9 Things I Wish I Had Figured Out Sooner

But as we rolled out my improved copy, fundraising results tumbled. We couldn't see the correlation. After all, how could better copy get worse results?

In fact, I never really understood that my copy was causing the problem until I moved to the agency side, where I was held responsible for getting results, not perfecting donors. Then it dawned on me: Trying to replicate insider insights is not the fundraiser's job. It is directly at odds with motivating people to give. The more you try to educate donors, the less money you'll raise.