Development officers: Can action-driving copy improve your donor response?

The M-word. Remember when "marketing" was unmentionable in non-profit circles? Not any more. Today savvy fundraisers know effective marketing is essential in the heated competition for donor dollars.

Good marketing materials drive action. Carefully crafted copy moves donors to click, call, join, sign-up, write, volunteer, give.

Wonder why your donors tune you out?

"Our previous effort to create a website came up short: Capturing the voice, tone, mission, image and message of Connecticut Quest for Peace is like orchestrating a symphony and MarketCopywriter did not miss a note in handling our many challenges. Lorraine is a gift." (read more) Randy Klein Executive Director Connecticut Quest for Peace

If you're like most fundraisers, you worry about donor fatigue. But the truth is, many donors aren't tired of giving—they're just tired.

Like most Americans, your donors are assaulted daily by hundreds of ads and fundraising appeals. Messages shout from magazines, TV, radio, the Internet, billboards—ads even appear on urinal walls!

How can you cut through the chatter and reach your distracted—and increasingly impatient—giver?

To get fundraising results, focus copy on your donors' needs—not yours.
Here's a secret you may already know: Donors are selfish—they're human! Over-scheduled and harried, when asked to give—time, attention, money—they rightfully ask, "What's in it for me?"

Ignore this truism and your campaign—and organization—suffer.

To reach your donors, stop flogging them with your name, your needs, your facts and figures, your achievements. Instead, focus fundraising materials on your donors' needs, desires and concerns.

Sound like heresy? See for yourself: Compare and contrast two fundraising copy samples.

Fulfill your donors' heart's desire—and watch them fulfill yours.
Great fundraising content follows many of the same rules as effective marketing copy. Results-driving fundraising materials speak to your donors' core desires and feelings. Compassion, grief, nostalgia, competition, vanity, anger, spiritual yearning are just a few of the emotions that move donors to action.

Take advantage of a copywriter with firsthand non-profit experience.
Do marketing types make you antsy? Now you can work with a goal-focused copywriter who has more than a passing interest in your not-for-profit work. Take a few minutes to read about MarketCopywriter and you'll see I ran a non-profit organization in New York City for more than a decade before entering the marketplace.

To craft action-driving copy for your organization I stay on top of the latest online and print copywriting trends—in e-commerce, social media, SEO copywriting and more—to customize fundraising copy that works for your non-profit organization and donors.

Save time and money: Put a freelance copywriter on your fundraising team.
As a development professional you're under constant pressure to maximize donor dollars and minimize administrative and marketing expenses. An unsalaried freelancer provides a creative solution for copy challenges: You get all the benefits of a staff writer—and none of the logistical hassles and long term financial commitment.

With 14 years of professional copywriting under my belt, I come quickly up to speed on complex projects. I add creative juice to your fundraising strategies and blend in easily with your staff. And you never have to hand-hold me through a project. I research independently, ask the right questions at the beginning of a job and bring work in on deadline every time.

Take no risks: Contact me for a FREE, no-obligation consult.
Whether you need a single fundraising letter, a variety of integrated marketing communications tools or a bouquet of fresh creative concepts to help recharge your donors, you can count on MarketCopywriter. Please contact me to discuss your project—or take advantage of a free, no-obligation consult.

Not quite ready for a conversation? I understand. Take a moment to learn more about me and MarketCopywriter.

Like to see how copywriting supports your campaign? Browse my portfolio and see for yourself how targeted copy resolves your most pressing fundraising challenges.