You’ve got an urgent mission. To get attention, to raise more funds you send emails. More emails. Letters. More letters. Media time. More media time—think excessive public television appeals. You make them more urgent. You call and text more people.
Make it bigger. Make it bolder. Make it longer. Make it more disruptive.
It doesn’t work. Sorry, but it doesn’t.
The cycle of diminishing returns is incredibly short—if there is one at all. More likely you’re just turning people off.
Principle 2 of The Eight Principles® is Begin at the Beginning™. When you seek to engage those who would support you—with time and money—you must first learn how they want to be engaged.
Simply blasting away with more and more not only doesn’t work, it actually hurts your cause. Why? No one likes to be rudely interrupted.
Every time you communicate with those who would and are supporting you, it’s an interruption. It comes in from left field without much (if any) warning.
Your goal is to make it a welcome interruption. One that refreshes, not annoys.
Welcome because it carries the message that you’re offering them participation in something that will bring them joy. Their joy. Something which reinforces their values, their dreams. Their closest held beliefs.
When you communicate with these messages, the still soft voice will work. In spades.
Try it. You’ll be amazed.
“So, how do I do this?” you say. We show you how. It’s not difficult. It just requires a different mindset. We can give you that today.
Larry C. Johnson is the Founder of The Eight Principles and the author of the award-winning book, The Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising.
