Tag Archives: charity
Why your fundraising appeal needs more urgency
There’s a moment when your donor looks over your direct mail or email appeal and thinks, “I’ll put this aside for now and maybe help with that a little later.” That’s the moment when you realize your appeal didn’t have … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged advertising, behavior, charity, copywriting, deadlines, donors, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit, technology, urgency
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Why is the copy for direct response fundraising so weird?
It’s not weird, really. But it is way different from academic, business, or journalistic writing, and so it can seem weird to the (uninitiated) people at nonprofits who review copy. As my article in NonprofitPRO points out: Good copy is … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged behavior, books, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit, writing
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Is this fundraising that works?
The overline at the top of the fundraising letter reads, “You can join your neighbors to help families facing hunger.” So far, so good. Everybody’s against hunger. Then, this: “Every $1 can help feed a family of 3!” One thing’s … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged advertising, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, donors, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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These 3 things are probably killing your fundraising
There are three big misconceptions that nonprofits tend to have about direct response fundraising. They’ll definitely bring down your results. Misconception 1: “Too much mail will turn donors off.” The fact is that donors like to give and want to … Continue reading
The offer in fundraising
In direct response fundraising, what’s an offer? Is it like the offer in commercial direct marketing, or is it completely different? Why does the offer matter? Is it really the most important thing in a letter appeal or email appeal, … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged behavior, charity, copywriting, direct mail, donor psychology, donors, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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One sure way to make your fundraising better
The single best thing you can do to improve your fundraising? Come to terms with a hard truth: You are not your donors. They’re probably older than you, for one thing, which means they have a completely different frame of … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged advertising, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, donors, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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Want more of your regular donors to become monthly donors?
Nonprofits love monthly donors for obvious reasons. Monthly donors give consistently, require less frequent fundraising, and tend to be more loyal. But to get regular donors to opt into monthly donor status, you have to make this seem like something … Continue reading
Why this trait is essential for your fundraising
Curiosity. It’s a trait that virtually all people share, and it’s one that we definitely want to tap into for fundraising. Arousing curiosity is a tried and true way to get donors to notice your direct mail or email appeal, … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, fundraising
Tagged charity, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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How to keep your donors interested in your fundraising appeal
It’s the age-old problem: how to engage the readers of your direct-response fundraising appeal to, first, start reading and then to continue reading. Luckily, we have some tips from Clarification blog: These are all good tips. But there’s one additional … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged behavior, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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Two ways to begin a fundraising appeal – from Jerry Huntsinger
In Jerry Huntsinger’s “86 Tutorials in Creating Fundraising Letters and Packages,” he makes a point about how to begin a fundraising appeal. He makes his point with an example. It’s an appeal for a cancer charity. It begins: “Children shouldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged advertising, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, donors, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, nonprofit
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Fundraising Copywriter George Crankovic 