This quote is from Thomas Gensemer, Barack Obama’s digital strategist.
And it’s exactly what I’ve found to be true. Long, wordy e-newsletters don’t get read. Instead, organizations should use short, personalized emails to supporters giving clear instructions for participation.
The Obama campaign used this form of short, action oriented messages that helped raise more than $500 million in contributions from more than three million individual donors online. And those donors did not receive a tax deduction for like social profit organizations can provide.
Times are challenging and organizations are in need of dollars for the increased demand of their services. Take a page from the recent successes of some of the political campaign fundraising efforts. Send regular, short emails to supporters inviting recipients to do one thing a week. Emails should also tell the supporter what their action will accomplish and what will happen next.
Using this system of communication in the Obama campaign gave supporters a “steady narrative of actions, feedback and milestones”, said Thomas Gensemer.
The Obama campaign rewarded supporters who took action with public praise and the tactic elicited a “new sense of transparency” among supporters about where their money was going.
ACTION: Carefully crafted email campaigns around a single financial goal with a compelling need will generate increased contributions from focused, targeted and compelling messages.
CAUTION: Use this method of communication judiciously so you don’t turn away supporters with too many messages.
