![\"attention\"](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/attention.jpg\" "\\"attention-aida\\"")
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No matter what action you want a person to take, AIDA is a time-honored way to take someone from knowing nothing about your cause to becoming a full supporter.\u00a0 But before you can use it, you have to know what it is, right?<\/p>\n
AIDA is an acronym from the field of marketing.\u00a0 The letters stand for:<\/p>\n
Many will recognize that these steps form the backbone of any successful sales pitch.\u00a0 As such, these steps were well known even before there was a specific acronym to describe them.\u00a0 Since its coinage in the 1920s, however, it has become a foundational principle in the advertising world.\u00a0 To explain more fully, the steps are:<\/p>\n
These steps describe a classic sales method that works for selling goods and services, but AIDA applies equally well to nonprofits that are trying to fundraise.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a modified version that shows how it can be relevant to nonprofit ads and communications:<\/p>\n
Steps two and three show a slight change from the classic AIDA format.\u00a0 Instead of demonstrating how you solve a problem right away, it is often best to get people emotionally invested in the problem first by showing why it matters.\u00a0 Then, once people are connecting to the issue, you can show that, with their help, there is a solution.\u00a0 This preserves the natural conceptual flow of nonprofit work.\u00a0 If people aren\u2019t convinced that a problem needs solving in the first place, it will be impossible to get them to shoulder personal responsibility for making it happen.<\/p>\n
This flips AIDA on its head a bit.\u00a0 Instead of focusing solely on how your offering meets the audience\u2019s needs, you\u2019re trying to show how your offering meets one of the world\u2019s<\/em> needs as well.\u00a0 At the same time, however, those inclined toward charitable work, have a need to \u201cdo good,\u201d which supporting your organization can satisfy.\u00a0 The point is to convince people that, by meeting an unmet need in the world, your organization will help them meet their personal need to do good.<\/p>\n Confused?\u00a0 We hope not.<\/p>\n AIDA has been used to sell a lot of junk in the past, but you can put it to good use.\u00a0 Create ads and messages that are structured around its basic framework, and you\u2019ll soon be converting strangers into supporters.<\/p>\n