In 1973, National Lampoon kicked off the new year with this cover:
The staff at National Lampoon – many of whom would later join Saturday Night Live – liked the dark side of humor. Both the photo and its warning, If you don’t buy this magazine, we’ll kill this dog, were a cultural shock almost 40 years ago that sent circulation soaring.
The stuff of National Lampoon was parody and satire. What I am writing about, however, is not.
In working with several non-profits this year, I’ve examined the online practices of other non-profits operating in the same field. It doesn’t take long to conclude that most of them are hurting in this economy. Some more than others. Donations are down. And, more than a few are showing how anxious they are about it.
I only had to observe the marketing of 20 non-profits, and sign up for email from a half dozen of them, to see examples of how the difficulties facing some non-profit managements are affecting how they market to their donor base.
The Tactic of Fear
A typical email I receive (monthly, sometimes more often) follows a now-familiar formula. I won’t be crass and call out names, or charitable objectives.
The beginning paints a picture of imminent disaster. Someone – or thing – is going to do without (and sometimes, die!). All usually laid out in one sentence.
The middle both describes the calamity if funds are not raised, and (compassionately, for the reader’s sake) what the world will look like if tragedy is averted.
Not unsurprisingly, at the end the choice is mine: donate and save the dog, or risk having the poor bugger shot.
A conspicuous Donate Now button – usually in amber yellow with black letters – sits close by. Occasionally, there’s a Donate Now button near the top of the email (presumably so that one can spare oneself the torment of reading any further).
As a tactic, all of this would be fine if it worked. But it usually doesn’t.
Numerous research studies (among them, Ray and Wilkie, 1970) have shown that the use of fear (more typically, threat or anxiety) walks a mighty fine line with an auidence Too little is boring; too much is a turn-off. Both end up being ineffective.
How much fear is the right amount to use? It turns out that it all depends on how familiar an audience is with the subject – or issue. The general finding is this: the more familiar the topic is to an audience, the lower the optimal level of fear appeal required to work. In other words, if the audience is sensitized to an issue, a little goes a long way.
So, if I was to learn that the demise of a beetle I’d not heard of would eventually have a devastating effect on the food supply, an amped-up appeal would be in order. But, as I’m already sensitized to the plight of starvation in some third world countries, it’s careful-does-it on the anxiety control knob.
Accentuate the Positive
Most non-profits take enormous risk with fear marketing. It’s hard to do well. Most aren’t skilled at it. And also, their email programs typically are directed at an audience that is already knowledgeable about the issue – their donor base.
Their managements may feel their gut churning over the decline in funding, but they do themselves a poor service by carrying that angst into their appeals.
The best advice parallels that of Seth Godin: lead with benefit and value, and you won’t go wrong.
The best non-profit appeals out there (some are very well-crafted) go the extra mile to construct an appeals around what is accomplished via the good works they do. Progress made. Smiling faces. Happy puppies.
People are more willing to contribute to a cause that makes them feel good inside about what they’re contributing to, than one that shows the glass half-empty.
I’d rather see a photo of a happy dog, than one with a gun pointed at its head.
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