You have 20 seconds, tops. A study conducted by Professor Siegfried Vogele of the Institute for Direct Marketing in Munich, Germany, concluded that donors decide within 20 seconds if they will read a fundraising package or pitch it in the trash unopened.

Your direct mail fundraising packages will survive this fierce winnowing when you follow tested and proven design practices, the kind employed by Alan Sharpe and his team.

Alan Sharpe is a direct mail fundraising copywriter, consultant and coach. He helps your development department run a successful direct mail fundraising program year after year. And that, naturally, includes direct mail design services.

Alan and his team design packages that . . .

• stand out in your donor's mailbox
• enhance (rather than detract from) your message
• use a consistent design throughout
• use color to emphasize your message
• enliven the body copy with bullets, indenting, underlining and other graphic devices that draw the donor's eye to major points
• use format and design features that make the best use of printing presses and letter-handling equipment, thereby keeping your costs down
• incorporate the graphic-design principles revealed by Professor Siegfried Vogele's eye-motion research

Alan also designs email appeals and email newsletters, and the web pages that go with them. If you need fundraising letters that attract donors, builds relationships and retains donors, let's talk.

Ready to move ahead?