Remind your donors of their freedom not to donate

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26 March 2013

Remind your donors of their freedom not to donate

Some interesting research at the Unbounce blog: 5 Research Studies that Will Drastically Affect How You Write Copy.

All five studies are interesting, but one stands out: the "But You Are Free" technique.

It works like this: When you remind donors that They don't have to give, or they have choices about the amount, timing, or other factors about the gift, they are more likely to respond:

By reaffirming the subject's freedom, researchers found that the subjects felt less threatened about making a choice.

It's a simple statement you can add to your message any time. Phrases like:

Whether you give is entirely your choice...
Any amount you want to give will help...
You are free to say no -- I will understand...

These things could improve response. Give it a shot!

Posted by Jeff Brooks on 26 March 2013 at 06:50 | Permalink

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The future of fundraising is not about social media, online video, or SEM. It's not about any technology, medium, or technique. It's about donors. If you need to raise funds from donors, you need to study them, respect them, and build everything you do around them. And the future? It's already here. More.

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Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 30 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you'll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com. More.

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