5 Easy Tips to Ramp Up Your December Gifts

Are you ready for a huge spike in online gifts this month? I hope so! Because the money — and the donors — are out there. Let's make sure you raise as much as possible for your cause! These strategies will help you capture more last-minute online gifts from your generous donors.

1. Send plenty of email appeals
You must be in your donors' inboxes often during the month of December. Do not — I repeat, do not — limit your emails because you "don't want to bother your donors." It's time to get over your politeness. If you are not being cheerfully aggressive — especially this time of year — you are not doing a good job. Don't sit this one out. Your competitors are emailing your donors often. So you need to be there too. If you are raising money for a hugely urgent cause, then it seems to me that you'd wear your heart on your sleeve and communicate as much and as urgently as you can!

Try this: Plan to be in your donors' inboxes once a week in December, and also on Dec. 29 and 31.

2. Use powerful images
Email fundraising relies on powerful images to tell the story. What's a powerful image?

• a close-up of one person
• the person is looking directly at the camera, making eye contact with the reader
• few details in the picture to muddy it up
• bright colors or clear black and white

Try this: Use only one image in your email appeal. And make it so powerful that it actually communicates the case for support to your donor.

3. Don't use too much text
In email appeals, every word matters. Every single additional word in your text dilutes your message. So the more words in your appeal, the weaker it is. If you have fewer words, you'll have a much stronger solicitation.