The stewardship secret you’re probably not using.

In the past few years, I’ve been a space engineer, a banker, and a 12-year-old cancer survivor.

At the same time, I’m the husband of a senior advancement professional. These roles are more related than you might think. And they may help you raise the level of your stewardship efforts.

As a writer, editor, and content consultant, I find myself taking on an increasing amount of ghostwriting, capturing people’s voices—“endowing their purposes,” as Shakespeare put it, “with words that make them known.”

It’s easy to see why the more savvy communicators and marketers turn increasingly to ghostwriters. Reader research shows that your constituents respond most positively to first-person narratives, stories told in the subjects’ own voice. A first-person tale often works better than a standard profile, because it moves beyond personality to express ideas and passions. It’s understandable why profiles comprise the go-to stewardship content. Your donors are busy. Just getting time with them can be a challenge.

So how can you capture their voices, deepening relationships while producing content that your constituents find irresistible?

Turn an interview into a first-person piece.

Book as much time as possible. Limit the small talk. And bring a recorder. Smartphone apps make it easy to record. And there are many plug-ins that let you record a remote video interview. Online transcription services can then turn your interview into an editable manuscript.  Personally, I find it easier to schedule remote interviews; the subject is more likely to give you more time, and even more sessions. 

Create an outline, then craft your questions.

Think word count, organization, and what you want your piece to achieve. Obviously, you’ll want to be flexible during the interview. But having a plan lets you ensure you get the material you need.

Consider hiring an experienced ghostwriter.

This genre is not the same as standard journalism or creative writing. A good ghostwriter knows how to render a person’s spoken voice into print. Simply rendering a verbatim transcript into a Q&A (the most overused, and abused, format), ghostwriting subtly converts the tone into a voice that the reader receives as original. A good ghostwriter can also bring out the passions and experiences that interviewers often miss, and can occasionally enrich the language while still capturing a personality.

I ghostwrote a book on the outer space economy for a genuine rocket scientist, a former NASA engineer who has founded his own aerospace company. His joy and excitement about the future were palpable in person; but he spoke strictly in engineering terms. Over multiple interviews, I was able to coax language from him that would excite the non-engineer. For a totally different project, I voiced a book for 12-year-old Sadie Keller, who created a foundation bringing toys to cancer kids in hospitals over Christmas, even while she was undergoing treatment for leukemia. She had a remarkable story to tell, but one that required a great deal of trust-building and leading questions.

If you’re reluctant to hire a ghostwriter, consider giving your staff writers or regular freelancers ghostwriting training.

Think books.

What’s more flattering to a person than making them a published author? Your donors have things to say—advice, great stories, life wisdom—that often require some space to tell. And readers in turn love first-person books. Think about it: Which sells better, stories about powerful people and celebrities, or stories by them? Judging by the advances publishers give for books, it’s clear that the first person usually wins. Get a ghostwriter to craft a book that becomes a family heirloom.

Put your donor’s book into stores. Amazon’s Kindle Publishing System lets you publish a book online in both ebook and paper form. Small publishers can also get your donor’s book distributed in independent bookstores and chains. This doesn’t mean you have to use a vanity press. Increasingly, small presses are blurring the line between vanity and genuine publishing. The difference lies in how the books are marketed, as well as the quality of the product.

Donors give to your institution as a form of expression, casting their voice through time. Now steward them with their actual spoken—and written—voice. Let me know if I can help you find the most effective ways to do that.