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Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing

By and , Mar 31st, 2011

Stories are powerful — our brains seem to be hard-wired for this ancient method of sharing information. As a result, including stories in your emails may seem like a no-brainer. But there’s a problem: Non-profits are adding stories to their fundraising messages… and they’re not working.

How can smart organizations harness the power of stories to communicate with supporters and get them to donate? In M+R’s newest publication, we dig into what makes stories powerful, explain recent test results that can help non-profits avoid falling into the personal story trap, and offer concrete tips for crafting emails that successfully use stories to compel supporters to give.

Click here to read “Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing” now. (PDF)

Click here to download a webinar we held on this topic, ask questions, and follow the ongoing conversation!

Want to know how to use stories to influence media coverage? (Hint: It’s a very different beast!) Check our white paper, Storytelling and the Power of Making Headlines.

Related articles:

  1. Today: Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing at Blackbaud Conference
  2. Storytelling Webinar on February 8
  3. Storytelling webinar at 2 p.m. today!
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One Response to “ “Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing”

  1. Development Director says:
    June 9, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    Hi M+R, Interesting article re: story-telling. I was wondering if you had done the experiment with the “better” stories to see how they performed against the “wonky” messages?
    Thanks.

  2. Blair Nonprofit Advisors » White Paper: Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing says:
    June 10, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    [...] Research Labs released Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing at the end of March and I found it to be a helpful guide for organizations who are trying to [...]

  3. Writing compelling stories for your union emails | AlexWhite.org says:
    June 14, 2011 at 1:31 am

    [...] email highlights a report by M+R Labs about the art of email writing: Stories are powerful — our brains seem to be hard-wired for this ancient method of sharing [...]

  4. Five Reasons the Kony 2012 Video is Going Viral | Left Standing Up says:
    March 8, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    [...] Making the Video About Us – Effective storytelling is at the heart of inspiring people to care about an issue and then to take action.  While [...]

  5. e.politics: online advocacy tools & tactics » Five Reasons the Kony 2012 Video is Going Viral says:
    March 9, 2012 at 9:21 pm

    [...] Making the Video About Us – Effective storytelling is at the heart of inspiring people to care about an issue and then to take action. While everyone [...]

  6. Fundraising Stories That Don't Work -- and What's Different About the Ones That Do | Nonprofit Marketing Guide says:
    April 26, 2012 at 2:17 pm

    [...] P.S. M + R has a free e-book and additional training on this topic that I highly recommend: Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing. [...]

  7. Your ‘story’ makes all the difference « Fundraising.com Blog says:
    April 30, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    [...] more on this topic, request M + R Strategic Services’ free e-book called, Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]

  8. Your ‘story’ makes all the difference says:
    September 11, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    [...] more on this topic, request M + R Strategic Services’ free e-book called, Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing. [...]

  9. 5 Killer Resources to Tell Non-Profit Stories says:
    February 19, 2013 at 8:05 am

    [...] Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing - a great little e-book that I often reference. [...]

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