Five Fundraising Copy Fundamentals
For the benefit of those who missed them (because no one ever taught them), and for the rest of us who occasionally slip into bad habits (that would be all of us), here are five copywriting fundamentals that will make your writing more appealing to readers so they will be more generous to your organization.
- Get your OE open. Your package is useless if people don’t feel compelled to open the outer envelope. Think, research, and test constantly to keep refining the OE formats that resonate with your audience.
- Write like a person, not like an institution. Use simple, casual language that makes your readers’ job easy and keeps them engaged.
- Be interesting, which usually means telling readers a story they can get involved in. If you can’t be interesting, be brief. The worst thing you can do to your readers is bore them.
- Avoid statistics as much as you can. Numbers light up the analytical side of readers’ brains, which can lead them to overthink their decision to donate. You need to light up the emotional side. That’s where the gifts come from.
- Know when to quit writing. Don’t get hung up on letter length. Say everything you need to say, compellingly but concisely, then stop.