Tuto­r­i­al 6: The pow­er of a letter

To be suc­cess­ful in this busi­ness, you have to recog­nise the pow­er of a letter.

Written by
Jerry Huntsinger
Added
February 23, 2019

Why? Because there are now so many people in fundraising who understand computers, finance, business management, or work flow systems. All of these skills are basic to competent fundraising organisations. But what’s happened to the letter? Unfortunately, it has been pushed into the background and, in some organisations, there’s even a faint (or worse) disdain for fundraising letters.

The mail package is considered a necessary evil. Letters are somewhat embarrassing to the board of directors. They feel that the act of asking for money in a letter is not dignified. In many organisations, the not-so-secret desire of top executives is to find another way to raise money and get out of direct mail altogether.

A letter is powerful. It’s a personal message from me to you. A letter is not an advertisement for all to see. It isn’t a news release for the general public. It’s personal.

And because it is so personal, it plays a strange magical function in our society and – as we have already discussed – mail opening is a major event in most households.

The secret of creating a successful fundraising letter, or any marketing letter, is to transfer that ‘one-to-one’ factor to a mass audience and still retain the intimacy of the personal letter.

© SOFII Foundation 2010-2014.

About the author: Jerry Huntsinger

Jerry Huntsinger

Jerry Huntsinger was revered in direct marketing circles as the ‘dean of direct mail’. Many years ago, Jerry gifted his archive of direct mail tutorials to SOFII. All 57 of them are gems. Together, they add up to a complete ‘how-to’ guide that covers everything you need to know about direct mail fundraising. Sadly, Jerry passed away in August 2023. 

These tutorials were edited and presented to SOFII by Gwen Chapman. Gwen is a passionate advocate for donor-centric fundraising. She is a senior consultant with international experience in the non-profit sector in Canada, the United States, the UK and South Africa. She explains the importance of these tutorials here.

A note from SOFII: These tutorials were first published in a different era. They may contain words or themes that today we find inappropriate. SOFII has preserved the copy in our archive, without editing, in order to offer a true representation of the author’s contributions at the time.

Related case studies or articles

Tutorial 3: What makes a successful letter-writer?

A successful letter-writer must overcome human inertia by putting words on paper. A tough job. Good letter-writers are extremely rare, but here’s how you can spot one.

Read more

Tutorial 4: Motivation, magic and junk mail

A few motivations often listed in textbook approaches to fundraising.

Read more

Tutorial 5: What’s all this talk about junk mail?

Mail opening in most households is a time of great anticipation. And since the advent of email and electronic communications, the arrival of snail mail has become a high point of the day. You most likely know someone who laments that they no longer receive letter mail.

Read more

Tutorial 2: Is direct mail fundraising a science or an art?

It is a little of both. If you are a writer assigned to create fundraising letters, then you have to deal with feelings, intuition, motivation. Direct mail is a personal form of communication. And communication occurs only when you reach out and touch a person at a deep level.

Read more

Tutorial 1: Creating fundraising letters and packages

The purpose of these tutorials is to stimulate your thinking. Challenge your preconceived notions. Stimulate your appetite for testing a new idea.

Read more

Also in Categories



    

Share