A well-executed cartoon can intrigue potential donors right into your direct-mail package.

By Stu Heinecke

That’s the nature of “getting it” when you hear something funny. It resonates as truth. You could think of a personalized cartoon on the outer envelope as a headline on steroids. It engages the recipient immediately, and, if done well, it creates a critical bridge in the form of a central point of agreement. And it seems to do that almost subliminally, bypassing the part of the brain that often dismisses appeals.