Welcome toTurn your words into money: Writing effective fundraising

copy and direct mail

Nick Day

We’ll cover

• Considering your Audience - Segmentation / Targeting / Positioning

• Getting the message across• Writing a letter• Design tips

Why do individuals become supporters?

Why do individuals become supporters?

• Concern• Duty• Guilt• Personal experience• Personal Benefit• Asked!• Peer/family pressure• TaxUltimately…• few give without some kind of self based

consideration

Why do individuals become supporters?

• What’s• In• It• For• Me?

WIIFM

7 basic rules…

1. Identify likely supporters

2. Create the right message

3. Get the message to the audience

4. Ask for their support

5. Enable them to support

6. Keep them informed

7. Maintain good public relations

Consider your Audience:

Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning

Consider your Audience

• Segmentation

• Targeting

• Positioning

Segmentation

• A segment is a group of individuals sharing one or more similar profile characteristics that mean they have similar needs or expectations

Targeting

• Which segments should you prioritise?

• Can you reach differentsegments indifferent ways?

• Can you meet their needs?

Positioning

• Matching specific features, benefits and advantages to the needs of the audience to create a proposition that is relevant to them

Differentiation Criteria

• What is most important and relevant to majority?

• What is distinctive?

• What can be communicated in ways the can be understood?

Over to you…

• What are your top 3 ‘uniqueselling points’ that differentiate you?

• Which target audiences do you think are most interested in these?

Effective Communication

The right message to the right audience at the right time

10 Tips on copy writing

1. Get to know your audience2. Use simple, direct and everyday

language - NOT jargon and abbreviations

3. State your proposition boldly and clearly

4. Feature real, identifiable cases and people

5. Communicate the need

General Tips on copy writing

6. State what the reader's support will enable you to achieve

7. State how the reader may benefit

8. Don't try to be too clever!

9. Demonstrate clarity, brevity and clear focus

10.Provide a clear course of action

Getting the message across

AIDA

AIDA

• Attention - good visuals and thought a provoking headline

• Interest - applying your positioning to focus on the features, benefits and advantages you've identified as important to your audience and make it relevant to them

• Desire - make them want to act• Action - make it clear what you want

them to and how they do it

KISS: Keep it simple stupid!

KISS: Keep it simple stupid!

• Don't try to do too much!

• Maintain focus and simplicity

• Make it seem too complicated or like hard work and you'll lose them!

Communicating by direct mail

• The Envelope

• The Letter

• The Brochure or Leaflet

• The Call to Action

• The Response Device

Direct Mail

• Only 7 seconds to make an impact

• Provocative message

• If you deal with them already, let them know who you are!

• Be creative - size and shape can increase impact!

Envelope

Making Your Letter Interesting

• Top Of Page – Who’s It From ?

• Address – Check It’s For Them

• Skim Letter – Picking out key points to establish why the letter has been sent to them

• Signature – Eye drawn to signature (Use Of P.S.)

• Decide To Read In Detail

Personalise

Use Headlines & Sub-Heads

Make Signature Legible & Use P.S.

Use Serif Font

Making Your Letter Interesting

• Short Sentences (16 Words or less)

• Short Paragraphs – Just 1 thought & open with main offer/question

• Be single-minded• Be warm and friendly• Write as you would

speak – every day words

• Minimise punctuation

• Vary the pace

• Use link words/phrases

• Use active words

• “You” v. “Parity” (3:1)

• Get someone to read your letter out loud

• Great opportunity to reflect your brand

• Adds impact

• Power of pictures (with testimonials..?)

• Needs to work with the letter…and not look like it’s just been thrown in because it happened to be available!

Brochure/Leaflet/Other Enclosures

• Don’t hide it!

• Make it as easy as possible:tick boxes, pre printing information..

• Offer multiple response channels

• Ask some questions

Response device

Over to you

1. How well does it follow AIDA?

2. Can you skim read and get the gist of it?

3. Does the letter use You more than We/I?

4. Is it clear what you should do next?

5. How likely would you be to give?

Over to you

• Give each criteria a score out of 5

• Total them to get a score out of 25

• Let’s see if we can identify a clear winner!

More help with direct mail

• Royal Mail’s Mail Media Centre

• Sign up for free and get access to lots of case studies and resources

www.mmc.co.uk

We’ve covered

• Consider your Audience - Segmentation / Targeting / Positioning

• Getting the message across• Creating effective direct mail

Thank youI hope you’ve enjoyed the

session!

See you at Meet the speakers!

Nick Day