The thrill of response. The agony of silence.

in Copywriting - Nonprofit,Marketing for Nonprofits

Sending out a nonprofit marketing campaign and hearing nothing but crickets chirping is deflating. The silence and lack of response is agony.

It’s also costly.

Agony of low nonprofit responseEver considered that the low response is because your donors or members sensed your lack of enthusiasm?

You weren’t excited about the content you wrote and your lack of energy came through in the copy.

So perhaps your lack of excitement is the reason response was less than thrilling.

After all, copywriting without energy kills response.

Relax! Relax!

I’m NOT suggesting that you’re not compassionate about your cause or mission. Nothing of the sort.

But when you have to crank out email after email . . . letter after letter plus lift notes, reply devices, teaser copy, etc. . . . Tweet after tweet after Facebook update . . . oh and it’s also newsletter time again.

Well, with everything else on your plate sometimes you can lose the excitement. Writing the copy becomes another chore to complete.

I had these thoughts after reading an article on The Content Strategist, “How to Ignite the Thrill in Marketing Campaigns.”

The author suggests focusing on what gets you pumped. Only write about what gets you excited.

Hmmm. That’s easier said than done.

If you don’t have multiple nonprofit copywriters on staff who can switch off to keep fresh and excited about the content, then it may all fall upon you.

If so, you need to find a way to recharge your batteries.

Interview donors and members. What are they excited about? Their enthusiasm is contagious.

Any new employees you can talk to? Perhaps their energy and why they came on board can spark your writing.

Are there volunteers, advocates, donors or members who could do some writing for you? They may only contribute a few paragraphs, but it could be enough to fire you up.

Or out source the writing – at least for awhile. I can’t tell you how many projects I’ve gotten from nonprofits and agencies working with nonprofits, all who were looking for a fresh approach.

Again, if the response rates to your appeals are dwindling, consider this possibility: We’re you truly excited about the copy you wrote? Did it leave you in a state of high excitement?

If not; then you need to get the energy and excitement back into the creative process. Readers sense it and their higher response rates are thrilling. And it saves you the agony of silence (AKA: painfully low response).

Related posts:

Get out of the creative rut

Compelling stories from the field via interviews

7 tips for better subject lines and envelope teasers

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