Clayton Makepeace 2006 Copywriter's Challenge award recipient

Periodic News

Periodically I want to draw your attention to something special. Something I believe is relevant to your work and will benefit you. Hence the purpose of this section I call “Periodic News.”

It’s not a blog and updates are random. But in my world – as a fundraising and sales copywriter – I do come across events, conferences, and ideas worthy of special mention. Right here is where you’ll find them on my website, and subscribers to my newsletter can also read them there (Hint: Subscribe now to Karen’s Fundraising Tips).

June 2008
I attended a direct marketing conference at the end of May where I spent serious time soaking up the latest online direct marketing trends and tactics.

This area of marketing changes with blinding speed. It’s also easy to feel overwhelmed with the technology side of it. You can always find help with the technical stuff. Please make sure you concentrate on what tactics best fit into your marketing and fundraising strategy.

In order to continue providing the best copy I can to you, I also need to keep current. Many factors play into writing strong copy for your email campaigns and your website.

Here are some of the topics or sessions I attended: An incredible presentation on what is working now for SEO results; marketing with online video; Google Adwords; how to generate website traffic with social media; and mobile marketing (i.e., communicating with cell phones and other mobile devices for cultivation and advocacy).

Oh, and I’ve lined up a strategic partner to help me support client’s needs for online video. He’s got the technical side mastered and he’s also a breeze to work with. I’ve worked with him on a number of projects. So drop me a line or call if you want to strengthen your online presence through video or other tactics.

March 2008
I’ve been reading a number of articles lately that talk about having your writing – your fundraising copy – align with the donors’ personality. Good idea. It’s part of donor cultivation. So how do you do it?

Hopefully you have strong demographic and psychographic data on your major donors. This information is critical to communicating correctly with these very important people. And have your “customer service” trained staff take notes during every phone call and encounter with these people.

In addition to that file segment, I’m confident you realize that no two donors are exactly alike. But they can be grouped by 4 basic personality types. I’ve seen several different labels applied to these 4 types depending on who the author is. The labels aren’t what are most important so I haven’t included them.

Here are the 4 basic personality types:

Easily bored; love the fun; thrive on the new and exciting

“Just the facts, ma’am.” Cut right to the chase and tell them exactly what you want them to do. Bottom line.

Very analytical. Love details and plenty of documentation. Seldom fully satisfied that you’ve told them all they want to know.

Very sensitive and people oriented. Strong desire for messages of warmth and tenderness; relationships.

You want your messages to include everyone. One letter or email may not fully address the needs of all four types. However, you can put something in it for everyone.

Your newsletter (print or online) can certainly have articles presented in different ways to mesh perfectly with your different donors. Email is another media which allows you to directly tailor communications to align with each group at almost zero cost.

Regardless of the cause, your donor file will be a blend of all four personalities. Keep this in mind as you write your fundraising copy for print or online.

January 2008
Ever struggle for an idea, a theme, a new twist, or for a reason to send a communication to your association members or to your donors? With a little creativity you can choose from hundreds of ideas to tie your nonprofit mission into. Every day, week and month something “special” is going on and being recognized.

What do I mean?

These special events range from month long observances (e.g., American History Month, National Garden Month), to week long (e.g., Random Acts of Kindness Week), to special days (e.g., Polar Bear Day or Tell a Story Day). There’s such enormous variety that I’m confident you can find an event with an indirect tie to your mission if not a direct tie.

Here are a few links where lists of these special events can be found. I’ve noticed a bit of inconsistency on dates, so double check your data with more than one source.

Special Days on About.com

Special Days and Events on Missouri.gov

Bizarre Holidays on ThinkQuest.org

Holidays on Education-World.com

As a fundraising copywriter I’m always grateful for any sources of ideas. I’ve found sometimes just looking over the list can trigger a creative solution to my project. Hope you also find them helpful.

October 2007
I attended a one day workshop focused on public relations for nonprofits. It was a local event conducted an organization I’m a member of: PRISM (Public Relations Individuals in Southern Maryland). It was sold out with some nonprofit folks still hoping to attend.

Plus there were lots of questions during each session and good discussions on the breaks. All this tells me nonprofit organizations view public relations (PR) as a priority to their overall success. Rightly so.

A good PR program includes your website, special events, press releases, all communications with donors and members, branding, possible use of a mascot, and getting press coverage. And of course you want a consistent image presented on all fronts.

Yes, PR is part of your fundraising efforts. And of course, great copywriting is at the heart of it all.

August 2007
Proof. Proof. And proof a half-dozen more times. Odds are we’ve all done it. Sent something out in the mail (print or electronic) and missed a big mistake.

Sometimes it’s a typo. Or it could be how something is printed. Or perhaps a primary element of the package is eliminated. Another possibility is a very confusing order/reply device.

I received something at my home that fits into this category. I won’t mention the nonprofit organization. I will say it has been around since the late 1800’s and is internationally known. Anyway, I received an invitation to renew my membership for another year.

Problem was that although the letter copy promised it, there was no return envelope provided. Nor was there any information in the package on who to mail my reply card back to – no address or contact information. Therefore I really couldn’t reply without a whole lot of effort and extra time.

Oops. Check those packages carefully. A lot of hard work and revenue can be lost from these snafus.

June 8, 2007
I like helping my clients. And today I’m announcing a new tool designed for that very purpose: I’ve added a resource section to my website.

I’m a humble fundraising and sales copywriter who strives to exceed my clients’ expectations, and also serve those who haven’t yet retained my services. Both objectives link to the primary goal of the resources section.

My goal is for you to find at least two useful pieces of information to boost your nonprofit fundraising results. Either directly from something I’ve written, attending an event you learned about here, or perhaps indirectly through a vendor resource.

And some of the listed vendors also provide services to the for profit business sector. So if you fall in this category, I encourage you to also take a look.

February 1, 2007
“Hats off” to the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation (DMANF). They hosted a terrific conference January 25-26, 2007 in Washington D.C. . . . the 2007 Annual Washington Nonprofit Conference. Whether you’re a humble fundraising copywriter like me, a creative services director for an agency, the development director of a nonprofit, or anywhere in-between, this conference is for you.

Highlights included the two keynote speakers: Vicki Escarra, President and CEO, America's Second Harvest. And William P. Magee, Jr., D.D.S., M.D., Co-founder and CEO, Operation Smile. Both were gifted speakers with powerful messages to share.

In addition, we all enjoyed an informative and humorous talk by Larry May, CEO of Direct Media Inc. Mr. May was honored as the recipient of the Max L. Hart Nonprofit Achievement Award.

A great diversity of topics and experts made choosing which session to attend quite a challenge. All the sessions I attended were excellent! And based on conversations with other attendees, everyone was very glad they came and they learned a great deal. We all acquired new tools to make our work easier.

I recommend you block out your calendar to attend this event next year. I’ll let you know the dates well in advance in "Karen's Fundraising Tips" newsletter.

September 16, 2006
Many thanks to all the folks at Direct Response Solutions who put together an exceptional seminar yesterday in Baltimore, MD. They delivered a seminar rich in content at a very reasonable price. I imagine the nonprofits also appreciated that there was no 'selling' from stage or anywhere else in the room.

The primary topics included:

Characteristics of High-Performing Direct Mail Programs
Using Analytics to Build Sound Strategies (donor relationships)
Donor-Needs Based Creative Strategies

Each fall DRS holds direct response fundraising seminars in 4-5 locations around the country. Definitely worth your time to attend. I’ll keep you posted on next year’s schedule in my monthly newsletter, "Karen's Fundraising Tips."

July 15, 2006
I just spent two days at the 2006 Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference in Washington D.C. This content rich event was co-hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (D.C. chapter), and the Direct Marketing Association (Washington D.C. chapter).

The primary target audience was nonprofit organizations. However, anyone working with nonprofits can definitely benefit by attending. Topics included anything and everything related to marketing, creative efforts, raising funds, donor relations, operating a nonprofit, leadership, etc.

I strongly encourage anyone working for or supporting a nonprofit organization to seriously consider attending this event next year. I’ll keep you posted on it in my monthly newsletter, "Karen's Fundraising Tips."

I personally found it very worthwhile and I heard nothing but rave reviews from all the folks I met and spoke with.

April 21, 2006
At the Clayton Makepeace 2006 Power Marketing Summit, Karen Zapp was announced as a recipient of the “2006 Copywriter’s Challenge” Award (3rd place category). Competition was keen, including some of the leading copywriters of the country.

The announcement was made during the Gala Banquet on Friday evening. The Power Marketing Summit was held April 20-22, 2006 at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Washington D.C.

Call anytime and we’ll chat about your needs: 800-794-1609

I look forward to helping you prosper.