The five stages of donors.
Message consistency can hurt your fundraising.
But everyone tells you to stick to a script.
Here’s why that’s wrong. ⤵
Your prospects are at five different stages of awareness. And not every donor knows the same thing about a social problem, the potential solutions, or your brand.
For example:
Using industry jargon with a new individual donor will make them feel lost. Or, telling too many participant stories to a foundation ready to give will make them impatient and bail.
So use this infographic to tailor your next pitch.
I promise, it’s not that complicated.
Just think — next time you’re going into a fundraising conversation or writing some marketing copy — where is this prospect in their awareness cycle?
Then deliver the right messaging to them.
Your goal is to move donors to the next level of understanding. And guess what? If you introduce information in this proper sequence, a prospect can fly through these stages quickly — even in the same conversation.
The bottom line:
Message consistency is comfort.
But variety is victory.
Choose wisely.
💪🏽💛
Inspiration: the classic 1966 book by Eugene Schwartz, Breakthrough Advertising
The daily bonus
Lots of versions of this 5-stage framework. Here’s another good one that includes marketing channels and KPIs to track.
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