Writing emotional copy for nonprofits is not easy. You have to persuade your audience to care about your cause, to trust your organization, and to take action. How can you do that effectively? One powerful way is to use storytelling.
Storytelling is the art of creating and sharing narratives that engage, inspire, and move people. Stories can help you connect with your audience on an emotional level, show them the impact of your work, and motivate them to support you. Stories can also help you stand out from the crowd of other nonprofits that are competing for attention and donations.
When I was on the benefit committee of the cystic fibrosis charity, I was looking for a sponsor. So how did I make people care about a little-known condition that mostly affected children who would die from it at a young age? Rarely, did a child with this condition live past 20 years old. As a volunteer with media background, I taped into my contacts in radio and TV and found my way to the Director of Charity at a major TV station who was the decision maker, for what charities they supported. I spoke to her about the lack of future these kids had with this horrible disease and found out that the director had a best friend whose daughter had passed from cystic fibrosis. She sponsored the event. Always find your right audience.
Storytelling is an effective way for nonprofits to inspire and engage their stakeholders. It gives a personal touch to traditional fundraising, allows people to connect with the organization on a deeper level, and provides a platform for meaningful dialogue about pressing social issues. Stories spark empathy, motivate action, and can even help build support and trust in the long term. When used strategically, storytelling plays an essential role in nonprofit growth and success. By presenting stories in a compelling way, nonprofits can draw people into conversations about important topics and raise awareness about their mission.
I believe you can use storytelling to write emotional copy for nonprofits in two different ways: Firstly, is to tell the hardships of the people you are trying to help and how your organization has benefited them. This type of storytelling allows the potential volunteer, donater, etc. to understand why this is so important and what their donation is going to and changing. Secondly, is to explain why your organizations staff chose to help. This allows the reader understand why your team believes it is so important to help but to also illustrate what people are doing to help solve the issue you are trying to address.
A good story for your nonprofit should have three main elements: a hero, a challenge, and a transformation. The hero is the person or group that your nonprofit helps or represents. The challenge is the problem or obstacle that they face. The transformation is the change or outcome that your nonprofit helps them achieve. For example, if your nonprofit provides clean water to rural communities, your hero could be a child who suffers from waterborne diseases, your challenge could be the lack of access to safe water sources, and your transformation could be the improved health and well-being of the child and their family after receiving your support.
In my experience, many nonprofits get stuck portraying the organization, or even the founder, as the hero instead of the individuals or community they serve. A trick I use: "Imagine this organization did not exist. What would you have to say then about this problem and its solutions?
I really don’t know how you would communicate without storytelling. Every communication is made up of pieces of information, and the way that information is arranged, the context you put it in, makes it understandable, helpful, or compelling. Every message is some form of story - some are just framed as a better narrative (often with a brand it contains a clear call to action) than others. So the question isn’t “should you tell stories?” - it’s “are you telling compelling stories, and if not, how could you?”
A simple and effective way to structure your story for your nonprofit is to use the classic plot arc of exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. In the exposition, you introduce your hero and their situation. In the rising action, you build up the tension and the stakes by showing the challenge and the obstacles that your hero faces. In the climax, you show the turning point or the decisive moment where your hero overcomes the challenge or receives your help. In the resolution, you show the aftermath or the impact of your help on your hero and their community.
I also find listening to masters of storytelling like Malcom Gladwell (Revisionist History) is great inspiration. Cultivating the story you want to tell before then finding multiple stories you can cut between is a phenomenal way of keeping peoples attention (me in particular). As is experimenting with form - using real people’s voices, not brand VO’s. Using music and scores to mirror the story arc, not just library music. These really help make stories even richer. I find anyway.
When you write your story for your nonprofit, you should use clear and vivid language that appeals to the senses and emotions of your audience. You should also use specific details and examples that show rather than tell what your hero goes through and how your nonprofit helps them. You should also use dialogue and quotes that bring your hero's voice and personality to life. Finally, you should use a call to action that invites your audience to join your cause or donate to your nonprofit.
To stand out, infuse personal narratives that evoke empathy. Share unexpected positive outcomes to illustrate broader impact. Incorporate volunteers' perspectives for authenticity and community-building. Be transparent about challenges, showcasing resilience. Articulate a clear call-to-action, emphasizing urgency and significance. Unveil your nonprofit's journey, from inception to present impact, to engage readers. Remember, a potent story marries emotion, purpose, and action, driving change and propelling your cause forward.
Before you publish or share your story for your nonprofit, you should test and optimize it for effectiveness and relevance. You should ask yourself and others these questions: Does your story capture the attention and interest of your audience? Does your story convey the value and urgency of your cause? Does your story inspire trust and empathy for your nonprofit and your hero? Does your story prompt your audience to take action? You should also use analytics and feedback tools to measure and improve the performance of your story in terms of reach, engagement, conversion, and retention.
Beyond prompting action, we should ensure that our call to action (CTA) is clear, specific, and aligned with our story. We should explain how our audience can directly contribute to the cause or get involved and make it easy for them to take the next step.
Storytelling is not limited to one format or channel. You can use storytelling in different ways to reach and connect with your audience. For example, you can use storytelling in your website, blog, newsletter, social media, email, video, podcast, brochure, flyer, or report. You can also use storytelling in different stages of your marketing funnel, from awareness, to consideration, to decision, to loyalty. You can also use storytelling in different contexts and purposes, such as fundraising, advocacy, education, or recognition.
I think this is my 'how-to-use-storytelling' favorite part of all. The amazing thing of a good storytelling is the possibility to adapt the content to different formats and channels. Sometimes, it's quite a challenge! But that process of thinking, reframe and finally find the right way to adapt the content and format, is glorious.
Act ethically and centre the needs of your clients rather than your organisation. Create safe spaces for clients or service users to share their stories in ways that feel right to them, rather than in ways that feel right to you. Their stories are not yours to exploit, they are theirs to share, if they want to. Be wary of creating saviour narratives. Don’t play into stereotypes. Don’t lead your reader to reach an ‘us and them’ conclusion - don’t make your supporters into saviours or white knights. Don’t invite judgement. The goal of garnering support isn’t as important as the goal of doing the work in the right way.
- TellI a personal story that includes a real character (beneficiary - volunteer, donor) it will make for a most impactful narrative. - Provide vivid content for the reader to immerse themselves in related to challenges faced and emotions experienced. -Make sure the story engages the senses and clearly shows impact. Highlight hope, joy and compassion that evokes emotion. - Share the problems, challenges, hurdles and the efforts that yielded positive outcomes - Provide before and after snapshots - demonstrate the impact. - Incorporate the characters voices with quotes. - Articulate what you want from the reader. What difference can they make? - DRIVE HOME A CALL TO ACTION. Make it easy for them to donate/volunteer/ participate.