2.) Writing a fundraising letter Part II

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2.) Writing A Fundraising Letter - Part II

By: Edith Nee

For part I, please click below:

Writing a fundraising letter - Part I


... Writing from the Heart ...

Yes, good sales copy for a fundraising letter comes from the heart.
But this business of writing from the heart can be tricky. It can be awkward if the
writer is not comfortable with the techniques involved. And, it can
be dangerous if it's overdone. Here are a few suggestions for making
this approach work for you.

Research, Research, Research …

I can't emphasize how important the research process is in writing a
good fundraising letter. For two reasons. Firstly, it gives you a
depth of knowledge about the issues you're writing about. This will
allow you to select the most effective story … to use the most
"emotive" words … and to skillfully weave emotions around technical
information while maintaining accuracy.

Secondly, the process forces you to travel through the problems and
issues yourself. This way, you'll establish feelings and empathy on
the subject you're writing about. It is only when you have such
strong feelings and conviction that you can write to convince your
readers to feel the same. This is perhaps your most powerful tool
in creating a successful fundraising piece.

How should you go about doing your research?

A large part of your success in writing a fundraising letter will be
dependent on your relationship with your organization. As Jerry
Huntsinger (top-notch fundraising consultant) points out "success is
often the result of partnership between the client and the
consultant and that the role of the consultant is to extrapolate the
ideas that already exist within the organization." So, you need to
work closely with your organization. You need to convince them that
a good fundraising letter is 75% research and 25% writing. Ask them
for:

If you want your copy to excel … to beat out the competition …to
become the control, you need to go one step further. You need to go
beyond what your organization is giving you by doing your own
independent research. If it's a disease letter you're writing, do
extra research into its cause, its symptoms and its prognosis. And,
read up on patients' accounts as to what they're going through.
What are their physical sufferings? What's their emotional journey?
How about their family or the caregivers? By doing this, your
understanding and your emotional involvement with your subject
matter will take on a new depth. Believe me, this will come through
in your copy.

Now, soak in all of the information until you can feel the sadness,
the anger, the guilt, the love … until you want immediate action to
solve the problems … and until you want to donate to the cause
yourself. This is the only way that you'll be able to write in a
powerful and convincing way.

Tune in for more secrets to writing high response copy in the next
issue of our newsletter.


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3.) Questions and Answers:

Many thanks to the subscribers who sent in questions!

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Questions or comments about direct sales and website copywriting?
Then simply send an Email to:

DPierce@website-copywriting.com


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