So everybody’s got an opinion about your fundraising appeal…
I’ve been doing lots of copywriting lately. Case statements, email appeals, and especially mail fundraising appeals. I love it. It’s one of my favorite things to do.
But over the years, I’ve also noticed I get the same questions. You too?
Maybe I can help you head a few off.
1. Does the letter really have to be two (or four, or whatever) pages?
No. It doesn’t. But if you want it to be easy to read, you don’t have a lot of room on one side of one page. The first page often has a good amount of space already taken up – with a logo, the address block, and a salutation.
It’s possible, but hard, to say what you want to say in so little space.
What you really should be concerned about isn’t the length of the letter. It’s “will it be interesting enough for busy people?” A good appeal letter will pull the reader in and keep the reader reading.
And a bad one, even if it’s short, won’t.
See more about letter length from Jeff Brooks here.
2. Why that serif font? It looks so old-fashioned! And why is it so big?
This one is simple. Studies have shown it’s easier to read. And you simply can’t ask someone to read your letter if you don’t make it easy.
See a good piece here on the topic from Dear Joan.
3. I was taught either indents or a space between paragraphs. Why are you using both?
See above. Dense blocks of type are not inviting. They look like work. You won’t succeed if you ask your donors to work. Isn’t their gift enough?
4. That’s a sentence fragment. It’s not grammatically correct.
Guilty. And your fourth-grade English teacher would not approve. But a letter should read like a conversation, not an essay. Don’t you use contractions? Speak in fragments? Ellipses…? We all do. That’s why I use them.
5. We don’t begin a sentence with “And” or “But”.
Oh, but yes we do! Ask the person to listen carefully as people talk. We often start sentences that way. And it’s perfectly normal and conversational. THAT is what you want in your reader’s head. A conversation.
6. We have all these great statistics about why our work is so important. Why aren’t you using them?
People are moved by emotion, not facts or logic. They listen to their gut and then rationalize that instinctive decision afterward. Using statistics can backfire. But a great story gets right to the emotion.
Tom Ahern tells you more here.
7. We have several co-chairs and we want them all to sign. Mary? Why are you looking worried?
Because it’s probably not a good idea. Remember when I mentioned a letter should read like a conversation? It should also feel like a one-to-one conversation.
Once you have it signed by a group, it stops being a personal appeal and starts feeling institutional. No matter how cool your institution is, people give to people. Choose one person. Or divide the list and have the letter signed by different people for different segments.
8. Couldn’t we save room if you combined those first two lines?
We could. But the first line wouldn’t be as catchy. And the first line’s job is to get you to read the second line. Besides, remember question one? Let’s make the letter as long as it needs to be.
9. We have a gala coming up. Can’t we throw a mention of it into the P.S.?
Because the P.S. might be the only thing they read. Yup. Before they dig into the letter (IF they dig into the letter), eye-tracking studies show your readers will read the P.S. So it needs to be good. It needs to ask for a gift. And it’s a great place to make that important ask with real urgency. It’s your fundraising appeal, condensed.
Would you rather have me take some of the punches?
I’ve been writing effective appeals since 1989. If you need a fundraising appeal written, get in touch. And let’s talk about working together. It will be fun!
Photo thanks to Ryan McGuire
Great post, Mary! Simple, succinct, and so important. I agree with all of your points. The only thing I would add is – tell the story of your organization in your letter by describing a single success story – in other words, tell the story of one client, one person. And, use pictures, but not of a group of people – just one person in your story!
Thank you, Amy! And yes, absolutely. In fact, I was explaining just that the other night!
Thanks so much for reading, and for taking the time to reply – and add that great advice!
Great post! I can see someone printing this out not just as a reminder, but really to bolster their own confidence when speaking about *why*! Always great stuff from you – thanks!
Thank you, Beth!
This somehow has to be left on the corner of some desks.
Don’t worry. I’ll never tell.
Great post! Thank you!
Thank you, Jennifer!