awareness Archives -

INTRODUCTION

Nonprofit storytelling is an essential skill to have to maintain a successful nonprofit organization. Storytelling informs your donors about how their donations are being spent and who their donations affect.

This article provides 4 essential tips to effective storytelling. You will learn how and why it is important to be intentional, how to evoke emotion and empathy, how to initiate connections, and the importance of saying thank you to your donors through storytelling.

1. BE INTENTIONAL

Organization is key to effective storytelling. The first thing you want to do is create a plan for the story you want to tell. Begin by setting your goals on what you want to communicate with your audience. Next figure out the Who, What, Where, When, Why , and How of your story. Once you have a proper outline figured out, you will find it much easier to tell the story.

Be intentional about how much detail you share by keeping content short and attention grabbing. Try to only include important facts that are vital to the story. Good storytelling keeps the audience interested by finding a suitable balance between the story’s length, timing, and authentic content.

2. EVOKE EMOTION AND EMPATHY

Keeping in mind that it is important to be intentional with the details you share, choose specific facts to build your story that will evoke emotion and empathy. Your aim is to help your donors feel personally connected to the cause, and you can do that by using the names and photos of those in your story. Videos are also a great tool in effective storytelling because it quickly visualizes and humanizes the story.

There are many ways to evoke emotion and empathy in storytelling, and this short article provides 4 examples of effective nonprofit storytelling.

3. INITIATE CONNECTIONS

A key element of effective nonprofit storytelling is initiating connections between the story and the audience. Once the story has been told and donors become emotionally invested, you can connect them even further by explaining how their donations impact the cause. Let your audience know specifically where donations go and how they are used.

This is where you can point out how change will happen and why it matters. To compliment your story, visual aids can be a helpful tool that highlight these facts. Many Nonprofits use infographics as an effective storytelling tool. Infographics can be displayed on a variety of mediums from social media platforms to printed media.

4. CLOSE WITH A MEANINGFUL ‘THANK YOU’

Don’t forget about gratitude! Always remember to appreciate your donors and say thank you. Acknowledging the efforts of your donors is another key element specific to effective nonprofit storytelling. A good thank you has the ability to seal the connection your story made and builds personal relationships with donors to increase donor loyalty.

CONCLUSION

To review, always begin with a plan where you organize your facts of Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. It is important to be intentional in your storytelling to maintain the interest and attention of viewers. Evoke emotion and empathy by providing specific details about those in the story. Things like names, photos, and videos allow donors to see the story at a personal level. Create connections between the viewer and story by explaining how donations directly affect the cause. Infographics are a great tool to put a focus on this information. Perhaps the most important element of effective nonprofit storytelling is wrapping things up with a thank you. Acknowledgment goes a long way!

BONUS TIP

Consistency is key! Make sure to update your donors often about how their donations are impacting the cause. Monthly impact reports, newsletters, and handwritten notes are great tools that can be personalized and sent directly to your donors. Storytelling is only one way to Increase Donor Loyalty with our Best Practices.

Sales funnels. If you’re an entrepreneur or salesperson, you’ve heard the term enough to make your ears bleed. Yes, those YouTube ads by teenage sales “gurus” are torturous. (“Here’s how my 15-year old daughter made six figures in two months as an Amazon reseller,” she says. Ok, Karen.) But they’re right about one thing—you need a sales funnel, and well-defined tactics for every stage of the funnel, to succeed in your business.

But first, a quick refresher on sales funnels. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need them: customers discover our store or website, take a close look, decide to buy—no questions asked—and then tell their friends and family.

We don’t live in that world. We live in a world where companies go to war for the attention of their customers’ over-extended brains. And even when we get a flash of that attention, we have to get them interested enough to learn more. Then we need to convince them to buy something. Even when we’ve done that, we actually need them to click the “Confirm purchase” button to complete the sale.

That’s the traditional sales funnel: how we move a potential customer from awareness of our offering to interest in it, to making a decision to buy, to taking action.

Proven tactics for each stage of the sales funnel are helpful when you are putting one together. Handwritten letters—of the kind Postalgia can produce in spades—fit into any stage of an effective sales funnel. Here are just some examples to get you thinking creatively about how handwritten letters can build your business.

Awareness

Many companies use direct mail targeting through their postal service. Consider leveraging this tactic with a handwritten note to introduce yourself to potential customers. For instance: a realtor could send ageing homeowners in a local neighbourhood a handwritten introduction. It could include the realtor’s history selling houses in that neighbourhood, and how the realtor can help any family looking to downsize. It’s a friendly way to introduce yourself and build credibility in a new market with a targeted segment.
Starting a new business? Why not send a letter to all your professional and personal contacts, letting them know you’re hanging your shingle? You’ll find no greater advocates than your closest friends and family. The human touch of a handwritten letter may inspire them to share your info with others.
Mail your list of loyal and past customers, letting them know about a new line of products or a major sale you’re launching. Consider connecting your letter to their previous purchase. “Sarah, if you loved the fall scarf you purchased from us last year, you’ll adore the new fall scarves we’re releasing this October!”

Interest

Many companies keep subscription lists for branded newsletters. Consider surprising subscribers with a handwritten letter. For instance: if a non-profit or charity offers a regular newsletter, that organization could mail their first edition to a new supporter with a special handwritten letter thanking them for their support.
Consider sending a letter with a timely call-to-action related to a topical news event. For instance: Let’s say meteorologists are predicting a chilly winter. If you sell outerwear, send a letter to local residents, letting them know about the cold to come and offering a discount on coats. Connecting your product to a top-of-mind challenge is a great way to clinch a purchase decision.
If you offer product samples, especially online, accompany those samples with a handwritten letter thanking the potential customer for their consideration and explaining the many benefits of your products. It’s a great way to create a personal connection right when a potential customer weighs whether they want to go further.

Decision

There’s nothing an e-commerce entrepreneur dreads more than seeing a user with a full shopping cart, who hasn’t hit the “Checkout” button. Worry not—if you have their shipping information, send them a handwritten letter reminding them to complete their purchase. You can even offer a special discount as an incentive to finish.
Do you host informative webinars for potential customers exploring your product or market? It’s easy to connect that experience to a handwritten letter. Whether you use EventBrite or another event management platform, require that attendees share their mailing information. Follow up with each attendee by letter after your webinar, thanking them for attending and providing your phone number if they’d like to learn more. That personal touch will take the sometimes-impersonal experience of a webinar and make an attendee feel valued.
If you provide personal consultations to potential customers—say, the way a realtor will offer a free, no-obligation house appraisal—you can offer to follow up that consultation with a one-page summary of your recommendation for the customer. Helping customers for free—and encouraging them to purchase your services along the way—is a great method for building loyalty.

Action

We know the extraordinary effects of gratitude on the human psyche. It’s not surprising then how effective a simple thank-you letter for a new customer can be. Sending a thank-you letter with any product you ship, or after service you provide, will leave a memorable mark – particularly among new customers whom you hope to keep for the long-term.
Handwritten letters are also a great way to upsell a customer in a non-pushy, friendly way. Let’s say you sell furniture. If a customer buys a new coffee table, you might attach a handwritten letter to their shipment, letting them know your recommendations for rugs, side tables, or chairs that would perfectly match. Connecting your helpful suggestions to their purchase shows that you are offering personalized advice tailored to their tastes—and may convince them to buy more.
Show customers how much you care about their experience with your company. An appropriate period after their purchase, send them a follow-up letter asking about their use of the product. Are they fully satisfied? Do they have any questions? Are they enjoying the product as you hoped? Provide your email or phone number—show the customer you care deeply about their enjoyment of the product, long after they have paid you. It’s an excellent way to build a relationship and earn a customer’s loyalty in the long-term.

These are just a few ideas for every stage of the sales funnel. Handwritten letters are an effective tactic, no matter where your customer is at in their journey. And with the power of Postalgia’s robots, you can produce handwritten letters on mass for any sales campaign. Click here and learn how.

Tag: awareness

Tips for Effective Storytelling for Nonprofits