Award Winning Blog - Agitator

What Makes People Give?

In the world of direct response fundraising we test and measure almost everything –length of copy, offers, asking amounts, teasers and headlines, etc. But in the non-direct response fundraising world there’s room for empirical improvement where myth, legend, hunch and intuition must give way to data. That’s why the piece What Makes People Give? in […]

Learn More March 11, 2008

Measure Impacts? Duh!

Sunday’s (March 9) NYT Magazine has a series of articles on philanthropy and fundraising … definitely worth reading, though seasoned practitioners will find some more insightful than others. The Agitator found three especially intriguing, and we’ll blog on those … The title alone makes this one worth reading … How Many Billionaires Does It Take […]

Learn More March 10, 2008

True Fans

Think of your most loyal (and therefore most valuable) donors as your "true fans." Put yourself in their shoes. What do they get from — or what is it about — your organization that makes them so pleased and committed? Do more of that! With that in mind read Kevin Kelly’s piece on true fans. As […]

Learn More March 7, 2008

Is Direct Mail Dead? Craver Responds

In case you missed, The Agitator’s own Roger Craver talked about the "death of direct mail" and related fundraising issues yesterday as guest on "Live Discussions," sponsored by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Here’s the transcript. Tom

Learn More March 6, 2008

Words That Work

If you’re in the communications side of the biz, or spend time writing copy, here are two books you should peruse … from opposite sides of the ideological spectrum. The advice from both is superb … but for such prominent communications experts, the books are, well, wordy! From the progressive side, George Lakoff, Don’t Think […]

Learn More March 5, 2008

Count The Ellipses

Lately I’ve noticed that in my blogging and other online copywriting I’ve fallen into the habit of using more and more ellipses. I hadn’t really thought about it. It just somehow felt right … something about the pacing. So this article from Marketing Sherpa, The Glory of the Ellipsis, jumped out at me. Their observation: "The […]

Learn More March 4, 2008