Don Akchin

How long does your email have to make an impression? What do you have to get across? We’re talking seconds here.

A free e-book, Homer Simpson for Nonprofits, promises to tell “The Truth about How People Really Think & What It Means for Promoting Your Cause.” From Network for Good and Sea Change Strategies, the book explains behavioral economics, which posits that most people do not make decisions rationally like Alan Greenspan, but impulsively and emotionally like Homer. This readable little book has provocative ideas that apply to every organization that needs to win the support of impulsive people with short attention spans.

Photo: Peter Emmett One key to getting your email messages read is a compelling subject line. Blogger Joanne Fritz offers a number of useful suggestions. Tom Belford at The Agitator offers another great tip: Be specific. Here’s an example of a headline that got my attention, from a software vendor:re vendor: WHEN WE SAY YOU’RE LIKE A FRUIT BAT,WE MEAN IT IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY. (The text, in case you wondered, talks about the value of symbiotic relationships between the product and the customer.)

Here is the kind of breakthrough thinking that either drives you to new insights or just drives you around the bend. In brief, the concept is that consumers choose where to “spend” their attention, a scarce commodity these days. Therefore when they invest their attention, they want a return – something useful, interesting, or inspiring. Blogger Britt Bravo has more.

Here is the kind of breakthrough thinking that either drives you to new insights or just drives you around the bend. In brief, the concept is that consumers choose where to “spend” their attention, a scarce commodity these days. Therefore when they invest their attention, they want a return – something useful, interesting, or inspiring. Blogger Britt Bravo has more.

Here is the kind of breakthrough thinking that either drives you to new insights or just drives you around the bend. In brief, the concept is that consumers choose where to “spend” their attention, a scarce commodity these days. Therefore when they invest their attention, they want a return – something useful, interesting, or inspiring. Blogger Britt Bravo has more.

I opened a piece of direct mail yesterday just because I respected the institution (which shall be nameless) that sent it. Unfortunately, the genius copywriter lost me as soon as he said hello with this deathless prose: “This is XYZ today. This is the XYZ of tomorrow. This is the XYZ I want you to know.” I instantly heard the pounding drums from “Thus Sprake Zarathustra” (aka theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey) but steeled myself for another line, until I got to: “The XYZ of the twenty-first century is active, responsive, builds community, transforms lives, impacts positive growth, strengthens families, and it provides real economic returns by empowering people across the City and State.” I’m sure it does. I’m also sure 50 other nonprofits in the city could stake the same claim. I wouldn’t even mind reading a statement like that in my obituary. But what have I learned

I opened a piece of direct mail yesterday just because I respected the institution (which shall be nameless) that sent it. Unfortunately, the genius copywriter lost me as soon as he said hello with this deathless prose: “This is XYZ today. This is the XYZ of tomorrow. This is the XYZ I want you to know.” I instantly heard the pounding drums from “Thus Sprake Zarathustra” (aka theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey) but steeled myself for another line, until I got to: “The XYZ of the twenty-first century is active, responsive, builds community, transforms lives, impacts positive growth, strengthens families, and it provides real economic returns by empowering people across the City and State.” I’m sure it does. I’m also sure 50 other nonprofits in the city could stake the same claim. I wouldn’t even mind reading a statement like that in my obituary. But what have I learned

I opened a piece of direct mail yesterday just because I respected the institution (which shall be nameless) that sent it. Unfortunately, the genius copywriter lost me as soon as he said hello with this deathless prose: “This is XYZ today. This is the XYZ of tomorrow. This is the XYZ I want you to know.” I instantly heard the pounding drums from “Thus Sprake Zarathustra” (aka theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey) but steeled myself for another line, until I got to: “The XYZ of the twenty-first century is active, responsive, builds community, transforms lives, impacts positive growth, strengthens families, and it provides real economic returns by empowering people across the City and State.” I’m sure it does. I’m also sure 50 other nonprofits in the city could stake the same claim. I wouldn’t even mind reading a statement like that in my obituary. But what have I learned