Telling someone to do something, without giving a reason why, only works for toddlers. And not very well at that.

So if you want your shoppers, your donors, your sellers or your consignors to DO SOMETHING, anything, for goodness’ sake, take a few moments to

tell them WHY.

Sure, they should think of you. But remind them why it’s so important. Keep a list of reasons to donate to your nonprofit, or sell to your buy-outright, or consign with your consignment shop, and use them in rotation. Bonus: watching your stats, you might even figure out which message means the most to your audience, and which means more traffic through your shop.

For example, just adding on a few words to the above message would “paint a picture” that would remain top-of-mind in your FB fans’ minds when they’re thinking of donating. Now, the NFP that posted this status update was a consultee of mine, so I know a little about what good donations to their stores do. So I’d suggest a few more words along the lines of:

• Your gently-used dining room set could help finance a wheelchair for a sick grandparent.
• The things your kids have outgrown could go back to third grade with a child who has nothing that fits.
• Loved that cocktail dress 3 years ago? Let us turn it into tuition at business school for an eager-to-learn teen.