Improve your fundraising letters fast

You can improve your fundraising letter today

Here’s what I know about writing good fundraising letters: You can practice and study for years. And still, you feel like you’re only scratching the surface. There’s always something new because we’re always learning something new.

So perfection will always be out of reach. But don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good. Here are a few simple things you can do today to improve your fundraising letters.

1. Change the font

If you’re not already using one, switch to a serif font. It wins readability tests. And what’s easier to read gets read. While you’re at it, bump up the size as well. Fourteen is the new twelve. Your older readers (and most of your readers are probably over 50) will love you for it. Better yet, they’ll read you for it!

And please, don’t allow the brand police to have the last word on this one. Looking cool isn’t nearly as important as being easy to read.

2. Indent the paragraphs

This is another very easy fix. Indenting your paragraphs invites the reader in. She’s not faced with intimidating blocks of type, so she’s more likely to give it a go. While you’re at it, keep the paragraphs pretty short. I don’t like to go over 5 lines and I use a lot of one-line paragraphs – especially where I want to emphasize something.

3. Underline

Speaking of emphasis, go ahead and underline. Just not everything. Think of it as a spice… a little makes a big difference; too much makes a mess.

4. Send it back to 6th grade

Or even better, 4th. Use the built-in Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level tool in Word. Or try this readability calculator. I love Jeff Brooks’ book, The Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible Communications. In it, he suggests keeping it between 4th and 6th grade. Do that with short sentences. And short words.

5. Make sure you use the word “you” often

Highlight all the “you’s” in your letter. If it isn’t covered in highlighted “yous”, go back and reword it. Donor communications giant Tom Ahern often says: “you is glue”. It’s magic. It connects your reader to you. And when you rewrite that way, it makes you put your donor at the center. That changes your point of view as well. Good stuff!

6. Write as you talk

Forget your 7th-grade English teacher. Use contractions. Start sentences with “And” or “But”. Use ellipses… Sentence fragments. You should do whatever it takes to make your writing sound like one person talking to another. You’re not going for “official” here!

7. Read it out loud

Yeah, your office mate will think you’ve lost it. But you can hear what your eyes alone don’t pick up – awkward phrases, stiff wording… things that just don’t work.

I think the most important thing you can put into your donor communications is care. Not just time, but heart. It’s hard to fake sincerity and a real passion for the cause.

But these changes are easy to make. And they will help. So you have no excuse. Give it a try, and see what you think.

P.S. Don’t forget to add a P.S.!

Your P.S. is prime real estate! Read what my friend Lisa Sargent says about this direct mail superhero here.

Photo by Rinck Content Studio on Unsplash