12 Ways to Spot a Great Fundraising Package

All fundraising copywriters read (or should read!) lots of direct mail packages. We do it to keep up with the competition, to search for inspiration or to know what’s trending out there in the nonprofit marketplace.

The challenge is that when we come across a package that gets our attention — whether positively or negatively — we seldom know whether it performed well for its organization. Sometimes, as in the case of an acquisition control we receive multiple times, we can assume the package has a decent ROI. But most of the time, we rely on experience, judgement or intuition.

Nevertheless, time and experience have shown that most successful direct mailings use certain tactics to help persuade readers to act. Next time you’re reviewing a package, look for these proven techniques:

1. Short words with emotional impact
2. Concise paragraphs
3. Little or no passive language
4. Short paragraphs at the beginning and the end of the letter — the sections readers read first
5. Language that is simple but never talks down to readers
6. Copy that looks like it was easy to write (that’s how you can tell it wasn’t)
7. Letters that have a single, easy-to-understand theme
8. Copy that jumps right into the message, without unnecessary “throat clearing”
9. Packages that give simple explanations of complex ideas
10. Copy that leads the reader from an attention-getting open to an emotionally compelling close without veering off into extraneous issues
11. Graphics that relate directly to the message
12. Letters that feel like they are exactly the right length.

Nothing in fundraising is always true all the time, of course, and direct mail can be frustratingly counterintuitive. Still, things we consider best practices, like the techniques above, became so for a reason. They will help you identify — and create — stronger, more profitable packages.