How Long Should a Fundraising Letter Be? Shorter is Not Always Better
Clients often ask me some form of this question: Shouldn’t we keep our fundraising letter down to one page?
It seems at some point everyone was told, “don’t write a fundraising letter that’s longer than one page. People won’t read it.”
Thing is, people give when their emotions are engaged, and the resulting impulse to give is rubber stamped by their intellect. Here’s what I mean...
How Long Should My Appeal Letter Be When Renewing a Donor? Acquiring a New Donor?
Your donor wants to hear a great story about how they helped someone.
Your donor wants to know how vital their donation will be.
Your donor wants to know how much they’re needed and appreciated.
Your donor wants to know how much they should give.
Your donor wants to know what their donation will accomplish.
New donors want to know who you are and what your mission is.
Design the Letter for Both Scanning and Reading
Your appeal letter must be laid out for maximum readability. That means large type, short paragraphs, plenty of white space, highlights (bold or underlined text), and a PS. That board member who insists people don’t read long letters is right—most people won’t. They will scan the letter first. Those who are likely to give may peruse the letter more carefully after that first scan. That’s why letter design is so important and why I discuss it in several posts. The letter has to both scan effectively and read effectively. And because a picture is worth a thousand words, you should add a photo that illustrates the story the text is telling. This increases the emotional engagement.
So How Long Should a Fundraising Letter Be?
Long enough to accomplish everything above and still be scannable—which is almost impossible to do on just one page.
Robert Bly’s classic and invaluable “The Copywriter’s Handbook” has a lot of great advice on long versus short copy. The essence is that you need longer copy when:
the decision is high in emotion (and making a donation clearly is);
the donor needs information to determine whether sending you money makes sense.
Acquisition letters to first time donors need long copy. Lapsed donors need long copy. A faithful donor may only need a short request, as long as you have kept them up to date on what their money has accomplished! But longer copy is still needed in your main fundraising appeals because donors want to keep hearing those heart-warming stories.
Of course, using two pages is not a rule either. There are times when short-copy fundraising is better: for a reminder note at the end of the fiscal year, for example. A thank you card in December that includes an end-of-year request and a return envelope. A postcard follow up to a previous letter. An email following up on a letter.
Three Easy Steps to Writing the Perfect Length Appeal Letter
Ignore those who say you have to keep it down to one page.
Write a draft letter that covers the main points donors need to know (see above). Don’t worry about how long your draft is.
Then edit that letter to make it direct, simple, clear, informal, and readable.
Some of our best performing fundraising letters have been multiple pages long with a color photo. Check out these examples from our clients and don’t be afraid to send a longer appeal letter to your donors!
Our Copywriting Team Knows How Long Your Fundraising Letter Should Be!
Five Maples has written appeal letters of all lengths—we know exactly what to include to grab your donors’ emotions with the right message, in the right way. Whether we write your copy from scratch or edit your existing draft, we will make sure donor-centricity takes center stage to help you raise the most money!
Contact Sarah Gnerre, CFRE, VP of Philanthropy, at 1-802-387-3091 or sarahg@fivemaples.com today!
