He was raised in the theater, sitting in boxes at the ballet. Being a restless child, he quickly grew bored with the familiarity of the dances and chose instead to watch the audiences. To see when they smiled and gasped, when the women sighed and when the men began to nod off.
So perhaps it is not terribly surprising that now, many years later, he still has more interest in the audience than in the performance itself. Though the performance must be spectacular in order to coerce the best reactions.
And because he is incapable of observing the faces of every audience member at every performance of every show, he relies on the reviews.
--From The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
Reviews = results. This is our reality. What kind of performance are you putting on?
1) Clean, readable copy with short paragraphs.
2) Simple, crisp design. (Photos often depress response. Know how they perform for you.)
3) One focused theme and message. This isn't about everything your organization does.
4) More than one ask on each page. Always an ask at the bottom.
5) A P.S. with a strong ask.
6) Strong use of indents, underline and bold to move the reader's eye to key messages.
7) A readable font that says "important."
8) The appropriate signer (always one signer only.)
9) Make it personal. Use "I" and "you" often.
10) A clean reply form that's simple to fill out, with proper coding to record your responses.
This week's model of awesomeness is KYUK Public Media from Bethel, Alaska, a tiny station that serves 56 villages on the edge of the tundra, 300 miles from the nearest road. It truly is a place like no other, and the station is a lifeline to the the world for the people of the region.
So why the awesomeness?
For their fall fundraiser, they dared to set one of the largest goals in their history and they went for it all out, with 100% enthusiasm. Incredibly, they reached their stretch goal of $20,000 ahead of schedule.
How did they do it? They made their fundraiser completely theirs. They made it about their community. They made it passionate and fun, and it worked.
It started with their first ever "Village Showdown" - won by the people of Kwethluk - that pitted village against village for total donations, for the chance to win live coverage of a men's and women's high school basketball game, a big thing in Alaska.
And then there was the grand prize - Alaska Airlines tickets and miles, of course, plus a half cord of pre-split wood donated by the village of Napaimute, already drying and waiting for pick-up by the lucky winner. As one of their facebook fans noted, "that's better than money in the dead of winter!"
Would this work anywhere else in the country? Probably not. But that's the brilliance of it.
It only had to work for them. And it did.
Here's general manager Mike Martz's heartfelt post-drive note to the community.
Bravo for thinking big KYUK!
Earlier this week, we shared a Freakonomics podcast, that for fundraisers, is 30 minutes of time well spent. Find it here.
For us, it inspired this:
We ask for money because it works. Why do we spend so much time trying to figure out how to ask less?
We work in a business that's largely based on conventional wisdom, habits and tradition. How can we get out of this box more often?
Giving isn't pure altruism. It's about enlightened self-interest... the warm glow... sometimes even guilt, social pressure and benefits. Why do we fight this?
Think about it.
One of my favorite places is a small wildlife refuge not far from my home.
It's closed because of the government shutdown.
While I'm certainly disappointed that I can't be out there during these final glorious days before the weather turns, of interest to this conversation, is what's happening in my mind's eye.
I can't stop picturing how no one is peeking up into the secret branch where the little owl naps... no one is reaching down to pick up the fuzzy caterpillars that venture onto the paths this time of year... that the eagles, egrets and wide-eyed deer remain unspotted amongst the grass and trees.
While we wouldn't wish this scenario on any organization, it's a good time to step back and think about how - without the drama of actually closing up shop - you can assure that what people see in their mind's eye are images that allow them to take ownership of who you are and what you stand for.
It's about delivering experiences that resonate... communicating in a way that's personal and compelling... telling the human story of why this matters to people.
It's mostly about helping people find their way towards the place where they truly believe "this is mine," and they're willing to foster and protect it.
1) BEGIN WITH COMMUNITY
Speak directly to your community. It could be a place, or it could be a state of mind. Find the elements of your community that rise to the surface and meet most powerfully with the values and sensibility of your organization.
2) FIND THE BIG IDEA
Commit to the one overarching idea that your work represents. This is not what you do, this is WHY you do it.Can you put it in one sentence? Can you say it in five words? Drill down to the essence.
3) EXECUTE PRECISELY
Words... ideas... images... personality. As you build out your big idea and engage with your community, everyone who touches communications inside your organization (this is most everyone), must speak and act with one cohesive voice.
