Guest blog from John Lepp, Creative Director at Agents of Good
With over 25 years of experience in direct response, marketing and design, I am a partner at Agents of Good, a fundraising and communications collaboration that is solely focused on the needs and giving behavior of donors. I am also the author of Creative Deviations, a book that showcases innovative and effective examples of donor-centered communications from around the world.
As an international speaker, I have traveled to various countries to share my insights and expertise on how to infuse and massage emotion and vulnerability into your asks, the ways you say thank you and how you report back on the impact of donors’ giving. I believe that at its heart, donor love is sharing and showing your amazing donors all of the things they make possible. I am passionate about helping fundraisers be more human and vulnerable to these other amazing humans we call donors, and seeing the results of increased giving and loyalty from the same donors.
If you’ve ever stared at the latest version of your appeal letter, riddled with soul-destroying “track changes” where every sentence sounds like it was written by a committee of people (or robots?) who have never met an actual donor, you are in good company. Truly. We’ve all seen the same letters: formal, predictable, safe … and boring AF.
I’ve spent my career trying to help organizations find unique voices to have more meaningful conversations with donors about their mission.
And the most effective voices (ie: help you raise more money) tend to be non-human. Don’t come at me.
I will give you four reasons you should consider trying this for an upcoming appeal.
- They are surprisingly creative.
- They nudge your donor towards making a positive decision (like making a gift).
- They combat our current fundraising realities.
- They are a persuasive voice.
Let me unpack this.
- They are surprisingly creative.
Using a non-human voice such as an emotive, expressive bag, bird, gavel, truck, horse, table is an unexpected creative surprise. It instantly breaks the mould of the usual monotony of a letter from your Executive Director (I honestly mean no disrespect to the executive directors reading this who are far from monotonous).
Donors gravitate towards voices and stories from these types of non-human voices because they are disarmingly playful. They no longer come across as a “pitch for money”.
These creative narrators have permission to tell more vulnerable, heartfelt stories without getting caught up in all of the human complexities of your organization and the best ones are a bit bizarre or come across as a bit cheesy. Yes – these are GREAT things since they stick to your donors brain and stay with your audience long after reading their story.
- They nudge your donor towards making a positive decision (like making a gift).
A letter from a bus or slam-dunking trojan named Hektor is far more likely to be remembered. This is called the bizarreness effect. Which is – we don’t easily forget things that are just plain weird.
Simple, emotional metaphors or perspectives from a character (verses copious amounts of jargon from ‘leadership’) are easier for our brains to process – and easier for us to say “yes” to. Cognitive ease is a thing. The simpler it is to understand and act upon, the more likely the positive outcome.
Humans, yes, all of us – rely on our feelings to make decisions. If I don’t feel something, I don’t do anything. Non-human voices and characters offer instant, simple, visual and emotional cues that make me feel something. Known as the affect heuristic.
Lastly, self identity theory is one of the most under-utilized principles in our craft. Donors project their values and feelings onto these non-human characters which creates space for stronger connections and bonds. I have seen donors share more emotional stories with a talking paper bag than any living, breathing fundraiser. Let that sink in.
- They combat our current fundraising realities.
Our world is a complex, over whelming and increasingly crowded with content landscape. And we are all struggling to keep up, stay on top of or even process what the hell is going on.
These sorts of characters and voices create opportunity for connection. Something we all want more of with the things that are important to us. We just want to feel something – more than we want more facts and figures.
They give donors permission to feel. It’s ok. You aren’t weak or unprofessional because you are bawling at a letter from a trapped turtle. This isn’t anything transactional about helping a scared storm cloud or lonely lunchbox.
Finally, they have been tested. And tried. For at least a hundred years. From animal shelters, to railway workers to food banks – they have worked and helped raise more money for their missions. Period.
- They are a persuasive voice.
They are a mental and visual ‘stop sign’. In a crowded mailbox or inbox – a letter from a Santa Claus stands out. It makes your organization different from the 30 others that day that all look and sound the same.
We have always bonded with mascots and characters, more often than we do with other normal humans. A non-human voice can become part of your brand story if you let it. Our friends at McDonalds or Kellogg’s or Coca-Cola have known this forever. Why are we so resistant to trying it on for ourselves? And why do so many of our professional leaders hate this approach?
These characters can be storytelling shortcuts for your big and complex problems. Instead of explaining and telling everything, you can show through visual characters and narratives which are easier for me to process (CHECK!), easier to imagine (CHECK!) and easier for me to take action on (CHECK!). Showing, not telling, will always be more persuasive.
The bottom line is, using non-human voices or characters in your appeals is just plain fun and creative. It tells your donors that you are an organization that isn’t afraid to be different.
If you’re reading this and asking (like I have been asked 1,000 times or more), “Yes John, but how do I convince my boss to let me try this?” well I can tell you my friend, that if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this for you, I would be sitting on a beach with my partner Rachel sipping on a refreshing mojito.
Some people, even presented with evidence that suggests the contrary, will never change their opinion or perspective. Also, status quo bias is a thing. Change or doing things different just feels scary. And for 200,000 years humans have been avoiding things that are scary or different than what everyone else is doing.
But I hope I have given you four pretty good reasons to give it a shot. Many of our friends and colleagues have and they have helped raise more money for their orgs and valuable missions. And isn’t that the point?
But most importantly, doing your work with a full creative heart that helps you form deeper connections with the hearts of your donors will actually help heal a bit of our wounded world and ultimately make you feel more expressive, creative and connected to our craft.
This post was written by a guest contributor. The views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect the positions of Fundraising Everywhere. Content from guest authors may reflect different approaches, experiences, or perspectives to those covered in other events and training.