Copywriting / creative

Is Your Charity More Like Edgar Allen Poe or Jules Verne?

Edgar Allan Poe arguably invented the modern detective story and was a key creator of the Symbolism movement in poetry, plus he wrote one of the first science fiction novels in 1838. He died young and penniless. Jules Verne invented nothing though gets credit in some quarters for inventing the sci-fi genre with his 1863 […]

Learn More October 31, 2022

Simple Writing Pays Off (Literally)

I stole this headline from a Harvard Business Review article. The literal in this case is, well, literal. [Sidebar: Are we all going to stand idly by while “literal”, literally becomes synonymous with figurative? My British friends blame Americans and vice versa. I say a pox on both our houses, it’s happening, let’s put out […]

Learn More October 28, 2022

Who Owns the Story?

That’s the rhetorical question underlying an Amref Health UK report, a charity focused on health in Africa. The report shares loads of useful detail on a direct mail test pitting what they call participant stories against charity stories. The report is authored by outside consultants, Jess Crombie and David Girling, in partnership with Amref. The test […]

Learn More October 24, 2022

Homogenizing the Crap Out of a Heterogeneous World

Two hundred years ago, black/white/gray products were about 15% of the total. Today? Closer to 60%. 7 out of 10 cars are black, white or gray. Gray is the most popular interior carpet color. The most popular paints? Fog, Mist and Linen, which as you might guess, ain’t exactly colorful. What’s causing this? Big data. […]

Learn More September 14, 2022

Effort is a Fundraising Killer

Effort, be it physical or mental is often avoided. People will even endure physical pain to avoid mental effort in lab settings. If there are two equally rewarding outcomes we humans tend to follow the law of least work, the path of least resistance. Think about giving to charity. You do or you don’t. If […]

Learn More September 7, 2022

Are You Using the Power of Retro Fundraising?

Summer is coming to an end. Schools are about to re-open. Remember that first day back at school? It was full of excitement and eagerness. You had a new bag, new supplies, and you probably couldn’t wait to see your friends. Or maybe it was a bit different for you. Maybe you were shy, or […]

Learn More September 2, 2022

Oscar Wilde on Fundraising Copy

“Books are well written or badly written. That is all.” Well, whatever aesthetic criteria Oscar had in mind when talking about literature, we can now scientifically say the same for fundraising copy. All I’ve ever done is write copy (I mean, I’ve done other stuff with my life, but not for a living). But it’s […]

Learn More August 29, 2022

Data Analysis 101: The Z-Score is Your Friend

This likely speaks volumes to my social network but I consider the z-score a friend. The z-score is a way to compare apples to oranges. First, a baseball example then a fundraising copy one. Babe Ruth is an apple from 1919 with 29 home runs. Barry Bonds is our orange from 2001 with 73. Did […]

Learn More August 10, 2022

Words Matter. Handle With Care.

Words have always mattered. In this highly partisan, explosively charged times they matter even more. Take the term ‘white privilege’. To some people it summarizes the combined effects of historical, economic, and cultural forces that allow a larger percentage of whites to climb the socioeconomic ladder than Blacks or Hispanics To other folks use […]

Learn More July 6, 2022

Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore

July 4th, the day to celebrate and remember what America’s all about. On this fraught-filled, future-fearing July 4th I sure as hell hope we’re all taking the remembering seriously. Because Agitator’s mission focuses on direct response fundraising, I’ll forego the usual patriotic platitudes. Instead for Independence Day 2022 I’m invoking the memory and wisdom of […]

Learn More July 4, 2022

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q: Do you have any insight on whether integrating an individual giving appeal with other comms from the charity in both appearance and messaging can uplift results? Or does the actual appeal become ‘lost’ for lack of stand-out?

Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]

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Q: Is there any research on response rate impact in direct mail when referring to a sustainer gift as ongoing or recurring (catching all frequencies) v. monthly or annual?

I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]

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Q: A major conservation nonprofit sends me lots of mail, many of which have on the envelope “time to renew” or “2nd notice.” I find this practice deceptive, especially as I haven’t given to said organization since 1997. It must be effective or they wouldn’t do it. But is it ethical?

Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]

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Q: I find it irritating when some nonprofits accept my “gift” and then ask me to cover their credit card fees separately. It feels like a practice that does nothing to help win donors and runs the risk of turning others off. Is there any data on this either way?

Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]

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Q: What are the three most important things to consider when designing a brilliant supporter journey?

There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]

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Q: Is there any evidence that changes to the tax laws in the USA changed end of year giving behaviors? Previously, ~30% of US taxpayers filed itemized tax returns allowing them to receive a deduction for charitable giving. Tax law changed in 2017 so that now only ~10% itemize. This should mean tax year-end giving should not matter to millions of people for whom it used to matter. Is there any data evidence to support this?

I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]

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