Let me paraphrase a part of Craig Simpson’s latest “Direct Marketing Letter” as it relates to fundraising; substituting “campaign” for “business” and “donations” for “sales”…
“Building a successful campaign is a lot like dating. You meet new people, try to get to know them, establishing a relationship, and try to make the relationship more meaningful for both of you over time. There are a lot of factors involved, such as mutual interests. And trust is a big issue.
“Generally, when dating, people start out slow, get to know each other, and gradually spend more time together as they come to depend on each other more. So what does dating have to do with your campaign?
“Many candidates go for the ‘big donation’ on the first contact, instead of going slow, building a relationship, and letting the relationship grow at a natural pace. … If you’re asking your new donor to spend $2,000 on your campaign, and that person didn’t even know you existed two weeks ago, that’s the campaign equivalent of asking someone to marry you on the first date.”
The hardest part about campaign fundraising is getting that first date; that first donation. Which is why you see so many email fundraising appeals asking people to kick in “just $1.”
Because once you get that first donation, if you treat the donor right (not like an ATM machine), build up some trust and get to know each other better, you have a FAR better chance of getting a bigger donation when you ask for that second, or third, or fourth donation.
Successful long-term fundraising, to borrow an old phrase, is a marathon, not a sprint. Be a tortoise, not a hare.
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