The Golden Thread – The Week in Review
June 3–9, 2007
Welcome to The Golden Thread Online, your free e-letter from American Writers & Artists Inc. Every Saturday, you will receive this recap of all the strategies, insights and opportunities we send to you and your fellow AWAIers each week. Whether it’s a message from a fellow writer about how he landed a new client … a technique from a Master copywriter for writing a control … an insight into how to succeed in a new market … news of a brand new writing job or business opportunity for you … you’ll find it here in this easy-to-access and always available “Week in Review.”
In This Issue:
- The 3 Most Important Parts of Any Promotion’s Success
Paul Hollingshead shares three secrets to writing a successful direct response package. - Quick Tip: A Critical Element of Every Fundraising Appeal
Will Newman reveals a critical success secret for fundraising copywriters. - Industry Spotlight: Fundraising
Find out about trends and statistics in the fundraising writing market. - Don’t Fear a Long Letter
Hallie Mummert shows you how longer letters can deliver success in the fundraising market. - Top Fundraising Mailers
Discover the names and websites of nine top mailers in the fundraising sector.
The 3 Most Important Parts of Any Promotion's Success
I recently came across a great example of good, strong copywriting.
It comes from a familiar place – from the writers of Stansberry and Associates (http://www.stansberryresearch.com/). In my opinion, Stansberry's team of copywriters, led by Mike Palmer, is among the best in the world.
I'm not sure who wrote the letter, but it came as an insert in my Oxford Club newsletter. And I couldn't stop reading it.
It's an ad for "True Wealth," Dr. Steve Sjuggerud's wonderful investment newsletter. No question, if I weren't already a paid subscriber, I would have bought it through this offer.
The letter does a lot of things well. But it does three things exceptionally well. Three things that are crucial to the success of any sales letter.
First off, it sells you in the first two pages. Now, I don't mean the writer directly starts pitching the product that early. But even without knowing what the product is, by the end of page two, you want to buy it. You don't even want to bother reading the rest of the letter.
More and more, I'm convinced that the best and most powerful promotions are the ones that have the prospect sold in the first few pages … that is, he is sold in the lead.
Many of your prospects will immediately turn to the order device and buy. Of course, most will continue to read – but only to see if they can find a reason not to buy.So as long as you stick with the message … keep piling on the benefits … and don't screw up the offer – you've got a winner.
It's not easy to do. You need to start with a very compelling Big Idea. You need to present it to the reader in a strong and convincing way. That's precisely what's done in the "True Wealth" letter.
There's no hype. No “selling” going on. The sense I get when I read the lead is that here is someone who's fed up with all the investment crap out there – and he's discovered something very exciting and useful. And he truly wants me to benefit from it.
The letter is loaded with sincerity – and credibility. You can't possibly read it and feel like you're being sold something. No outrageous claims. Just good information every investor would want to know.
The second thing this letter does very well is the way it keeps coming back to the main and central promise – which, in this case, is a solution to the prospect's looming retirement crisis.
My friend and Oxford Club colleague Alex Green describes the main promise of a sales letter by using a great analogy. He likens it to the "chorus" of a song – something the writer keeps coming back to throughout the letter. But unlike most songs, of course, you don't sing the same words over and over again …
Instead, you find new ways to tell your reader how your product's going to fulfill the main promise and, therefore, solve his problem … make him richer, healthier, happier, more respected … whatever he needs in HIS life.
The "True Wealth" letter does that very well. By the end of it, you think: "Hey, this just may be the solution to that retirement question that's nagging at me. Perfect. I'll get this newsletter, get all the details on this program, and I won't have to worry about it!"
The real secret of this persuasive letter is the way the copywriter handles the three most crucial components of a successful promotion.
He starts with a Big Idea. This component – properly conceived, researched, and developed – accounts for at least 30% of your letter's success.
He then follows proven principles for creating a compelling headline and lead. Each one of these two components – the headline and lead – accounts for another 25% of your letter's success.
Taken all together, these three components make up 80% of your letter's success. And it's clear to me that this copywriter did what you MUST do if you want a successful letter. He spent at least 80% of his efforts on the Big Idea, headline, and lead.
Follow his example, and you're golden.
Quick Tip: A Critical Element of Every Fundraising Appeal
According to FundRaising Success magazine, there is one critical element of a strong fundraising appeal that many copywriters don't understand: You must give your prospective donors a short, absolutely clear statement of what you're asking them to accomplish with their gifts.
Use direct language that's easy to understand, and describe EXACTLY what the gift will mean to those who will benefit from it. Write from your heart.
Here's an example taken from a local Rotary Club fundraiser:
"Your gift of $10 buys a beautifully illustrated, hardback Random House Children's Dictionary for a 3rd grader in our community. Many of these children come from families living at or below the Federal poverty level. And for many of these children, this is the first book they will call their own.
"A gift of $50 puts 5 children on the path to literacy … and $100 means 10 children will be able to bring these beautiful books home to assist and encourage them to do well in school."
Industry Spotlight: Fundraising
I just checked my mail, and today I’ve received fundraising direct-mail packages from Habitat for Humanity, Make-A-Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and my local animal shelter … and soon I’m expecting stacks of political appeals.
It’s a copywriter’s dream!
The good news is that there’s plenty of room for you to successfully carve out a profitable niche in this field. Not only is writing fundraising copy a rewarding endeavor, but the sector is enormous … and good copywriters are in huge demand.
In fact, according to our latest research findings, a staggering 1.8 million charities raise funds in the U.S. each year. That’s 1.8 million potential clients for you copywriters interested in breaking into this expanding and rewarding sector.
Take a look at this …
Size of the Industry: $17.6 Billion (Estimated DM expenditures for 2007)
Number of Major Fundraising Mailers in the Who’s Mailing What! Archive: 1,461
Number of Fundraising Mailings Tracked by the Who’s Mailing What! Archive: 24,397
Don’t Fear a Long Letter
How long should your fundraising letter be?
Don’t be afraid of sending that multi-page direct-mail fundraising letter, asserts fundraising expert and consultant, Mal Warwick, in his revised and updated Revolution in the Mailbox: Your Guide to Successful Direct-Mail Fundraising.
The best length for your appeal is the one that allows you to tell a full and effective story, according to Warwick, author of 16 books on fundraising. His own testing shows that successful fundraising letters should accomplish five goals:
- Establish a one-on-one rapport between the writer and the prospect.
- Present the appeal as an offer to participate in the organization.
- Make a compelling case for that offer.
- Establish urgency.
- Ask for a specific donation.
“The reason most direct-mail letters include these five ingredients is that testing proves fundraising appeals usually work better if they do,” writes Warwick. “And that, in turn, is why they’re typically long; it’s often hard to tell enough of the story in just one or two pages.”
Bear in mind as well, Warwick advises, that the typical direct-mail donor “is a well-educated, church-going woman in her 60s,” who has both the time and inclination to read longer communications. While an eight-page letter may seem excessive to you, it’s how your prospects respond to it that really matters.
Top Fundraising Mailers
- Republican National Committee
Part of the Republican political party.
www.rnc.org - Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
Non-profit organization operating reproductive healthcare centers and providing education and services relating to sexual health, abortion, birth control, reproductive rights and family planning.
www.plannedparenthood.org - Habitat for Humanity International
Non-profit, Christian organization providing simple, affordable, decent housing.
www.habitat.org - Salvation Army
Non-profit charitable organization.
www.salvationarmy.org - World Wildlife Fund
Non-profit wildlife and wildlands conservation organization.
www.worldwildlife.org - United States Fund for UNICEF
Non-profit children’s charitable organization.
www.unicefusa.org - Democratic National Committee
Political organization.
www.democrats.org - The Humane Society of the United States
Non-profit animal welfare organization.
www.hsus.org - American Red Cross
Non-profit organization offering emergency and disaster-relief support services.
www.redcross.org
[Editorial Note: Top mailers are determined by the number of mailing offers received by the Who’s Mailing What! Archive – the world’s largest swipe file with access to over 10,000 controls in nearly 200 categories. To learn more about the Archive, and exclusive AWAI member access, click here: http://www.awaionline.com/whosmailing/]
