Anyone who works in direct mail fundraising knows that the letter is hugely important. You can’t rush it. You have to pay attention to small details and start an emotional conversation with your donor. But sometimes, sitting down with a blank piece of paper or a blank screen can feel daunting. How do you know if you are really writing a great, persuasive fundraising letter? 

Well, fortunately, John Lepp is here to help with what some say is ‘one of the best clinics’ in the series. 

In clinic five, John does an autopsy on your letter and dives into some useful tips and tricks for effective letter writing. He covers topics like:

1. Easy to read – using evaluation techniques like Flesch-Kincaid or the Hemingway App
2. Problem, solution, action, urgency – every letter has to have it
3. ‘YOU is glue’ – every letter has to have A LOT of it
4. Format – there’s a BIG difference in what works and what doesn’t
5. Eye scans – understand how your donor reads/scans a letter
6. The loneliest paragraph – do you know where this is on your letter?
7. Values and emotions – all the things that really HAVE to be in your letter
8. Offer – what are you asking the donor to do, and how can they help solve your problem?
9. And finally, some HOT TIPS on what to put in your letter

John Lepp (he/him) is a fundraiser, designer and donor champion with more than 20 years of experience working with charities across Canada and around the world. As partner at Agents of Good, he helps charities tell stories that inspire donors to give, both online and offline. John is a respected and coveted international speaker who has travelled the world encouraging fundraisers be more human and vulnerable with those other amazing humans we call donors. 

His latest book, Creative Deviations offers plenty of tips for how fundraisers can infuse their storytelling, fundraising and direct response with more creativity.