There's a great lesson on the Made to Stick blog (companion to the book of the same title, (reviewed here): The value of concrete details.
It's a look at some of the work of Claude Hopkins, a legendary copywriter from the 20s and 30s (and author of the classic book on ads, Scientific Advertising) when he got the Schlitz Beer account:
His ads told of the "crystal clear water from a special artesian well". They told of the one "mother" yeast cell that produced all the yeast for fermenting the beer. It was the result of over "1,500 experiments and produced a very distinct fresh, crisp taste". He told of how the bottles were "sterilized 12 times to ensure purity, so that nothing would interfere with the clean taste of the beer".The Schlitz people hated it. They explained to Hopkins that this would never work. They told him, "All beer is made the same way." Hopkins calmly assured them that people would be fascinated with the "behind the scenes" look and, that no other beer maker had ever told the story.
Hopkins talked his client into doing the right thing, the ads ran, and Schlitz soon become the best-selling beer in America. That's the power of specificity. (Heaven knows, it wasn't the quality of the beer!)
Notice what Hopkins did with the details: He didn't just pour them on, hoping to "educate" beer drinkers into wanting Schlitz. He turned every detail into a benefit.
To do that, he had to know what a drinker wanted from beer. Then, every detail he gave, he tied directly to what his audience cared about.
Many nonprofits are pretty good at sharing the details of their programs. Where they usually fail is connecting those things with their donor's needs, wants, and aspirations. This is not easy to do, because you have to really know what your donors want. And what they want probably isn't exactly what you want.
To get this right, you have to humble yourself. You have to know -- with your mind and in your heart -- that the things that matter to you give you little guidance about what matters to your donors. You have to accept the truth that what motivates donors may be boring, annoying, simplistic, or hokey in your eyes.
Unless you're trying to persuade yourself to give, your own taste and preferences have no business in the drivers' seat.
Go to the details. And connect those details to your donors.
Technorati Tags: philanthropy, copywriting
Ask them?
Posted by: Tony | 22 June 2007 at 15:20
Jeff,
I really appreciate this blog so much! As someone working in a small organization that has never had a development department, your tips are invaluable. Regarding this blog entry though, there is one obvious question.
HOW do we get to know our donors' needs, wants and aspirations?
Posted by: Priya Singh | 21 June 2007 at 11:59