Direct Response That Breaks Through: Capturing Attention (at Least for a Minute)

Put it in the context of 'me'
Too many fundraising messages are about abstract problems that affect someone else. The great messages that get read (at least by me) find a way to take that problem and make it meaningful to me. Our job is to find the part of the problem that is going to resonate best with donors. For example, I recently read that hunger among older Americans is skewed toward women, and those hardest hit aren't that much older than I am. That puts a face on the problem — and it looks a lot like mine. Knowing the demographics of your donor file, and then finding a way to bring the need home to that target audience, helps your offer stand out from the others.