Marketing Information |
Write Effective Fundraising Letters By Being Conversational (Includes Examples & Samples)
I am doing what you do, sitting at my computer, trying to get my thoughts out of my head and into a written form that will help you make a decision. In this particular case, I am trying to write a few intelligent remarks about sounding conversational on paper. You know, how to write a fundraising letter that sounds like it came from the mind of a person and not an institution. I suppose the first thing I can tell you is that you should write the way you talk, unless, of course, you talk in halting sentences punctuated with "ya knows" and "like, you know what I mean?" And if you usually write fundraising letters that are signed by someone else, your executive director, for example, then you need to write the way that person speaks. The secret to sounding personal and conversational on paper is to imaging that you are actually having a conversation with your donor. A back-and-forth exchange where your donor asks questions and you supply answers. That way, your letter sounds like it is written by a living, breathing person, since it addresses issues that are important to the donor, and does so in a warm, lively style. Which reminds me, try to keep your sentences short. Not like the one that ended the last paragraph. What else can I tell you? Rhetorical questions are one device at your disposal. Rhetorical questions, as I am sure you know, are questions that are asked for rhetorical effect, not expecting an answer. You can use one or two in your letter if you like. Rhetorical questions create the sense that a conversation is taking place between you and your donor. I don't have to tell you that another way to sound conversational is to use the first person a lot. That means you say, "Your gift today means a lot to me," instead of saying "Your gift today means a lot to us," or, even worse, "A gift from you designated towards our Annual Fund will be appreciated at this time." Remember, people give to people, not to establishments, so you want to sound like a person, not an organization when you write your donor appeal letters. I just thought of another one. Without being fake or insincere, mention that you thought of your donor today, or yesterday, or recently, showing that there is a relationship between the two of you. Naturally, only say "I was thinking of you this morning" if you actually were. Otherwise you will be making stuff up. You may be relieved to know that that you can be colloquial, too, which is a humdinger of a way to establish rapport and sound genuine. If your donors know what a humdinger is, then by all means throw one into your letters at least once a year. You goal, if I may say so, is to sound authentic without being overly familiar or coarse. Another way to sound conversational is to be open in the way you talk about things. Give your donors a glimpse into what life is like at your organization. You probably want an example of what I mean, so here it is (here are two examples, actually): Institutional: "Your membership is about to expire."Conversational: "I see from our records that your membership is coming up for renewal soon." Institutional: "Prayer meetings were held today at head office about Hurricane Katrina." Conversational: "All of us here at the office in London met this morning to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina." Another sure way of avoiding "bureaucratic-speak" is to say everything in the active voice. Don't say "funds were raised" when you can say "we raised funds." Avoid writing "100 scholarships will be created" when you can instead write "we will create 100 scholarships." See the improvement? Passive voice sounds institutional. Active voice sounds conversational. I suppose if you went back to the start and began reading this message again, you'd pick up a few methods that I did not mention (using parentheses like this, for example, which look as though you are lowering your voice and whispering a piece of inside information to your donor). I hope that these tips help you write effective fundraising letters. Ones that come from your heart, and are effective mainly for that very reason. About the author © 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Unleash the Power of Post Cards Direct mail marketing is essential for a business to survive.Choosing the correct materials can make the difference betweensuccess and failure of your marketing campaign. Putting Your Website to Work Websites have replaced the brochure as the "must have" marketing tool for businesses large and small. While virtually every business has a website, few are harnessing the potential of their websites and the Internet in general to promote and grow their businesses. Determining Marketing Effectiveness Even If You Didnt Track What if you've done a variety of marketing activities over the past year, but you did not establish any way to track the response? Now you don't know what worked and what didn't.Is there anything you can do now before you continue with your marketing efforts and potentially continue spending money on not-so-effective marketing activities?First of all, don't beat yourself up. Top Ten Blunders Exhibitors Make in Expos/Tradeshows Triple your response from expos by avoiding the top ten blunders at expos. Turn disappointment into sales success!If you are like most exhibitors, you were disappointed from the results at your last expo. Common Exhibit Marketing Mistakes: Ten Tips on How to Avoid Them The key to great exhibiting is marketing. But marketing is a very inexact science that leaves room for a multitude of errors to occur. Top Web Site Blunders by Coaches, Consultants and Experts Of all the web sites belonging to coaches, consultants and experts that I have reviewed, more than three-quarters shared a very serious marketing blunder: Their potential clients wouldn't understand from their home page precisely what they do. Jargon gets in the way. Marketing Worksheet Even the world's best marketing strategy won't work for you if it's not well-planned, and the best way to do that is to develop a customized work sheet for each client. Here's how to start: First, list each company's top executives, products, and services. Whats Your Marketing Weak Link? Your marketing weak link could be undermining the rest of your marketing. It is vital that each link in your marketing system supports and builds upon the previous link. Prepare Your Communications For Growth As the American economy emerges from recession, many businesses are now reexamining their marketing materials and realizing that their communications are outdated, ill-prepared for the return of a robust, competitive, growing economic environment. Strategies developed to survive hard times are often the wrong ones for profiting in good times. E-commerce : The Bottom of Pyramid Approach For centuries and most of the decades in the 20th century (i.e when computer was invented) access and communication was the tool of rich and ultra rich people, prohibitively expansive to 'not so rich' and 'not at all rich' people. Receiving a Brochure Printing Quote Brochures are a great way to get your message across. While having a brochure can be extremely useful, it is sometimes hard to know whether it is affordable. Direct Marketing Puts Information In The Buyer's Hands Direct marketing is advertising from a manufacturer or front-end supplier directed to the ultimate consumer of a product or service. Another way of looking at direct marketing is selling to a consumer directly, whether is from a printed magazine campaign, TV or radio spot, or from a direct mail package. At the Speed of Light How many times has someone you've called said, "Why don't you send me some information on your company"?Ask yourself, before you send anything: How will this be dealt with once it arrives at that person's desk. Aren't they already suffering from information overload? On the one hand, people say they they need more information in order to make the decision just to meet with you, let alone to agree to buy or hire. Promotional Bags: Your Company Details on Parade The trick to a good promotion is to attach your company details to something useful. Now, there is "private useful" like the promotional toothbrush you use in the privacy of your own bathroom, and there is "public useful" that you use out there where everyone sees you inadvertently parading the promotion. Getting Personal - Innovative Marketing for Small Business Owners The small business marketing strategy you can't afford to missEveryone loves a story. Even if you don't particularly like reading them chances are you love watching them, either on TV or at the movies. How To Successfully Launch A New Business Activity I often talk with business owners who tell me how excited they are about a new product or service they are offering .. Consumer Thinking And Search Marketing 12/20/04According to a recent article by ComScore Networks, about three-quarters of all consumer product research is initiated through a generic search term, such as "televisions" or "Adoption Services". The report goes on to say that in subsequent research efforts consumers tend to re-initiate the search with generic search terms. Niches - The Path to More Profits Hey, as business owners we CAN'T be all things for all customers.I mean it would be fantastic if we could, however, you just can'tmeet the needs and wants of everyone, you would run yourselfragged trying :o(BUT . Planning Your Postcard Marketing Campaign Before you create your postcard, do a little planning. Ask yourself:1. Business Leads Anyone who runs their own business can tell you how challenging it is to generate business leads on a consistent basis. Finding good leads and generating more sales is vital to the long term growth of any business. |
home | site map | contact us |