Everybody in fundraising knows that you need to stay in touch with your donors to make sure they stay in touch with you through giving and other vital support. And if someone in fundraising doesn't know that, they should learn it quickly or get out fast.
But good communication requires more than a monologue. Good communication needs to involve both sides. It also needs to arrive in a desired format. Let your donors choose how they want to hear from you. Some prefer mail. Others prefer e-mail. And still others may want to chat on the phone. A few may even want to talk to you through blogs and social networking spaces such as Facebook and MySpace.
Diversifying your communications is best. People should hear from you in a variety of ways -- this helps keep your message fresh and ensures that you don't get looked over in the pile of information that arrives every day. But it's also important to focus your communication in a way that is pleasing to your donors.
Let each donor choose how s/he wants to hear from you. And then communicate regularly with that donor in that way. If some of your donors prefer email, use it. They're helping you reduce your printing and mailing costs while telling you that they want to hear from you! What's not to love about that? But if another donor prefers paper, don't force him to read about you online.
Of course, to keep it all straight, you need a good database to organize your donor information. We'll write more about that another week.
For now, think how you can better share your message with your donors in the format that most appeals to them. Have you ever asked them what they want?
We are living in times of hyper-customization. Nobody wants to feel like a number. And, of course, your donors are far more than numbers to you. So let them know that by talking to them in their own language.
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