Tis the season for outrageous subject lines
My favorite political fundraising text I’ve received so far this season started off with “Choking back tears: Kamala Harris is inches from taking the lead, and no one’s donating…”
I saved that one, because I thought it was one of the more, um, inventive ways that campaign fundraisers try to stir up urgency and hit on emotion and speak in desperate tones.
CHOKING. BACK. TEARS.
Yep. Tis the season for panicked messaging and hyperbole.
This is nothing new to us as recipients of these campaign messages. (And just so you know, I have subscribed to Trump campaign messages before to review his campaign’s language and tone, too. A lot of bluster, a lot of ALL CAPS IN RED, and a lot of lies.)
And while I don’t want to downplay the importance of this election — it is indeed filled with anxiety-inducing, high stakes for this democracy, for women’s rights, for international relations, and more — this is not a piece about presidential candidates, it’s a piece about what we can learn from the structure of their messaging.
Spammy, but effective
Kamala Harris has raised $1 billion since entering the presidential race. According to The New York Times, “No presidential candidate is believed to have ever raised so much money so fast after entering a race.”
Not only that but “Much of the funding has come from online contributors.”
So, one can safely assume that these texts and emails we all hate to receive are, in fact, working.
What can you, an artist or entrepreneur, learn from this?
Volume makes a difference.
- Build an audience over time. You may not have access right now to a big audience interested in your work, but you should be spending consistent energy and resources building that audience over time. Presidential campaigns are using databases that have existed for YEARS. That means, they have a large group to target with their messages, even when they know only a portion of that audience will take action. Keep building your audience, so when you actually have something to share, you have enough people to share it with.
- Send multiple messages. You can’t just send one announcement and cross your fingers. However uncomfortable it may feel to send multiple messages about one thing, your audience needs reminders, repetition and variety to pay attention. At the very least, please plan for a teaser, a full announcement, and a reminder when you launch a new campaign. (If we work together, I’ll advise you to send even more than this, and we’ll work on making them meaningful.)
Grab their attention
Subject lines need to inspire people to open emails.
First lines need to inspire people to read on.
Button copy needs to inspire people to take action.
These are just marketing truths. But it doesn’t mean you have to be clickbait-y about it. Some of our clients’ most opened emails simply describe what’s waiting inside. For example, “Free resource inside!” or “Watch a clip from our performance.” These are not at all spammy in nature, and yet, they compel you to open up the email.
Be descriptive, prompt an action, tell people what to expect.
Tone matters
The reason you’re rolling your eyes or angrily mass-deleting emails is because you don’t want to feel the panic they’re projecting.
Campaign operatives may get away with language like this, but you will not.
So, you have to spend more time being intentional about matching your tone to the mission and values that undergird your work.
Years ago, I project managed a major web and brand redesign for a nonprofit fighting for the welfare of animals worldwide. We spent months persuading their leaders to reconsider the tone of their fundraising campaigns, moving from URGENT, ALL CAPS pleas to save these animals from imminent death, to adopting a more optimistic tone about their work empowering local communities to play critical roles in maintaining safe environments for regional wildlife.
By focusing on what we CAN/WILL do, vs what will happen if we CAN’T, we build trust in our abilities, inspire hope, and change the conversation.
I know you can approach your messaging with this kind of integrity, and that, I hope, will make you feel better about putting it out in the world.