The Long and Short of Letter Length

How long should a fundraising letter be? Do long letters outperform short letters? These questions come up all the time and it would be convenient if there were a simple answer. In fact, both have advantages.Short letters have the benefit of being quicker and easier to read. If they are well crafted, you can grab readers’ attention, make your most persuasive case for giving, and encourage them to take action before they get distracted and lose their emotional connection with your message.Long letters allow you to tell a comprehensive story and, if you tell it well, you can draw readers in more deeply and keep them more emotionally engaged.Some may object that, “no one is going to read all that copy,” in a long letter. That's not necessarily true, but even if it were it would be okay. The length alone can convince readers that you have a lot of important things to say and add credibility to your ask.Plus, you can use underlining, bolded copy, margin notes, and other techniques to draw your reader's attention to the points you want to highlight.The only real way to find the answer in your case is to test a short letter against a long one. And it's very likely you'll find that both have a place in your overall fundraising strategy.