Future Fundraising Now

Book review: checklists keep us on track

by guest blogger George Crankovic

Like most of us, I think of myself as a capable professional. And that, I discovered, is exactly the problem.

I discovered it in a remarkable book called The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, a doctor and surgeon. (Available at Amazon and Powell's.)

Gawande explains that most surgeons bristle at the idea of using a checklist. It's because they see themselves as skilled professionals and people of learning and science. They fail to see how anything as mundane as a checklist could be of any use.

But Gawande gives indisputable proof that checklists work.

Far from being an annoyance, the checklists that Gawande used in his research did three essential things. They helped surgeons deal with the complexity they face in their professions, promoted teamwork with the nurses and anesthetists, and ultimately got the details under control so the doctors could focus on the big picture -- helping the patient.

Complexity? Teamwork? Details? Aren't those exactly the things that we as fundraisers have to deal with? And -- be honest -- aren't we bedeviled by them again and again? The humble checklist is the answer.

But, as Gawande cautions, it has to be simple, or it won't get used. And it has to be specific. One master checklist intended to cover everything won't be of much help. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at a possible checklist for a typical direct mail appeal. It might go something like this ...

Carrier envelope

• Is the postage correct?
• Is the corner card address correct?
• Will it mail?
• Does it motivate (including the teaser, if there is one)?

Letter

• Is there an offer and is it clear?
• Is there a P.S.?
• Is the recipient clearly told to donate?
• Is the signer's name and title correct?
• Is the letter compelling — would YOU give if it were sent to you?

Response device

• Is there a clear call-to-action related to the letter content?
• Is the gift string correct?
• Is the sending address correct?
• Are the address, website, phone number, and disclaimers present and correct?

This is just an example of course, and these points may seem simple -- but that is the point. One checklist isn't intended to cover everything. It's supposed to catch those simple things that trip us up again and again. If you've ever sent a mailing with the wrong postage, or if you've ever sent a message that was muddled by an unclear strategy, then you know how much havoc so-called simple things can cause.

It's just hard to believe that something so basic, so obvious, so schoolmarmish can do so much. But it can. The unassuming, unsung checklist. Try it and see.

How to raise the big bucks

Other than Zimbabwe, where can you get your hands on the big bucks?

Here are three easy ways:

1. Talk to your best donors. No really -- talk to them. Engage them in actual conversation. If they knew you cared about their opinions, many of them would be thrilled. And give more.
2. Don't go silent on your best donors. Far too many nonprofits have a plan for their best donors that goes like this: If your giving rises to a certain level, you get "special treatment." So far, so good. But what that means is they get dramatically less contact than they got when they were giving so much they became major donors. They stop getting asked, and many stop giving. If you don't have a plan that you're actually going to fully execute for your best donors -- just leave them be. That's not the best thing to do, but it's far better than going silent.
3. Spend more to get more. A lot of it takes to do effective fundraising is being effectively cheap. But with your higher-end donors, you can afford to spend more to create better impacts. Here's an easy one: affix a 1st-class stamp on the return envelope. It really works to increase response. The cost/benefit ration breaks down with donors below $100, but it's a good investment above that level.

Plea for creativity uncovers the empty heart of advertising

In case you need a reminder why you should never work with ad agencies, here's one from Adrants, a blog that showcases work from the advertising industry: New Ideas Are Few and far Between in the Advertising Business.

It's a plea for more creativity and originality in ads.

And that's fine. But the reasons for being more "creative" -- here and almost anywhere you come across similar rants -- are telling: They aren't about getting better results for your clients. No, you should be more creative for almost every other reason than that one ...

So strive for brilliance. Strive for beauty. Strive for something you've never seen before. Because you know what? If you do and you succeed, you'll be able to call the work your own and be proud of it. And you can feel good your original creation will find a place in the industry's pantheon of creativity. And you won't have angry bloggers calling you a copycat.

The greatest fundraiser in history will almost surely not show up in some "pantheon of creativity." The most effective fundraiser would probably have angry bloggers all over them saying copycat and worse -- if there were any bloggers paying attention. But that great fundraiser will change the world more than all the creative geniuses in the ad industry put together.

The best fundraisers don't get bored with what works. The only stuff they are allergic to is stuff that doesn't work.

Good fundraising takes a lot of creativity and originality. But those things are just tools. Another tool is stealing smart (much as Shakespeare did). And maybe the best tool of all is doing the same thing with only minor variations for years and years -- because it works.

Be aware of the culture of the ad industry. It's not about doing what works. It's about doing what excites them. And winning awards, which are also about what's cool rather than what works.

I can prove it: Check out these Stupid Nonprofit Ads, almost all of them the work of ad agencies.

The magic ingredient for nonprofit employee productivity

Here's a cool study from the Inside Influence Report that shows how you can improve the effectiveness of your staff: A Great Recipe for Employee Productivity...in Five Easy Minutes.

The study went like this:

1. The first group read about the personal benefits of the jobs -- financial rewards and development of skills
2. The second group read stories from the beneficiaries of the organization, describing the positive impact on their lives.
3. A control group didn't read anything.

Here's what happened:

What they found was amazing. Employees in [groups #1 and #3] looked almost exactly the same after the intervention as before it in terms of amount of donation money raised and the number of pledges earned. Yet, those in [group #2] earned more than twice the number of weekly pledges (from an average of 9 to an average of 23) and more than twice the amount of weekly donation money (from an average of $1,288 to an average of $3,130).

How many other ways can you think of where giving someone information transforms their behavior for the better? It's like magic, huh? And if you're a nonprofit you have this magic right at your fingertips.

Never forget the power of constantly reminding nonprofit employees up and down the line -- especially those in fundraising, who tend to be away from the frontlines -- about the difference they're making happen in the world.

Seven more ways to write better fundraising copy

Here's good copywriting advice from the Word Wealth blog: 7 Time Tested Tips for Making Your Advertising Work. Most of these make as much sense in fundraising as they do in advertising:

1. Tell a story.
2. Use cliches.
3. Never write any marketing pieces if you do not believe in what it is you are selling or trying to accomplish.
4. Don't try and be cute or sophisticated.
5. Write to a grade 7 reading level.
6. Pretend you are sitting around a fire with one of your best friends.
7. Always use real postage stamps on your envelopes – never metered mail.

On #5: I'd aim even lower: 5th or 6th grade level. It's not easy to achieve, but the readability bonus is high.

I can't vouch for #7 in fundraising contexts; I've seen virtually every type of postage treatment win in various tests.

5 ways to know if a fundraising consultant is lying

How can you tell if a fundraising consultant is lying? His lips are moving.

Sorry. Wrong joke. I should emphasize that fundraising consultants are fine, upstanding people. They tell the truth literally dozens of times every year. I myself am a fundraising consultant, and you know you can trust me.

But many consultants have the tendency to -- well, let's call it overstate things in order to land a client. Here are five warning signs that a consultant is not quite 100% above-board with you:

1. When their pitch to you is a powerful new way to get young donors. You don't want young donors. Young people are the methamphetamines of fundraising. Unless by "young" they mean "people in their 50s," they're selling you a bridge over the East River. Young donors will kill you with their fickle behavior. Stay away from them! Don't believe anyone who says they're a reliable source of income.
2. When their thesis is "____ is dead." Direct mail is not dead. Neither is email, blogging, radio, Twitter, reading, Elvis, or personal fundraising. (Okay, one of those things is dead.) A sweeping pronouncement that a whole category of communication is "dead" can make a consultant look prophetic, but it's really just a sign that they don't understand that medium and would rather get paid to do something less measureable and useful.
3. When they talk about the future, but not the present. This is another way they try to run away from being specific. The future is cool, exciting, and full of possibility; it's important to be looking forward. But the present and the immediate past are what your consultant should be spending most of their energy on.
4. When they already know your problem before they've even spent some time with you and your data. They aren't listening to you, and they never will.
5. When they won't explain their new cutting-edge product works because it's "proprietary." They have every right to protect their intellectual property. But if they're asking you to accept something on faith, get suspicious. These folks know (or should know, anyway) how to communicate. Insist that they answer your questions and tell you how the thing works.

Homer Simpson for Nonprofits: read it

Run, don't walk, to get the new free e-book from Network for Good, Homer Simpson for Nonprofits (PDF; registration required).

You'll get detailed knowledge from behavioral economics, applied to fundraising. Things like:

• The left brain need not apply.
• Stick to social norms, not market norms.
• Small, not big.
• Hope, not hopeless.
• Peer pressure still works.
• We listen to authority.
• The more you ask for, the more you get.

This is stuff that will make you a better fundraiser.

Lessons from Mr. Rogers for fundraising

Copyblogger has a post about being a better blogger: The Mr. Rogers Guide to Blogging from the Heart.

Thing is, these Mr. Rogers things make a lot of sense for fundraising too. Check them out:

• For your audience to love you, first you have to love them. And they have to know it.
• Before you can be a leader, first you have to be a neighbor.
• Create an environment where it's okay to be imperfect.
• Keep what works, throw out what doesn't, but always know what and why.
• Seize your opportunity.

That first one is especially important. You can't fake it!

Words: you have what it takes to motivate people to action

I thought I was going to go a whole year without mentioning Super Bowl ads. No luck. Because an amazing ad for Google came up:

Or watch it here on YouTube.

The Neuromarketing blog noted at The Power of Text that the Google ad, which is made up of typed words (and some well-done sound-design) was #4 (of 60-some total Super Bowl ads) for "neuro-engagement" -- that is, the amount of brain activity it prompted. It was also one of the most-remembered ads when research subjects were surveyed.

But where's the CGI? The exotic locations? The semi-naked women?

Guess what? Words are powerful. Among the highest-budget, most sweated-over ads in existence, a bunch of words won the day. As Neuromarketing noted:

... even in a highly visual medium like television, properly used text can beat commercials with amazing imagery and production values. ... what made this ad work is that the text told a compelling story.... This remarkable Google commercial is further proof that text can be amazingly powerful when it tells a story.

So next time you get envious of whiz-bang YouTube videos or other high-production media, remember this: If you can write well, you have everything you need already.

Tell great stories.

Here's a cool idea for a web form

Do you have the guts to try this? LukeW's blog reports on a wild test online: "Mad Libs" Style Form Increases Conversion 25-40%

That's right, in split testing, the oddball "mad libs" form increased conversion 25-40% over the "normal" form.

It worked in that case. That doesn't mean it will work for you. But it sure looks worth testing. If you do, tell us how it goes.

Thanks to queer ideas for the tip.