Direct mail for fundraising: how to write a great letter #2

In my first post in this series, I covered the initial stages of preparing a fundraising letter. In this post, we’ll look at planning the letter’s structure.

 

Long or short?

Let’s begin with a surprising fact about fundraising letters.

Long letters work better than short ones.

This might seem counter-intuitive. We’re in the age of the text and the tweet, yes? When the attention span of the average human is now notoriously shorter than that of the average goldfish. Surely people are simply not sitting down and reading multi-page letters?

Well, in fact, donors do respond more often to long letters than to short ones.

According to Andy Maslen, a commercial copywriter whose work I greatly respect, long copy outscores short copy in many cases. And Jeff Brooks, creative director at TrueSense Marketing, suggests that the same holds true in the not-for-profit sector. Long letters are more likely to get a response than short ones; and they can often generate higher average donations.

Apparently, the principle also holds for email. Brooks suggests that a longer e-mail outperforms a shorter one by about 60%.

Why should this be?

Let’s begin by reiterating a point I made in my previous post.

Your reader is most interested in themselves. I can think of three reasons why donors may prefer long fundraising letters. And they’re all to do with the donor.

First, many donors simply like to read their mail. For them, the postal delivery can be a high point in the day. (As, I’m sure, it can be for you.) A longer letter means more pleasurable reading.

Secondly, your reader may already be a donor. (We noted in the previous post that direct mailing nearly always goes to established donors.) That means they’re interested in you and your cause. Imagine: they may actually want to hear from you. In fact, short letters are an impolite response to that interest. They might come across as downright insulting. A long letter, in contrast, creates a stronger connection with the donor.

The broad marketing principle here (thanks, Andy Maslen) is that long copy works with readers who already want to know more about what you’re marketing. Readers with little or no interest are unlikely to read any letter from you, long or short.

Thirdly, a letter gives the donor complete control over the transaction. It’s less invasive, less irritating and potentially less distressing than being called on the phone. (Or being accosted by a chugger on the street.) And that sense of having control may lead your reader to give you more attention, for longer.

(Incidentally, it’s probably a bad idea to include photos or other fancy design features in your letter. This is a letter; not a brochure. Photos will make the letter look more informational and – crucially – less urgent.)

Now think about the letter itself. A long letter also gives you the opportunity to hit more triggers in your reader. (Jeff Brooks calls this the Multiple-Triggers Theory. Thanks, Jeff.)

How do we exploit this feature? How do we make a longer letter more interesting and effective? Indeed, how do we make it longer?

 

Using patterns of influence

In the first post, we talked about identifying your Ask: what it is, precisely, that you are going to ask your donor to give. We also looked at three broad modes of appeal that you can use to support your Ask: credibility, logic and feelings.

 

At this stage, we can develop our thinking about influence in more detailed ways.

Robert Cialdini and Steve Martin have studied the ways we can be influenced without being aware of it. Cialdini calls this the psychology of compliance. What makes us say ‘yes’?

Cialdini bases his ideas on experiments (in labs and in the field), and on real-life examples of systematic compliance. Cialdini suggests that most ‘weapons of influence’ can be grouped under six headings:

• reciprocity
• authority
• social proof
• consistency,
• absence (Cialdini uses the word ‘scarcity’)
• liking

(Think ‘RASCAL’.)

All six patterns of influence operate unconsciously. That’s why we talk about them in terms of ‘influence’ rather than persuasion: they affect us ‘under the radar’. They make us comply with requests unthinkingly. 

Does this sound unprincipled and unethical? I don’t think so. You want to encourage someone to donate to a famine appeal? Show them a picture of a starving child. The image hits us immediately, unconsciously, and irrationally. And we give. Providing your cause is a good one, any means of influencing – any means that doesn’t involve outright lying – is worth considering.

Reciprocity: the old give and take (and take)

We feel a strong urge to repay a favour.  Do something for the donor and they may do something for you.  Better still, tell the donor that you’ve already done something for them, and they might feel even more inclined to respond.

Authority: directed deference

We are extraordinarily compliant to the requests of people we see as authority figures.  What can you do to increase your authority with your donor? (Back to credibility.)

Social proof: Truths Are Us

We are strongly influenced to feel and do what we see others feeling and doing. (Think of canned laughter on the television.)  Showing how other donors have acted may influence the donor you’re writing to – especially if you can show that the other donors are similar to the reader in some way.

Consistency: I Am What I Say

We all want our behaviour and views to be consistent with what we have presented in the past.  This is more than making a show of consistency; we actually want to be consistent with our past self-image.  It’s in our own self-interest to be seen by others to be reliable and consistent. (Think of promising your child to take them to Disneyland. And then not taking them. How would you feel?)

Making a public statement of commitment to action – either spoken or in writing (even if only we read it) – increases the chances that we will do it.  Get your donor to do something that’s consistent with a later ask, and they may feel influenced to act. Remind them how they donated last year, for example.

Absence: Scarcity Breeds Desire

The scarcer a resource, the more value we attach to it.  We are also more motivated by the prospect of losing something than by the hope of gaining something. Making the benefits of a donation time-limited, for instance, might inject an effective note of urgency. Or emphasize the dangers of not donating – or donating too late.

Liking: I Like You, You’re Like Me

This is two patterns. We are influenced by people we like, and by people we consider to be like us. Can you make yourself more likeable in your reader’s eyes? (You might write in the voice of another person, for example: a beneficiary, perhaps, of the campaign you’re promoting.) Or can you emphasize how you and your ask are similar to some aspect of your reader’s life that you already know about: their love of animals, their experience in a caring profession…

 

Creating a structure

This is not a great piece of literature we’re writing. It’s not an essay looking for a mark from a teacher. Your fundraising letter has to do only one thing.

It has to work.

So think about how the reader encounters your letter and how they will react to it.

Repetition: creating points of entry

One of the key elements of effective fundraising letters – and of long copy more generally – is repetition.

What’s the first thing the reader sees as they look at the envelope? As they pull the letter out of the envelope? As they unfold it?

Some people will read everything you’ve written. Others will skim. The trick is to write for both groups.

As they unfold your letter, your reader will start to read wherever their eyes land. The eyes bounce around, leaping forward and backward, skipping entire sections, reading other parts more than once. Your letter should therefore contain multiple points of entry and multiple calls to action. And the more boldly you present those points of entry and CTAs, the more likely the reader’s eyes will land on them.

Don't worry about annoying your long-term donors. Most active donors apparently remember little about the organisations they support; there’s no harm in repeating important information. Use your letter to re-educate your donor.

Jeff Brooks suggests outlining your letter something like this:

• Introduction: Why I'm writing to you.
• Ask.
• Why your gift is so important today.
• Ask.
• How much impact your gift will have.
• Ask.
• Story that demonstrates the need.
• Ask.
• Remind the donor of his values and connection with the cause.
• Ask.
• Another story.
• Ask.
• Help the donor visualize what will happen when she gives.
• Ask.
• Conclusion: Thank the donor for caring. Ask again.

As we’ve said, one way to hold all that repetition together is in a narrative sequence – otherwise known as a story. That’s where we’ll start the third and final blog post.

I run courses for not-for-profit organisations on letter writing, copywriting and a range of other topics. Here are two of my standard courses, which can be adapted to your needs.

Email and Letter Writing focuses on correspondence - our written ambassadors. Make the best impression and get the results you want.

Download Alan_Barker_CO_Email_and_Letter_Writing

Copywriting uncovers the secrets of producing copy that sells. Capture your prospect's attention and convert them into customers.

Download Alan_Barker_CO_Copywriting

This series of posts draws, with thanks, on material from Mal Warwick, Jeff Brooks, Alan Sharpe, Andy Maslen, and others.  Here are links to the material I’ve used in my research.

https://www.thebalance.com/writing-a-fundraising-letter-2502087

https://www.fundraiserhelp.com/ideas-for-fundraising.htm

https://www.guidestar.org/Articles.aspx?path=/rxa/news/articles/2012/why-long-fundraising-letters-outpull-shorter-ones.aspx

https://www.thefundraisingauthority.com/fundraising-by-mail/how-write-fundraising-letter/

https://www.thefundraisingauthority.com/fundraising-by-mail/how-write-fundraising-letter/

https://malwarwick.com/11-cardinal-rules-of-direct-mail-copywriting-and-how-to-break-them/

https://blog.lawrencedirect.com/long-vs.-short-fundraising-copy-length-does-matter

https://www.nonprofitmarketingzone.com/direct-mail/letter/sample/

https://www.neoncrm.com/10-year-end-giving-statistics-every-fundraiser-should-know/

https://ascendmarketingsolutions.com/long-copy-vs-short-copy-which-converts-better/

https://ascendmarketingsolutions.com/the-perfect-sales-letter-part-2/