crankovic 