A year of feels and vibes
You have to make people feel something if you want to be remembered, read, supported. Cutting through the noise of this year is going to take some real feels and vibes work.
Maya Angelou has an oft-repeated quote that I keep coming back to lately...
I thought about it a lot in December when working with groups on year end fundraising campaigns. And while receiving piles of fundraising emails on the heels of piles of 2024 campaign emails.
How are you making people feel? Do you even know what you hope people will feel as part of your group, your campaign, your audience?
A time of feels and vibes
A new Congress gets sworn in today. A new (old) President will be inaugurated in 17 days. It will be days and weeks and months of chaos, emotion and exhaustion in the information, content and news space. People will also feel it in their own lives.
How you make people feel will have a lot to do with the attention they give you, their time, their support, their trust, actions and voice.
You can cut through disinformation and noise with facts. But you can't even communicate with people who don't feel something for you.
If we're talking about a nonprofit or other organization then here's some of the work you can do.
Acknowledge and recognize people.
Send every past donor a note. Not a four page direct mail piece but a note. Maybe it’s a postcard. Maybe it’s an off-size one pager that’s folded in half. Thank them. Invite them. Ask a question. This can be done any time of year. In fact, it's probably better to do it at a seemingly random and uncrowded time (not year end!).
Create experiences that take people into the journey.
A good gym, yoga studio, bookstore or even a grocer or convenience store is a clean and functional place to lift a weight, grab milk and chips, or fold into down dog.
A great gym, bookstore or grocer creates a memorable experience. Perhaps it’s visual: all the produce is fantastic. Or it’s calming and reliable. Or it’s challenging but inspiring. You’re engaged, involved and want to talk to others about what happened. It’s an experience.
How can you help people experience the mission, the work, the story?
Offer community.
Host events, online and in person, at which people can meet, ask questions, learn and contribute. We live in a lonely society of relationships cheapened by transactions and vapid social media. Bring people together. You won't reach everyone on your list but you don't need to. The community becomes a core and becomes a source for stories you can share.
Don’t ignore the small things, the oddballs and the one-offs.
Technology hasn’t made anyone’s life easier. For most, the always on search bar, donation form, website and email account means dozens or hundreds of opportunities for terrible user experiences at all times of day and night.
Make sure things work the way they should. Don’t discount someone who emails to say that your donate page doesn’t work on their phone.
You won't remember what you don't feel
Humans, adults in particular, learn through experience. They watch how it's done, they talk it through, they feel it.
How people feel–the vibes!–isn't simply making people feel good. It's about feeling something. Anything.
The soon to be (again) President knows this lesson. He may tend towards the lizard brain side of feeling–anxiety, fear and stress–but it leaves you feeling something. And that emotion becomes energy and power. It's memorable.
I for one don't encourage following his particular lead.
But making people feel something? That is more important than ever.