Day 2 - Make it Easy on the Eyes

Yesterday, I wrote about a few of my favorite quick tips for calling out the important ideas in your fundraising letters and marketing copy. Along those same lines, it's critical to make sure your entire piece -- whether it's a letter they're holding in their hands, a tricked out, full-color brochure, or a quick web post -- looks like something your donor wants to read.

So, why don't you take a second to pull out one of your recent fundraising letters, or take a gander at a recent marketing piece you posted on the web. How does it look?

If it's a printed piece, how are the margins? Can your reader hold the paper without covering up any of your copy? A good rule of thumb is to leave a thumb's width (get it? "rule of thumb"!) on each side.

What about type size? It's tempting to bump it down a point or two to fit more copy in the space available, but if your donor has to go searching for a magnifying glass before he or she can read what you've written, you've lost them.

The right font can make a huge difference. In publishing, editors require submissions to be made using a straightforward, serif font like Times New Roman or Courier because they're easy to read. Sure, sans serif fonts can give you a sleek and refined look, but save them for headlines. Long blocks of copy are more readable in a traditional font.

Speaking of readability, are you reversing copy out of a dark background? Keep your paragraphs short and sweet. Eyes tire quickly.

Take a look at your sentence and paragraph lengths. Did you write an over-detailed tome with paragraphs a Russian novelist would be proud of? Or is your copy snappy and to the point? Guess which one is easier to read.

The bottom line? If you make it hard for people to read what you've written, they won't. And if they're not reading, they're not giving.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for Tip #3 for writing successful fundraising copy!