It’s possible your newsletter is good bedtime reading for your donors. That may be an appreciated service by some of them, I doubt a sleep-inducing newsletter is accomplishing what you need it to do.
Ann Green’s Nonprofit Blog asks Is Your Newsletter Putting Your Donors to Sleep? If it is, here are some things to do:
- Think about what your donors want (they want to know that their giving makes a difference)
- Share stories
- Write to your donors (directly address them in stories, making it clear: You made this great stuff possible!)
- Say thank you
- Make it easy to read (and scan)
- Short and sweet
- Send it to the right audience (donors)
If your newsletter isn’t raising money, that’s probably because it’s not engaging donors.
When you create your newsletter, keep three things in mind: drama, joy, & ease…
Make every story throb with drama.
Make sure everything is a source of joy for your donors.
Make it easy to read.
Jeff 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.
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