Breakthrough Fundraising Letters.

How to write direct mail donation request appeals that attract more donors, raise more money, and build stronger relationships.

Today's direct mail donors demand variety. Fail to give them variety and they will fail to give.

Prepare for battle.

The competition for your donor's attention has never been greater. Blame it on Survivor and American Idol. Blame it on cell phones, iPods, Blackberries, digital TV, satellite radio, junk mail, spam and telemarketers. Blame it on the thousands of other charities competing for your donor’s loyalty.

But don’t blame your donor. Your donor, like everyone else, will only read fundraising letters that are, in a word, breakthrough. And breakthrough fundraising letters are different. Radically different.

They aren’t addressed to “Dear Friend.”

They don’t have a P.S.

They don’t have a premium.

Breakthrough Fundraising Letters teaches you the proven techniques that professional direct mail fundraising copywriter Alan Sharpe uses to craft breakthrough letters for his clients. You’ll learn the mistakes to avoid, the best practices to implement right now, and the tips, techniques and shortcuts that you can use for years to come.

Peek inside this book here.

Table of Contents

PART 1
Stop Writing Fundraising Letters (Start Writing Packages)
1. Direct Mail Fundraising is a Package Deal. p5
2. Four Essential Ingredients of Every Fundraising Package. p21
3. Optional Extras. p29
4. Before You Ask Anyone for a Gift, Ask This. p35
5. Where to Find Breakthrough Fundraising Letter Themes. p39
6. Fundraising Letters are Easier to Write With A-I-D-A. p43
7. Don’t Use a Fundraising Letter Template. p45

PART 2
How to Grab Your Donor’s Attention
8. Why Your Envelope is More Important than Your Letter. p49
9. How to Create a Breakthrough Fundraising Letter Envelope. p53
10. Write a Knockout Overline. p67
11. Your Donor Should Be Arrested (with Your First Line). p73
12. Try these for Starters: 51 Great Opening Lines. p79

PART 3
Motivate Your Donor (Before Someone Else Does)
13. Find your Donor’s Itch. p89
14. Write About People, Not Programs. p93
15. Treat your Donor as a Thoughtful Investor. p101
16. Empower your Donor. p105
17. Appeal to Heart and Mind, in that Order. p107

PART 4
Make Your Letters Personal
18. Give Your Donor a Great Date. p115
19. Dear Friend: Get Lost. p117
20. Write from One Person to Another. p119
21. Sound Conversational, ‘ya Know What I Mean? p123
22. Write About the Most Important Person in Fundraising―You. p127
23. Personalize Your Letter. 131
24. Learn How to Tell Tales. p133

PART 5
Inspire Your Donors to Give
25. Keep Your Donors Hooked with Great Transitions. p145
26. Use “Change-the-World” Language. p147
27. Use Testimonials to Boost Readability―and Response. p149
28. Show Past Gifts at Work. p155
29. Use Quotations to Inspire Your Donors. p157

PART 6
Now You’re Really Asking for It
30. How to Ask for the, Um, Gift. p163
31. 51 Breakthrough Ways to Ask for a Donation. p167
32. Create a Winning Reply Device. p177
33. P.S. I Think You’re Stupid. p183

PART 7
Recruiting, Renewal & Recovery Letters
34. Why Donors Respond to Direct Mail Fundraising Letters. p187
35. Why Donor Acquisition Fundraising Letters are Longer. p193
36. 11 Reasons Donors Stop Responding to Fundraising Letters. p203
37. Four Goals of Every Renewal Fundraising Letter. p205
38. Why You Must Give Donors a Reason to Give Again. p209
39. Seven Ways to Give Your Year-end Appeal Letters a Boost. p211
40. Write Pre-Lapsed-Donor Letters Before Donors Lapse. p215
41. Reactivate Lapsed Donors with a Direct Mail Fundraising Survey. p217
42. How to Write Fundraising Letters that Win Back Lapsed Donors. p221

PART 8
A Few Final Thoughts
43. Make Your Fundraising Letters Friendly with Informal Design. p229
44. Avoid Formula Approach when Asking Businesses for Gifts. p231
45. Eight Advantages of Fundraising Letters over Other Methods. p233

RESOURCES
Glossary of direct mail fundraising terms. p239
Other publications by the author. p251
About the author. p253

Peek inside this book here.

Study full-page, full-color examples of fundraising letters written by the author for leading non-profit organizations, including:

• Daily Bread Food Bank
• Doctors Without Borders
• Evangelical Tract Distributors
• Greenpeace
• Habitat for Humanity
• Hope for Children Foundation
• Metro Health Hospital Foundation
• Saskatoon City Hospital
• Street Kids International
• Teen Challenge Farm

Learn how to write the three most important letters in fundraising (and study samples of each):

1. Donor acquisition letters
2. Donor renewal letters
3. Lapsed donor recovery letters

Peek inside this book here.

See samples of just about everything you could want to include in a fundraising letter package, including:

• carrier envelopes
• letters
• reply devices
• reply envelopes
• brochures
• buckslips
• liftnotes
• freemiums
• premiums
• involvement devices
• surveys

OPTION 1 of 3: Buy the paperback

Advantages of the paperback over the e-book:
High-quality printing. Perfect binding. Suitable for
giving to staff and placing in your library.
Pages: 250
Publisher: Andrew Spencer Publishing
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-9784051-0-6
Format: Paperback
Product dimensions: 8.5 x 11.0 inches
Illustrations: Ninety-seven black and white illustrations of envelopes, letters, reply devices, buckslips, liftnotes and more
Index: Yes
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Pages: 250
Publisher: Andrew Spencer Publishing
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-9784051-0-6
Format: Adobe PDF. Get the Reader
File size: 28.2 MB
Product dimensions: 8.5 x 11.0 inches
Illustrations: Ninety-seven full-colour illustrations of envelopes, letters, reply devices, buckslips, liftnotes and more
Index: Yes
Cost: $19.95

OPTION 3 of 3: Buy the paperback and the
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