"Creative Rule Breaking for Fundraising Nerds" Training video

This session will help give you a fresh perspective on your direct mail - so you can feel confident breaking rules and raising more money.

Tired of sending the same kind of donor communications year after year after year?

Get your donor's attention and interest with something unconventional that's proven to work. This session will help give you a fresh perspective on your direct mail - so you can feel confident breaking rules and raising more money while you do it. Your donors love it when you step beyond the normal non-profit speak. And they'll reward you by sending more (and larger!) gifts. This session will take you through: Obsession, Intelligence and Creative. Asking questions like; How did we get here? Who REALLY are our donors? Do we really know enough about decision science to break the rules? And, how can we be playful and thoughtful in our work - to create better performing appeals? John will take you through real life examples, from older successful individual giving material, to examples of inspirational RULE BREAKING appeals.

The presentation has 3 sections. Obsession, Intelligence and Creative.

The obsession section looks at - how did we get here? Understanding that direct response is a long developed craft - I will share some of the oldest examples of direct response that exists in print… my point is that you have to consume as much information as you can stuff into your brain to really transform your own program… the audience will learn a bit of history about this craft.

The intelligence section looks at - the key factors of this work. Who REALLY are our donors and their realities… you need to accept them. The fundamentals of direct marketing and direct response and also - OUR brains!!!! Decision Science. Marketing is manipulation (for good - not for evil…) Most fundraisers have zero concept of decision science… and what it looks like in real, practical life. This is the true nerd component of the pressie - as we deep dive into understanding how humans work and make decision.

Lastly, the creative section looks at inspiration. How can we be playful and thoughtful in our work - to create better performing appeals? And I showed off 2-3 RULE breaking appeals with a ton of tips and trick and tactics that fundraisers can borrow and steal!