Copywriting for the Post Recession: Seven rules for learning to write like a winner…again. Published in Fundraising Success Magazine October, 2009 By Willis Turner willis@huntsinger-jeffer.com

You know it’s coming. This recession has dragged us down for the better part of two years, leaving some organizations with depressed results, lowered average gifts, “adjusted” expectations and a whole lot of uncertainty.

One thing is certain though: it can’t last. Recessions always end. And the end of this one is very dimly beginning to come into view. Even the experts are finally beginning to say so.

So here’s an important question: as much as you’ve been wishing and praying for this crisis to finally go away, what have you actually been doing to prepare for it?

Many of us have tried to cope with the hard times by adopting a kind of hunker-down attitude. We got a lot more conservative about our mail and e-marketing strategies. And a lot more cautious about our creative.

But as the dark clouds start to lift, we’re likely to find that it’s a lot harder than we expected to shed that bunker mentality and start acting with confidence and optimism again. So here are seven tips to help you get back up on the horse and be a winner again:

1. Snap out of it! “Fundraisers’ outlook remains gloomy,” said the headline. “The current fundraising mood in the U.S. is depressed, with professional fundraisers reporting their lowest levels of optimism in over a decade…” Maybe so, but please remember that this is a confidence-driven economy. Markets rise and tumble to a degree on consumer behavior, but to an even greater degree on consumer confidence.
   
   Donors want to support a winner. Hold your head high and convince them you are one. Yes it takes guts, but victory always does.
   
   
2. Proclaim the end of the recession. Remember one of the fundamentals of direct marketing is you have to tell your readers what to think, how to feel and what to do.
   
   In a universe where we say things like, “place your gift, along with this form in the enclosed envelope,” you can bet you’re going have to begin by telling them why they should give again.
   
   
3. Stick with what works. Wait a minute. Isn’t that the same thing you were being told in all those how-to-survive-the-recession articles? Well, yes. But it’s still true. Proven strategies should always prevail because they’re well, proven.
   
   The difference is that now they should be a dominant part of your creative mix instead of your sole philosophy.
   
   Think of creative as your fundraising portfolio. In tough times, you shift your investments to more conservative stocks to make sure you don’t lose too much. When the economy is stronger you diversify, extend your risk in the hope of increasing your reward. Which brings us to rule number…
   
   
4. Test what works. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but confidence is the mother of innovation. Breakthrough packages don’t come from timidly following what has always worked.
   
   In one of the hundreds of how-to-survive-the-recession presentations I listened to over the past year, I heard a direct mail guru say that creativity equals risk. Maybe so. But remember that, to continue the investment metaphor from Rule #2, risk equals reward.
   
   Taking risks is hard at any time, but coming out of a recession, it feels even scarier. That’s why you need to be prepared for rule number…
   
   
5. Be uncomfortable. You’re probably thinking, “But I’ve been uncomfortable for the last 18 months!” I know you have, but again, in an economic turnaround confidence is everything.
   
   If you want to get the jump on the good times, you’ve got to believe in the recovery before everyone else does. That means stepping outside your comfort zone, before the “experts” tell the rest of the pack that it’s safe to jump back into the pool. As Bob Dylan says, where the herd has gone, the fruit has already been eaten.
   
   And speaking of Dylan, when you want to say new things to your donors in a powerful way
   
   
6. Become a poet. William Faulkner said that novelists are failed short story writers, and short story writers are failed poets. In other words, great writing is about saying as much as possible, as emotionally as possible…in as few words as possible.
   
   This can be surprisingly tough sometimes. Program stakeholders can insist that you simply have to mention their special issue. CEOs often feel it’s imperative to give donors a complete picture of the organization, or spell out your mission in specific details.
   
   This is not necessarily a bad thing in principle. But if you want to make people emotional enough to give you money, you’ve got to know when to talk and when to shut up.
   
   There’s a powerful temptation to want to fill readers’ heads with information. But if you want them to get up off their wallets, it’s much more important to fill their hearts.
   
   
7. Position yourself for growth. This is a variation of the if-you-build-it-they-will-come philosophy. Tell your supporters the recession left you with huge needs. Not only do you have to play catch-up for the donations that went flat, but you have to grow to meet the new needs.

The signs are everywhere: housing sales are starting to turn around, auto sales have been stimulated, and even consumers are beginning to show signs of “recession fatigue.”

Sooner rather than later, the word is going to spread that it’s time to start fundraising like a winner again. Proactive organizations will have the best chance to start building – and re-building – strong, profitable donor relationships.

Will you be a leader in the fundraising recovery, or a follower?