Laurie Pringle is a woman on a mission. Recently she was hired as Director of Development at Reach for the Rainbow and she has come aboard committed to making a difference within the organization and to their donors. And she asked me to help design their newsletter. We started by establishing a word count so…
DetailsA few years ago, I got to sit in a session hosted by Derek Humphries from the UK firm THINK Consulting. If you are into creative, and you get a chance, Derek is one of those guys you need to hear speak. His colleague Tony Elischer, is also fantastic. As part of the session –…
DetailsThis drinking and driving campaign uses vinyl adhesive stickers strategically placed to grab attention. The shirt says “I’ll sober up when I’m behind the wheel”.
Back in June, Katya over at Non-profit Marketing Blog wrote a post called “What makes for motivation?“. She was asked by Jeremy Gregg from Raiser’s Razor to explain what drives her philanthropassion? A great question and a great word. Jeremy didn’t ask me but feel like I want to answer it as well. Fundamentally, I…
DetailsMost of us know that pro bono is a phrase derived from Latin meaning “For the public good”. In certain sectors, like the legal profession doing pro bono work is quite common. The same for the charitable sector. I have always done quite a lot of pro bono work because I find it rewarding to…
DetailsI know my lot in life. I am a designer. I am a graphics communicator. But, I have a beef. A branding beef to be clear. At the risk of offending, well, pretty much every charity I work with, please stop killing me with your “brand”. Too many charities have been told by too many…
DetailsThis falls into the “Passing along great information” category. From the September 5th, Donor Power Blog posting: 7 surprising facts about direct-response fundraising: 1. Blank carrier envelopes usually out-perform envelopes with teasers. 2. Longer letters perform better. Usually. There are exceptions. 3. The most-read part of a fundraising letter is the P.S. 4. Typos improve…
DetailsMy three and a half year old son registered for Junior Kindergarten. Inspired by the earnest communication style of Mason’s new teacher, here are some simple rules about creating engaging, dynamic and meaningful direct response copy. #5: Show AND tell. Use stories, testimonials and eye contact to illustrate your message. Stories connect us to each…
DetailsI know, you probably hear it all the time but I don’t see charities trying it enough anymore. I know money is tight but you should constantly be testing something to see what your donors respond to and what they don’t respond to. Testing is most common with direct mail but take a cue from…
DetailsWhat is “Good Design”? To this designer, good design is well-researched, appropriate, methodical, concise and thought provoking. The first thing I do with new clients – is research. Who are they? Who is their audience? What sorts of challenges do they have? Who are their competitors? How are their competitors better than them – or…
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