3 Ways to Stay On-Message for Maximum Response
The components you include in your appeal have to be judged against the offer. Inserts, premiums, freemiums, brochures, involvement devices — anything you might add to an appeal has to relate directly to the offer, or it shouldn’t be there. A big problem is inserts. More often that not, they’re just window dressing. For example, if your offer is about helping homeless people and you include an insert about how to politely deal with panhandlers on the street, thinking that this is simply helpful information for your donors, odds are that the insert will sink response. Nothing will pull you off-message faster than larding an appeal with extra stuff that doesn’t belong.
An agency-trained, award-winning, freelance fundraising copywriter and consultant with years of on-the-ground experience, George specializes in crafting direct mail appeals, online appeals and other communications that move donors to give. He serves major nonprofits with projects ranging from specialized appeals for mid-level and high-dollar donors, to integrated, multichannel campaigns, to appeals for acquisition, reactivation and cultivation.
