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Hope or fear – which powerful emotion should you use?

Balance is the key

Picture a year-end appeal. The goal isn’t met. Time is running out. Your appeal urges donors to act right away, or bad things may happen. “Can’t we keep it upbeat? You know, focus on the good stuff?” a board member will ask. “We know that’s more effective, right?” Well… I don’t think I do know […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal letters, emotional fundraising, negative messaging 2 Comments

How to respond when they challenge your fundraising appeal

Did they challenge your fundraising appeal?

Everybody’s got an opinion I’ve been doing lots of copywriting lately. Case statements, email appeals, and especially mail 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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal letters, copywriting, writing for donors 10 Comments

You don’t want to be that guy

finger gun

Imagine someone comes to your door. You open it and hear: Hey babe! Here’s why you want to go out with me. First, I’m a great person. Just last year, I was listed as one of the 40 greatest guys under 60. In fact, I’m 24% better than last year. Here are some charts and […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Fundraising Tagged With: appeal letters, donor newsletter, donor-focused 11 Comments

Do you want to really connect? Show, don’t tell me.

A poor boy's face shows his pain

  One more about the importance of emotion in your fundraising. This week, let’s look at images, not words. There is no faster way into our brains than an image. As Peter Temple explains in this post, “We don’t see words as a series of letters. We see them as pictures.” He goes on to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal letters, appeal writing, emotional contagion, fundraising appeals, fundraising images 6 Comments

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