See through my eyes
18-hour virtual course helping Individual Giving fundraisers work their empathy muscle and become audience-led
What if simply by empathising with your audience, you could potentially double response and income?
Hello I’m Chloë, the Audience-first Charity Strategist. See through my eyes is my sell-out course that gives empathetic IG fundraisers like you the process, tools and skills to think audience-first in creative work and potentially double the response and income in business-as-usual activity (based on a real-world test with a past course participant).
I’ve distilled almost 20 years of experience from WaterAid, Good Agency, and consulting with sector-leading charities, into this 18-hour virtual course, giving you exactly what you need to be a pioneer in putting the empathy back into fundraising - and start becoming audience-led. (Pssst, my course works for all ‘mass’ fundraisers and Comms people too, everyone’s welcome.)
Working through my simple step-by-step process on a live sprint, you’ll learn to tune into your audience, understand why they care about your cause, and write positive propositions that deeply connect - no matter what your starting point.
Ultimately, you’ll learn how to sustainably attract people to support, build lasting connections, and finally end the need for damaging urgency or jeopardy tactics to drive response.
“Often you go on courses and it’s super theoretical, and what you’re missing is what I can I actually do about it. Chloë’s course was different. A practical thread ran throughout the whole course. I’ve now got tools I can use in my every day to help me take the audience insight I already have and better connect with the audience. I now feel I’m not just talking the talk of being audience-led, but walking the walk.”
- Laurane Lewis, Integration Lead, Barnardo’s
Who’s already enjoyed the course
Being audience-led: the evidence it works
Being ‘Audience-led’ simply means putting your audience at the heart of your decision-making. It’s about making your communications about them, rather than about you, the charity.
But how does it work? It works by centring the audience’s values, beliefs and motivations. These are deep psychographic insights that drive engagement.
According to a study by Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay, personal values and impact (i.e. my personal motivation to support) are the two biggest drivers of commitment. (Redefining commitment, 2014)
In a recent press inserts acquisition test with an international client of mine, the audience-led test creative got almost double the response and income, when compared to the formulaic hard-hitting control.
Being audience-led is essentially about drawing people towards your charity through their shared humanity, rather than aggressively acquiring them.
As such, the heart of the course is about getting you back in touch with your innate relational skills of empathy, listening, curiosity and communication. It’s about people connecting with people.
“This is a course that gets you inspired, excited, and then gets you started, so you really know your 'who'. It's an essential part of the Comms and Fundraising jigsaw. Chloë’s captured something special that you can’t find anywhere else. She cleverly builds on many of the hunches I’ve had across the years to create a framework, a practical process, for finding and taking audience motivations for uniquely why they support your charity and turning them into magic.”
- Richard Turner, Director of Fundraising, SolarAid
What you will learn
How to drive sustainable growth with a people-first mindset
I’ll help you undo the ‘what we want’ organisational conditioning and learn how to think people-first in all your decision-making to drive sustainable growth in influence, income and impact. You won’t ever be able to unsee this new perspective.
How to go beyond dry data and put your audience in the room
I’ll help you bring your audience to life, using clever shortcuts that makes this workable for you whether you have stacks of insight or think you have none at all. We’ll go beyond age and gender into their wider lives to draw you an outline of the real people who care about your charity.
How to find insight that gives your audience an emotional return
Together, we’ll explore the deeply personal drivers of why your audience engage with your charity - looking at emotions, motivations, values and beliefs - taking examples of your comms and start practising how to echo the drivers in your charity’s message. This is the bit that means your supporters get real value from supporting your charity. It’s a must-know for journeys.
How to move people to give at scale, with a ‘why’ message
People care deeply about the difference they can make to your cause, so being able to write an connecting ‘why-I-should-care’ message, or proposition, is essential. You’ll learn how to unlock the power of words to write your own ‘why’ that binds your audience and charity together. (And you don’t need to be the world’s greatest copywriter to do it!)
How to do less but better, using your audience as your compass
Being audience-led gives you the power to say no to ideas that just don’t work for your audience, helping you do less but better. You’ll see how an understanding of your audience can shape everything you do - from the messaging, to the channel and ad format, right down to the donation page.
How to continue the audience-led revolution back ‘at the office’
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to see the powerful role you can play in creating culture change towards being audience-led no matter your seniority. You’ll understand the psychology of how to influence others towards your new way of thinking, helping you create small but significant steps of progress.
But right now you might be feeling:
“Jeopardy and urgency tactics in our creative work do more harm than good, but what else can we do to increase response?”
“I want to sustainably attract supporters, rather than aggressively acquiring them, but how exactly do I do that?”
“Our supporter journeys are in danger of becoming an elaborate cross-sell exercise. How do I create genuine value for our supporters?”
“Developing creative work feels like a struggle from all sides. It’s hard work getting what we need from our creative partners.”
“I feel like I’m churning out comms and - beyond making money - I’ve lost why”
“More of the same won’t be enough to meet my charity’s ambitions. I know the answer comes down to what people want, but how exactly can I be audience-led?”
“I’ve got so many competing priorities, all pulling me in different directions”
“I’ve got to innovate within BAU, but it feels like another mountain to climb”
“I’m tired of spending so much energy aligning stakeholders”
I know first-hand how tempting it is to get your head down and hope something will shift.
In my very first non-profit job in the Individual Giving team at WaterAid, I was the ambitious fundraiser who felt that if we just kept pushing, we would eventually shift towards being audience-led. I wish I’d known back then that unless you take the time to step back from the everyday and get closer to your audience, the needle won’t budge.
Today, successful charities look up beyond their narrow internal perspective. They take the time to put themselves in the shoes of their audience to guide all their decision-making and multiply their impact.
After more than 15 years of working in the sector, from WaterAid to Good Agency, and now as an independent consultant, I’ve seen the power of seeing through your audience’s eye’s countless times. I’ve re-energised weary Comms and Fundraising people with a new purpose - serving their audience. I’ve won over cautious stakeholders to new ways of doing things. I’ve developed never-to-be beaten bankers because they are audience-led. In a client Individual Giving test on cash acquisition, the audience-led creative generated double the response compared to the formulaic hard-hitting control.
When you see things from your audience’s eyes, suddenly everything looks different. And you know just what to do to make your communications connect.
“Chloë’s course gave me so many lightbulb moments. As soon as we started listening to the audience, I instantly knew who they were, what mattered to them, and what the campaign could look like. Another one was around my mindset and focusing on the needs of our audience - rather than the organisation’s wants. Six months after completing the course, I can’t believe the progress I’ve made on being audience-led.”
- Sean Robinson, Digital Manager, World Animal Protection
“Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.”
— Alfred Adler, Psychotherapist
When you see your audience’s eyes, everything changes:
When you understand why your audience would support your charity, you can dial back reliance on ‘push’ levers (like jeopardy and urgency tactics) and dial up ‘pull’ levers (like their motivation) to drive up response
You can sustainably attract people towards your cause, because you have a deep understanding of your audience’s values and beliefs. And you will finally discover how to beat the banker!
You know how to deliver consistent value to your supporters in your supporter journeys, as you have defined the emotional return they get (i.e. how you make them feel)
You can confidently lead the creative process, and everyone involved knows just where they are heading, because your audience is your North Star
Your job has more meaning, as you get up close to making your audience feel part of your mission
Your efforts are multiplied, as a meaningful connection with your audience creates sustainable growth in influence, income and impact
You can do less but better, saying no to ideas that won’t work for your audience
You know just where to start with innovation within business-as-usual: you start by adding values to add value
You can unite your stakeholders, signing off budgets, campaign strategy and all communications through the lens of your audience
“Other courses can feel like you’re just going through the motions. But Chloë’s cut through the bullsh*t. She gave us simple, immediate steps that got straight to the heart of what really matters in charity communication - focusing on ‘why’ people engage - helping you focus your time, effort, and creative thinking. It means rather than feeling like a middleman, where agencies do the thinking for you and you do the project management, you’re the one in charge.”
- Tom Evans, Innovation Development Manager, World Animal Protection
Course details
This course gives Fundraising and Comms people the skills, tools, process and mindset to be audience-led in their creative work.
In 18-hours of live tutorials and group coaching sessions spread across March 2024, you’ll be training your brain as quickly as possible to be audience-led, learning from real world examples and cheatsheets to actively apply the principles to your audience and your charity.
And you won’t have to wait until the course ends to take action. You will start taking immediate action as soon as the course starts.
One live sprint
This course is a live sprint, where you will be actively bringing to life your charity’s audience and determining a message that connects. You’ll have worksheets that break down every step that will help you see your audience with new eyes.
4 x live tutorials
In four 3-hour live online tutorials, I’ll walk through exact process, tools and skills you need to be audience-led. Each tutorial has carefully been designed to put you in the driving seat, with participatory exercises to make your learnings unforgettable.
3 x group coaching sessions
To tap into the collective brainpower of the group, and get flexing your audience-led thinking muscle, there are three 90-minutes group coaching session, one after each critical step of the live sprint. You’ll also have access to the recorded tutorials for 3 months.
2024 Course content & dates
-
Onboarding
Monday 26th Feb 11.30am-12.30pm
Welcome & how to get the most from the course
Plus 45-mins call with me, to understand your unique audience challenges and opportunities, so I can support you on the course
-
Tutorial #1: Why care?
Monday 4th March 9.30am-12.30pm
Identify where your communications are and are not audience-led
Unpicking the Audience-led vs Organisational mindsets
Understanding where you are on your journey to being audience-led
-
Tutorial #2: Listen
Monday 11th March 9.30am-12.30pm
How to actively listen to your audience, seeing them as real people
The four personal drivers of engagement: motivations, emotions, values and beliefs
The fundamentals of research: quant and qual
-
Share & Support
Monday 18th March 11am-12.30pm
Group coaching and support time to share your progress on drawing an outline of your audience
-
Tutorial #3: Connect
Wednesday 20th March 9.30am-12.30pm
How to wordsmith a powerful ‘why’ message that connects your audience to your charity
Choosing words to connect, not alienate
A cheatsheet of ‘why’ themes to look out for
-
Share & Support
Monday 25th March 11am-12.30pm
Group coaching and support time to share your progress on developing a ‘why’ message that connects for your audience
-
Tutorial #4: Do
Wednesday 27th March 9.30am-12.30pm
Understanding the role you can play in changing your charity’s culture
The psychology of influencing stakeholders
Using your audience as a compass to focus precious time, energy and budget
-
Share & Support
1.5 hours scheduled around 3-6 months after the course, at a time that suits the group
Group coaching and support time to share your progress on implementing everything you’ve learnt
“Before Chloë’s course, I felt I had the theory about being audience-led but I was missing how to make it actionable. But now I’ve got the stepping stones I need. I also had so many lightbulb moments. Like realising that becoming audience-led doesn’t need to wait for the whole organisation, there are plenty of things I can control to start that journey today. Another one is realising how being audience-led is so much more than age - it’s about their whole lives. Six months on from the course, I can’t believe the progress I’ve made on being audience-led.”
- Nicolle Hardiman, Individual Giving Manager, Barnardo’s
Your investment
£645 per person
For one person
To book, simply drop me an email stating the name and the role of the person who the place is being booked for, and I will send you an invoice. VAT will be added to the price you see here.
£545 per person
For two people or more
Pairs are proven to be more accountable and creative, giving you a greater return on your investment.
To book, simply drop me an email stating the names and the roles of the individuals you’d like to book for. I will then send you an invoice, with VAT added to the price you see here.
“Having a team of four of us on the course helped in many ways, I really recommend it. It helped us get to more rounded conclusions about our audience. It helped us lock down what to do next, after the course. And ultimately, it means we’re actively implementing everything we’ve learnt.”
- Vicki Laing, Senior Individual Giving Manager, WaterAid
Who’s it for
This for you if:
You’re in a Fundraising or Comms role for a mass public audience developing cause-led communications. People in Individual Giving and Engagement in particular will benefit from the course.
You primarily oversee or deliver business-as-usual cause-led communications, campaigns, channels, products or appeals
You care deeply about people, and want to respect and listen to your audience’s motivations and needs. You believe in listening to everyone, including audiences who may not share your same exact values. We have more in common than that which divides us.
You believe the message matters, and have a good grasp of the essentials of copywriting and storytelling
Whether you’re an ambitious Officer or an experienced Senior Leader, you want to put your audience at the heart of your decision-making
You believe that the way decisions are made at your charity needs to become more about what people want - not just what the charity wants
You may or may not have audience segments / profiles / personas in place
This is not for you if:
You believe being audience-led is only about getting more of what the organisation wants, rather than empathising with people
You are new to Communications or Fundraising and are working on your foundational knowledge of your discipline, including copywriting and storytelling
You are not open to hearing audience attitudes that may differ to yours
Your primary focus is on benefits-led products like lottery, subscription or events (although the process stills works for these too, the examples will be focused on cause-led communications)
You’re satisfied with the way things have always been done
You want to develop new products and propositions from scratch
You don’t have a well established comms cycle or fundraising programme
“Chloë’s course put me back in touch with listening to our audience, so I now know how to find those powerful emotional connections. She also got me really feeling into the words we use to connect, helping me see their importance. I certainly won’t be firing off any old message! Chloë also legitimised lots of what I feel could change for the better in how charities fundraise. It’s given me the confidence to be more vocal about what I believe in from here on in.”
- Sarah Shaw, Fundraiser, 2-minute Foundation
FAQs
-
I’ll be making replays available of each live tutorial within 24 hours, helping you catch up if you miss one. I'm also happy to take questions over email after you watch it so you don't miss out on picking my brain.
-
I run the course annually. The next time after these 2024 dates will be 2025 (dates tbc).
-
Yes, I hear you – how can you be audience-led without the insight?
Well, you’d be surprised at what you already know, in particular about your existing audiences.
On the course I’ll show you exactly how to join the dots on your existing intelligence (data, research, profiles, anecdotes), as well as give you other ideas about how to hunt out new insights (such as interviews with supporters, or even a chat with Supporter Care).
Essentially, every charity has some level of intelligence that you need to find good insights, but it’s about bringing it all together and making sense of it.
-
There is no mandatory preparation prior to the course.
However, if you could spare a little time before the course, it’s worth looking out and getting familiar with any audience insight you already have (such as supporter survey answers, focus group research, audience profiles, audience segmentation). This will help you get the most value from the session where I show you how to create a clear narrative around the insight you already have.
If you don’t have any insight, don’t worry. See the previous question.
-
There is optional ‘homework’ for those who wish. This could be anywhere from 30-60 minutes a week. This will help you get the most value from the course, as the more you practise audience-led thinking, the more impact you’ll have.
If you don’t feel able to do the homework during the course, please be assured that you will still have plenty of quick wins that you can instantly apply to your comms.
-
Yes, I can invoice you for the course. Just drop me an email about how many places you’d like to chloe@chloeamstein.com. Thank you.