Email is an awesome tool to use in your Holiday and year-end fundraising appeals. Writing good email starts with the basics of writing good copy – you must have a story to tell, offer a compelling reason to give, and use clear and persuasive language. Here are five steps to writing email that will be read:
- Your subject line is key to email success: Capture your readers’ attention and convince them that your email should be read. And do this in 1 to 2 seconds. Given the difference in browsers, limit your entire subject line (including spaces) to no more than 50 characters. Here are some examples of great subject lines:
- Send a blanket to Indonesian flood victims
- The movie President Bush doesn’t want you to see
- Before Christmas: It’s beginning to look a lot like justice . . .
- Make your email scannable – this means. Write short sentences and short paragraphs. Provide numerous links to your donation page. In addition to copy, use a graphic insert telling your readers what to do. Use bullets. Don’t overuse bold and italics. Don’t use underlying (that’s just for hyperlinks).
- Keep it simple and short – this means: Use as few words as possible to state your case; limit your key points to one of two. Avoid the history of your appeal (this isn’t the time for background information)
- Be aware of “preview panes” – this means: Most readers won’t get past the part of your email visible there. This first impression is critical to your success. Treat those top few inches of copy and design as precious real estate. Tell your whole story right there.
- Keep the medium in mind – this means: Emails tend to be more causal than print. Salutations and closing are typically more relaxed: Hello Bill. Email copywriters tend to use more causal terms than in direct mail. For example:
- Direct mail: We were truly overwhelmed by the generous response to our request.
- Email: Wow! You overwhelmed us (and that’s hard to do)!
Remember the key to good writing is: specific, clear and forceful
Contact us for some professional help putting together your year-end fundraising campaign.
