Writing for Digitalafptoronto.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Y-03-Tom-Ahern.pdf · President Obama’s Top 15 Moneymaking Subject Lines ($690 million raised) 1. I am just so happy

© 2016 Tom Ahern / www.aherncomm.com 1

Writing for

Digital Web, mobile, email, Facebook

Tom Ahern


Writing for

Digital Web, mobile, email, Facebook

Tom Ahern

Making Money on

Digital

3 © 2016 Tom Ahern / www.aherncomm.com

The Book Loft,

Great Barrington, MA


5 © 2016 Tom Ahern

Agents of Good, 2016

IS digital all that different?

• for clickers, not readers

• sound and movement possible

• eyeballs (“friends,” email addresses)

• “hooks” (capture my attention)

• frequency (tenacity pays off)

• content (journey stuff)

• offers (action stuff)


Web + Mobile + Email + Facebook?

NOT 4 things. ONE thing.


The first gift you ask

for is my attention.

8 © 2016 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com

The average attention

span of an adult human in

2013 was 8 seconds.

We’re #1!


The best hook you have

is the word “you.”

You is glue.

10 © 2016 Tom Ahern

© 2016 Tom Ahern 11

NAMES are good, too.

THIS GOAT COST ME

$120. AND I WAS A

LAPSED DONOR...

Leonard

Coyne

Thought

of this. Lifted wholly from

Sean Triner

© 2016 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 13

In

the

Big

Type!

Source: WiredImpact, 2016

I pay attention to what

interests me.

And what interests me

most is me. Ask anyone.



It’s hard to punch

through. “The

average adult

receives 147 emails

a day.” ~ Digital Marketer, 2016


“For every 1,000

fundraising [emails]

delivered to

supporters, groups in

our study raised $40.”

New metrics for a new channel.


If you have a 30% opening

rate, they like hearing from

you.

If you have a 15% opening

rate, you have work to do

on your attitude, content,

and subject lines.

Email Job #1: Get opened

Your subject lines don’t

suck enough


“Ugly works. Tacky

works. Corny,

embarrassing, and

messy all work. In

print, or in digital.”


Source: Jeff Brooks, Future Fundraising Now, 2014

President Obama’s Top 15 Moneymaking Subject Lines

($690 million raised)

1. I am just so happy

2. I want to do this again

3. My uncle Teddy

4. This isn’t already illegal?

5. My place, June 14th

6. Karl Rove sent you a message

7. Hey

8. Me again

9. Saturday night

10. Up late

11. I love you back

12. Hell yeah, I like Obamacare

13. I tried.

14. Wow

15. Clutch


PURPOSE OF

SUBJECT

LINE: TO GET

OPENED

Email Job #2: Click-through

Give me something

interesting to DO


23

One interesting

photo...

Micro-story: the

conflict....

Micro-story: the

happy ending....

Something to click

on (i.e., an offer)

© 2016 Tom Ahern / www.aherncomm.com

24

“...the minimal email

copy resulted in a 6.5%

click through rate.

Average is 2-4% so

definitely had a positive

effect.” Andrew G, 3/5/15



The purpose of email

and Facebook? To drive

people to your website

or giving page.

...Where they GO

to make their gift!


“65% of all emails are

read on mobile”

Constant Contact March 2015

Which means the next

thing they see is your

website




Ready for

2006

Ready for

2016

http://mobiletest.me/

Job #1 for home pages and

giving pages?

Deliver a good donor

experience


Does YOUR home

page say “We

need you?”


Unintentionally, many

charities come across

as egotistical maniacs.


ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US ABOUT US


ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT

THE

DONOR


COLD


WHERE

ARE YOU?

WARM


36

eye contact

something

unexpected

the promise

real life


37

COLD

ZERO “YOU”


38

CHILLY

DONORS GO ON TOP, NOT THE BOTTOM

ONE “YOU” ON

THE BOTTOM


39

WARMER

ZERO “YOU” BUT AT LEAST

DONORS ARE EQUAL


40

HOT & TOP

There's an enormous amount of

pleasure associated with the giving

experience. We don't exploit that

enough. We make it dry. It's more

about credit cards than feelings.


Case study re:

“anchoring,” a.k.a.,

“priming”


Source: Leah Eustace


A concept worth knowing about


Greenpeace began as a handful

of audacious people in a rented

fishing boat challenging the US

government over nuclear testing.


Go to Greenpeace USA online.

What’s the FIRST thing you see?

What does that tell you?

Greenpeace, founded in the US, 1971. Current US “members”: 250,000; 2.8 million worldwide. “Members” = money.


46


What’s my SMIT?

SMIT = Single Most Important Thing

I have to tell you today


GREENPEACE KNOWS

WHAT IT WANTS MOST.

DO YOU?

Offers, the supreme

importance of



The offer


[this appears on the bottom of page 2...]

Second offer...


[this appears on the bottom of page 4...]

The matching

gift offer

again...

Digital is no different

than print.

It’s just another messaging channel,

aimed at certain ears and eyes.



54

URGENCY HELPS!

Your offer is simply

your call to action



Source: Jeff Brooks, 2014


2.6 million

responded;

about a third died

You just have to ask.

Incredible generosity

and sacrifice follow.

The story’s about the donor

...every time someone donates to a good cause, they're buying a

story, a story that's worth more than the amount they donated.

It might be the story of doing the right thing, or fitting in, or

pleasing a friend or honoring a memory, but the story has value.

For many, it's the story of what it means to be part of a

community.

Source: Seth Godin

58 © 2016 Tom Ahern

Charities, listen up:

You’re helping me with

my life story. That’s all.


60

Source: Psychologist Viktor Frankl, via the For Impact blog

“Humans are driven by a will to

establish meaning in their lives.

They need purpose.”

That’s your real job in donor communications:

to bestow purpose in exchange for support.

© 2016 Tom Ahern

© 2016 Tom Ahern

Top: Mark Phillips, Bluefrog

Left: Lisa Sargent & Denisa Casement present Nana Murphy


IF YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT

FUNDRAISING GROWTH, BABY

BOOMERS ARE YOUR PRIMARY

TARGET RIGHT NOW ...

... NOT MILLENNIALS

You didn’t really think it

would be that easy?


Baby boomers aren’t digital

natives. Boomers grew up with

paper. Print will always be a big

and romantic part of their lives.

reporting on Jeff Brooks’ data

Giving is sacred, even

when it’s secular.


65

Don’t just ask me to

DO something.

Ask me to

FEEL

something.


St. Jude’s language

• “I can never thank you enough”

• “Because of you”

• “Thanks to your support”

• “Thanks to friends like you”

• “The support of friends like you”

Source: Pam Grow


You don’t really need more

money. You need more true

believers.

Money follows values.


Values-based non-

monetary offers build

your base.



Pareto, Australia


No YOU,

but

doesn’t

matter...

WHY?

Pareto, Australia


How Soi Dog makes money from Facebook...

NON-MONEY OFFER

A$K

NON-MONEY OFFER

A$K A$K

Facebook ads

Source: Sean Triner, 2016

Tomorrow, at 2 PM,

Sean will take you

deeply inside

Facebook fundraising!!

Connect!

© 2016 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 73



Kivi Leroux Miller


GO FOR

MENTAL NODS

(Thank you, Siegfried Vögele,

honorary Canadian)


Mental nod


Secret to success.......

Say stuff the reader might

agree with ... like ... or

respond to emotionally.

79

Mental nod


80

Mental nod

Mental nod © 2016 Tom Ahern / www.aherncomm.com

Mental nod



Mental nod

“DONATE” in

contrasting

color Eye contact


Mental nod

“My future’s never

been brighter.”

84

Mental nod Creative: Shanon Doolittle


How’s your donation

landing page?


Network for Good’s Website Test

Is yours ready for donors?



Greenpeace is an

independent organization

that does not take money

from corporations or

government. We rely entirely

on financial support from

people like you to do the

important work that we do.





90

The lifetime value of a

monthly donor is 6-8

times higher than the LTV

of an annual donor.

Adrian Sargeant, 2015


91

75% of charitable

bequests now come from

monthly donors. A

bequest is 7 times more

likely from a monthly

donor.

Erica Waasdorp, The Sleeping Giant





Visually compelling photo

outperforms strong video

on donation page by 20%.

Salsa Labs, March 2015



Every time I look at an online

fundraising program that's not gaining

traction, the most damaging part of the

program, the single thing that's turning

away donors before they can give, is

poorly built giving pages.

95

Source: Jeff Brooks, September 2014


Does it have to

be this bad?



USES PAYPAL


USES PAYPAL, TOO

Just for you, if you thirst to star...

FREE 10-lesson e-course

that teaches you how to

create a GREAT donation

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http://learn.networkforgood.org/enroll-in-the-ultimate-donation-page-

course.html


Focus on:

subject lines

offers

frequency

connection (values and all that jive)

#donorlove (who’s the hero?)

weaving the donor into every story


101

You’re in my home, brain and face:

“Why are you here?”

Bad guest or good?


To make ME

feel good!!!

102

Important!

Wanted!

Needed!

Proud of myself!

Happy!

Pleased!

Entertained! Surprised!


103

My

free

how-to

e-newsletter…

www.aherncomm.com

I subscribe!


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Writing for Digitalafptoronto.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Y-03-Tom-Ahern.pdf · President Obama’s Top 15 Moneymaking Subject Lines ($690 million raised) 1. I am just so happy