Hi! We're Julie Cooper and Brett Cooper, fundraising copywriters for great causes. Does your fundraising bring in as much money as it could? You can send donor communications that stir hearts to action. We'd love to help. π Start by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
This is the 119th Fundraising Writing Newsletter.
If you find value here, please tell your fundraising friends.
β(Your fundraising friends can βsubscribe here for free.)β
In this issue:
β Your donor newsletter and impact report need great picture captions!
β Upcoming newsletter webinar for you? Great donor newsletters: digital & print. Retention's best friend. (They can make SERIOUS money, too!)
β VIDEO: 'Win It in a Minute' from the archives: Tom Ahern answers a popular question about donor newsletters from a past webinar attendee
β Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you
β
Wednesday, January 17, 2023
β
Hi Reader,
If my life were being narrated movie-style, I'd want the narration to sound awesome β so my story really popped.
Wouldn't you?
I think of photo captions as similar to movie narration.
For example, I can imagine someone taking a photo of me working in my home office and captioning it:
Boo. No fun.
I mean, c'mon, that's not much of a story.
I'd much prefer something like:
Okay, this would be humble bragging. Not my thing. But I wouldn't mind if someone else did the bragging for me!
In a way, such is our job as fundraising writers. We get to "brag" about the impact our donors are making.
So I urge you:
Your captions should tell a micro-story worth reading.
A newsletter or impact report ought to be a compendium of stories worth reading: feature stories, headlines, subheadings, and captions.
Other reasons captions are important:
context about the image + thanking the donor
The captions below are from donor newsletters and impact reports we wrote.
Notice how the first 5 captions tell a micro-story that follows the formula above. Each provides narrative context about the image + finishes by thanking the donor.
Sometimes, you might need to use stock photography in your newsletter and impact report. The context part of the formula will not apply. So make these captions all about thanking donors.
Such a simple tweak, right?
Your lovely donors will feel the love! π
Great donor newsletters: digital & print. Retention's best friend. (They can make SERIOUS money, too!)
Have you signed up for Tom Ahern's newsletter webinar on January 25th? This once-a-year super webby will get you all fired up and prepped to write money-making donor newsletters (digital and print).
Tom updates his slideshow constantly with the latest data and examples. And you can get all your questions answered at the all-you-can-eat "all day" Q&A. Just keep asking, until you can't ask no more. (The Q&A alone is worth the price of admission.)
The fabulously knowledgable, experienced, and successful Denisa Casement will be our special guest panelist fielding questions with Tom. And yours truly (me, Julie) will be your host.
Hope to see you there! Learn more and register here.
From the archives: Tom Ahern on Letters from the Executive Director in Donor Newsletters
βThis video is a snippet taken from the Q&A session Tom Ahern conducted after his 2022 webinar all about fundraising newsletters. You'll see Tom answer an attendee's question regarding what percentage of a fundraising newsletter to devote to a Letter from the Executive Director.
You can (and maybe want to?) subscribe here.
For your brain, heart, and funny bone...
Until next time: May you seize every fundraising storytelling opportunity ... because even teensy stories can do a world of good.
Grateful,
PS: We wrote a new book β and it's free! Click here to access Heartable Fundraising Writing.
Hi! We're Julie Cooper and Brett Cooper, fundraising copywriters for great causes. Does your fundraising bring in as much money as it could? You can send donor communications that stir hearts to action. We'd love to help. π Start by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
Well, hello there, friend! (And a special welcome to the new subscribers from Martha's Vineyard Nonprofit Collaborative whom we had the pleasure of training earlier this week!) This is the 131st Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) In this issue: β π¬ Direct Mail + digital (like finding a puppy in your letterbox) β Are you ready for the Great Wealth Transfer? Do you want more bequests?...
Welcome, You! This is the 130th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a colleague. (Your colleague can subscribe here for free.) In this issue: β "...you, someone who loves them!" (Identity-based fundraising writing.) β Mail Bag π¬ β Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you Wednesday, April 17, 2024 Hi Reader, Some tips are so simple that, when you hear them, you might have the urge to smack your forehead and exclaim, "I should have thought of that!" and "I can...
Welcome, You! This is the 129th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a colleague. (Your colleague can subscribe here for free.) In this issue: β Photos not required. But if you do... β 3 Tips for choosing the right photo for your appeal β Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you Thursday, April 11, 2024 Hi Reader, If you read my fundraising photo tips newsletter from last week, this right here is where I pull a Columbo and say, "Just one more thing." (If you...