Fundraising Copy and the Challenge of Heuristics
He definitely did not look like he belonged in the neighborhood, so she put him in the back of her squad car and began to question him. Based on his appearance and eccentric behavior, there was no way she could have known that she had just detained Bob Dylan.
She couldn’t have known because people see what they expect to see. If they don’t have other contextual references, they rely on heuristics and cognitive bias to fill in the blanks.
- Companies:
- Doctors Without Borders
Willis Turner believes great writing has the power to change minds, save lives, and make people want to dance and sing. Willis is the creative director at Huntsinger & Jeffer. He worked as a lead writer and creative director in the traditional advertising world for more than 15 years before making the switch to fundraising 20 years ago. In his work with nonprofit organizations and associations, he has written thousands of appeals, renewals and acquisition communications for every medium. He creates direct-response campaigns, and collateral communications materials that get attention, tell powerful stories and persuade people to take action or make a donation.
