October 01, 2009: Long letters
Category: Fund-raising
Posted by: David M Patt
A colleague was preparing a fund-raising letter that would run slightly less than one page. It would be persuasive, to the point, and not crowd the page.
A supporter advised her, instead, to lengthen the letter to four pages, underline key phrases, and print selling points in a bold font.
She hated those kind of letters. She felt they were insulting to the reader, unnecessarily manipulative, and a waste of organizational resources and recipients' time.
He told her she would raise more money from a longer letter. People who don't like letters won't read them, anyway. But people who do like letters, really, really like them, will read them, and will respond.
She sent the longer letter and raised more money than in any previous direct mail fund-raising campaign.
Moral? You are not the audience and your preferences may not be shared by the audience. Do what you think is most likely to work on them, not what you think is most likely to work on you.
A supporter advised her, instead, to lengthen the letter to four pages, underline key phrases, and print selling points in a bold font.
She hated those kind of letters. She felt they were insulting to the reader, unnecessarily manipulative, and a waste of organizational resources and recipients' time.
He told her she would raise more money from a longer letter. People who don't like letters won't read them, anyway. But people who do like letters, really, really like them, will read them, and will respond.
She sent the longer letter and raised more money than in any previous direct mail fund-raising campaign.
Moral? You are not the audience and your preferences may not be shared by the audience. Do what you think is most likely to work on them, not what you think is most likely to work on you.
Jeffrey Cufaude wrote: