Making your cause matter to your audience

Charities are frequently encouraged to use emotive appeals to attract support for their cause and increase donations. But there is a fine line to tow as accidentally treading into ‘guilt tripping’ territory will almost certainly alienate your audience. This quote, often attributed to Maya Angelou, springs to mind: "They may forget what you said — but they will never forget how you made them feel."

Your message should make your audience feel positive and appeal to their human side, evoking care and compassion. The focus should be on connecting your audience with your cause on an emotional level and telling them how they can help.

Whilst emotional marketing techniques will help to reel your audience in, you’ll then need to combine your emotional appeal with your most compelling facts.

According to Kevin Roberts, CEO of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi: “Reason leads to conclusions. Emotion leads to action.”

It's fair to say the heart wins over the head in most decision making, but facts and figures lend credence so don't leave them out of your emotional appeals.

Showing evidence of how donations are helping to advance your charity's mission is not only good charity governance – it’s crucial in convincing your potential supporters that their contribution will make a difference.

Real life case studies and stories from your volunteers and beneficiaries are the most powerful way to illustrate impact. Video content is a particularly powerful way of bringing your mission to life and making it real.

For more ideas on demonstrating your charity’s impact to funders, check out this blog.

According to the CAF's UK Giving Report, the number of people giving to charity dropped in 2020. Plus, there’s competition from for profits with a social purpose. So the pressure is on for charities to stay relevant and sustain themselves. Here’s what you can do:

1. Stay front of your audience's mind with regular content and communicate your fundraising 'ask' clearly. If in doubt, test it with a fresh pair of eyes to ensure it’s understood instantly.
2. Acquiring new donors can be costly so make sure you’re choosing the right channels for communicating with potential supporters.
3. Make best use of your budget by targeting your appeal campaign to reach audiences who look like your best supporters i.e. those who contribute most frequently and donate the highest amounts.
4. Link in to any related international or national awareness days or topical issues that align with your cause to stand out and reach beyond your typical supporter base.

If you’re considering launching a new campaign and you’d like support with getting your audience to emotionally engage with your cause, get in touch with us as we’d love to work together.