Lots of Small Steps

The more distinct ideas a letter or email includes, the less likely it is to succeed.

Let me tell you what I mean, first with a concept and then with an example. 

100% Important, or 33% Important?

If I send you an email that has one main idea, you know that that idea is important. 

To use numbers, if I send you a message with one main idea, that idea is 100% important.  And if I send you a message with three distinct ideas, each idea is only 33% important. 

We all intuitively understand this idea.  When we have an important message to send, we communicate only about that one message because any additional ideas are distractions from the main message.

Case in point: nonprofit e-newsletters.  E-newsletters have abysmal open rates because they are updates on everything to everyone.  They talk about this, and there’s a story about that, and they update on the other thing.  You know how low the open rates on your e-newsletter are, and you know they cause almost zero action and have almost zero effect on fundraising results.

What Does Focus Look Like?

First, a letter or e-appeal focuses on part of what the organization does, not all of what the organization does.  This focus makes it easier for donors to understand what is needed and what their gift will do.  It’s usually expressed in an offer, like “$55 provides an hour of equine therapy for a child” or “$37 provides supplies for one classroom.” 

(By the way, even if you feel like your organization doesn’t “just do one thing like that,” you can still focus your fundraising on just one thing.  This is a messaging choice, not something that’s driven by your programs.  Additionally, you can do this and still raise undesignated funds.)

Second, every idea in the letter or email provides reasons for the donor to give a gift to “do the offer.”

Here’s what this looks like in practice.  For this example, say you’re a maritime history museum, you run fun classes for children in August, and you’re doing an appeal in July.   Every piece of content in the letter should be about why it’s such a good idea for the donor to send in a gift to send a kid to one of your August classes. 

Here are a handful of messages you could include in the letter:

• You know how important the maritime industry has been (and still is!) to our part of the world, and you know what a tragedy it would be if that history fades away.  The student you help send will learn about their history!
• You and I both know there’s no substitute for time on the water for a person to learn about the sea.  So the students spend time on a boat each day.
• A week on the water in the summer is often the only time a child from an underprivileged background has the chance to be on the water.
• During their class, a young person will learn (IMPORTANT THING 1), and (IMPORTANT THING 2), and (IMPORTANT THING 3).
• You’ll love knowing that while on our ship, the children are connecting with nature, not the internet.  Sails, not screens!
• The local maritime industry is struggling right now to find tomorrow’s workers, and you know that an introduction to the industry through a fun summer class is a great way to introduce a person into a rewarding line of work.

Can you feel the focus?  Can you see how all the messages are about how important it is for a child to take a class this August?

This approach works so much better than letters and emails that are about many distinct things.

The big idea here is to think of the letter as “convincing the reader to do this one thing” instead of “convincing the reader to support our organization.”

You might say, “wait, but we want donors to support our whole organization!”

Here’s what I’ve learned from looking at the results of campaigns on donor files for over 30 years: give donors lots of small, easy to take, affordable steps.  When you do that, more people will arrive at “supporting your organization” than if you ask them to make the whole journey in one large step.