Does your direct mail fundraising really work?
Here are some common pitfalls from Get Fully Funded at 6 reasons why people won't give to your fundraising letter and what to do about it:
- The letter is too vague. If your donor can't tell exactly what their donation will do within a few seconds of opening your letter, it's too vague.
- The letter is hard to read. Tiny font. Sans-serif type. Long paragraphs. Difficult reading level. No underlining or emphasis. These things are barriers to reading. And few donors have the energy to climb over your barriers.
- The letter is dry and boring. Don't blither. Don't share statistics. Don't make bulleted lists of your accomplishments. Be interesting. Tell a story. Talk to the donor about the donor. Give her something to do, not just think about.
- The letter doesn't actually ask for money. You might be surprised how often fundraising letters dance around the whole point of their existence. Stand with us. Join the campaign. Make a difference -- these aren't asks. Don't expect donors to read between your lines and figure out what your coded language means.
- Letter has typos and grammatical errors. (I don't quite agree with this one! While nobody like errors, I've seen so many instances of grievous errors in fundraising do no harm -- or even seemingly improve things. The kind of error that will get you every time: Errors that cause your letter to get lost in the mail!)
- The letter makes it difficult for people to give. Include a reply device of some kind (but not a combine reply coupon and envelope!) that makes it easy for the donor to give. Suggest some gift amounts. Include a return envelope. Also give a URL for those who want to give online.
Avoid these mistakes, and you'll raise more money!
from Future Fundraising Now https://ift.tt/36flGzG
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