The pressure is on – You may have just one chance to make a big enough impression on your donors that they’ll feel compelled to open their wallets and give to your cause. Give your organisation and your fundraising campaign its best chance at success by steering clear of these common mistakes that could completely destroy your efforts.
Trying to talk about everything in a single letter
One key to remember when writing your fundraising letter is the specific direction you want that letter to take. Sure, your organization does a lot of different and interesting things, but you don’t have to write about absolutely everything in one letter. For starters, many people don’t have the time, nor the attention span, to dedicate to reading a long letter. And, a long-winded letter may also detract from the message you’re campaign is focused on at the moment. A concise, to the point letter is what you’re aiming for.
Forgetting to put the donor in the spotlight
Yes, the letter is about your organization and should highlight what you do, but the main focus always needs to shine a giant spotlight on your donors and the difference each one of them makes. They’re the reason why you’re able to get all of the amazing things done that you’re doing, and they need to be made well aware of that. It’s not about what you do, it’s completely about how they make it possible. When writing your fundraising letter, you can never use the word “you” too often.
Making things hard to read
This may seem obvious, but it’s easy to overlook the simple fact that your letter may be too hard for some people to read. If you’re trying to fit everything into a single page, you may be tempted to shrink that font size down. But, rather than make it necessary to pull out a magnifying glass to get through your letter, consider reducing the amount of text on that page. Your ideal font size should be 14 point.
Beating around the bush
No one has time to try to read between the lines to decipher what you’re trying to tell them. And most donors won’t even bother trying. Just tell them upfront what action you want them to take, and be very specific about exactly what you’re wanting them to do. Don’t be wishy-washy about your call to action – tell them what to do, step by step and give them a sense of urgency.
Over editing your letter
It’s always a good idea to have another set of eyes look over your letter for mistakes or to correct something that sounds awkward. But, when your letter starts to make its way through too many hands, it can be problematic. Each additional editor that reviews your letter can actually weaken the text and cause it to lose its authenticity. Minimise the amount of editing that’s done to the copy you’ve created.
Make the most of this opportunity, while you’ve got the attention of your donors.
Avoid these five common fundraising letter mistakes, so you can give your campaign the highest chances for fundraising success.
Gloria Kopp, web content writer and an e-learning consultant
