Cultivate trust and money will follow

Once, I was looking at reply slips received back from an acquisition mailing.  One person wrote in the margins of the slip, "I am taking your word that you help people with this money."

I believe that most donors, especially first-time donors, feel this worry.  But one person felt it so strongly that he wrote it in a message to us.

Donors give because they believe their money is going to make a difference.  That new donor, who doesn't have a relationship with you yet, is going to feel concerned that she is throwing her money away.  She needs you to convince her that she is investing her money into a worthwhile cause she cares about. 

Neuromarketing has a blog post about words that build trust.  Apparently, literally saying "You can trust us," well, works.  Some of the other words aren't relevant to a nonprofit, like "fair price." But check it out, it's something to think about in your messaging, especially in your acquisition mailings.

This is also something to think about with regard to your welcome package—part of your messaging should be reassuring the donor that he made the right decision to donate (so he'll donate again!).

Controversial spacing choice, and other easy tweaks in design

Yes, content, as they say, is king.  But a few tweaks to the look of your fundraising materials can help increase the amount of money you raise.  Earlier I wrote about fonts, readability and the impact they can have on the amount of money that comes in from your communications.  Now, additional tips: 

Ugly fundraising can be good

Future Fundraising Now reminds us about the importance of readability, and warns us that slick design isn't always better.  For one thing, a message with a more modest appearance can stand out among all the fancy stuff out there.

Additionally, a less-polished look helps add authenticity to your pieces.  Your fundraising letters, newsletters, and the like all need to inspire people to believe in your cause and give to support it.  You don't want people to look at what you send them and think, "looks like they spend the donations they get on fancy design." 

Avoid the "corner of death"

This post on Neuromarketing is about "the corner of death," or, the lower-right-hand corner.  Eyetracking research tells us that corner is a bad spot to put your logo or anything else you want people to pay attention to.

Controversial spacing?

Yes.  I mean spacing between sentences.  There is a lot on the web about this topic.  It seems that most people believe that one space after a period is sufficient, and that two is glaringly redundant, a waste of space.  However, read this sentence (hat tip) and let me know what you think:

He went to see Dr. On on On Dr. On his way home he crashed.

Sure, that's a strange sentence (sentences?).  But if you can, indulge me a bit more, and skim (don't read, remember people only skim what you send them) this:

This change is happening all across the U.S. Senator John Smith will be discussing the topic at the luncheon.

Now try this:

This change is happening all across the U.S.  Senator John Smith will be discussing the topic at the luncheon.

Do you see what I'm saying?  As I've said before, make it easy for your readers and they'll repay you.  My advice is: use two spaces between sentences.

Fonts and readability

Fonts may seem simple, but a debate about them can get heated; some people are passionate about fonts.

Many people say that the easiest fonts to read on paper are serif fonts (such as Times).   And there is some research showing that online, since most fonts are sans-serif (for example, Arial), people have grown accustomed to reading them.  So when creating your website and e-newsletters, you may want to choose a sans-serif font.

This post on Neuromarketing discusses the studies that show that people deem a task to be easier when it is written in a clear font vs. one that's harder to read. 

You don't want people to think that making a donation is difficult.  Anything that stands in the way between a person an a task has the potential to divert them from doing it—I am obsessed with this study about leaving the door to a cooler of ice cream open.  That resulted in more than double the amount of people taking ice cream than when it was closed.  (It's just a door!  And ice cream is delicious!)

Also, you should use a very dark font against a white or very light background.  Don't use a white font on a dark background (except sparingly), or a lighter-colored font on a white background.  

I will continue writing about small things you can do to increase the readability of your communications, so stay tuned...

The delicate balance of offering choices

If you have ever had a craving for iced tea, or chips, only to feel like giving up when faced with all the options in the store's cooler or aisle, you will understand this post on Neuromarketing about choices.

That post sprang to my mind when I was reading this article from Fundraising Success with a list of ways to be donor-centric.  Number 4 is "Let donors choose where their money goes."

You may feel hesitant about offering a choice like that to donors, for any reason from concern about a program not getting enough funding, to the added difficulty in financial recordkeeping it can bring.  But read on—according to Fundraising Success, "When you make 'where most needed' an option, most donors choose it."

So where does that leave you, the fundraiser?  You have to judge (or determine through testing) the number of choices to offer that will result in the greatest amount of money raised for your cause.

Does your organization have a lot of programs?  If so, group them into categories.

For example, a social services agency might use:

• Housing
• Healthcare
• Legal aid 
• Where it is most needed

And a community youth organization might offer:

• Arts programs
• Sports activities
• Academic tutoring
• Where it is most needed
  
  

Ideally, these choices should be in line with the branding of your organization and the way you try to summarize your work to the world.

In sum: offer your donors choices.  But not too many!

Are your appeals the absolute best they can be?

I sure love checklists, because they're simple ways to make sure your communications will perform as well as possible.  (As seen earlier here on my blog.)  Do yourself a favor and check out this list of ideas from Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration.  It's terrific!

I have a few things to say about it:

• It's fantastic that they use neuromarketing ideas. (#1-6)

• Note #7—reciprocity.  As SOFII say here, "use with care and prudence," so as not to cause "obligation to descend into resentment."  I say stick with this part of that idea: "Perhaps there are better things [than items] you can 'give'...such as special access, insider information – or even gratitude..."

• I love the (non-mandatory, non-monetary) pledge for new donors to "‘continue [her] regular gift for as long as [she] can afford it'" in #8.

• #12's idea about limiting the number of donors for a project with special benefits is incredible.  If you ask me, that's what the point of #7 is—talk about your special access!

  How can you apply these principles to your fundraising?