Making Your Mail Work for You -- The Letter

I’ve already written quite a bit on the blog about how to write various direct mail letters, including Acquisition/Prospecting, Renewal, Appeal and Acknowledgement letters. But today, I want to take a moment to remind you to always consider the ultimate purposes of each letter you send out.

What’s that? There’s more than one purpose?

Depending on the type of letter, you may want to:

• Ask for money. Not all letters that you send to your donors will – or should – have an overt ask for money, but many will. So make sure you call attention to that ask. Highlight it by indenting the paragraph, underlining the ask, or bolding the type.
• Thank your donor! Every letter should include a show of gratitude – for their loyalty, their generosity, and their steadfast support.
• Educate and inform your donor about your issues, your organization or the people that you help. Your donors want to know where their money is going, so put that in your letters. Tell them what you’re accomplishing with their help, let them know about new issues that have arisen since you wrote them last, tell them how they can do more.
• Reaffirm your story. Each time you write to your donor, you want to tell them your story. Remind them why they gave to you in the first place. (And if you don’t have a story yet, get one!)
• Introduce key players. Are you getting a new executive director? Has a prominent celebrity thrown his or her weight behind your cause? Mention that in your letter.
• Hail your victories and cite the battles still to come. Letting your donors know about the victories you’ve won is another way to let them see what they help you accomplish. And telling them about the fights ahead reminds them why it’s so important to keep giving.

You may be wondering just how many people read every magic word of prose you put in these letters. Well, probably not many. Certainly not everyone. So focus on the things you know they’ll look at.

The Johnson Box and the PS nearly always get read, so make sure those two parts of your letter really shine. No Johnson Box? That first paragraph better be a grabber. If you can afford it, personalize your letter. Everyone likes to see their name, and if you get them to read the salutation, they just might keep on reading.

If there are critical points within the body copy of your letter that you want your donors to read, make sure to catch their eyes. Print a paragraph in color, if you can. Try a handwritten note, gripping headlines, bolding, underlines or italics…anything to make those important parts stand out. But do make sure they are important. You’ll lose credibility with your donors if you call their attention to boring copy!

Most importantly, your letter is there to bond your donor to your organization…and to point them to the next component, the Reply Form.