Raiser Sharpe Tips » Envelopes

Write Better Fundraising Letter Outer Envelopes by Copying the Tabloids

Alan Sharpe — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:56:35 +0000

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 headlines. The more outrageous the headlines, the more likely consumers are to buy the newspaper. If you want your donors to open your fundraising letter envelopes, learn a lesson from the tabloids. Write teaser copy on your outer envelopes that makes them irresistible.

Here are some of my favourite tabloid headlines.

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE KOREA?
In 2006, North Korea conducts a provocative nuclear test.

GORD HELP US NOW!
Gordon Brown become Prime Minister of Britain.

I’VE BEEN BACKED
Arnold Schwarzenegger wins the election to become Governor of California.

DINIZ IN THE OVEN
In 1997, Argentine Grand Prix racer Pedro Diniz’s car catches fire.

What all good tabloid headlines have in common is that they force you to think of the topic of the article in a novel way, often a way that puts a smile on your face. They entice you, tease you into reading the story.

Sometimes the writers use a clever pun. Other times they introduce a story that is almost impossible to believe (“Singing Nun In Drug Suicide Pact”). The secret to their success is intrigue. In a few words, they grab your attention and pique your curiosity so strongly that you simply have to pick up the paper and begin reading.

If you can accomplish that with your direct mail fundraising envelopes, you’ll raise more money.

Learn More

Read the book, 101 Irresistible Direct Mail Fundraising Envelopes. Borrow Inspiration from the Ingenuity and Daring of More than 70 Non-Profit Organizations.

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Five Steps for Better Fundraising Letter Envelopes

Alan Sharpe — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:27:04 +0000

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.

Naturally, this tempts some fundraisers to start selling on the envelope, stressing the case for support, even asking for a donation. Which is a mistake, most of the time.

As Herschell Gordon Lewis so well observed, “The only purpose of the carrier envelope, other than keeping its contents from spilling out onto the street, is to get itself opened.”

This means that, in most cases, you should not spell out your case for support when mailing to a cold list (people who do not know you) or a house list (your existing donors in your database). Instead, you should tease them inside, using envelope teaser copy that is so intriguing and compelling that prospects simply have to open your envelope to satisfy their curiosity.

Here are some tips for creating envelopes that prospects and donors will open:

1. USE VARIETY. People tire of seeing the same envelope month after month. If they have pitched it once, they will pitch it again. So put your fundraising letter inside a different envelope (larger size, different color, for example).

2.BE PERSONAL. Nothing says bulk mail more than an envelope addressed to “The Occupant” instead of to a person by name. Whenever possible, address your direct mail appeal letters to a person with a first and last name.

3. AIM FOR ACCURACY. How do you feel when sales people or telemarketers mispronounce your name? Your prospects and donors feel the same way when your letter arrives with their name or initials misspelled. This tip was brought to you by Alan with one L, Sharpe with an E.

4. TEST YOUR TONE. Financial services companies that generate leads using direct mail have found (through testing) that envelopes that look official are more likely to be opened. Test envelopes that communicate a range of tones and see what happens. Then stay with the one that generates the highest net revenue.

Need some help?
Read these two great resources:

101 Irresistible Direct Mail Fundraising Envelopes. Borrow inspiration from the ingenuity and daring of more than 70 non-profit organizations. This is an electronic book delivered by mail on a CD-ROM in Adobe Acrobat format.

Do Fundraising Letter Envelopes Need Teaser Copy or Images?

Alan Sharpe — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:54:27 +0000

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 spoke at length and, with examples, class participation, question-and-answer sessions, brainstorming and group exercises, taught the basics of envelope dimensions, indicias, envelope teaser copy, envelope graphics and more. The students were engaging and creative. We had a hoot.

At the end of the class, after I had shown dozens of examples of oversize envelopes, four-colour envelopes, envelopes with teaser copy on both sides and plenty of other creative carriers, the professor, as we parted company, remarked casually that Mal Warwick (direct mail fundraising consultant and author of “Testing, Testing, 1-2-3, Revolution in the Mailbox and How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters), had been the class lecturer a few weeks before, by phone. “In Mal Warwick’s opinion,” said the professor, “a plain Number 10 envelope often generates a higher response rate than an envelope that uses graphics or teaser copy.”

Sure enough, on Mal’s website, at http://www.malwarwick.com/mals- corner/askmal/production-pst.html, he says, “Often the least use of color and graphics is most advantageous in fundraising mail. Time and again, I’ve seen flashy, beautifully designed packages draw substantially lower response than the simplest, most straightforward and businesslike letters.”

I receive direct mail fundraising appeals from over a dozen non-profits, and only one of them consistently sends me a plain envelope with no teaser and no graphics. All of the others try with each mailing to tease me or persuade me or provoke me into opening their envelopes.

I believe that if every charity mailed Plain Jane envelopes, someone would generate a higher response rate by using teaser copy. And, contrarywise, if everyone uses teaser and images on their envelopes, someone will likely generate a higher response by using a plain envelope.

So which pulls better, an outer envelope dressed in the fashions of the day or a naked envelope? If I have the courage, and the approval of the board, I will test this with my next mailing. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you’d like to see over a hundred ways to add variety to your direct mail fundraising carriers, read:

101 Irresistible Direct Mail Fundraising Envelopes.
Borrow inspiration from the ingenuity and daring of more than 70 non-profit organizations. This is an electronic book delivered by mail on a CD-ROM in Adobe Acrobat format.

Handbook Number 18
Boost Your Response Rates and Income with Simply Irresistible Fundraising Letter Envelopes.
Learn from 22 examples of fundraising letter packages that really push the envelope.

Mail an Envelope, Not a Postcard, in Direct Mail Fundraising

Alan Sharpe — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:03:02 +0000

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 full-colour envelope, 6.5 inches wide and 5.75 inches tall, with a window. The envelope promotes the organization’s lottery.

This envelope fails most of the tests in my book.

Here’s why.

Test #1: Does the envelope intrigue?
No. This envelope gives everything away. It features no fewer than six photos: a sports car, sailboats, a bunch $100 bills, the Coliseum in Rome, another sports car, and the Taj Mahal. You get the picture. You don’t have to guess at the contents of the envelope.

The headlines are equally blunt:
“More prizes!. . . More Choice than ever before!”
“Big prizes! Big cause!”
“The big red. The New Ontario Lottery!”

This envelope fails the test of intrigue. Outer envelopes must intrigue readers to open them, not give everything away.

Test #2: Does the envelope appeal to noble motivations?
No. This envelope appeals to greed and covetousness. Those are short-term motivators. People who give you a donation in exchange for a chance to win a mansion or Mercedes Benz are not supporting your mission. They are not embracing your cause.

Test #3: Does the envelope give the reader a reason not to open it?
Yes. This envelope gives you two reasons to throw it away unopened. One is a phone number: “Call NOW to order tickets 1 800 850 5090.” Another is a website: www.redcrosslottery.ca. If all you want your recipient to do is phone you or visit your website, mail them a postcard, not a letter.

Your outer envelope has two goals only. Deliver your package contents intact. And persuade the donor to open your envelope. Don’t give yourself away. And don’t send the donor somewhere else.

To see a large sample of this envelope, visit www.raisersharpe.com/z/redcross.htm.

You might be interested in these…

101 Irresistible Direct Mail Fundraising Envelopes.
Borrow inspiration from the ingenuity and daring of more than 70 non-profit organizations. This is an electronic book delivered by mail on a CD-ROM in Adobe Acrobat format.

Handbook Number 18
Boost Your Response Rates and Income with Simply Irresistible Fundraising Letter Envelopes.
Learn from 22 examples of fundraising letter packages that really push the envelope.

Enter Shooting to Make Your Donation Request Letters Irresistible

Alan Sharpe — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 14:41:23 +0000

When the Argentine army surrendered in June of 1982, ending the Falklands War, some Royal Marines discovered that the quickest way to get the attention of stubborn Argentine prisoners, since we did not speak their language, and they did not speak ours, was to hit them on the elbow with the handle of a pickaxe. Prisoners treated in this fashion followed our orders.

I would no longer recommend this as a way to treat my fellow human beings, but I have learned that the same tactic applies to writing fundraising letters. Unless you can gain and sustain the attention of your reader, and do so quickly, you have lost. Lost your donor, and lost your donation.

In the world of dramatic fiction, creative authors understand the need to grab their readers immediately and not let them go until the end of the story. The place they do this first if the first line. Their advice to writers of fundraising letters is simple: “Enter shooting.”

In other words, start your donation request letter with such a dramatic first sentence that your reader is compelled to put all the other mail aside, put down the TV remote, and read your letter.

You have two places to enter shooting: your carrier envelope and the first line of your letter. Here are some ways to grab attention:

ENVELOPE

Use a large, commemorative stamp
Have someone famous sign the letter, and put that person’s name above the return address (Fund for a Free South Africa, for example, used Nelson Mandela to good effect in a mailing)
Ask a question or pose a riddle that is answered inside
Address the letter by hand

OPENING LINE

Ask a provocative question: “What do you suppose is the easiest way to reduce homelessness in our city by 30%?”
Start telling a gripping story: “She stood on the curb looking scared and lonely in a skimpy halter top and bright red lipstick. It was two in the morning. A chilly breeze whipped up in the street and seemed to make her shiver. She was a child . . . just a child. We pulled our Covenant House van up to the curb and rolled down the window . . . .”
Quote someone: “You can’t turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again.”
Reveal an unknown, compelling fact: “America’s neglect is killing our children. In the past year, 40,000 babies like Andrew died before their first birthday. Virtually no other industrial nation lets so many of its babies die.”
Tell a joke: “Ebeneezer Scrooge never made a gift to Pomona College. After trafficking in Spirits he became a good and generous man, but he was never blessed with children, nor with the ability to send them to an outstanding liberal arts college. For us, parents of Pomona College students . . . .”

You might be interested in…

Handbook Number 15
Increase Your Income and Boost Donor Loyalty with Donor-Centered Newsletter Stories.
Reap the long-term benefits of putting donors first in your donor newsletters.

Handbook Number 3
51 Ways to Write Original Donation Thank-You Letters.
Profit by crafting original gift acknowledgement letters.

Mail Superiority.
Learn the proven, step-by-step process for raising funds and friends cost effectively, year after year.

How To Create Irresistible Fundraising Letter Envelopes.

Alan Sharpe — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 15:52:37 +0000

Your readers spend only a few seconds deciding the fate of your direct mail fundraising appeals. Either they open them on the spot, set them aside for later, or chuck them in the waste paper basket. Here are some creative ways to tease your donors into opening your envelopes.

Hint at the contents
A #10 envelope from Covenant House is covered in retro 1960s flowers, with the headline, “A Special Gift for you inside . . .”

Demonstrate exclusivity
A 6 x 9 envelope for Nature Conservancy shows wetlands, forests and coastlines and bears this teaser headline: “Your exclusive briefing on Canada’s most ambitious campaign for conservation.”

Ask a question
A #10 envelope for Habitat for Humanity features a photo of a tape measure and the question beneath: “How do you measure hope?”

Arouse curiosity
Doctors Without Borders features a photo of a hand holding the special bracelet that doctors and nurses use overseas to asses children for malnutrition. The headline reads: “See inside for a very useful little bracelet. Try it on!”

Create urgency
The Salvation Army features on its #10 outer envelope a “to-do” list featuring the days of the month from December 17 counting down to December 25, which is circled. The headline, written by hand, says: “Urgent: Christmas Countdown! Please help us get ready!”

Capitalize on current events
Doctors Without Borders uses a broad red stripe across its envelope with this headline reversed out in white type: “7.5 million Afghans in humanitarian crisis.” Stamped across the envelope in a stencil font is this subhead: “Was and Winter in Afghanistan.”

Use both sides of the envelope
A mailing for the World Wildlife Fund features on the front a tiger asleep on a log that stretches from one side of the envelope to the other. On the reverse side of the envelope, a square window reveals some teaser copy and a premium inside.

Involve the donor
Doctors Without Borders shows an immunization card and this teaser: “As a child, you conquered this deadly disease . . .”

Use an invitation
Hope for Children Foundation intrigues donors with this headline: “Your invitation to turn a life around by one degree.”

Promise a benefit
InTouch Ministries features a 6 x 9 envelope bearing a photo of a hand holding a remote control pointed at a television. On the television is Dr. Charles Stanley, television preacher and founder of InTouch. The teaser copy beneath the remote control says: “Why you need to grab this on May 1st.”

Announce news
Trans World Radio intrigues donors with a photo of a man from Central Asia and this headline: “Exciting News Inside: New TWR broadcast signal going out! Millions in troubled region to hear the Gospel!”

Add human interest
Hope for Children Foundation features a photo of a smiling mother holding her smiling daughter. The headline reads: “This Christmas, celebrate the impossible.”

Hint at success
A letter from Oxfam shows a girl standing at a blackboard. The headline says, “Pascaline will change her world.”

You might be interested in…

101 Irresistible Direct Mail Fundraising Envelopes.
Borrow inspiration from the ingenuity and daring of more than 70 non-profit organizations. This is an electronic book delivered by mail on a CD-ROM in Adobe Acrobat format.

Handbook Number 18
Boost Your Response Rates and Income with Simply Irresistible Fundraising Letter Envelopes.
Learn from 22 examples of fundraising letter packages that really push the envelope.

Handbook Number 12
How to Write Effective Direct Mail Fundraising Reply Devices.
Attract the gifts you need by making the donation process quick and painless for your donors (and you).