marketing » Richelle Morgan

Fighting the Formula

Jan 122012

The other day, one of my Twitter pals — Kevin Monroe from X Factor Consulting – asked me what copywriting tips I like to share with fellow consultants. It wasn’t something I’d actually considered much before he asked, since a) I work in my kitchen and b) I’m usually on the receiving end of writing advice.

But his question did touch on something that I have been thinking about off and on over the last couple of years. During the course of my 14-year copywriting career, I’ve dabbled in other kinds of writing, including publishing several feature articles and neighborhood profiles in The Oregonian and having a short story appear in VoiceCatcher.

During times when multiple deadlines were looming, I wondered if that moonlighting was hurting my main money-making endeavor, and I have downplayed my extracurricular writing in my professional life. But I now think all that second-guessing was a mistake.

In fact, I think one of the reasons I have been so successful in my copywriting is because I have a richer web of writing experience to pull from.

Fight the formula

I have written hundreds of direct mail letters, and there is definitely a formula for the successful ones. But in following a formula you should never become formulaic. The minute you do, the letters you pen become stale, lacking the passion and verve that are absolutely necessary to convince people to give their money to your cause.

When I feel myself treading an all-too-familiar path in my copywriting, I know it’s time to fight the formula. So I take another look with my fiction-writer’s glasses on. Are there themes I can weave through this letter more effectively? Is there a character begging to leap off the page?

Then I put on my features-writer glasses. How can I make my descriptions more vivid? Are there sights, sounds, tastes and smells that would make the issues in this letter come alive for the reader? Perhaps I’m rambling and need to tighten everything up with a journalist’s editing eye.

Let’s face it, there is a LOT of writing advice out there, and good writing is good writing, whether you’re penning a direct mail letter, a slick advertisement, or the Great American Novel. Sure, there are degrees, but the rules are the same: use action verbs, aim for clarity, be as specific as you can, tickle all the senses…

But knowing the rules and using them well are two different things.

Tap into a different part of your brain!

Try writing poetry to hone your ability to use imagery to make a point. Write a short story to put yourself in a different person’s shoes and sharpen your storytelling. Become a blogger to learn how to encapsulate big ideas and personal feelings in 500 words. Try your hand at literary criticism or movie reviews to learn how to identify weak spots in your writing and in others’.

Above all, love writing, all writing. Play with language, revel in how words get put together, rejoice in how they can connect, inspire, educate, and move.

And don’t just write. Read! Starting with this article about the business benefits — it’s scientific, people! — of reading fiction.

The STOP List

Nonprofit No Responses »

Jan 092012

Broken down systems slowing you down? Try a Stop List for 2012.

I’m a sucker for New Year’s Resolutions lists, even though I rarely make them myself. There’s something so hopeful about them, as if by simply writing down the things we hope to do, we can make our lives better.

I often wonder, though, if the things we wish we were doing really are the most important to focus on. Perhaps it would be more helpful to make a list of things we’re doing that we should strive to STOP doing. So with that in mind, here’s my list of bad fundraising habits that you should banish in 2012.

STOP promising the moon.

When the pressure’s on, it’s hard not to make any promise you can in the hopes that you’ll be able to come through. But aiming for the stars when you’re traveling in an old jalopy is an exercise in futility.

Make your goals realistic and achievable for where you are right now. Small successes lead to bigger successes. And if you can build on those successes, you’ll be able to promise the moon when you can actually deliver it.

STOP playing it safe.

This might seem like the opposite of the above, but I think the two go hand-in-hand. When you’re promising more than you can deliver on one project, you’re forced to play it safe in other areas to compensate.

The best way to have a successful year is to try new things, reach out to new people, engage new experts, and test, test, test.

STOP wallowing in your mistakes.

We all make mistakes. But dwelling on them doesn’t make you better, it makes you more paranoid. Embrace your mistakes, and find the nuggets of wisdom that come from them.

STOP downplaying your successes

Normally, I’m not a fan of those who toot their own horns, since far too often, those who talk about how hard they’re working are just that: all talk.

But if you have a successful fundraising event, help craft a winning direct mail package, or convince a donor to give more than she’s given in the past, make sure you share those successes with your board, your volunteers and your staff. Hold those triumphs up as examples of what can be done…and challenge your people to beat them.

I’m going to work on these things this year, and I challenge you to develop your own Stop List for 2012.

Storytelling 101

creativity, Nonprofit No Responses »

Dec 072011

Young or old, we all like a good story!

You’ve no doubt heard about the importance of storytelling to nonprofits. As a writer with an English Lit. degree, I love a good story, and one of the best parts about my job is uncovering those stories and sharing them with my clients’ donors.

But what makes a good story? And how do you tell your story in a way that moves your donors to give?

A Story Has a Destination

A story can be as simple as “I went to the store. I bought three grapefruit. I returned home.” But how inspiring is that?

You want your story to arc from the kernel that starts it all, through the challenges in the middle, to a satisfying resolution. Once you’ve written your story, you should be able to point to each section and see how the details you’ve chosen propel the reader forward.

Your story should always arrive somewhere. Most of the time, this destination will be different from the place you started, but sometimes you’ll end up in the same place you began. Either way is fine, but there must be some destination.

A Story Has Significance

When you arrive at your story’s destination, it means something. A lesson was learned, a decision was made, an epiphany occurred — something about your destination offers your audience some true, deep knowledge they didn’t have at the beginning.

For most nonprofit organizations, the stories will often be about how your work helped a person. So when you’re telling that story, think about how your work impacted that person’s life. What would have happened without your intervention? How were minds and hearts opened? Ask your reader to imagine what would happen if this story were repeated with other people.

What does it mean that your organization exists?

A Story Helps Us Understand Our World

Since the beginning of time, people have been telling stories as a way of explaining the unexplainable in our world. You can harness this power in your own storytelling.

One good story explains who your organization is helping, what innovative tools you’re using, why your organization’s mission is important, how you’re using your resources to make a difference, and how your donors can help. A well crafted story will give your donors everything they need to understand why they should give to you.

A Story Helps Create Community

Doubt the power of a good story to unite us? Consider the Twilight phenomenon.

When you knock it out of the park, your story will get read and passed around…it will get noticed. And those who notice it will have that bond that comes from shared experience and understanding. Telling the stories of the work you do to your donors is one of the most effective ways to connect your donors to your organization and keep them giving for years to come.

Stories have power, and the better you learn to tell them the more power you’ll have.

Check out the Mercy Corps blog for great examples of nonprofit storytelling. And if you want more on the art of storytelling, I loved this article from Jane Friedman’s blog.

Chasing that Silver Lining

Nonprofit No Responses »

Nov 072011

When I picked up my 8-year-old from school a few weeks ago and asked her how her day went, she heaved a huge sigh and said, “Terrible.” Of course, I asked what had happened. In a voice heavy with anger, she told me that her teacher had asked her to write her personal narrative more neatly.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“You don’t understand!” she howled. “I want to write fast! It made me so mad that I had to slow down!”

“So,” I said, “your teacher did one thing that made you mad, and that ruined your whole entire day?”

“Yes!”

It’s human nature to focus on the bad stuff. Listen to the morning news any day of the week, and stories about horrors happening in the world outnumber stories of joy by a wide margin. The mistakes we make in life stay with us in a way that our successes rarely do. We remember the bad days, remember exactly where we were the moment tragedy struck. But those days of ordinary sweetness — of tasty dinners and laughs with friends — are harder to recall with the same clarity.

And the same is true at nonprofits. It’s so much easier for the Board, the staff, the volunteers — for everyone — to zero in on the one mailing that didn’t go right instead of celebrating the dozens that did. That mistake that resulted in a deluge of angry donor calls? Everyone remembers that. The fundraising event that exceeded projections? All anyone can recall is the snafu that meant there was one bathroom for 500 people.

And there is tremendous value in reflecting upon our mistakes.

But I’ve found — in life and in fundraising — that if I want to have more success and more joy, I have to chase down the success and joy I’ve already had.

Chip and Dan Heath, in their amazing book SWITCH: How to Change When Change is Hard, call this “finding the bright spots.” See where your fundraising program is working and try to replicate that success in your weaker areas.

A few years ago, I had a client that was very enthusiastic about trying new techniques in the mail, but they didn’t want to spend the money to test. The result was a series of mailings that were wildly divergent in their results. A blockbuster appeal was followed by a bomb, one renewal performed well, while the next effort tanked. They wailed over every disappointment and bemoaned the lack of consistency in their direct mail program.

I desperately wanted them to test, but they refused. So instead of fighting a pointless battle, I started honing in on what was going right in their program. I came up with a list of appeal themes that I knew had worked. The designer and I started using graphics that were still bold and exciting, but that we knew from past successes would work. We were able to create a more consistently effective program, while I continued to impress upon them the importance of testing.

The great Tom Ahern says that a fundraiser’s primary mission is to “Deliver Joy.”

But how can we deliver joy if we’re only focused on the bad stuff?

That day with my daughter, I asked her to spend the walk home from school listing three good things that had happened that day. She was sure she would never be able to think of three good things about that horrible day, but by the time we walked through our front door, we had a list of five great things about the day. (Which may not have softened the blow when I made her work on her handwriting for homework.)

Embrace your mistakes. But don’t forget to chase your successes, find the bright spots, and deliver joy.

What Nonprofits Can Learn from Netflix

Nonprofit 2 Responses »

Sep 192011

I read the email from Netflix Co-Founder and CEO Reed Hastings this morning with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. A lot of people have summed up the new changes, which include dividing the company into two entities, with Netflix responsible for streaming video, and the new unfortunately named Qwikster responsible for DVDs. Despite Mr. Hastings’ emotional admission that he “messed up”, his statement remains almost as tone deaf as the one he made earlier this year when he announced controversial new price structures.

Which is why I think the Netflix debacle holds a great lesson for nonprofits.

A lot of nonprofits have had to reinvent, restructure and reassess over the last few years of economic turmoil. Some have cut back on donor newsletters and magazines, others have laid off staff, sold assets, and consolidated services. A lot of the time, you can get away with making big changes without informing donors. But when financial or other concerns force you to make big public changes, how do you communicate that to your loyal donors?

Not like Netflix.

The big mistake the Internet media company made wasn’t raising its prices or splitting its business — or even lacking “respect and humility”. It was not understanding what its customers liked about the service it provided.

When I read Mr. Hastings’ statement, I wondered if anyone in the PR department actually uses the Netflix service. Customers flocked to Netflix because they could get DVDs and streaming content. They saw the company as a content-delivery service with multiple avenues for delivering that content.

But the company saw itself differently. Where customers saw one service, Netflix saw two (DVD and streaming) and decided to charge for each. Which they probably could have gotten away with pretty easily had they made moves to separate the services in customers’ minds before they announced the big price hike. (I have no words for the new Qwikster service. WHY are they making it harder for people? Why?)

The lesson: You must listen to your donors. Know how they perceive your organization, what they like and what they don’t like. See where their goals and your goals meet and where they diverge. If you must make a change you know will be unpopular, see if you can steer your communication efforts so that your donors will understand where you’re headed and why.

You’ll always get complaints, and most of the time, that’s good. It means your donors are paying attention.

But if you understand where they are coming from, you can communicate your changes more effectively, and avoid the kind of controversy — and mass exodus of once-loyal supporters — Netflix has enjoyed the last few months.

Three Ways to Collect Testimonials

creativity, Nonprofit No Responses »

Sep 062011

Collecting testimonials can happen out in the field, on the phone or during events!

We all know we should be collecting testimonials from our Members, board members, constituents, volunteers and those affected by our organization’s work. They’re the stuff of fundraising gold, able to leverage gifts more effectively than any facts and figures can ever do.

But how do you collect them?

Listen

Nonprofit professionals work long, hard, often thankless hours. By the time you answer that 50th phone call or head off to that Friday night Member event, it’s hard to remember what your own name is, much less to muster the energy to actively chase down testimonials.

So don’t.

All you have to do is listen. People want to tell you their stories. They want you to know why they support your organization and what your cause has meant to them. Give them the space to say what they want to say, and they’ll give you the gift of a shining testimonial. (You might have to take notes, though!)

Ask the Right Questions

Some people need more guidance than others. If you find yourself with someone who has a story to tell but doesn’t know how to tell it, ask them a few questions to get them thinking in the right direction:

How did you become involved with this organization/issue?
Why are you passionate about it?
What have you seen personally that drives you to support this organization/issue?
What does the organization’s work accomplish? For you? For your community? For the world?
What would the world look like if this problem was solved?
What are the barriers to solving it?

Any one of these questions can get people’s testimonial juices flowing — and give you oodles of great stuff to use in your fundraising.

Get Everyone In On the Act

Testimonials are great for fundraising, but collecting them is not just the job of fundraisers. In fact, the best testimonials often come from program staff as they’re out in the field because they’re the ones who see firsthand what needs to be done and how your organization is progressing.

All staff members — program staff, executive staff, board members, interns and volunteers — should be on the lookout for good testimonials.

Make it easy for everyone with these ideas:

Create a special Testimonials folder on the file server
Put a box on the conference table for collecting handwritten stories
Make a My Story form donors and friends can fill out at events
Learn how to use the audio recording feature on your smartphone so you can capture stories in the moment
Give a prize for “Testimonial of the Month”
Start every staff meeting off by reading one or two of the stories you’ve collected to inspire and inform

How does your organization collect and share testimonials? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

It IS Personal

Nonprofit Comments Off

Jul 282011

Direct mailer writers always talk about making our mail ”personal”. For us that means lots of “I, you, we”, using a conversational tone, and, quite often, fudging the rules of grammar a bit.

But the other day, a couple of things happened that reminded me that there is another way to keep things personal — something it’s all too easy to forget in this day and age of social media connections and conducting business by e-mail.

First, I ran into an acquaintance who runs an arts organization. She was thrilled because her group had just been notified that they were the recipients of a big grant. I congratulated her, and she told me this story:

“You know, we thought for sure we were out of the running this year. The group giving the grant just announced they were eliminating arts funding! So when I got word, I immediately called them up to say ‘thank you’. The man in charge of granting the awards told me that he had gone against the new policy specifically for us because he remembered meeting our Executive Director and having a great conversation with her at an unrelated event. Personal connections really do count!”

Do they ever.

A similar thing happened to me a couple of months ago. A client I’d been working with for a couple of years went through some restructuring. They completely reevaluated all of their old contracts with an eye on reinventing their program from the ground up. I fully expected to lose the business.

But the Development Director called me up and asked that I stay on, one of the few contractors asked to do so. Now, I’m sure my strong work ethic and quality product played a part in that decision. But the tipping point?

I took the time while on a vacation in their city to stop by and meet the gang at their office.

This wasn’t actually a calculated move on my part. At the time, I had no idea that they were planning on restructuring. I just wanted to be able to put faces to the e-mail addresses and conference call voices. But those couple of hours out of my vacation paid off.

Those face-to-face connections are important — maybe even more so now that so many of us do business with people across the country…or across the globe. It might take a little extra time and effort, but the payoff could make it all worth it.

My Month of Trying New Things

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Jun 202011

Broaden that horizon!

In the spirit of reinvigorating and revitalizing my creative and business endeavors, I promised myself to spend the month of May trying one new thing each week. It didn’t have to be anything revolutionary or expensive — just something that was new to me.

I entered a contest for a writing critique, attended a virtual conference, joined a Twitter chat and took a pile of clothes and an appetizer to a Naked Lady party.

You can see that none of these were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities or even particularly bold moves on my part. But they were new to me, things I hadn’t bothered to make time for before, things I might have continued avoiding if I hadn’t forced myself to branch out. Doing these few simple things brought new energy, interesting people, captivating conversations and new clothes (!) into my life.

Of course there were risks that came with broadening my horizons. I risked being bored, wasting my time, meeting unpleasant people, and any number of humiliations or discomforts that come from stepping outside of that comfort zone.

Many of us are naturally reticent to try new things, especially in the nonprofit world. Trying something new — testing a new direct mail package, working in a new media channel, cultivating a new major donor — can be challenging, expensive and filled with risk. Why push boundaries when the old ones make us feel so safe and comfortable?

Fear creeps in: What if I’m terrible at it? What if I look like an idiot? What if I waste a bunch of money for no results?

It’s all too easy to make excuses: Do I really have time to add one more thing to my schedule? If I do this, I’ll have to dress up/buy tickets/skip lunch/be social/be alone. What if that direct mail test bombs?

But the thing about moving outside your comfort zone is that it gives you a new comfort zone, one that’s roomier and maybe even a little more abundant than it was before.

I felt so revitalized by my May experiment that I kept it up, attending a marketing and networking luncheon with a new professional group in June! I plan on trying something new every month for the rest of the year — if not longer — to keep my ideas fresh, my mind sharp and my horizons broad.

I challenge you to try one new thing this week. No expectations, no long-term commitments. Just one thing you’ve never tried before. I bet you’ll be glad you did.

But either way, I want to hear about it!

Donor Communication…It’s Elementary.

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May 192011

I’m on information overload!

This is a photo of less than two weeks of communications from the elementary school where my daughters go, not including those papers that disappeared into the uncharted nooks and crannies of my 8-year-old’s backpack. And it doesn’t include e-mails.

When you’ve got this much information coming through the house — and that doesn’t include the mail, newspapers and magazines, emails, Facebook messages, Tweets and texts — you have to prioritize.

I’ve developed a system that keeps my head above water. When I get the daily stack, I always manage to find time to look at my kids’ drawings, read their paragraphs and listen to the new songs they’ve learned. That’s important to them, and so it’s important to me.

Next up are the sheets of paper with obvious deadlines. Anything that says, in great big letters, “Sign this or your kid will be left crying in the cafeteria while the rest of the class skips off to the zoo!” gets my attention.

And that leaves the rest of it. Volunteer opportunities. Plant sales for other classes. The name of the kid who won the spelling bee. The PTA meeting minutes. Upcoming events and festivals.

Most of that third group never even gets read before I recycle it in an effort to find the surface of my dining room table.

So. What does my kids’ school’s communication issue have to do with your nonprofit? Well, I’m pretty sure my neighborhood school isn’t the only group out there throwing everything they can at their constituency, hoping to get a few responses here and there.

The funny thing is, most schools would never communicate with their students this way. Teachers know that if you want kids to act, you have to give them simple, direct instruction, uncluttered by distractions and without too many options. The same is true for your donors.

Your donors have priorities, and for many of them, that does not include reading every word you write for them. (And as a copywriter, I hate to even think that!) Try these tips for more effective donor communication:

Make it easy for them to see what you’re asking them to do. Highlight the important text with bold, italics, underline or even by circling specific words and phrases in the copy. Indent ask paragraphs and other copy that summarizes your main point. I keep wishing that the school newsletter was divided into action sections so I could easily see what I need to do.

Use urgency to get them to act. Deadlines work. If you can’t put a specific deadline on your campaign, use language that conveys the importance of acting immediately. Highlight these passages to enhance their effectiveness. When papers from school come home with deadlines, I can put them in date order and tackle them as they come up. No date? I guarantee it will get lost to recycling before I deal with it.

Appeal to what you know is important to them, not just what’s important for you. To do this, you have to understand a few things about your donors. Why did they give to your organization in the first place? What do they hope to accomplish with their giving? You may have to spin some of your needs to make them appealing to your donors. But keep their interests in mind when you’re writing to them if you want them to respond to your communications.

Bonus tip: If you can use segmentation to identify those donors who give to specific campaigns (but not to any other asks), you can focus their mailings specifically on the issues that interest them and personalize their mail to acknowledge their dedication to that issue. I don’t have a kid in the fourth grade, so I find it endlessly irritating to receive reminders about the 4th grade talent show. Know your audience and cater to their needs and interests.

Focus for Success. If your idea of a good direct mail package includes a letter about your education program, a planned giving brochure, a petition for an activist effort, and a fridge magnet advertising your annual festival, you can’t blame your donors for feeling overwhelmed and confused…and for tossing your package aside. Keep your package simple and focused on one major issue so your donor doesn’t have to work so hard to understand just what she’s supporting with her gift.

Now, my kids’ elementary school doesn’t have a communications director. Their primary directive is educating my children, not ensuring I know what’s going on. So I cut them some slack.

And I know that many nonprofits can’t afford full-time communications directors either. Indeed, you might feel that your main objective is your mission, not making your donors happy. But informed donors are donors who give, year after year. They make your mission possible.

It’s in your best interest to engage everyone at your organization in an effort to communicate with them as effectively — with respect for their time, energy and dedication to your cause — as you can.

How does your organization minimize communication clutter and maximize giving? Please share your ideas in the comments — I’d love to hear about them!

Welcome!

creativity 2 Responses »

May 022011

Welcome to my newly reinvigorated website!

I’ve spent a good six months developing a new direction. During that time, I’ve honed in on a few ideas that encompass my work moving forward: creativity, exploration and generosity.

I love the creative nature of my work, and the excitement of getting others to think creatively about their fundraising and marketing programs. Much of this site will be dedicated to the creative process, to finding new ways of looking at donor and customer communication, and to learning (or remembering) the tricks and tips that can bring out our creative best.

The things that fuel my creativity are as many and varied as the weather on a spring day in Oregon. Music, overheard conversations, connecting with a colleague, a great book, a run around the reservoir – all can spur a creative burst. In the spirit of exploration, I plan to occasionally post an amusing, inspiring or downright strange anecdote that seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with fundraising…but that caught my attention and might send us both to new creative heights.

But most of all, I’ve benefited from the generosity of countless people who have taken time, energy and money to help me succeed. It’s long past time for me to pay it forward. So I’m using this space to share my own (and others’) hard-won knowledge about fundraising, marketing, direct mail, and anything else that strikes my fancy.

I look forward to learning and sharing with you in the coming months. I hope we can start a long-running conversation that helps inspire creativity in us all.