Every time you send a piece of fundraising to your donors, you’ll have more success if you envision your donor going through these steps…
Maybe, just maybe, your donor will open the letter.
And maybe, just maybe, your donor will start to scan your letter.
And maybe, just maybe, your donor will read a little of your letter.
And maybe, just maybe, your letter’s design will make sure your donor reads the most important part of your letter (why the donor is needed, and what you want them to do today).
And maybe, just maybe, your donor will think about taking action and look at your reply device.
And finally, maybe, just maybe, your reply device will reinforce what your donor read in the letter – and your donor will send you a gift.
Every. Step. Matters.
The reason most professionally-produced direct response fundraising (appeals, e-appeals, newsletters, TV shows, etc.) looks and sounds the way it does is because the pros making it are aware of each step and work to maximize the number of people who take each step.
They think like crazy about what should be on the outer envelope. Why? To make as many people as possible open the letter.
They think like crazy about the first words or images a donor’s eye will be drawn to when they look at the letter. Why? To make sure as many people as possible scan the letter.
They think like crazy about what content will be big, bolded, or underlined. Why? To convert as many of the “scanners” into “readers” as possible.
Or You Could…
Contrast the ‘every step matters’ approach with how most nonprofits think about their fundraising.
In my experience, most nonprofits make the following assumptions:
- They think, more or less, that every piece of fundraising they send out gets opened.
- They think that most people read the whole thing.
- They think that most people read from the start to the end
Those three assumptions could not be farther from the truth.
Maybe, Just Maybe…
To make successful direct response Fundraising, you need to embrace the truth that there are a ton of “maybe, just maybe’s” between your sending out a piece of fundraising and getting a gift in return.
Every step matters.
And there’s one more “maybe, just maybe”…
Maybe, just maybe, you and your organization’s approach to fundraising are being changed by this post and our blog. That’s our fervent hope and the reason we write!
