Author Archives: Alan Sharpe
How Angry Are Your Donors With You? Take this Quiz and Find Out.
Have you upset one of your donors recently? Just how mad do you suppose they are at you, on a scale of 1 to 10? Take this quiz and find out. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each … Continue reading
Answer the Only Question Donors Have and You’ll Raise More Money Fundraising
Your donors have only one question that bothers them. If you want to acquire more donors, you have to answer it. If you want to raise more net revenue, you need to answer it. And if you want to increase … Continue reading
Direct Mail Fundraising Still More Effective than Email
Yes, grandma tweets daily about her arthritis and buys her cat food on eBay, but how does she prefer to donate, online or offline? Yes, mailing a fundraising letter costs more than sending an email appeal. But which method brings … Continue reading
Win Board Approval for Your Fundraising Budget by Calculating Your Long-Term Donor Value
The ten dumbest words ever spoken in the English language are: “We don’t have money in our fundraising budget for that.” The people who say this most often are board members. Uninformed board members. Timid board members. Board members who … Continue reading
Penelope Burk Versus Donor Behaviour: Direct Mail Fundraising is Not in Decline
Fundraising consultant and researcher Penelope Burk of Cygnus Applied Research says direct mail is declining in popularity. She is wrong. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse … Continue reading
Ask for Email Addresses, Not Donations, in Online Fundraising
The key to raising money online isn’t Facebook or YouTube or Twitter or a donate button on every webpage. It’s email. Email is the tool that gets your message into the mind of your donor and persuades her to return … Continue reading
Why Average Lifetime Donor Value is the Most Important Metric in Fundraising
Nothing says more about the success of your fundraising program than the lifetime value of your average donor. Average lifetime value, of course, is the gross income you receive from your typical donor during the time the donor is giving … Continue reading
Give Your Donors What They Want so You Get What You Want
Thank your donors promptly and personally every time they mail you a gift. Describe how you are using the donor’s last gift the way the donor intended. The majority of long-term, faithful donors give to make a difference, and many … Continue reading
When to Ignore Your Direct Mail Fundraising Test Results
Direct mail fundraising is a soccer game where the opposing team keeps moving the goal posts. A premium that worked last year doesn’t work today. A package design that worked at your last charity doesn’t work at your new one. … Continue reading
How to Discover How Many Donors You Need to Reach Your Annual Revenue Goal
Does your charity need to double or triple or quadruple its income over the next five or ten years? Are you trying to figure out how to do that? Follow these simple steps to discover how many donors you’ll likely … Continue reading
Boost Your Fundraising Letter Response Rates and Revenue with Five Simple Segmentations
I was 44 years old, about to adopt my second child, and was sitting in my lawyer’s office, looking over his updated draft of my will. Everything looked fine except for one small mistake. Throughout the document, he referred to … Continue reading
Questions to Answer Before Requesting a Quote from a Direct Mail Fundraising Consultant
If your charity wants to retain the services of a direct mail fundraising firm to conduct your next mailing, answer these questions before you pick up the phone. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, and give the firm everything … Continue reading
Don’t Measure Fundraising Costs, But Cost-Effectiveness.
The only number in fundraising that matters is net revenue. Net revenue is the money you have left over after you subtract your fundraising expenses from your fundraising income. Net revenue is the only money you can do mission with. … Continue reading
Five Indisputable Laws of Direct Mail Donor Acquisition
I am not a prophet, I am not the son of a prophet, but I do serve on the board of a non-profit. And I’ve discovered through the years that charities who succeed at acquiring donors through the mail obey … Continue reading
Dramatize Your Fundraising Letters with Client Testimonials
A reader of my newsletter asked me: “How do I most effectively integrate a participant story into an annual campaign ask letter? What effective ways do you see participant stories being told in a letter? Could a story/profile be attached … Continue reading
Invest in Donor Acquisition Yearly, or Die
Read through the diaries of the pioneers who settled the Western parts of the United States and Canada and you’ll discover that the most desperate act of hunger was to eat your seed corn. Eating your seed corn sealed your … Continue reading
Legacy Fundraising: Why You Must Start a Bequest Marketing Program Now
Never before has there been more money available to your organization than right now. Members of the “Greatest Generation,” those who lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War, now in their 80s and 90s, are collectively leaving … Continue reading
Direct Mail Donor Acquisition Tests: Five Ways to Evaluate Your Results
If you drop a donor acquisition package in the mail as a test and it generates a response rate of 17%, can you say your campaign was a success? No. If your donor acquisition test mailing generates an average gift … Continue reading
How to Get a Second Gift from a New Direct Mail Donor
If your charity is at all typical, you will lose 65% of the donors you acquire by direct mail in the first year alone. In other words, only 35% of the donors you acquire through direct mail will give you … Continue reading
Twenty Postal Strike Survival Tips for Charities and Non-Profits
What should you do if your charity raises money through the mail but your country’s postal workers are about to strike, or are already on strike? Naturally, you’re troubled. Most charities in Canada that are not places of worship raise … Continue reading
Four Fundraising Benchmarks You Must Monitor (or Else)
Know how to boil a frog? You don’t just drop him into a pot of boiling water. He’ll jump out. Instead, you place him in a pot of cool water, then warm the pot gradually to a boil. The frog … Continue reading
Avoid Photos in Your Fundraising Letters
In today’s mail you receive two pieces of mail, a letter from someone you know, and a brochure. Which one will you read first? Which one will you read all the way to the end? Likely the letter, right? A … Continue reading
Does Asking for a Gift in Thank-You Letters Help or Harm? Test and Find Out
Don’t listen to fundraising consultants like me who say you should never ask for a gift in a thank-you letter. That’s what I used to say before I was hired by a non-profit that did ask for donations in its … Continue reading
Fundraising Letters: Casanova Never Mailed One Love Letter a Year, So Neither Should You
The worst thing you can do in direct mail fundraising is mail only one appeal a year. Direct mail is part of your annual campaign, yes. But that doesn’t mean you should mail only one fundraising letter every 12 months. … Continue reading
Distracted Online Donors Don’t Donate
The percentage of people who visit a website and get somewhere through the shopping cart process but eventually give up is around 59 percent. So that means more than one out of every two visitors to a website has a … Continue reading
Boost Direct Mail Fundraising Response Rates Three Ways
What percentage of your donor base sends your organization a gift each year? If you are at all typical, less than half of your donors at any given time are active. So how can you increase the percentage of your … Continue reading
Know Your Six Fundraising Numbers or Die
If you appeared on the reality TV show Dragon’s Den (or Shark Tank), pitching your charity to investors, would they give you any money? Watch a few episodes of either show and you’ll quickly discover the most common mistake wannabe … Continue reading
Help Donors Read Your Fundraising Letters Quickly
Your donor is busy or in a hurry. Or both. That means your fundraising letter is an interruption. Your donor is doing something else when your appeal arrives. Busy donors in a hurry are unlikely to read your letter word … Continue reading
Why You Will Lose Donors Today, Guaranteed
What does your charity have to do to guarantee that some of your donors will stop giving today? Nothing. You are going to lose donors today whatever you do. Or don’t do. Donor attrition is a fact of life at … Continue reading
In Public Speaking, Use Eye Contact to Show You Honestly Care
Want to learn a vital lesson in public speaking from the CIA? Make eye contact with your listeners. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse Alan’s books, … Continue reading
The One Question Your Donor Newsletter Must Answer
Your donors expect something from your donor newsletter that they don’t expect from their daily newspaper or cable news show. Yes, your supporters read your newsletter and the newspaper to discover what’s new, what’s going on, what’s current. They read … Continue reading
How Long is a Long Fundraising Letter?
How long should your direct mail fundraising letter be? One page? Two pages? Six pages? If your charity is typical, over the years you’ve had board members and executive directors who’ve never allowed your organization to mail long letters. Visit … Continue reading
To Write Better Fundraising Letters, Attend AA
Some of the most gripping and moving stories I’m ever likely to hear, I heard at AA meetings. You see, at every Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, a man or woman in recovery is invited to tell their story. Every story is … Continue reading
Write Better Fundraising Letter Outer Envelopes by Copying the Tabloids
A group of editors for a national tabloid newspaper held a competition to see who could write the most outrageous headline for a front-page story. The winner: POPE’S DAUGHTER CAUGHT IN COMMIE LOVE NEST. Consumers buy tabloids because of their … Continue reading
In Direct Mail Donor Acquisition, Ignore Your Initial Results
The secret to success at acquiring donors through the mail is to ignore your initial results. The results you generate in the first few months of your direct mail acquisition campaign might delight you or they might distress you, but … Continue reading
Should a Donation Thank-You Letter Ever Ask for a Donation?
I got a big surprise the day I closed my direct mail fundraising consultancy and started working for a national charity. I discovered that my new employer used its gift acknowledgement letters as a way to raise funds. With every … Continue reading
FAQs About Trading Mailing Lists with Other Charities in Donor Acquisition
Q1. What is list trading? A. List trading, or swapping, is the practice of exchanging mailing lists with another charity. They mail a fundraising letter to your list and you mail a fundraising letter to their list. —————————————————————- Receive a … Continue reading
Top Five Ingredients of a Successful Fundraising Letter
Direct mail fundraising will be harder in 2011. Postage rates are increasing. Attention spans are decreasing. And discretionary income, which is to say, the money your donors use to support their favourite causes, is tighter. So, if you want to … Continue reading
Is Your Fundraising Copy Silly? Take this Test and Find Out
Do you consider yourself a comic? Your donors might. If you are at all typical, you have let these two silly words steal their way into your copy, rendering it ridiculous. But take out your scissors, remove these offending articles, … Continue reading
Predict Your Direct Mail Fundraising Campaign Success with Doubling Day
How can you predict the success of your direct mail fundraising campaign before it has concluded? You know the challenge. If your charity is at all typical, you receive donations from your fundraising appeals for months, even years, after they … Continue reading
Major Gift Fundraising and Prospect Research: How to Find Major Donors in Your Donor Database
The best person to approach for a major gift is someone who already supports your charity. Sometimes those donors are hidden in plain sight in your donor database. Here’s how to find them. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like … Continue reading
Non-Profit Domain Names: Twenty Do’s and Dont’s for Creating Yours
If I asked you to recall the domain names of the 20 largest US charities, you’d do pretty well, I know. You’d remember mayo.edu, of course, the largest US charity, and ymca.net (2nd). And clevelandclinic.org (4th). And redcross.org (6th). And … Continue reading
Eight Direct Mail Fundraising List Segmentation Tips
1. Make a distinction between individuals, foundations and businesses Do not mail one appeal letter to everyone without distinction. Instead, segment your database into individuals, foundations and businesses, and speak to each audience in a unique way. —————————————————————- Receive a … Continue reading
Four Common Database Mistakes that Will Derail Your Direct Mail Fundraising Campaigns
I dislike being called Allan, Allen, Mr. Sharp and Mrs. Smith. If you want to please me as a donor, start by getting my name right and follow up by getting my address correct. To do that, avoid these four … Continue reading
Why Hospital Lotteries and Sweepstakes are Bad for Your Health
Hospital lotteries and sweepstakes raise millions of dollars for good causes but they do more harm than good. Here’s why. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse … Continue reading
Boost Email Fundraising Open Rates by Sounding Like Grandma
The secret to persuading your donors to open and read your direct email fundraising messages is to make them sound like a note from grandma. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for … Continue reading
Good Fundraising Letter Reply Devices Tell Donors What to Do
My brother-in-law says you should be thankful for truckers because everything you buy was handled at some point by a trucker. LoWayne is a trucker, so he’s biased. But I think he’s right anyway. You depend on truckers for … Continue reading
Boost Response Rates to Your Direct Mail Fundraising and Special Event Invitations
Will your direct mail package ever produce a standing ovation? It might. When you mail an effective invitation to a seminar, workshop, awards show or special event, you literally move people-out of their seats and into yours. That’s one of … Continue reading
Boost Fundraising Letter Response Rates by Making Responding Convenient
I had a client who wanted to drive prospective customers to his online store using a postcard. Great idea, I thought, and cost effective. He had a terrific product, a compelling offer, and a sound business model. He had just … Continue reading
Eight Mistakes to Avoid in Donation Thank You Letters for a Fundraising Gift or Contribution
The easiest way to encourage a donor to mail you another donation is to thank her properly for her last gift. There are right ways and wrong ways to thank your donor. Avoid these mistakes when mailing your donation thank-you … Continue reading
Boost Your Online Fundraising by Thinking Like Wal-Mart
To generate more donations from your website, think like Wal-Mart. If you visit a Wal-Mart looking for a spare tire, you don’t walk in the doors looking for a sign that says “Spare Tires.” You look for a sign that … Continue reading
Six Easy Ways to Warm Up a Fundraising Letter Appeal
Which would you read first (and right to the end): a typed, generic fundraising letter from the Red Cross or a hand-written letter from your grandma Hostetler in Muleshoe, TX? I’d choose the personal letter over the impersonal every time. … Continue reading
Improve Fundraising Letters by Writing to Emelia, Not to Everyone
A few years ago I sat down with my lawyer to sign my Last Will and Testament. I had never had a Will before, so I hired a lawyer to draft a Will that was clear, expressed my wishes, and … Continue reading
Internet Fundraising: Raise Funds Online with these Nine Email List-Building Tips
The secret to raising funds online is not Facebook or Twitter or texting or even your website. It’s email. To raise money on the Internet you need the email addresses of folks who believe in your cause and want to … Continue reading
Can You Write a One-Sentence Fundraising Letter?
In New York City, publishing capital of the world, lives an unorthodox book editor. He does not read manuscripts from aspiring authors. Instead, he asks the author to summarize the plot in five words. If the author can capture the … Continue reading
Write Your Fundraising Letters Like a Search Engine
You can lose a direct mail donation quicker than you think. So your primary goal at the start of your fundraising letter is to demonstrate relevance. You must prove, and quickly, that what you have to say is relevant to … Continue reading
Good Donor Newsletter Photos Arouse Curiosity
A good photograph in a donor newsletter arouses curiosity. If you have a photo of your Executive Director receiving an oversized check from the local Rotary President, that photo will not arouse curiosity. It will stimulate a yawn in many … Continue reading
Use Your Donor Newsletter to Acquire Donors
Your donor newsletter doesn’t have to be something that you mail to people after they give you a donation. If your newsletter, business model and board of directors allow it, you can use your newsletter as a way to acquire … Continue reading
Four Steps to Better Donation Letter Reply Devices
Successful direct mail donation letters contain three things: a compelling case for support, a request for funds (the “ask”), and a response device. The case is the Incentive. The ask is the Imperative. And the response device is the Instrument. —————————————————————- Receive … Continue reading
Why a Convicted Felon Should Write your Next Fundraising Letter
I know a man who spent 21 years in maximum security prisons. A product of rape born in an abandoned building, he was incarcerated at age eight into Canada’s most violent and brutal reform school. He became a chronic runaway, … Continue reading
Online Fundraising: Are these Four Vital Words on your Website?
Your success at online fundraising depends on four words. If you want to acquire members and donors, raise funds and encourage others to advocate for your cause, these four words must appear on your website. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising … Continue reading
Attention Online Fundraisers: Your Donors Want to Get Engaged
The non-profit organizations who raise the most money online use their websites to engage visitors. This is a vital step in raising money online. It’s not enough just to have a Donate Now button. You have to have a website … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What do you Recommend for Reminder Letters?
Dear Alan, Do you have any suggestions for the (post direct mail) reminder letter? I would love your thoughts on the letter as well as the donation form. Thanks, Shannon Brown —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What is “list cleansing” in direct mail fundraising?
List cleansing is the process of keeping a mailing list accurate and up to date. The process involves, among other things, removing duplicate records, formatting addresses to postal standards, and updating addresses of those who move. See more definitions at … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What are “cells” in direct mail fundraising?
In list terminology, a cell is a statistical unit or units, a group of individuals selected from a file on a common basis and isolated as a group. See more definitions at the Glossary of Direct Mail Fundraising —————————————————————- Receive … Continue reading
Does UNICEF’s Nickel Donor Acquisition Mailing Infuriate You?
UNICEF is mailing a donor acquisition package that is making plenty of recipients furious. I know why. The package is a #10 window envelope that features, peeking through the window, a shiny 5 cent piece. A piece of teaser copy … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What is a Carrier Route in direct mail fundraising?
A Carrier Route is a group of addresses that a mail carrier can deliver to in a single day. Carrier Routes “roll up” into ZIP Codes. There are roughly 15 ZIP Codes per Carrier Route. See more definitions at the … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What is a “Back Test” in direct mail fundraising?
A Back Test is a mailing designed to reproduce, and therefore confirm, the results of a recent direct mail test. Also called a retest or confirming test. Usually run when the results of a test fall within an acceptable range … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What does “alphanumeric” mean in direct mail fundraising?
Alphanumeric: A set of characters that contains letters and numbers, and perhaps punctuation marks, such as a Key code: JUN-0909-L21. Learn more at the Glossary of Direct Mail Fundraising —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by … Continue reading
Is Your Returned Mail Costing You $481 a Piece?
You have a costly problem with returned mail. All non-profit organizations do. You mail perfectly nice letters to donors who have supported your cause for years, and then, one day, without so much as a by-your-leave their mail comes back … Continue reading
How to Help Your Lettershop Bungle Your Fundraising Campaign
I know from reliable sources that the Mr. Murphy who coined Murphy’s Law (“If something can go wrong, it will”) worked as an account manager at a lettershop. After leaving his position of direct mail fundraising manager at a national … Continue reading
Reduce Undeliverable Fundraising Appeals by Acquiring Phone Numbers and Email Addresses Before Donors Move
Stephen Hitchcock makes a wise recommendation on how to keep your mailing list clean. In his article, Keeping Your Donor File Clean, in Contributions Magazine, Stephen recommends the following step: —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week … Continue reading
Quiz: Do You Write to Someone, or Everyone, in Your Donation Request Letters?
The secret to success in direct mail fundraising is to write to an individual, not to a list. Write to someone, not to everyone. Take this short quiz to discover if your appeal letters are personal or impersonal. —————————————————————- Receive … Continue reading
Five Steps for Better Fundraising Letter Envelopes
In direct mail fundraising, more people see your mailing envelope than will ever see what is inside. That’s because donors and prospects alike spend only a few seconds examining your envelope before deciding whether to peruse it or pitch it. … Continue reading
Lift Fundraising Letter Response Rates with Lift Notes
Do lift notes still lift response rates to fundraising letters? Yes, as long as they stand out. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse Alan’s books, handbooks … Continue reading
Don’t Watch Fundraising Costs, But Cost-Effectiveness
I received an email from a fundraiser who is about to lose her job. Her board of directors has decided they cannot afford her salary. They see her salary as just a line item in the budget, one found under … Continue reading
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How to Find New Major Gift Donors
Your organization needs to find more major donors for two vital reasons. First, major donor fundraising is the most cost-effective use of your time and money, costing somewhere between two cents and fifteen cents to raise a dollar. Second, many … Continue reading
Improve Your Direct Mail Fundraising Letters: Donate to Your Competitors
One of the quickest ways to learn the craft of direct mail fundraising is to donate money to your strongest competitors. Pick the Top 10 organizations you admire and mail them a donation of at least $20. Then watch your … Continue reading
Major Gift Program Fundraising Tips
The main difference between direct mail fundraising and major gift fundraising is simple. Direct mail fundraising solicits small gifts from many people while major gift fundraising solicits large gifts from few people. One tactic solicits on paper, the other in … Continue reading
Moves Management Key to Major Gift Fundraising
The key to securing large gifts from your donors is relationships. Relationships that are warm, professional and mutually beneficial. But how do you nurture or cultivate those relationships with prospective donors who have little or no connection with your organization … Continue reading
Do Fundraising Letter Envelopes Need Teaser Copy or Images?
I was handed a challenge last week. If I am brave enough I will accept it. I taught a class at a college in Toronto. The professor invited me to teach his students about direct mail fundraising envelopes. So I … Continue reading
Fundraising Letter Length: Six Ways Not to Decide
How long should your next fundraising letter be? One page? Two pages? Six pages? What is the correct length for a direct mail appeal? I’ll tell you in a minute. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week … Continue reading
Reduce Your Direct Mail Fundraising Costs and Attrition Rates with NCOA
What would you do if I broke into your office at midnight, sat down at your computer, and jumbled the mailing addresses of 1,200 of your current donors so they became undeliverable? —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this … Continue reading
Don’t Ask for a Gift in Direct Mail Fundraising Letters
My wife can still remember the name of her math teacher from grade four. You know why? Because he, um, paused every few words, and ah, ahhhhh, you know, ahh, added an ahh to what he was saying, ah, so … Continue reading
Christmas Fundraising Letters: Make Your Appeal Original but Contemporary
If your non-profit organization is typical, your direct mail program raises 50 percent of its revenue with one mailing-the Christmas appeal. More people give more money to the “Holiday Season” letter than they give to any other single mailing all … Continue reading
In Fundraising Letters, Use Present Tense
If you want your fundraising letters to sound more vigorous, get tense. The present tense, that is. Listen to the sports news on the radio and you’ll hear the announcer saying, “tomorrow the Atlanta Falcons take on the Minnesota Vikings.” … Continue reading
Direct Mail Donor Acquisition: How to Ask for the Right Amount
My wife and I listed our house for sale last Monday and sold it on Wednesday. The buyer offered us a few hundred dollars more than our asking price, so we accepted. But we have lingering doubts. Maybe you would, … Continue reading
Back-End Premiums in Direct Mail Fundraising: Think Twice Before Offering
You should literally think twice before offering your direct mail donors a back-end premium. And neither of these thoughts has anything to do with net revenue. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up … Continue reading
With Fundraising Software, it Pays to be Exclusive in Data Entry
The most valuable thing in direct mail fundraising isn’t your donors, but your donor data. Your building could burn down this afternoon, and all your staff could quit, and you’d still be able to recover if your donor data remained … Continue reading
Direct Mail Fundraising Tests: Follow these Eight Rules for Success
The best way to improve your direct mail fundraising program is through testing. Don’t follow fads, board whims, or a gut feeling that turns out to be indigestion. Instead, test. And, to save money and time (and further indigestion), follow … Continue reading
Look for Connection, Not Cash, in Prospective Direct Mail Donors
I received an email the other day that reads as follows: –letter starts– Hello Mr. Raiser, My name is _______. I work for a non profit organization, the ____________. We are in a season of taking the ministry international and … Continue reading
Lapsed Direct Mail Donors are Better than New Donors
One of your best sources of direct mail donations is people who have stopped giving you direct mail donations. We call these people “lapsed donors” and “expired members,” two uncharitable ways of referring to friends who have not given a … Continue reading
Boost Response by Not Including a Reply Envelope
Your donors do not respond to your direct mail appeals because you include a postage-paid reply envelope. They respond because they believe in your cause, admire your organization, and want to help the people you serve. —————————————————————- Receive a free … Continue reading
Will Direct Mail Fundraising Work for You? Ask and Find Out
Back in 1997, as I sat in the departures lounge at Ottawa International Airport, I didn’t know if Ruth would accept my proposal of marriage. I fidgeted. I procrastinated. Finally, as they announced the final call for her flight back … Continue reading
Online Fundraising: Attract Donors with Search Engine Optimization
Search engines are the most common way that potential donors will find your website. A non-profit website that appears near the top of search engine results will witness a dramatic increase in traffic compared with competing websites that appear further … Continue reading
Mail an Envelope, Not a Postcard, in Direct Mail Fundraising
I have on my desk a direct mail fundraising envelope that I have never opened. And never will. Perhaps you can learn a lesson from its failings. The offending article was mailed by the Canadian Red Cross. It is a … Continue reading
Your Donor Newsletter Has Just One Reader
When you write your donor newsletter stories, do you write to one reader at a time? One person writing to another? Or do you make the common newsletter mistake of writing from “us” to “them?” Direct mail donors are individuals. … Continue reading
Donor Newsletters: Show the Person Behind the Story, and the Story Behind the Person
The quickest way to improve your donor newsletters is to start seeing your world in story form. Behind every person there is a story. And behind every story there is a person. Your job is to uncover both. Your donors … Continue reading
Boost Donor Newsletter Readership with Great Photos
Your fundraising newsletter will attract more readers, raise more funds and retain more donors when you publish outstanding photographs. Photographs are the most important images you can feature in your donor newsletter. Good photos make your newsletter pages more interesting. … Continue reading
