I’m going to list a handful
of questions I get all the time about donor newsletters.
My answers are going to be
super-prescriptive, meaning I’m going to eliminate the gray area and just tell
you what I would do.
Every answer has been
tested to work better than (i.e., raise more money than) whatever approach was
used previously. In most cases, the answers have been tested and found more
effective hundreds of times.
Let’s get to it!
Questions
& Answers
“What should the newsletter
be about?”
It should be about your donor, and the effects of her previous gift. It should not be about your organization.
“What should the stories be
about?”
Roughly 2 out of 3 stories should be about a
single beneficiary. If you don’t have beneficiaries, then 2 out of 3 stories should directly show and tell your donor the impact her gift made.
“Should the stories all be
about one thing?”
Yes. In our experience, newsletters that are themed – all the stories are about one portion of what your organization does – will raise the most money.
“What should I do to make my
newsletter raise money?”
The back page of your newsletter should
feature what we call a “story of need.” Describe a current need your
organization or your beneficiaries are facing, and how the donor’s gift today will help meet that need. (Many donors would like to make a gift after hearing that their previous gift made a difference, and this story gives them a reason to make a gift now.). Additionally, your newsletter should also include a separate reply card and reply envelope.
“What should my reply card
look like?”
It should look like a standard appeal reply
card. The “action copy” that describes what the donor’s gift will do should
tell the donor that her gift will meet the need that’s mentioned on the back
page of your newsletter.
“What grade level should I
write at?”
Around 7th or 8th
grade. Writing at this grade level has nothing to do with the intelligence of
your readers, or how intelligent they will think your organization is. It has everything
to do with how fast and easy it is for them to understand what they’re reading.
“What will people be most
likely to read?”
Your headlines, subheads and picture
captions. Make sure that if a donor reads only those elements she will receive
your main message: that her gift made a meaningful difference. Be sure to
devote the appropriate amount of time to these elements; they are the most-read
parts of your newsletter, so you should spend more time on them than you do on
the stories themselves.
“What is the purpose of the
donor-centric newsletter?”
Primary purpose: to show and tell your donor
that her previous gift made a difference. Secondary purpose: for the donors who
are now inspired to help even more, to make it easy for them to give a gift
today.
“How often should the
newsletter mention the donor?”
She should be mentioned in every story. You
accomplish this by using the word “you.” In most stories she should be mentioned
at least twice.
“Am I writing to all
donors?”
No.
Write as if only one person is going to read it.
“Who should I send this to?”
All
donors who have given a gift in the last 18 months.
“Can I send it to our
volunteers / lapsed donors / non-donors?”
You can, but it’s a waste of your money. Newsletters
are empirically lousy at turning non-donors into donors (we’ve tested it). And
if you include content in your newsletter for volunteers, your newsletter is
less effective for donors.
Want
More?
Those answers will help
your newsletter start raising more money immediately.
If you’d like help taking
your next newsletter from blank page to a donor-delighting, money-raising
newsletter, take
the Newsletters webinar I created with Chris Davenport (the founder of the
Nonprofit Storytelling Conference).
You’ll see our super-simple
template for your newsletter. It makes it as easy as possible for you. And I’ll
walk you through all of the steps.
We received one quote that
made my month: “Thank you so much for the webinar series – the
best training $$s I’ve spent in the last 5 years.”
