Are your charity's communications speaking to your readers personalities?
Howard Lake | 17 December 2008 | Blogs
At a recent workshop I spoke about four different types of our personality and the way they interact with a charity’s newsletters, appeals, emails and other communications.
Think about it for a moment:
There is the Amiable you who seeks to connect with others through stories and images.
Then there is the Expressive you who is looking for what is new and exciting. They are looking for interesting opportunities to get hold of in changing the world.
The Sceptical part of you who is looking for statstical evidence and background information on how the charity is making a difference.
Finally, there is the Bottom Liner you who wants to find out quickly what to do next?
Do your charity’s communications offer something that speaks to different aspects of your readers personalities:
– the human interest stories of transformation that capture the heart of the Amiable.
– the exciting new opportunities for service or for giving that keep the Expressive interested and engaged.
– the testimonies from beneficiaries of your work and statistical data that help the Sceptical see how your charity is making a difference and the money is well spent.
– the clear and compelling calls to action that encourage the Bottom Liner to take action quickly and at their convenience.
In the next 20 minutes take your charity’s latest newsletter or appeal and put it through the four personalities test – does it pass with flying colours or fail? What can you do to improve them?
If you are looking for free resources and insights to help you grow in your effectiveness as a fundraiser why not sign up to our monthly e-briefing at: www.mcconkey-johnston.co.uk
Redina Kolaneci
Senior Fundraising & Stewardship Consultant
McConkey Johnston International UK
w: www.mcconkey-johnston.co.uk
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.