What if the fastest way to reach all your audiences is to focus on just one #4
Why talking to one “Brenda” can win over everyone
Hey,
I ran a messaging workshop where half the team (at least) thought I was crazy. I asked them to focus on just one donor profile - a single human, not “all our audiences” - and build the campaign message for that person. The resistance was palpable.
By the end, we’d not only built a message for “Brenda,” but realised it would work for everyone else too.
Go narrow to go wide
Let’s pretend you work for the Society for the Preservation of Bubble Wrap. Your job? Raise funds to save endangered bubble wrap from landfill. But to do that, you need to come up with a campaign theme and message that will inspire giving.
Say you have hundreds of supporters: collectors, environmentalists, nostalgic kids-at-heart, logistics managers. We start by choosing just one donor to focus on: Brenda, 58 She’s a loyal bubble wrap fan, proud of her decades in the movement, hates awkward goodbyes and wants to know her donation actually makes a difference.
The room pushes back:
“But we’re not just speaking to Brenda! We’ve got collectors, environmentalists, nostalgic kids-at-heart, logistics managers…”
But here’s the trick: I then read out Brenda’s motivations -
Hates waste, wants to protect the planet
Loves feeling part of a like-minded community
Feels good when she sees the direct result of her effort
Then I ask: “Does this apply to your collectors? To your environmentalists? To the kids-at-heart? To the logistics managers?”
And one by one, they say yes.
That’s the moment it clicked: If you nail the motivations for one person, you can adapt the framing for everyone else.
This is where teams usually get stuck: they try to write for everyone, so the message becomes generic and flat. Instead, pick one “Brenda,” build a message that speaks directly to her, then tweak the tone or examples for each audience.
It’s not about ignoring other groups - it’s about making sure your core message is sharp enough to cut through for all of them. It’s in the specific that you find the universal. You can build the campaign message for Brenda — and still have it resonate far beyond her.
Free resource for you
I turned the Brenda/Bubble Wrap story into a quick carousel you can download.
Your Turn
Build one donor profile. Give them a name, age and a few key details. List their top 3–4 motivations for supporting you. Then write a message directly to them.
Once you have it, step back and ask: Would this still appeal to everyone else we’re trying to reach?
Go really narrow first…then zoom out. And don’t be scared to actually try just writing to your “Brenda”, you might be surprised how many people see themselves in her story.
This one travelled further than I expected.
Last week, I shared 10 things I’ve learnt about non-profit comms (the hard way) on LinkedIn. And wow, it’s been seen by over 114,000 people, sparked 155 comments and got reposted more than 50 times.
The comments were a whole masterclass of their own. Someone said, “Comms is like a good curry: it takes time, care and too many cooks will ruin it.” Another added, “It’s not a school spelling bee—there’s no medal for best writer, just impact.”
Clearly, this post hit a nerve. And maybe a little relief too, that we’re not the only ones navigating the messiness of nonprofit comms with too little time, too few resources and a deep desire to get it right.
If you missed it, you can read the post here.
And if your team needs help turning “we should really do comms” into “oh hey, that actually worked”, drop me a line. I’ve got space for a new project or two.