Marketing books for non-profits

Dayton, Ohio -- I recently asked LinkedIn users for the best marketing books that help non-profits accomplish their missions. Here's the list of books in no particular order. Now get reading!

• Positioning by Jack Trout
• Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Dr. Frank Luntz
• What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
• Tribes by Seth Godin
• Dan Kennedy's No B.S. series
• Marketing Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations by Siri N. Espy
• Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition by Jay Abraham
• Outrageous Advertising That's Outrageously Successful: Created for the 99% of Small Business Owners Who Are Dissatisfied with the Results They Get by Bill Glazer and Dan Kennedy
• There's a Customer Born Every Minute: P.T. Barnum's Amazing 10 "Rings of Power" for Creating Fame, Fortune, and a Business Empire Today Guaranteed! by Joe Vitale and Jeffrey Gitomer
• Social Marketing in the 21st Century by Alan R. Andreasen
• American Writers and Artists, Inc. (AWAI)'s course on copywriting for fundraising
• Common Sense Direct Marketing by Drayton Bird
• The Three Laws of Performance" by Steve Zaffron and Dave Logan
• What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis
• Robin Hood Marketing by Katya Andreson
• Let's Have Lunch Together by Marshall Howard
• Purple Cow by Seth Godin

I would add the book, Influence by Robert Cialdini.

Would like fries with that, and would you like to donate to the Ronald McDonald House?

Dayton, Ohio -- Yesterday I bought a coffee at the McDonald's drive thru. The person on the other end of the speaker asked me, "Would you like to donate a dollar to the Ronald McDonald House?"


When I got up to the window, I asked her how many people donate a dollar. She told me about 1 in every 20 cars. That didn't seem like a very good number, so I began to think about how she could modify her question to increase results. I also wondered how many people she asked even knew what the Ronald McDonald House does? I also figured she only has time for a single sentence.

I think her results would be significantly better if she asked this:
"Would you help families whose children are in the hospital by donating a dollar to the Ronald McDonald House"

Why would it be more effective? Because her original question was "would you like to donate a dollar..." She gave no reason to donate a dollar, only a request. It's easy to say "no" to that. It's more difficult to say, "no, I don't want to help families whose children are in the hospital." The new question also puts the "ask" at the end of the sentence, after the reason.

Research has shown that using the word "because" in a request significantly increases the affirmative responses. So, perhaps this question would be even better:

"Would you help families whose children are in the hospital by donating a dollar to the Ronald McDonald House, because it would mean a lot to those families."

The interesting thing about the research is that it doesn't matter what the reason is you give after the word "because," simply using that word increases response.

So today I'm going to buy coffee at the same McDonalds and give the person at the window my new question.

How would you change her original question to make it more effective? What questions do you ask in your solicitation letters that could be made more effective?

A great viral campaign: Big Boston Warm Up

Dayton, Ohio -- Jeff Sawyer from Lands End, a very talented copywriter and former co-worker, just sent me a video for the Big Boston Warm Up campaign. They have a goal to provide 7,681 coats to homeless people this winter. Toward the end of the video, look for my name "Tim Bete." You can personalize the video with anyone's name and send it to them. The personalization makes for a great appeal that tugs at your heart strings and will get people to act. I wouldn't be surprised if they get 20,000+ costs donated. You can personalize your own video here.

Rory Sutherland on advertising

Dayton, Ohio -- TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Here's a very interesting video about perception and advertising from one of their recent events.

Influence: Science and Practice

Dayton, Ohio -- I just started reading Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini. I'm only a chapter into it and it's already fascinating, with many implications for direct mail and face-to-face fundraising.

Cialdini (a former fundraiser and salesperson, and currently a professor of social psychology) discusses the factors that cause someone to say "yes," and which techniques most effectively use those factors to get someone to say "yes." For example, does asking a question in different ways change the response of the person being asked?

Cialdini says that giving a reason for your request -- ANY reason -- significantly improves "yes" responses. A study tested this by having a person ask to cut in line at the copier in a library. When the person asked, "Excuse me, I have five pages, may I use the Xerox machine," only 60% of those asked said "yes." But when the question was changed to "Excuse me, I have five pages, may I use the Xerox machine because I'm in a rush," 94% of those asked responded with a "yes."

It seems simple enough. The person is in a rush, so you let them go ahead, right? But when the question was changed again, this time to "Excuse me, I have five pages, may I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies," 93% of those asked still responded with a "yes" -- even though a real reason wasn't given. (Of course you have to make copies.)

This is going to be one interesting book. As I read chapters, I'll write more about the fundraising implications.

How to sell popcorn at the supermarket

Dayton, Ohio -- The other day I wrote about door-to door fundraising. Yesterday, as I was walking out of the supermarket, there were three Cub Scouts selling cans of popcorn. One asked me, "Do you want to buy some popcorn?" I politely declined and kept walking.

The problem with his question was it wasn't personal enough. I turned down popcorn, not a person. What if he had asked, "Would you help me earn a merit badge" or "Would you help me get a new tent?" Then in saying "no," I would really be saying, "I won't help you." That's much more difficult to say then "I don't want popcorn."

Asking "Would you help me get a new tent" also opens the door for conversation. I might stop and ask, "How could I do that?" And he would respond, "a new tent cost $100. If you would purchase one can of popcorn or give $10, we'll only need nine more people."

While I might or might not give, at least he would have forced me to think about it.

What questions are you asking in your direct mail program and face-to-face meetings with donors? Are you asking your donors to "buy a can of popcorn" or are you making them think and asking questions that open doors for a more in-depth conversation?

The problem with door-to-door fundraising

Dayton, Ohio -- Many non-profits have had success with door-to-door fundraising programs, such as selling candy or other items. There are benefits of such programs but also a significant downside.

When someone comes to my door asking for a donation or selling an item for a non-profit, I have one of two reactions.

(1) If I don't know the person, I usually don't give. I find it intrusive to learn about a non-profit's cause for the first time from someone standing at my door. (If I've given to the non-profit before and the person acknowledges it, my attitude is different.)

(2) If I know the person (e.g., a neighborhood kid), I usually give but not because I believe in the cause. I give to support the person I know. That makes it extremely unlikely I will give again if solicited by mail. Many times, I can't even remember the organization (was it the Boy Scouts or the school athletic team?)

That's why the neighborhood kid can convince you to make a donation without ever telling you much about the cause for which the money is being raised. How many times has the first line been, "I'm selling popcorn for $10 a tin." (What would happen if a direct mail solicitation lead with "we want you to make a $50 gift?") But it doesn't matter as much when you know the person asking for the gift.

So door-to-door fundraising may raise some money but don't expect it to create life-long donors. The only way to get a second gift is to have the same person knock on those same doors again next year.