Thursday April 24- Self plagiarization

Hi !

I remember: What’s cookin this week

In this week’s enews…

• What’s it called when you say the same thing over and over?

• 7 ways to change how you compose fundraising copy

• Learn from the good: Friday Foto

• A must read post: Sentinels, Arcadians and midsize donors

• Strategy Insider: A look under the nonprofit hood

• Every day I remember

• How’s your Q2 going?

Let’s dive into this week’s pain point: Fundraising copy. You find yourself writing the same thing over and over again and you’re not sure how to change it up. Let’s go.

A: Write it again and again and…

I worked with a national nonprofit for seven years. Part of the work I did for them included…

• Managed their direct mail campaigns, including writing the letters and emails

• Composed speeches for the CEO

• Crafted presentations for the CEO

• Wrote and submitted grant applications to foundation funders

• Took part in creating partnerships with corporations

• Wrote website, social media, email and marketing material copy

Notice the common thread above? I did a LOT of writing.

Five times I was in charge of their year-end campaign. The first two years I wrote it. In year three I told the organization to hire a fundraising copywriting expert.

“Why?” asked the CEO.

“Because at this point I’ve been writing the same thing over and over for a few years and I can’t come up with new ways to say the same thing,” I answered.

When I mentioned this to my friend Jacob, he totally understood and said he calls it “self plagiarization.”

I LOVE that term because it’s very accurate!

If you’re involved in fundraising and marketing you do a LOT of writing and at some point you may feel like you don’t know how to write the copy for a fundraising campaign. Not because you don’t know how to write but because you feel like you’re just saying the same thing over and over.

You wanna change things up but you’re not sure how. Let’s get to potential solutions.

2: Fresh perspectives for your copy

It’s important to remember that almost no one reads every letter you send, every email you deliver and every social media post you publish. Maybe you’re tired of saying the same thing over and over but your audience may not be tired of it.

However, I totally understand what it’s like staring at a blank screen and trying to figure out a new way to share with readers what you’ve already said a million times.

Here are some ideas to try and avoid self plagiarization:

1. Call donors: Thank them for their gift, share some impact and then ask them questions: What program do they like best? Why do they give to your organization? What impact do they want to have in the community? Getting their answers will give you fresh ideas for how to approach writing about the problem you want them to solve.

2. Ask someone else: Ask a non-fundraising staff member, a volunteer or even a beneficiary to write a first draft. Their perspective and way they view your mission gives you something different to work with. Or try this…

3. Change the voice: Rather than the fundraising letter coming from the CEO, how about a beneficiary signs the letter? That will force you to compose copy from their viewpoint, in their voice, which will be different than your ED.

4. ChatGPT: Give ChatGPT prompts about your mission, who you serve, the problem to be solved and ask ChatGPT to compose a fundraising letter. Will it be good enough to send? Heck no! You’ll absolutely need to review, edit, change and add copy. But instead of wasting time staring at the screen and not typing, get a first draft and work on that.

5. Survey: Why did I share a survey last week? Because I want to hear from all of you what pain points you’re dealing with. That provides me with ideas of what to share in the enews. Survey your audience and find out what interests them, what impact they want to have, how they view your mission. Use the info to craft your copy.

6. Use a product: You can use an online product such as Kindsight which, like ChatGPT, uses AI to craft copy. Products like Kindsight (the copywriting part) can be more accurate than ChatGPT as it was developed by fundraisers for fundraisers. Keep in mind that it’s a good first draft but will need the human touch to create finished copy that converts.

7. Hire a consultant: Yes I know, the boss doesn’t wanna spend money. But if you hire great fundraising copywriters, you’ll raise more! Spend a buck to make three. Let someone from the outside with fresh eyes write your fundraising copy.

Just so you have a data point about number seven above: In the three years I managed the organization’s year-end campaign and the copy was written by a copywriting expert, the campaign ROI was 400-500%.

That means the organization made 400-500% more than they spent on copywriting, printing and mailing. I’d say that’s a pretty damn good return on investment!

Writing fundraising copy is tough. And if you’ve been doing it for awhile you may feel your copy is getting stale.

Use the ideas above to help craft copy which will raise more money for your organization!

Here are some great posts to help make sure your copy is effective:

• 21 ½ tips for writing better fundraising copy 

• Does your audience understand you? 

• Why “because” matters to your ask 

• 3 creative writing techniques to elevate your copy 

• Quick tips to improve your fundraising writing

7: Learn from the good- Friday Foto

Meghan Walsh is the Founder of Roots Ethiopia, a wonderful organization which works with communities in rural Ethiopia to improve schools, educate children and enable livelihoods.

Each Friday Meghan emails a Friday Foto related to the organization’s work.

I love these emails! A simple but creative way to delight readers, make them smile, share the impact they’re having while educating them about the people they want to help.

I look forward to these Friday morning emails. A great way to start the weekend!

Thank you Meghan for showing us how to connect with supporters, for the work you do and for making the world a better place!

1: A little of this and that

Here’s some great content for you to learn from:

1. Learn about Sentinels, Arcadians and the future of philanthropy. A must read!!! The title may make it sound political. It’s not. Mark is one of the top fundraising experts out there and I thought this was an EXCELLENT post. (Mark Phillips)

2. 10 email fundraising mistakes you’re making and how to solve them (Nonprofit Campaign Lab)

3. Personalization strategies for direct mail (Nonprofit Pro)

4. 8 tips to improve your grant writing (Funding For Good)

5. Guide to learn how to conduct peer to peer campaigns (Causevox)

3: Strategy Insider- getting into the kishkas

My 25 years of experience as a CEO, fundraiser, marketing and communications director, grant writer and more has afforded me the unique position where I can learn not just broadly how an organization functions but see the intersecting parts under the nonprofit hood. I know how nonprofits operate and intimately understand the fundraising and marketing pain points and challenges they face. 

Like this enews, the strategy work I do aims to turn those pain points into opportunities for growth. Some of the strategies I craft for nonprofits are very specific: Email. Content. Social media. Fundraising.

Then there are the strategies where an organization needs an A-Z overhaul, a new way of achieving and surpassing its goals, building stronger relationships, maximizing impact and growing.

Over the next few weeks and months, I am going to take you inside how I craft such a strategy, so you can see what’s involved in going from survival to thrival.

Today I’ll start with “kishkas,” the Yiddish word for guts. In my detailed proposal I let the organization know I’m going to get into the kishkas of their operation- its processes, programs and services, fundraising and marketing materials, mission, copy, the Board and everything in between. I outline how I’ll gather what I need- reviewing data, reading a ton, interviews, surveys, research- so I have a 30,000 foot view of who the organization is presently.

That comprehensive review will allow me to figure out what’s working, what needs improvement and how to help the organization grow. Like when you take your car in for an annual check up and they look at everything, the first step in any strategy is to learn, gather, read, listen and understand.

Next week I’ll start sharing what this part of the strategy looks like.

4: I remember every day

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day here. I am the grandchild of survivors. Both of my mom’s parents survived Auschwitz.

See the picture below? That’s my grandmother’s arm. The number the Germans tattooed on her arm when she arrived at Auschwitz, A-27134.

My grandmother talked openly about her experiences during the war, not just with me but with my kids as well. It was important for them to hear my grandmother’s story and ask as many questions as possible, knowing that time was short.

Today and every day I remember my grandparents, their families that were almost completely wiped out by the Germans and the millions who were murdered simply because of who they were. Never forget. Never forgive.

So how’s it goin?

We’re already a few weeks into Q2. How was your Q1?

I’ll be back next Thursday. Have a great weekend!

P.S. I listened to Katrina and the Waves “Walkin on Sunshine” on an endless loop while working on the enews. Sometimes you just need a great song to get you up and…writing.