The important thing is to touch your donors' emotions in a variety of ways. Your mission may be simple. But the ways you can ask for support are not.
Just as people can sense when they're being handled, they can also sense when someone is being disingenuous in communications. It's not always something they can put their finger on, but you'd better believe they know it when they feel it.
Putting together a strong rationale takes a little time, especially when you're writing under a deadline. But the benefits far outweigh the hassle.
Keeping it short won't make your job a cinch. I tried to write this all with words of one syllable, and only came close.
Staying on your donor's good side can be a dicey proposition. People and relationships are full of paradoxes and contradictions. And that's doubly true of donor relationships, which are complicated by the fact that you spend a lot more time talking at your supporter than with her.
Our industry has developed a long list of best practices, based on experience, testing and measured results. But best practices are guidelines. When they're etched in stone they can become tombstones.
Here are 10 direct-mail fundraising best practices shared by Valerie Kagan, president of VK Direct, during her session at Fundraising Day in New York.
There are reports that can make you feel better and other reports that can keep you up at night. We are a data-based industry, so we know that data can be looked at in a myriad of ways.
The ability to manage and measure response is what sets direct marketing apart from advertising. Make the most of that difference.
Today, in an effort to balance my karma and avoid creative hubris, I want to remind all of us on the creative side of the PDF that putting out a direct-mail package or online communication that gets results is a two-way street.
