5 Last Minute Tips to Get People to GiveBIG

Get them to GiveBIG!If you’re in throes of planning for GiveBIG, you’re probably wondering how someone could NOT know it’s GiveBIG tomorrow?!

Because they have a lot going on.

AND even if they know it’s GiveBIG, they may not have decided whether they’re going to give to you. Bear in mind they’ve been asked by a lot of non profits to give.

If you’re sending out a Day Of email (which you should), here are 5 tips to up your open rate–a critical step on GiveBIG day:

  1. Put the most important information at the beginning of your subject line: It’s now or not until next year. Make it happen today. Right now. Stat!
  2. Stand out: Again, lots of donors getting lots of email on a busy, busy day. That’s the scenario. Make them laugh. Make them pause. Shock them. Delight them. Make them see how they can play a Big Role on the Big Day. Don’t simply say it’s GiveBIG. That’s expected and they’ll read it a bunch of time. Say it in a way that’ll make them notice YOUR email.
  3. Keep it short: 40-50 characters max. This also goes for the content of your email. This isn’t a ‘getting to know you’  moment. It’s a ‘get on it’ moment. Quickly remind them why they should give and then get out of their way and let them do it.
  4. Use ‘You‘: By using ‘you’, you help people see how they fit in. Sure, it’s about all of us and you’ll be tempted to use ‘we’. In the subject line, it’s all about the ‘you’.
  5. One Call to Action (CTA): Don’t distract with other Calls to Action. In your follow up email (which, of course, you will also send), give them other ways to engage. On May 2, it’s GiveBIG or go home.

Good luck tomorrow! 

 

Adjective Adjustment: 3 Rules of Thumb

Eye-catching adjectives (and adverbs) can enliven an otherwise ho-hum hunk of copy. But you have to be careful how you use them. If you overuse them, you risk irritating or boring your reader. They are, after all, extra words and each word takes time to read, so you have to make each word worth their while.

To help you avoid adjective awkwardness, here are three Rules of Thumb for effectively using adjectives in mission-driven messaging.

  1. Keep Calls to Action (CTAs) adjective-free: There’s a reason ‘Donate Now’, ‘Sign-up Today’, and other short CTAs work. They get right to the point. Go with it.
  2. No trash: If you can get the point across without the adjective, do it. Otherwise, you risk gunking up your copy. This is especially true for shorter pieces (FB posts, Tweets, etc.) and CTAs (see #1 above).  Example: “We helped protect 1,000 acres of precious wetlands.” Knowing they’re precious doesn’t make much of a difference. It mainly makes you wonder what un-precious wetlands are. Make sure it adds value to the point. Otherwise, delete.
  3. Don’t be boring: When an adjective can help you grab someone’s attention–e.g. subject lines–pick something that will stand out. Avoid overused adjectives like thriving, successful and amazing. We expect to see these words so we don’t really see them. It’s wasted space. Pick adjectives that evoke emotion or speak to the reader’s senses. There are approximately 100,000 adjectives in the English language. Find one that adds some zing to your thing!

This is a mash-up from a variety of sources. If you want to dig deeper, I recommend Roger Dooley’s Neuromarketing blog and Jason Cohen’s post 10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy on Copyblogger.

Do you communicate as effectively as you think?

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Do you communicate as effectively as you think?

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