Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Suggest You - Do Your Donors Hear Voices (in Your Donation Request Letters)?
It almost goes without saying that good customer service is essential to sustaining any business. No matter how wonderful a job you do of attracting new customers, you won’t be profitable for long unless you have a solid customer retention strategy in place – and in action. It’s the actions that count – not what you say you’ll do, or what the policy says.
Or imagine that you’re telling the story of Bill, who also has diabetes. You could tell your donors:
“Bill avoided diabetes complications—and ran a marathon—by following a simple recipe.”
or you could instead bring Bill alive as a character by letting him tell your story:
“Just because diabetes runs in your family doesn’t mean you can’t run a marathon,’ says Bill, who avo
In several related articles I made mention of finding work as a flight coordinator, as a flight attendant, or as a pilot. Each specialty, as you can imagine, has its own requirements, hence the job sites that feature these types of opportunities are not always the same. If you have some idea where to look – besides contacting an employer directly – you can
In a novel, the characters come alive only after you hear them talk. What they say, how they say it, when they say it, where they say it, and to whom they say it, deepens the meaning of the story and reveals things about the characters that cannot be explained in other ways.
Even when your fundraising appeal letter seems to be about preserving old growth forests, banning handguns or buying a mobile heart monitor, somewhere in the middle of your appeal are people. They may be staff, volunteers, clients, victims or someone else. Let your donors hear these people talking and you’ll immediately make your letters more interesting and readable.
When you quote people in your fundraising letters, you personalize your ask and lend immediacy, intimacy and authenticity to cold reality. When you capture dialogue and things people have said, you bring your “characters” to life on the page.
Direct quotations in your donation request letters also add credibility to your claims. They give donors another way of looking at your challenge (what novelists call point of view). And they establish tone (anger, frustration, fear, irony) in ways that you cannot without sounding forced.
“Alan,” you are saying, “give us some examples!”
“OK.”
Imagine that in your fundraising letter for your diabetes association you are describing one of your clients, Clara Alveres, who is 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years, and is in good health. You could string these facts out in a line as I just did. Or you could instead add credibility and warmth and personality to your letter by quoting Clara directly. Your sentence might look like this:
“Clara Alveres, 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years. ‘I’ve never felt better,’ she says.”
Or imagine that you’re telling the story of Bill, who also has diabetes. You could tell your donors:
“Bill avoided diabetes complications—and ran a marathon—by following a simple recipe.”
or you could instead bring Bill alive as a character by letting him tell your story:
“Just because diabetes runs in your family doesn’t mean you can’t run a marathon,’ says Bill, who avoi
A knowledge of the commercial uses of gold enables a savvy investor to make a judgement on the future demand for the metal and in conjunction with other criteria such as the erosion of the purchasing power of a currency, political factors, gold hoarding or selling off by governments, the technical picture, etc.etc., can make the decision to be long, short o
When you quote people in your fundraising letters, you personalize your ask and lend immediacy, intimacy and authenticity to cold reality. When you capture dialogue and things people have said, you bring your “characters” to life on the page.
Direct quotations in your donation request letters also add credibility to your claims. They give donors another way of looking at your challenge (what novelists call point of view). And they establish tone (anger, frustration, fear, irony) in ways that you cannot without sounding forced.
“Alan,” you are saying, “give us some examples!”
“OK.”
Imagine that in your fundraising letter for your diabetes association you are describing one of your clients, Clara Alveres, who is 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years, and is in good health. You could string these facts out in a line as I just did. Or you could instead add credibility and warmth and personality to your letter by quoting Clara directly. Your sentence might look like this:
“Clara Alveres, 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years. ‘I’ve never felt better,’ she says.”
Or imagine that you’re telling the story of Bill, who also has diabetes. You could tell your donors:
“Bill avoided diabetes complications—and ran a marathon—by following a simple recipe.”
or you could instead bring Bill alive as a character by letting him tell your story:
“Just because diabetes runs in your family doesn’t mean you can’t run a marathon,’ says Bill, who avo
Having the right attitude is as important as having the right offer, the right advertisement and the right target. You must know that your product or service is your identity.Overly impressive advertisements, expensive commercials and graphics are not what are on your mind. The bottom line is customer interest. With this mindset you know your best p
Direct quotations in your donation request letters also add credibility to your claims. They give donors another way of looking at your challenge (what novelists call point of view). And they establish tone (anger, frustration, fear, irony) in ways that you cannot without sounding forced.
“Alan,” you are saying, “give us some examples!”
“OK.”
Imagine that in your fundraising letter for your diabetes association you are describing one of your clients, Clara Alveres, who is 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years, and is in good health. You could string these facts out in a line as I just did. Or you could instead add credibility and warmth and personality to your letter by quoting Clara directly. Your sentence might look like this:
“Clara Alveres, 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years. ‘I’ve never felt better,’ she says.”
Or imagine that you’re telling the story of Bill, who also has diabetes. You could tell your donors:
“Bill avoided diabetes complications—and ran a marathon—by following a simple recipe.”
or you could instead bring Bill alive as a character by letting him tell your story:
“Just because diabetes runs in your family doesn’t mean you can’t run a marathon,’ says Bill, who avo
Coastal Vacations has been in the market place for over 27 years, and has been selling travel packages for over 10 years as a home based business.Traditionally, to be a successful Coastal Vacations Director, you had to be good at selling and Many people are not comfortable or just don’t know how to sell.Paul Langley of Clear Business Solut
Imagine that in your fundraising letter for your diabetes association you are describing one of your clients, Clara Alveres, who is 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years, and is in good health. You could string these facts out in a line as I just did. Or you could instead add credibility and warmth and personality to your letter by quoting Clara directly. Your sentence might look like this:
“Clara Alveres, 71, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 50 years. ‘I’ve never felt better,’ she says.”
Or imagine that you’re telling the story of Bill, who also has diabetes. You could tell your donors:
“Bill avoided diabetes complications—and ran a marathon—by following a simple recipe.”
or you could instead bring Bill alive as a character by letting him tell your story:
“Just because diabetes runs in your family doesn’t mean you can’t run a marathon,’ says Bill, who avo
Either you’re Algerian or not, organization or particular, physical or moral person, you want to pass advertisements in Algeria or consult them online via Internet, you’re right, because djemla.com reduces time and distance connecting therefore people having common interests in goods and services in Homeland or foreigners seeking to bring them locally.1 diabetes for 50 years. ‘I’ve never felt better,’ she says.”
Or imagine that you’re telling the story of Bill, who also has diabetes. You could tell your donors:
“Bill avoided diabetes complications—and ran a marathon—by following a simple recipe.”
or you could instead bring Bill alive as a character by letting him tell your story:
“Just because diabetes runs in your family doesn’t mean you can’t run a marathon,’ says Bill, who avoided diabetes complications by following a simple recipe, and completed the Boston Marathon in May.”
According to Philip Gerard, author of Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life, quoting people adds texture beyond anything you can communicate as the author. Real voices of real people deepen your story. “Their words make it true,” says Gerard.
2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the Author" message).
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.suggestyou.com/article/30786/suggestyou-Do-Your-Donors-Hear-Voices-in-Your-Donation-Request-Letters.html">Do Your Donors Hear Voices (in Your Donation Request Letters)?</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.suggestyou.com/article/30786/suggestyou-Do-Your-Donors-Hear-Voices-in-Your-Donation-Request-Letters.html]Do Your Donors Hear Voices (in Your Donation Request Letters)?[/url]
Related Articles:
How to Get Hired by Being Obvious
Real Estate Postcard Marketing: Postcards + Website = Leads
Bookmark it:
|