Momentum, shmomentum

It must be fall again. Because in our family, we've started passing around a cold. It's my turn, and sadly, I'm late enough in the game that absolutely no one has any sympathy!

Hopefully, you will have a tiny bit as I take yet another unanticipated break from blogging to clear my sinuses and rest.

In the meantime, take a look back through the archives, and if you have any questions...post 'em in the comment section, and I'll answer when I can breathe through my nose again.

Renewal Series: The Art

So far, I've talked a lot about Renewal copy in my series of posts about these critical mailings. But today, I want to take a moment to talk about the art.

Because now that you've gone to all that trouble to make your Renewal letters shine, are you going to shove them into the same old envelope and hope they get opened?

Of course not! You want to give those fabulous letters the best chance to shine that you can.

So here are a few tips on making your Renewal art effective:

The Envelopes. As with your letters, you want your Renewal series art to reflect the increasing urgency of the ask. Match your teasers to the letter copy. Change up stock colors -- nothing says "Open me right away!" like a yellow envelope in the mail.

Package Size. Many organizations send their Renewals in monarch-sized envelopes, mimicking the old-style monthly bills that people used to receive. Of course, now that more and more bills are being sent in #10s and other odd-sized envelopes, you might want to try changing up sizes.

Reply Forms. Make your reply form as easy to fill out as possible. Clump together all of the payment information and lead the donor through the choices you need them to make. And try to keep the options to a minimum -- the more decisions your donor has to make, the more likely you are to lose them.

Your Donor's Name. Your donor's name is probably the single most important thing that appears in any Direct Mail package, so make sure it's printed legibly and appears near the payment information. Our eyes are naturally drawn to our names, so if you keep the payment section near the name, your donor is more likely to see it...and act on it!

Thanks so much for checking out my Renewal Series. Please let me know if you have any questions. And come back next week for more thoughts on Direct Mail, fundraising and Communicating Your Conscience!

Renewal Series: The Architecture of the Series

In my earlier Renewal posts, I've talked a lot about how to write an individual Renewal letter -- how to make it compelling, what goes in and what stays out, and why it's so darn important to do them right. But the individual Renewal letter is just one part of an entire series.

It might be tempting to either send the same letter two or three times to your donors, hoping that one time the ask will sink in, or to take one basic letter and switch out examples of your work.

But while that might seem like an easy out, it's a mistake. You should look at your Renewal Series as a single entity -- one really long, drawn-out conversation with your donors about the importance of their donations. And it's critical that that conversation should be consciously directed by you.

Rules for your Renewal Series:

• Got stories? Now's the time to use them. If you can put a face to your mission -- a person you have helped, an animal you've saved, a family that benefitted from what you do -- your donors will flock back to you.
• Each letter should highlight the organization's needs for the coming year -- the things that your donors will be supporting with their Renewal donation -- but try to shake it up as you go. Don't rely on the same old boilerplate for each letter. Use your personal touches to describe your programs in a new way each time.
• Repetition is good to a point, but by the time you're sending the 6th effort, saying the same old thing is a waste of time, money and effort. Shake it up. Try a new approach. These people need to hear your message in a new way if you want them to renew.
• Don't forget the victories. If you've you've won a fight in the past year (with the help of your donors), don't forget to tell them. And thank them.
• Urgency is key, and should increase as the series goes on. In Direct Mail, one of the biggest challenges is getting people from the point of reading their mail, to the point of acting on what they've read. Making a case that their gift is needed NOW is a central part of motivating donors to take that extra step to reach for their checkbook.
• Acknowledge, acknowledge, acknowledge! Gratitude should be the central message of your entire series. Acknowledge their previous giving history. Acknowledge their generosity in supporting your organization when there are so many other organizations. Acknowledge that they're busy. Acknowledge that their gift may have crossed with your letter in the mail.
• BUT...a little guilt is good! Especially late in the series, it is OK to turn up the heat on your donors. Tell them how much you'd hate to lose them, how valued their support is. Remind them of all their donation makes them a part of -- what they'll be missing out on if they don't renew.

To think of it another way, as you craft your series, imagine each letter as the next step in a staircase. If the first effort is your baseline, each subsequent effort should step up the personal touches, the urgency, and the gratitude.

Tomorrow: Renewal Art tips.

And if you have questions, or feel like you want something covered more completely, please post it in the comments section!

Renewal Series: Compelling Renewals

Well...so much for Renewal Week. Instead, we'll just call this the "Renewal Series" and pretend that 3-week, house guest/back-to-school/tsunami of work-induced blogging break didn't happen. OK? Excellent!

So I left off with a short post about what goes into a Renewal letter and what stays out. Now, let's talk about how you can make your Renewal letters compelling.

Most organizations send a series of letters (generally 6-8 passes) over the course of several months that gradually amp up the urgency and aggressiveness of the ask. So how do you make the same ask 6-8 times without sounding dull, repetitive or (horrors!) rude?

Keep it Personal

This is true of ALL your Direct Mail communication -- heck, all of your communication with your donors, period -- but don't forget that your Renewal letter is a personal letter from ONE person in your organization to ONE donor. Yes, most of your donors will get the same letter, but when you're writing it, don't think of your donors as a mass group of anonymous sacks of donation money. You're writing to Velma, the one person who stands in for your entire audience of donors.

In these days of e-mail and Facebook, the art of letter-writing is waning, but try to think about how you would ask an old friend to support your cause. Would you give them your official mission statement and a bulleted list of accomplishments and leave it at that? Or would you ask them questions, remind them of shared experiences and explain how important it is to you, personally, that they support this cause? (Hint: it's the latter!)

One simple trick for making a letter personal is to write the first draft starting every paragraph with I, You, or We statements:

• "I know you are someone who cares about the future of our planet."
• "You are no doubt aware of the growing gap between the rich and poor in this country. But did you know..."
• "We never back down from a fight we believe in!"

Of course, on editing, you'll likely change it up a bit, but it's a good exercise when you know you want your letter to be personal and aren't sure how to make that happen. And it will help remind you to think more about what your donor gets out of supporting your organization, not what you get from their support.

(And just so we're clear here: I'm not talking about tangible benefits or gifts...I'm talking about the sense of partnership and inclusion in solving the ills of the world, which is the driving force behind most philanthropy.)

Above all, keeping your Renewal letter personal means that each paragraph you write is designed to engage your reader in your organization's mission, accomplishments and needs for the future. Your donors play a huge role in your success -- so don't be afraid to remind them. (And thank them.)

Remind Them Why They Gave in the First Place

When I'm writing Renewals for an organization that actively prospects for new supporters (and, unfortunately, many don't in today's shaky economic climate), the first thing I often do is re-read the Acquisition letter.

Why? If you have a robust Direct Mail program, your Acquisition/Prospecting letter is very often the thing that compelled your supporters to donate to your organization in the first place. And as such, it's often got your most vivid and persuasive language. Using it in your Renewal

• Ensures that you're bringing your A-game to your most important mailing
• Subtly reminds your donors of the very thing that excited them about becoming your donors.

Again, while it may be tempting to approach Renewals thinking about what your donor owes you (an annual gift), you'll write a better letter when you remember what it is your donor gets when they support your organization.

Later this week...I'll talk more about your series as a whole, including how to ramp up tension and urgency as you go along without alienating those deadbeats -- oops! I mean, those very busy donors -- who ignore your first few letters. (And as always, post questions below!)