A couple of weeks ago on LinkedIn, expert marketer Liz Willits wrote a post about two reasons why SaaS copy is boring these days:
1. SaaS marketers copy each other.
2. SaaS marketers play it too safe.
Ouch.
It got me thinking about nonprofit copy. Is it boring? Is it too safe? What about too repetitive?
Here’s my honest opinion: A lot of non-profit copy is boring and, by extension, uninspired.
There are several reasons for this that we all know of: staff shortages, tight budgets, never-ending deadlines and even plain old uncertainty about what to do and how.
But there are other reasons that you may not have realized before.
Reason #1: Nonprofit copy reveals cloudy brand identity
Oftentimes, non-profit organizations revive their marketing copy when something new is available or changes. For example, new available services or changes to longstanding programs usually get dedicated blog posts or social media posts. This isn’t a bad thing. But it can be if it’s all your marketing copy is about.
In short, it’s boring.
It tells people that your services or internal operations are equivalent to your brand, which shouldn’t be the case. Instead, your brand should represent values, purpose, ideas and principles that you communicate through marketing copy. If there is a significant change in your organization, for example, you can align it with your brand (Sidenote: this is why brand storytelling is key to content marketing). But it has to be done in a fresh way, one that isn’t formulaic or predictable. If people care about your organization, they also care about the things that align with it. Give them a chance.
Reason #2: Writing copy for the wrong audience
I know that I mention target audience a lot, but it’s because of how important it is. In the non-profit sector, there are so many people you’re trying to reach (and for different reasons!): donors, participants, volunteers, partner organizations etc. It’s easy to lump them all together for marketing copy, especially when you’re short on time and resources.
This can create boring nonprofit copy because the content is not relevant or interesting. Not only does that turn people away, but it doesn’t help your analytics either. Decisions are made by people, not robots.
But there are huge benefits to segmenting each audience to give them specific messages:
- deliver more meaningful content
- increase possibility of return on investment
- offer relevant ways for engagement
Use a human voice (that’s specific) to make connections, but understand that those connections take time to manifest.
Reason #3: Disconnect from people
This is closely related to the second reason. The voice and tone of the language you use has to make sense for whoever you’re communicating to. In other words, you want to give people entry points to connect their experiences to your copy. Fancy jargon won’t do it. I’m not saying to abandon jargon altogether. I’m saying to be very selective about it. Most of the time, it isn’t necessary to get the message across.
For example, take this sentence: We are proud to continue taking deep dives into the capacity building mentality to break down silos of self-sufficiency and emphasize community with marginalized people.
What does this even mean?
Anyone reading it would ask that question.
So, always keep it simple. A better sentence would be the following: We are proud to continue strengthening our partnerships with marginalized communities. Same thing, yet simple!
People want to connect with your organization. Give them interesting ways to do so. A thesaurus can be helpful, but so can powerful metaphors, stories, examples and generally illustrative language. Adding visual elements can also be helpful in adding some pizzazz. But the most important thing is to connect to what people actually care about by communicating to them in specific yet meaningful ways.
Over to you
Nonprofit copy doesn’t have to be formulaic or repetitive. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Rather, it should be meaningful and interesting enough to connect with your target audience(s). As well, it should be persuasive enough to encourage action. So spruce up that copy and leave boring behind!
Still stuck? Let’s get in touch.