Make Donors Feel Self-Aware and Visible
Insight of the Week: Make donors feel self-aware and visible. Humans perform “good” behaviors when other people are watching.
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Overview
I just launched a new guide on donation psychology.
It has dozens of interesting tactics that illustrate how charities influence donor behavior.
For example, humans perform “good” behaviors when other people are watching. In a classic study, people donated more money when they were standing near an image of eyes (vs. flowers; Bateson, Nettle, & Roberts, 2006).
Want more donations? Make them visible.
Look Into the Video Camera
Speak directly to viewers in donation videos.
Be Liberal With “You” Pronouns
UNICEF frames their copy around potential donors. Your copy should follow a similar strategy. For example, the previous sentence said “your copy” – which paints a mental image in which you are the protagonist. All eyes are on you.
Display Handwritten Fonts
If humans can’t be present to witness a donation, leave remnants of a human. People insert more money into donation boxes with handwritten fonts (Chu, Tok, Zhou, & Chen, 2023).
Other New Stuff
- Some Customers Enjoy Daily Chores - New products (e.g., robot vacuums) are eliminating chores. But some people dislike these products because they find meaning in these chores. Research shows that it helps to mention the time they'll save, which they could spend on other meaningful activities (de Bellis, Johar, & Poletti, 2023).
- People Prefer Natural Medicines For Psychological Conditions - They believe these treatments will maintain their true identity (Li & Gal, 2023).
- Digital Goods Have Larger Endowment Effects - Buyers want more money for digital goods than sellers are willing to give them (Nguyen & Wang, 2023).