(Multiple stories, in fact, but let’s leave that for now.)
Your (true, authentic) story matters to the work you do — maybe a lot more than you might think.
I delivered a presentation a week and a half ago - and I started by sharing a few deep, personal truths about my story with the audience. It was scary… I felt very vulnerable… I wondered if it was really relevant.
Would I be judged? Would people think it was ‘too much’ to share?
But my point was valid.
I wanted the audience to realize that my quick intro ‘blurb’ about myself: “I have a company called Pen with a Purpose. I write compelling, story-driven direct response copy for nonprofits that helps to raise a lot of money… blah blah blah” — that’s NOT my story. That’s 'marketing speak’. That’s surface stuff.
It’s the stuff beneath the surface that creates connection.
That’s where the juicy stuff lives.
That’s where and how you can connect with the people and the stories that you want to tell.
That’s how I was able to connect so deeply to the copy I wrote for three waves of a fundraising appeal for a nonprofit organization in Australia, called Canteen. Canteen supports teenagers and young adults who are impacted by cancer. Either they themselves, or a close family member has been diagnosed with cancer.
So… it matters that I was raised by my dad and had a very close connection with him growing up.
It matters that I have two children, a teenager and a pre-teen.
It matters that my dad passed away from a brain tumour just nine days after my son was born.
It mattered when I spoke to Chloe about her experience losing her dad to cancer when she was just 13 years old.
It mattered when I spoke to Kirsty, a Canteen counselor, about how she helps young people like Chloe work through their grief. And it mattered when I spoke to Cam, a Canteen activities director, who sees the joy and connection that Canteen brings to young people going through some really tough and terrible times.
And I believe that connection helped me to uncover some really amazing content for the three appeal letters (and multiple other inserts) I wrote for Canteen.
In the interests of keeping this post brief… I’m going to do separate blog posts summarizing the three appeals I helped to create for Canteen. I’ll show you how you can create true authentic moments of connection with your supporters and inspire more giving.
I’ll conclude by saying that I also think sharing those bits of my story created a deeper connection with my audience during that presentation. I shared a quote just before telling my story… and I’ll leave it with you here now:
