Don Akchin

Saving the world isn’t enough anymore, argues Joe Waters, co-author of Cause Marketing for Dummies. In a post for Nonprofit Quarterly, he argues that nonprofits must publish useful content – whether through blogs, email newsletters, e-books, reports or videos. It’s the way to maintain a strong brand, to stand out from the crowd, and to make sure potential donors know who you are. When you’re ready to put together a content strategy, let’s talk.

In the early 1990s, a direct mail company in Seattle discovered, through relentless testing, a formula that turned routine newsletters to donors into dependable fundraising machines. The writing was donor-centered, the headlines powerful, the articles short – and five more key points.  Copywriter and blogger Jeff Brooks, a member of that Seattle firm at the time, recites the entire formula, then adds a few things he’s learned in the years since then. Could it work for you? Yes, it absolutely could.  And I will be happy to show you how.  

The Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (SOFII) offers a story of how an organization’s design makeover of its newsletter paid off by making an astounding difference in fundraising.  

Nonprofit consultant Kivi Leroux Miller has a creative suggestion for increasing your communications to your audiences: instead of two newsletters a year, why not spend the same money on six postcards?

The best donor recognition, says Jeff Brooks at Donor Power blog, is to show them what you’ve accomplished with their money. The way to do it, he argues, is a newsletter that centers not on your achievements per se, but on the donor.

The best donor recognition, says Jeff Brooks at Donor Power blog, is to show them what you’ve accomplished with their money. The way to do it, he argues, is a newsletter that centers not on your achievements per se, but on the donor.

The best donor recognition, says Jeff Brooks at Donor Power blog, is to show them what you’ve accomplished with their money. The way to do it, he argues, is a newsletter that centers not on your achievements per se, but on the donor.

Marketing Sherpa offers a free downloadable report on the most common mistakes organizations make when producing e-newsletters.

Marketing Sherpa offers a free downloadable report on the most common mistakes organizations make when producing e-newsletters.

Marketing Sherpa offers a free downloadable report on the most common mistakes organizations make when producing e-newsletters.

At Nonprofit Communications, Kivi Leroux Miller offers some sobering observations under the heading “Five Sure Signs Your Print Newsletter Is Really Boring.”

At Nonprofit Communications, Kivi Leroux Miller offers some sobering observations under the heading “Five Sure Signs Your Print Newsletter Is Really Boring.”

At Nonprofit Communications, Kivi Leroux Miller offers some sobering observations under the heading “Five Sure Signs Your Print Newsletter Is Really Boring.”

When it comes to telling your story, one size does not fit all. What you want your clients/customers to hear is seldom the same thing you want potential donors to hear – and if it is, you surely don’t want to say it to both audiences in the same way. That’s why I cringe when I see newsletters that try to cover all constituencies in a single publication. Look at it this way: If one-third of the newsletter appeals to clients, one-third appeals to donors, and one-third appeals to partners, then everyone who gets the newsletter will find two-thirds of it irrelevant. It’s better to pick a target and direct all the newsletter content to that target alone. If the target is clients, then reach donors and partners separately with letters or e-newsletters that are focused, laser-like, on them and them alone.

When it comes to telling your story, one size does not fit all. What you want your clients/customers to hear is seldom the same thing you want potential donors to hear – and if it is, you surely don’t want to say it to both audiences in the same way. That’s why I cringe when I see newsletters that try to cover all constituencies in a single publication. Look at it this way: If one-third of the newsletter appeals to clients, one-third appeals to donors, and one-third appeals to partners, then everyone who gets the newsletter will find two-thirds of it irrelevant. It’s better to pick a target and direct all the newsletter content to that target alone. If the target is clients, then reach donors and partners separately with letters or e-newsletters that are focused, laser-like, on them and them alone.

When it comes to telling your story, one size does not fit all. What you want your clients/customers to hear is seldom the same thing you want potential donors to hear – and if it is, you surely don’t want to say it to both audiences in the same way. That’s why I cringe when I see newsletters that try to cover all constituencies in a single publication. Look at it this way: If one-third of the newsletter appeals to clients, one-third appeals to donors, and one-third appeals to partners, then everyone who gets the newsletter will find two-thirds of it irrelevant. It’s better to pick a target and direct all the newsletter content to that target alone. If the target is clients, then reach donors and partners separately with letters or e-newsletters that are focused, laser-like, on them and them alone.