Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I've been neglecting this blog over the last few months. At first, I simply had too much to do and too little time. Many things got pushed aside, including my blog.

The longer I stepped away, the more I realized I wanted to make some changes. They're in process, and when my reinvented blog comes back, it will be over at my website. I think you'll like the new format -- more fun, more information and more creative solutions for your writing and fundraising.

In the meantime, feel free to browse through old posts, ask me a question, visit the new blog home, or follow me on Twitter.

Electrifying Your Fundraising Copy

I've got a crazy couple of weeks ahead of me, so I thought I'd revisit some old posts. This first appeared last June as part of my Week of Tips for Writing Successful Fundraising Letters. I hope you find it helpful.

IDoes your copy jump out, begging -- screaming -- to be read? Especially at year-end, it's challenging to make your letter stand out from the hundreds of other appeals for giving that your donors are receiving. If you want to compete with the deluge of mail people are receiving, you need to electrify your copy. One of the easiest ways to create electric fundraising copy: 

Make your strongest copy stand out.

When you're writing a fundraising letter or other fundraising or marketing copy, there are some ideas you want to really it people over the head with. So you shine a spotlight on them.

You can see I used bold up above. I wanted you to know what I was talking about, even if you're just skimming the copy. Caught your eye, didn't I?

If you're writing on the Web, try highlighting words in color. But be careful! If you go too light, you'll make your copy harder to read and risk having people skip over the thing you thought was so important.

Pick up any fundraising letter, and you're bound to see a lot of underlined copy. This, too, draws your eye and forces it to pay attention. I always like to underline the Ask, and any particularly outrageous statistics or compelling arguments get that treatment, as well.

Some copywriters use italics for additional emphasis. I like to use them to highlight any quotes. Since quotes lend authority to my arguments, I want to make sure readers see them.

Really want people to sit up and take notice? Try handwritten notes and underlines. Not too many, or your copy will become cluttered and look like a scrap of paper you pulled off the Executive Director's desk. But judicious use of handwriting (or a handwriting font) can draw the eye.

Once you've finished your copy, go back and look over your emphasis. Sometimes, those ideas that you want to highlight change as you refine your copy. So double-check them. Are you using enough underlines? Too much bold? And most important: are the phrases that jump out at you really the ones you want people to see?

Do you have a favorite way to electrify your fundraising letters? Post it in the comments section below.

A Direct Mailer's Dream

This may be the most perfect piece of furniture I've ever seen for a direct mailer (and a lover of turquoise). I could finally organize my samples!

Case Study #1: The Importance of Urgency

It’s easy to get so caught up in doing the work of getting your direct mail out the door, that you forget to sit down – with your entire team, creative people, numbers people, even program people – and examine the results of your efforts.

 

As a creative consultant, I’ll take writing over numbers-crunching any day of the week. But I don’t let myself off the hook because I know that taking a close look at those numbers can give me critical feedback about the direct mail I write.

Welcome to Case Study #1: The Importance of Urgency

One of my smaller clients is a regional educational institution. They mail 5 appeals a year to an average audience of 17,000. Response is fair, with appeals netting an average of $7,000.

Some of the mailings, of course, are blockbusters, netting twice that amount, while others fall far short of the average. And generally, the whole team can anticipate how any given appeal will do by looking at how a theme historically performs, how the time of year affects giving, and a host of other smaller factors.

(This is where having a good numbers person on your team can be such an advantage. I can only ballpark, but a numbers guru can spin magical calculations that can provide you with invaluable information!)

A few weeks ago, we sat down and looked at the previous year’s appeal results. We were surprised to discover that while overall, the appeals had performed better than in previous years, one mailing in particular had performed 84% less than average.

I was shocked. The theme was a touching one, the letter was packed with vivid imagery, and the package included the donor directly (i.e./it had plenty of “you” and “your” statements). But upon re-reading the copy, and comparing it to the other packages we’d mailed last year, I realized there was one critical element missing: the urgency.

We were asking for an ongoing program, one that was scheduled six months out. Yes, it was a fantastic and moving initiative. And yes, it desperately needed funding. But there wasn’t an urgency to the need.

I took that lesson and applied it to the next appeal – which ended up being the best appeal of the year.

Actually, I guess there are two lessons here: the one about urgency, of course. And another about failure. Look closely at those mailings that fail. They could tell you something crucial about your audience and lead you, ultimately, to greater success.

How often do you look at numbers? What have you discovered? I'd love to hear below!

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.

Making Your Mail Work for You -- The OE

Most nonprofit direct mail packages are fairly simple: an outer envelope, a letter, a reply form and a reply envelope. Four components.

Sure, you may include an insert of some kind, maybe a decal or other front-end premium. Or perhaps you print your letter and a detachable reply on one sheet of paper. But the essentials are the same. And each of those components must work for you.

For the next few posts, I’m going to talk about what each of these components does for your mailing. Yes, each one has a purpose beyond the obvious. Curious?

First up: Outer Envelopes.

The Outer Envelope – or OE – is, arguably, your most important element, at least to start with. Nothing’s going to happen unless you get the outer envelope open. So the words, type, pictures and other design elements you put on your outer envelope need to aim for one thing: getting the recipient to open their mail.

Here are a few things you might find on a typical non-profit mailing’s Outer Envelope:

Name

This can be the organization name, the name of the letter signer or both. But you should make sure some name appears on the OE. People don’t want to open mail if they don’t know who sent it. Besides, these are supposed to be personal letters from the signer to the donor.

Address

I always advise clients to put their actual, physical address on the back flap. Again, since it’s a personal letter, your donors want to see where it’s coming from. And while you may get your mail at a PO box, a street address gives them something more concrete.

Teasers

As I mentioned last week, a lot of direct mail and fundraising professionals will tell you that teasers are old-fashioned and scream “direct mail”. Maybe it’s because I work primarily with activist organizations, but my experience has been that a strong, intriguing teaser will still beat out a blank outer envelope much of the time.

But if you can’t come up with a strong, intriguing teaser, go blank. A blank envelope will almost always beat a bad teaser. (And try mailing a blank closed-face envelope for an even better open-rate. Nothing says personal mail like a closed OE.)

Photos and Other Graphic Elements

We all know that a picture’s worth a thousand words…so why not include one on your OE? Photos and sophisticated graphics have become increasingly common on OEs in the last few years, as design software has become more accessible and printing costs have come down enough to make graphics affordable.

But remember, you want people to OPEN the envelope, so make sure your photo (or graphics) are intriguing, compelling and emotionally resonant. Don’t scare your donors by using something too graphic or unpleasant.

Above all, tailor your outer envelope to your mailing…and test, test, test. The OE’s sole job is to get opened -- so make sure you test different techniques to see which approach gets the best response from your select group of enthusiastic supporters. While one organization or mailing theme can use photos and splashy teasers, another will need to go subtle and sedate. The only thing that matters is that you get your donor moving on to the components on the inside of the package.

Next up: The Letter.

What Makes a Good Teaser...and Do They Really Work?

I see many people saying teasers are old-school and scream “direct mail”. Often, that's true. But that doesn't mean you can breathe a sigh of relief and ignore the teaser-writing portion of your mailing campaign. Direct mail, like most things, is cyclical, and while the current wisdom is that a blank envelope beats a teasered one, that may change.

And in my experience, a strong, intriguing teaser can beat out a blank outer envelope.

That said, it’s not easy to write a strong, intriguing teaser. Like writing good headlines, or coming up with a killer title for your book, writing teasers is an art.

What’s in a Teaser?

Your teaser should sum up the essence of your package without “giving away the store.” Imagine receiving an envelope in the mail that said, “Here is a letter with a really sad story that will also ask you for money.” Would you open it? Or would you toss it in the recycling without a second thought?

A teaser that tells the donor too much about what’s inside won’t get the envelope opened – and if your donor doesn’t open the envelope, they’re probably not going to respond to that piece of mail. Likewise, a teaser that is too up front about the ask inside the package probably won’t be effective, either.

Donors want to hear your story before you ask them for money. If you make your case compellingly – in your teaser, in the letter, and on the reply form – they will be excited to give.

So, ideally, your teaser will generate an emotional response, and make your donor ask some key questions – questions that you’ve answered in the letter inside the envelope.

How Can I Write a Good Teaser?

Spend some time with this task. Don’t just relegate it to the last five minutes before you send your instructions to the designer. Sit down with your letter copy, a notepad and a pen. Pull out a few key phrases from your letter – a call to action, a particularly outrageous or heart-warming quote, a moving story. See if you can re-work them slightly to make an energetic and impassioned teaser.

Run it by other people – those who have read your letter, and those who haven’t. Ask them if it makes them want to know more. For those that have read the letter, ask them if you’ve answered the questions raised by the teaser in your letter.

Also consider a small over-window teaser that calls attention to the donor’s name. Donors love to see their name, so anything you can do to highlight it – in a positive way! – will help your fundraising. Try “Special Report Prepared for:” or “Time-Sensitive Material enclosed for:” or another appropriate variation.

What If It’s Just Not Working?

With some letters, coming up with a fantastic teaser is going to be a near-impossible task. If that happens, it might be time to re-think your approach.

Perhaps this hard-to-tease mailing deserves a more personalized approach, with the name of the letter-signer in the cornercard (where you write your return address when you’re sending someone a letter) and no teaser at all. Use a closed envelope, if you can afford it, for a personal touch…and often an even better open-rate.

If you can afford it, TEST a Teaser vs. No Teaser envelope. Test it more than once. If you're getting consistent results, you can probably choose a direction and go with it. But you'll want to test it again next year because you never know when the trends will change!

How do you feel about teasers? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Tell me below!