This is part one in a three-part series on copywriting for nonprofits. Click to view: Part two, “How to write headlines that get noticed.”

Copywriting is a foundational practice in all organizations because even the most beautiful website and brand identity will fall flat if you’re writing in a way that fails to connect with your audience.

So what is copywriting?

Copywriting is the art and science of persuasion through words.

Why do we want to persuade people? We want them to donate. We want them to volunteer, we want them to support our mission. We want them to be engaged, we want them to open our emails, we want them to read our web pages. We want them to subscribe and download and interact with us.

Let’s talk about the difference between copywriting in the business world and the nonprofit world. That difference is subtle, and it’s based on motivation.

Businesses use copywriting to sell their products and services. They want their audience to see a problem in their lives that the business’ products can solve.

Nonprofits use copywriting to “sell” their programs and mission. Nonprofits want their audience to see a problem in the world that the nonprofit’s mission can solve.

Business copywriting is based largely on external motivation; “I want that external thing to make me feel better/good/beautiful/happy”. Nonprofit copywriting is based largely on internal motivation; “I want things to change because I believe everyone deserves clean water/healthcare is a human right/we should protect the environment”. The internal motivation comes from the audience’s values.

If the word “Sell” makes you cringe, I’d like to offer an alternative. In the for-profit world, the selling process leads a person from to conversion. Conversion is the point when money is exchanged for goods and services. The nonprofit analog of conversion is commitment. It’s that point when the person who's on the other side of the screen signals their intent to engage in your mission. When they commit, they’re more excited about your mission, about volunteering, about donating, and about the work that you're doing in the world.

So how do you know your copywriting is working?

The bottom line is, are you getting the results you intended? Are people visiting your website? Are they downloading the free PDF report? Are they subscribing to your email list? Are they opening your emails?

Are they donating?

That's the big one. Are they getting your appeals letter and calling to make a pledge or they're visiting your online donation portal? Or are they showing up to your volunteer fair?

If your circle of supporters is growing, if you're getting people invested in your mission, your copywriting is doing pretty well, that’s fantastic! It’s also a great time to seek improvement.

On the other side of the coin, if your copywriting isn't dialed in a really well, you're probably missing out. You're probably missing out on the donors on the edge because they're the ones who need that little extra nudge, that little push, that little extra drive to really show them that your nonprofit is the perfect place for them to spend their time, their talent, and their treasure.

So if you're not, if your copywriting isn't working very well, it's probably, you're probably seeing a lot of folks on Google analytics showing up, looking at your website page and leaving, or when you send out that big appeals letter, instead of getting a flood of calls and emails and donations, you get nothing but crickets.

5 Principles for Effective Nonprofit Copywriting

I’ve identified the five most important guiding principles to improve your nonprofit copywriting. These are high level ideas to consider whenever you’re writing, whether it's a blog post, a fundraising appeal, whether you're sending out an email or recording a video on Instagram Live.

Create Open Loops

Our brains are amazing problem-solving machines. Have you ever noticed how when you think of something you think of something you want to buy, all of a sudden, you see that very thing? A great example of this is buying a new car. You may see a red car that you really want and then all of a sudden your brain says, “Hey, there's a red car.” “Oh, another red car!” “Look at that red car over there!”

That's because your brain is seeking answers to the question of “Where's my red car?” This largely occurs in the part of the brain called the reticular activating system, which helps decide what stimuli make it to our conscious awareness.

We can use this same problem-solving brain to get people to open our emails, read our blog posts, and donate to our causes when we create an open loop. You can create an open loop by hinting at something but don't provide the answer. Or leave an interesting or important detail out!

Some of the magic words that you can use to create open loops are words like hidden, discovery, unknown, any sort of word or phrase that introduces a concept but doesn't give it all away. It's like telling the first part of the joke and leaving the punchline completely out. That's an open loop.

Another great example of open loops is the front of a greeting card. It gives you a nice poem or it gives you a sentiment, but the payoff, the closure of that loop is on the inside of the card.

Tell Stories

My second guiding principle for nonprofit copywriting is, tell stories. along with being problem-solving machines, our brains are story factories. We tell stories, we make meaning of the world around us all day, every day through story!

If you want to engage your donors, volunteers, and stakeholders on an entirely new level, check out next week’s post where I'm going to review a nonprofit story framework that's going to help you write your blog posts easily and connect with your audience through story.

Focus on values

The third guiding principle is to focus on your audience's values. This ties back into our earlier discussion of how copywriting for nonprofits is all about internal motivation. It's so powerful to understand what inspires your donors and volunteers to engage with you.

This can be as simple as calling up some of your best donors and some of your favorite volunteers to express your gratitude and ask, “Why did you choose us? Why are you here on this home build? Why are you collecting canned goods? Why are you supporting students in higher education with scholarships?”

The answer to that question will help you understand their values and it'll really help you understand what they believe about the world. If you can speak to their internal values and beliefs in your copywriting and your marketing materials, you will connect on an entirely deeper level.

Test, test, rewrite, rewrite

I've been writing copy for almost 15 years now and I rarely nail it on the first try. I do pretty well sometimes, other times I fail miserably. I hope you’ll remember that even though you've got to get moving onto your next program, even though you've got to publish your blog post now and move on. If you're not getting the results that you want, go back, revisit it a week later, two weeks later, even six months later. Give it a critical look and make revisions as needed.

I've advised some of my clients to go back and look at their blog posts that they published months ago and rewrite the title. And usually that gives them just a little bit of an edge to generate more traffic or get more attention from their audience when they send out that blog post again with a new title. So test and test and rewrite. Don't be afraid to scrap that headline or scrap that blog post and start all over again, because at the end of the day your goal is to inspire your circle of support to take action.

Include a call-to-action

There are two major types of calls to action. There are transitional calls to action, which are words and phrases like learn more, discover, view, that sort of thing. Those are fine for when the reader is early in their journey with your nonprofit.

However, if you are copywriting for the commitment stage in your supporters’ journey, it’s time to use direct calls to action. These look like register, donate, sign up, or volunteer today. Direct calls to action ask the supporter to take an action that results in measurable growth for your nonprofit.

A lot of folks are really busy and they're skimming your web pages. They're skipping your email copy or your blog post. You can capture the attention of your busy supporters when you have a direct call to action in every piece of copy you write. Your audience should always know what action you want them to take! Then it's up to them to choose whether or not to take it. Do yourself a favor and don't leave that on the table.