30 Ideas to Enhance Fundraising Direct-Response Creative, Part 2

As fundraisers, you all know the importance of messaging and message delivery. That's what makes creative in all fundraising direct-response appeals so vital.

At the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Fundraising Day in New York last Friday, three fundraising professionals, along with moderator Amy Tripi, president of Tripi Consulting, shared 30 ideas to enhance fundraising direct-response creative. Here are ideas 11-20 from the session "30 Ides in 60 Minutes: Your Hour of Creative Power" shared by presenters Luke Vander Linden, vice president and senior marketing at Carl Bloom Associates; Christine Shilosky, senior account executive at Mal Warwkick/Donordigital; and Lori Burns, senior vice president at Russ Reid. Check out the first 10 ideas here.

11. Make sure donors understand how much their individual gifts count
Donors want to know that their gifts make a difference. In fact, many of today's donors demand it as a prerequisite to give. They need to feel good about themselves and their roles as supporters, so clearly show the impact of their gifts in your creative. Tell stories. Share successes. Express need. And tangibly show how that one gift makes a difference.

12. Use testimonials and quotes for maximum impact
While the words you use as a fundraiser are important, nothing resonates quite like testimonials, quotes and referrals from fellow donors and/or recipients of your work. So use testimonials in your appeals, but make sure the endorser is credible and that the testimonial and/or quote conveys an emotional impact.

Here are some tips on testimonials:

• Limit length to convey only the pure essence of what must be communicated.
• Long testimonials can kill readership. Keep them short!
• Place them where they'll be noticed, but be careful. Ideal places include inserts and the back of reply forms, as sidebars or pop-ups on websites, or in the Johnson box.

13. Make it specific and personal
Your message has to feel personal and include specifics. In order to do that, write to one, individual person, and replace "we" with "I" — don't make the organization the subject of the sentence. Also, talk about real people doing real things.