The Second Key to an Effective Pledge Break

"Emphasize Benefits"

People who do well during the fundraiser, tend to talk less about the features of WRUW, and more about the benefits of the station to the listener.

What is the difference between features and benefits?

Features are factual and descriptive qualities and characteristics of a particular item or organization.

Benefits are the tangible, psychological, and/or imagined results that the particular feature produces.

For example ....

Suppose I hand you a yellow highlighter marker. One feature / fact / descriptive quality of the pen would be "the pen is fluorescent yellow".

The benefit of that feature would be something like "When you highlight important text with this marker, the text will easily catch your eye every time you flip through the book. There's no second-guessing or hunting through blocks of black text to find what you're looking for."

WRUW has a lot of "features" that are great facts and descriptive qualities about the station. Here's a short list of examples we all know:

- We're on 24 hours a day, 7-days a week

- We're all volunteer

- We're based at Case Western Reserve

- We broadcast in stereo

- We broadcast public affairs shows

- We have a website

- We have archives on our website

- We play music other stations don't and won't

- We are listener supported

- We are non-commercial

- We broadcast live bands on Thursday nights

- We have a concert called StudioArama every year

- We have students and community volunteers on staff

- We have a lot of modern equipment

- We have two relatively new studios at the station

- Sunday Matinee presents 2 hours of showtunes each week on Sundays

- Down by the Cuyahoga is a jazz show on Friday nights

... and so on.

Of course, you should point out some of these great features during some of your pledge breaks when you're talking about the fundraiser. But first ...

Pick features that are RELEVANT to your audience.

For example, if you don't play a lot of new music on your show, maybe you shouldn't focus on talking about all the wonderful new music we have access to at WRUW. But, you might be able to talk about reissues of older music in your format that we have received or bought.

And, if you co-host a public affairs show, then talking about music just might not fit your show at all.

If you've never been to StudioArama, and don't play music of the genre on your show (in general, that would be punk, rock and metal) then talking about how listener donations pay for StudioArama will have no traction with your audience. However, it might work to talk about live performances of all types that air every week on our Thursday night show, "Live From Cleveland." Or, maybe talking about our involvement with the Hessler Street Fair would be more appropriate.

Simply pick features of WRUW that are RELEVANT to your audience.

But don't stop there and simply read off a "feature" of the station. They're really rather dull and perfunctory as they are stated above. Those features won't "move" people to call the station with a pledge of support any more than if I handed you a yellow highlighter and said "it's a yellow highlighter."

You need to state the BENEFITS in order to add some life to the features and help the listener appreciate them more. Here are a few examples:

Feature: We're based at Case Western Reserve University.

Benefit: "Being based at Case makes us a non-profit, which means your donation is tax-deductible. So if you own your own home or take a lot of deductions at tax time, your gift to WRUW will actually save you some money for this year. Plus, since we're affiliated with the college, it's possible your employer might be able to match your donation to help us even more!"

Feature: We are listener supported.

Benefit: "Being listener-supported is great for us, and great for you. Through this fundraiser, we get your direct vote in how much we continue to grow and improve over the next year. This station works best when the people who actually listen call us to be counted as supporters of the station. You have a direct impact in how much music and equipment we can buy to become even better for you. <... and so on ...>

Feature: We have archives on our website

Benefit: "If you miss your favorite shows, you can download them at any time and listen at your own convenience on your computer, or your MP3 player. You can also listen to ANY show on our schedule at any time. Want to hear what's on at three in the morning, but don't want to stay up that late? Download the show and check it out. They just might be playing music you'll find thrilling to listen to! That's just one of the great benefits of the archives on our website! <and so on ...>"

Feature: We play music other stations don't and won't

Benefit: << Your turn ... YOU dear reader, fill this one in. What's the benefit to the listener of hearing music other stations don't and won't play?>>

In fact, the best way to get into a "benefits mindset" is to take each of the phrases above and add "SO WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT TO MY LISTENERS?" at the end of each.

We're on 24 hours a day, 7-days a week.

SO WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT TO MY LISTENERS?

We're all volunteer.

SO WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT TO MY LISTENERS?

We have a lot of modern equipment.

SO WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT TO MY LISTENERS?

... and so on.

Don't know WHY it is important to your listener? Then think about why one of our features MIGHT be important to some of your listeners. We have listeners of all ages, nationalities and income levels who listen all over the world thanks to the Internet. Don't try to appeal to everyone all at once.

Picture a particular listener, male or female, of a particular age, living in a particular area, working a particular job ... who loves listening to your show.

So, first, write up a list of features about the station and about your show.

Then, pick the "best" ones that are most relevant to your listeners. You don't need more than 8 to 10 features to talk about for a 2-hour show.

Finally, take each feature and develop an answer to the question "So WHY is that important to my listeners?" or "Why MIGHT that be important to my listeners?"

You'll have greater success with your telethon show by developing a list of solid benefits the station provides to the listeners and by emphasizing those benefits as you talk about the fundraiser.

For more on this topic, check out Common Fundraiser Mistake #3.

Thanks for reading!

Read The Third Key to an Effective Pledge Break