Always include a P.S. in your letter. Use the P.S. as an immediate call to action. Since most people scan a letter (the intro, bolded/underlined copy and the P.S.), the...
How much mail is too much? (Tip #44)
Test mid-month appeals. Many organizations are successfully mailing 12 annual appeals (one per month) AND 4-6 mid-month appeals throughout the year. These mid-month appeals can add a lot of income...
4 Steps Nonprofits Can Take to Establish Lasting Business Partnerships
Cause marketing has been a long recognized endeavor between nonprofits and for-profits. There are many classic examples (Children's Miracle Network, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, St. Jude Children's Research...
Write for your audience, not your boss or board (Tip #43)
"New," "fresh," and "cutting edge" approaches to your direct mail will almost always result in lower performance. Marketing departments, board members, and sometimes even fundraisers will want to move away...
Watch your tone when writing fundraising copy (Tip #42)
A positive, inspirational tone in your letter is better than the doom and gloom approach. Donors want to support successful organizations that have big vision, plans for achieving great things...
Write fundraising copy the way you talk (#41)
Write your letter copy at the 5th grade reading level. This may drive your brand people crazy (especially if you happen to be in higher education or healthcare), but writing...
Does your fundraising copy pass the “you” test? (Tip #40)
Use the word "you" early and often in your letter copy. It is a powerful way to connect with your donor. Use the word "I" to make your letter more...
Bite-sized fundraising copy is best (Tip #39)
Don't write long paragraphs. It doesn't matter how many paragraphs are in your letter, just don't have more than 3-4 sentences in each paragraph. It's ok to break up a...
Focus on 1 person in need for best fundraising results (Tip #38)
Fundraising letters that talk of the plight of millions of starving people in need of help tend not to work as well as those that focus on the suffering of...
Optimizing your middle donor direct mail ask strategy (Tip #37)
Test just an open ask (instead of a static ask or calculated asks based on past gift history) to your middle donors. This frequently results in better overall revenue and more frequent...