There’s a strange disconnect that you see in a lot of fundraising appeals. The appeal starts off heading in one direction, then suddenly leaves donors stranded and wondering what happened.

Here’s an example. In this appeal, for a charity that advocates for criminal justice reform, the envelope teaser is “2X match for second chances.”

So, it’s a matching grant offer. True, the teaser could have made that point a bit more directly. And the reference to “second chances” assumes that the donor knows the context. But let’s put those two things aside.

The real problem – the disconnect – happens when we get to the letter. It begins, “One mistake or bad decision shouldn’t define someone’s life or value.”

While that statement may indeed be true, what happened to the matching grant? It’s probably a main reason why a donor would open the envelope in the first place. The matching grant is a powerful motivator. So then, why would you start off talking about the matching grant on the outer envelope and then abruptly shift to a general statement about mistakes and bad decisions?

It’s bound to throw some donors off at the very least and to seem like a bait and switch at the very worst. Either way, any momentum that was gained with the teaser about the matching grant suddenly fizzles out.

Why do this? Once you get your donor primed with the envelope teaser, it’s best to follow through in the beginning of the letter with something that builds on that same thought.

Granted, there may be instances where you won’t want to do this – a letter lead that’s a pattern interrupt, for example. But that’s a specialized and risky technique.

The better approach is the direct approach, where you move your reader from envelope teaser or headline to the letter lead in a direct way. It’s easy to do.

If our envelope teaser is “2X match for second chances,” the letter lead could simply be, “Now your gift will double in impact to create a second chance for someone who simply made a bad decision.”

You’re reinforcing why the donor opened the envelope in the first place. You’re showing why the donor might want to take advantage of the matching grant. And you’re greatly increasing the odds that the donor will keep reading. It’s a win all the way around.