Future Fundraising Now

Power your fundraising with pleasure, pain, and one magic word

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by

Jeff Brooks
in

The importance of getting people to click links online has thrown the science of headline writing into high gear, and this has given us some important clues about the words that motivate people to action.

A post in the KISSmetrics blog gives us three important things to think about: Hate this Headline? You’ll Probably Share the Story.

It’s about headlines and links, but it can apply to any fundraising we write. There are three things to keep in mind:


  • Make it about pleasure with words that invoke happiness, fun, belonging, awe, love, positivity, strength, empowerment
  • Make it about pain with words that invoke fear, anger, discomfort, confusion, helplessness, indifference, sadness
  • Use the most powerful word of all: You

    Comments

    2 responses to “Power your fundraising with pleasure, pain, and one magic word”

    1. Ken Wilson Avatar
      Ken Wilson

      The linked blog, and the linked article, disagree with your third assertion.
      FROM THE BLOG: “Some long-accepted copywriting tricks don’t work to gain clickthroughs on headlines via email, mobile, social media or online means. For example, the often-used “you,” “your” or “you’re” words actually decrease CTRs, say New York-based Outbrain and Cambridge, Mass.-based HubSpot.” — Target Marketing
      http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/headline-words-that-work-copywriting#

    2. Ken Wilson Avatar
      Ken Wilson

      The linked blog, and the linked article, disagree with your third assertion.
      FROM THE BLOG: “Some long-accepted copywriting tricks don’t work to gain clickthroughs on headlines via email, mobile, social media or online means. For example, the often-used “you,” “your” or “you’re” words actually decrease CTRs, say New York-based Outbrain and Cambridge, Mass.-based HubSpot.” — Target Marketing
      http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/headline-words-that-work-copywriting#

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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 BrooksJeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 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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    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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    About the blogger

    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.