Why You Should Write Like You Talk in Donor Communications

Would you write to your mother like that?

Open your last appeal, newsletter or email. Now read it out loud. Does it sound funny? Does it sound like you? If so, congratulations—you’re a step ahead of many. If not, let’s talk about what you can do to fix that.

Good donor communications are not corporate pronouncements. They’re rarely formal. They’re not meant to come from an organization but from a human being. (Or occasionally, in the hands of a very talented copywriter, an animal or even a truck.)

People respond to people. It’s hard to feel warm and fuzzy about an organization.