4 powerful writing tips for charities
Working at a not-for-profit can be incredibly rewarding. It’s wonderful to wake up in the morning and know your day is going to create positive change.
Many people working in this field have a deep motivation to support the cause they care about, and often find themselves wondering how they can do more to enhance their impact.
How can they raise more money, or attract new donors, or empower once-off givers to become regulars?
The answer is good writing.
Good writing is compelling, emotive, and makes people want to open their wallets. But particularly when it comes to charities, good writing also has to be cost effective. Your time is valuable, and it needs to be used wisely to ensure the best result for the cause.
Let’s walk through four key writing tips to help charities boost their fundraising and get more money to where it’s needed most.
1. Create content in batches.
We’re more productive in batches. It’s like meal prep for content.
It takes time to get into the zone of writing for a particular medium, or on a certain topic. But once you get the ball rolling, it’s much easier to spark new connections and come up with great offshoot ideas.
Some fundraisers sit down to write entire customer eDM journeys at once, to ensure the flow maintains engagement and the voice stays consistent from registration through to the post-event thank you.
Others will focus on one topic at a time—like a promising current research project—choosing to create 20 pieces of evergreen, cross-channel content from a few key interviews.
As you’re writing, think about the next logical chapter of the piece you’re working on, and jot down ideas for when you next need inspiration. Work in series, rather than single posts.
Think about capturing conversations on video, taking photos, and noting key pull-out quotes, so they’re on hand when you need to repurpose.
3. Use the rule of seven.
Most marketers know of the rule of seven. It says that consumers need seven prompts before they commit to purchasing a product.
It might be seeing an ad in their Facebook feed, or receiving an eDM, or even chatting to a salesperson in store.
It’s based in behaviourial psychology, and whether you agree with the number or not, it’s a great reminder to include more calls to action in your content and repeat key pieces of information.
You might think about applying the rule of seven to your long-form donation appeals, or building it into your post-donation customer journey as you thank your donor and motivate their next gift.
2. Speak the donor’s language.
At first, asking for money can feel strange or forced. But good fundraisers know that an ask is not an awkward plea at all.
It’s actually selling the one product everyone wants—the opportunity to make an impact.
Simply shifting your tone and mindset from needy to benefit driven will instantly elevate your content.
And while it can be tempting to talk about collective progress, never forget you’re writing to an audience of one. You goal is to hook them and engage them, naturally drawing them into a story on a page or on a screen, before concluding with a call to action they can’t ignore.
It means using the second person (or better, their name) and a conversational tone. Ground big-picture goals with individual dollar handles so your reader can see where their $10 gift could go. And keep your content as brief as it needs to be.
4. Outsource to an expert service.
Spending a little upfront can make a lot down the track.
Outsourcing your content to an expert is an investment, and one that can quite dramatically strengthen the fundraising power of your charity.
Because in addition to nurturing an empowered community of supporters who want to give, you can digest strategic learnings straight from the experts and apply them across your business communications.
Learn how to write an email subject line that gets opened, or how to make people feel motivated to fundraise once they’ve registered for an event. No online course required.
Two Heads specialises in not-for-profit marketing, with copywriting and content creation being some of our most in-demand services. If you’re seeking support to maximise your impact, we’re always available for a chat.