Special Report: Fundraising 101 Direct Mail

Rookie Mistake No. 5 — Avoiding the ask
Rookie writers often shy away from asking for donations. They think it’s pushy. Sorry, but that’s just wrong. Remember, this is direct mail, so be direct and tell your recipients exactly what you want them to do. You want them to donate.

Don’t soften the ask with words like “support,” “partnership” or “friendship.” These words are fine in other parts of your letter, of course, but when the moment of truth arrives, come right out and ask for a donation. Say, “please donate now,” along with one or more compelling reasons why your reader should.

Rookie Mistake No. 6 — Writing ‘purple prose’
Yes, you want your stories and your descriptions of the need to spark emotion in your readers. But if you overuse adjectives and metaphors, you risk ending up with drivel like this: “The awesome burden of Sasha’s unending poverty fell like a heavy weight upon her small shoulders, and as she struggled to provide for herself and her kids and considered the hopelessness of her plight, the tears streamed down her face like rain on a window pane.”