A few weeks ago I shared with you an email that allowed subscribers to write a message that would be included in a child’s lunch. At the end of the email, there was an ask… which you couldn’t say no to.
I asked Email 366 subscribers for their feelings about how the entire process ended. Below are some of the reactions and insights I received. Although I am posting them anonymously, I received permission from each person to share their thoughts.
I Liked It Until…
➡️ “As a reader/potential contributor, I really liked it until the final question. I was engaged and entertained. The lead image was welcoming, and the process of filling the lunchbox was fun. I think the initial ask was done well.
Then…they lost me on the final question. I have never liked the “don’t take no for an answer” method. I got to the final question and was no longer motivated to give. All of the goodwill built through the email was abruptly lost at the end. My feelings went from “I can’t give today, but I will next time” to “I feel like I wasted my time, and I may unsubscribe.” People say no for a variety of reasons, and that is ok. If we are doing our jobs the right way, we know that today’s “no” can be a “yes” tomorrow.”
➡️ “Nope, they lost me! Started out great and then the fundraising ask took away the joy of packing the lunch. My suggestion, if the decision to ask for money at some point was the strategy to put it in the PS – If you want help pack more lunches for hungry kids, consider…..and put the ask there.
This way the original call to action was completed, you see how you can help and if you want to do more you have the option. And, always include an opportunity for a decline!”
➡️ “If I was just a regular subscriber, I would think the whole thing was really cute and fun until the very last slide. And I think it’s likely to make people mad because there’s no option not to give. I would have just had a really lovely interaction that was then completely ruined by making it seem like I must give a donation. I already said no, and they should accept my no in the previous slide, and then tag me for the future that I completed the survey but didn’t give and then ask again later. By doing the survey I showed I care and can be moved to action, so I’m likely a warm prospect for the future. Ending without a confirmation and no option to exit the survey is likely to ruin some of that goodwill that had just been created.”
Bait And Switch
➡️ “Bait and switch! That is what I think about the last two slides. They should not make an ask. This email should be about making the reader feel good, and feeling good builds trust. They broke that trust with the 1st of the last two emails. Then they took several whacks with a baseball bat at that trust (now lying crumpled on the ground) when they added the 2nd of the two emails.
Also, your point is also damning – they could send a follow-up a week later saying and proving that the note had been delivered and appreciated.”
➡️ “Yikes! I did not like the way that email/campaign ended.
I would have stuck with the build-a-lunch and add-a-note of encouragement. It’s so sweet and personal. I can picture the scene, and a child receiving my note. That alone is beautiful, and makes me, as a supporter, feel good. And it would lead to me making a donation during their next appeal, as I would remember how they worked to find a way to engage me, without always asking for money.
The ask- and even worse- a second ask, with no way to submit your note without making a donation, feels much more icky. Like they tricked me.”
➡️ “That last slide. Oof. Wow. I can’t imagine coercing donors with that kind of emotionally manipulative language. I found it incredibly disrespectful. Maybe even hurtful. Big miss in my book.”
Annoying
➡️ “The last image makes me feel like you’ve wasted my time and this was just an elaborate way to force me to donate. It makes me angry and less likely to ever open email from them again.”
➡️ “I don’t like this. First, you may have wasted someone’s time doing the survey of packing a lunch and adding a note. Maybe they can’t give at that moment due to budget constraints, maybe they are in a financial bind. Either way, it feels yucky to use this as a way to fundraise when that was not the point of the email. Not every interaction needs to be about money. If it is always about money it could eventually fall on deaf ears.”
➡️ “I would be very annoyed. That slide does not align with the CTA and I would feel tricked.”
What About Donors?
➡️ “Huge turn off. If I’ve already selected “no” on the previous option and now you ask again without giving me a way out, I’m done. What a terrible way to end something that started so awesome. Even if they get the $10 out of me with the guilt trip, I’m likely never giving to this again because it was so forced. $10 once is not worth wasting a potential engaged-donor relationship.”
➡️ “After filling out the box with the note of encouragement I think the survey should say 100% complete.
Then I would like to receive an image of the lunchbox selection I picked and the note.
A couple days later I would be receptive to getting another email thanking me and asking for a donation.
Nowhere in the appeal email does it say donate. The call to action is to fill a lunch box and include a note.”
➡️ “At the 67% complete phase, there should’ve been an option to give SOME OTHER DOLLAR AMOUNT! A hundred bucks is pretty steep, I think, for the average Joe. And after doing the “fun” part of the note and picking the kid’s food & all, what a let-down to not be able to see it through with a $5 or $10 gift! And, yes – I would hope your gift or ‘no, I can’t right now’ option would’ve still released a ‘thanks for feeding & encouraging a kid’ submission response.”