You arrive home after a tiring day at work and head to your mailbox. Reaching inside, you grab the thick clump of paper – postcards, big and small envelopes, catalogs – and, walking to your front door, quickly shuffle through the stack. After tossing everything on the coffee table, you grab a beverage from the refrigerator, fall into your recliner and decide which postal pieces you'll open.
Plunk! You toss the heavy catalog for industrial supplies into the recycle bin. "What were these guys thinking," you wonder. "Why in the world would I be interested in ordering industrial supplies?" The children's clothing catalog gets pitched next. "Our kids are teenagers; why are we on that mailing list?" Gas and electric bills. "I recognize those logos. Need to pay them." National Geographic. "Madagascar's labyrinth of stone. Interesting. I'll read that later."
Next you come across an envelope from a local charity. "Nice animal picture. I don't recall donating to them. Wonder what they do?" Curious, you slit open the envelope and dump the contents onto your lap. You notice the self-addressed envelope and the reply card that has a heavy checkmark and a big bold “Yes” next to dollar amounts. ""Oh, they want money. What makes them think I'll part with my hard earned cash during these times?" Then that little voice inside you says, "They got my name right; that's a good sign.
Let’s analyze what really happened here: in less than 10 seconds you glanced at the envelope, opened it, emptied it and decided to read on. 10 seconds – that's the difference between success and failure in a fundraising appeal. Here is the process slowed down step-by-step:
1. Bills and “open” mail like postcards and catalogs are expected. You're 'programmed' to see them every day. A fundraising envelope with an appealing graphic, on the other hand, was a surprise. It stood out in the pile.
2. There wasn't a lot of consciousness as you quickly sorted the mail. You were sipping your drink, unwinding from your stressful day and simply going through the motion of the daily ritual.
3. Despite your lack of attentiveness, the first thing you noticed was your name was spelled correctly. That may seem like a minor detail, but think about how many times someone mailing to you gets it wrong.
4. The charity's name, cute picture of the animal and a few words on the envelope brought you from a state of unawareness to mild curiousity.
5. As the contents dribbled onto your lap several questions came to your mind. Mal Warwick, in his book “How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters” estimates that as many as 20 such questions quickly pop into a person's mind when they pick up an unexpected fundraising solicitation.
All this happens at an amazing speed – actually five to eight seconds. Make a connection with your audience in those first few seconds and your likelihood of success increases tremendously.
Plunk! You toss the heavy catalog for industrial supplies into the recycle bin. "What were these guys thinking," you wonder. "Why in the world would I be interested in ordering industrial supplies?" The children's clothing catalog gets pitched next. "Our kids are teenagers; why are we on that mailing list?" Gas and electric bills. "I recognize those logos. Need to pay them." National Geographic. "Madagascar's labyrinth of stone. Interesting. I'll read that later."
Next you come across an envelope from a local charity. "Nice animal picture. I don't recall donating to them. Wonder what they do?" Curious, you slit open the envelope and dump the contents onto your lap. You notice the self-addressed envelope and the reply card that has a heavy checkmark and a big bold “Yes” next to dollar amounts. ""Oh, they want money. What makes them think I'll part with my hard earned cash during these times?" Then that little voice inside you says, "They got my name right; that's a good sign.
Let’s analyze what really happened here: in less than 10 seconds you glanced at the envelope, opened it, emptied it and decided to read on. 10 seconds – that's the difference between success and failure in a fundraising appeal. Here is the process slowed down step-by-step:
1. Bills and “open” mail like postcards and catalogs are expected. You're 'programmed' to see them every day. A fundraising envelope with an appealing graphic, on the other hand, was a surprise. It stood out in the pile.
2. There wasn't a lot of consciousness as you quickly sorted the mail. You were sipping your drink, unwinding from your stressful day and simply going through the motion of the daily ritual.
3. Despite your lack of attentiveness, the first thing you noticed was your name was spelled correctly. That may seem like a minor detail, but think about how many times someone mailing to you gets it wrong.
4. The charity's name, cute picture of the animal and a few words on the envelope brought you from a state of unawareness to mild curiousity.
5. As the contents dribbled onto your lap several questions came to your mind. Mal Warwick, in his book “How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters” estimates that as many as 20 such questions quickly pop into a person's mind when they pick up an unexpected fundraising solicitation.
All this happens at an amazing speed – actually five to eight seconds. Make a connection with your audience in those first few seconds and your likelihood of success increases tremendously.
Arvind Gupta
arvind@grcdirect.com
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