By Alan Sharpe, CFRE
A few years ago I sat down with my lawyer to sign my Last Will and Testament. I had never had a Will before, so I hired a lawyer to draft a Will that was clear, expressed my wishes, and would not likely be contested in court. He pushed the completed document across the table for me to review and sign. Everything about the document seemed fine except for one nagging detail. Throughout the document, the lawyer had referred to me as Paul Sharpe. I don’t know anyone by that name. And neither does my lawyer. Once he had corrected his mistake and made the document about me, I was satisfied.
As a direct mail fundraiser, you face the same challenge with every fundraising letter you craft. You must write an appeal that speaks to each reader individually, not to everyone in general. Getting their name right is the easy part. But how do you write one letter to thousands of donors in such a way that each donor reading your letter feels it was written to them in particular?
With a donor picture.
The key to writing one-on-one is to picture the donor you are writing to. Whenever you pen a note to grandma, you picture her in your mind’s eye, and imagine her reading your words. Do the same with your donor. Picture her in your mind.
Mine your database to discover what your typical direct mail donor looks like. Male or female? 25-40? 40-60? 60-80? Presbyterian or Agnostic? Plumber or Lawyer? Hillsburg High or Harvard? Married or single? Republican or Democrat? $25 or $2,500 annually?
Now that you have an idea of what your typical direct mail donor looks like, hunt through some suitable magazines for a photo of that donor. Cut it out. Paste it at the top of a sheet of paper.
Give the donor a name. Write beneath the photo all that you know about her (most DM donors are hers) from your database mining (age, marital status and so on). Beneath that write a brief bio of Emelia Carruthers, or whatever you’ve called your donor.
To get yourself started, ask your imaginary donor these questions:
- Why do you support our charity?
- What prompted you to give your first gift?
- What would make you stop?
- What problem do you want your gift to solve?
- What person do you want your donation to help?
Now write your answers out in the form of a mini biography. Pin this donor profile next to your computer. Next time you sit down to pen an appeal, talk to Paul, I mean Emelia, in a personal, friendly way that inspires her to respond with her heart, and a donation.
Learn More
Handbook Number 23
53 Creative Ways to Personalize Your Fundraising Letters.
Build rapport, sound conversational, show interest and strengthen relationships with donors.
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