Looking over this past year, I’ve sent out articles like:

• how to get donations through mobile phones
• why fundraising is like a Waldorf salad
• speaking tips for the theatrically timid
• and how nonprofits can get started on Google+

I’ve even written about what Katy Perry and the Black Eyed Peas taught me about fundraising! But I haven’t sent one specifically on writing fundraising letters!

Fundraising letters are a basic staple of fundraising. And even with social media getting all the press, fundraising letters are what is still faithfully bringing in money for nonprofits.

With fall upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to make sure your nonprofit is in people’s mailboxes. Hopefully 2-3 times.

Here are 3 tips for fundraising letters:

1. MAIL MULTIPLE TIMES

   You should mail 3-4 times a year. I’ve heard of nonprofits having success with a 13 letter-per-year system, but that was always beyond my ability to consider managing!

   But 3-4 times a year will help increase the odds that your letter reaches donors while they’re in a “giving mood.” And, more practically, in our mobile society mailing that frequently will help you keep up with address changes!

   Make sure two of them happen between now and December 31st. This is a very generous time of the year, be sure to use that to your nonprofit’s advantage.

2. WRITE FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER

   Studies show that a letter signed by a “committee” or even by two people don’t perform as well as letters sent by one person. So why reinvent the wheel. Just picture your ideal donor and write a letter to her. Be conversational. Use emotion. Talk about the donor, not about the nonprofit.

   If you don’t believe that, check out Tom Ahern’s video on how refocusing a newsletter from the organization to donors helped a nonprofit raise 1000% more: https:bit.ly/501videosTomAhern

3. DON’T WRITE LITERATURE. WRITE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE READ AT 60 MPH

   In his book Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug says that web designers try to write literature when they should be writing billboards that could be read by a reader driving by at 60 miles per hour.

   The same is true for fundraising letters.

   Your donors are busy and distracted. Their world does not orbit around your nonprofit. So make your communications easy for them to digest.

   • Use bold headings
   • Align text to the left, don’t justify it
   • Use bullet points

   Do what ever you can to break up the text so that even a skimmer will “get” your call to action.

4. USE A PS

   This is so basic. Eye studies have shown for decades that people first glance to see if their name is at the top of the letter and then look at the postscript.

   The most read message in your fundraising letter is the PS!

   So make it good. Tell them what you’re asking them to give for what purpose by what time. Keep it short, one or two lines max. And always include a deadline even if it’s “by the end of the month” or “before December 31st.” We respond well to deadlines. They help us sort out what needs to be done now and what can wait.

   If your funding is needed now, be sure to let donors know. Otherwise it will end up in the “it can wait” pile (aka the trash can).

Whoops. That was four. I’m sure there could be a dozen more. What would you add?

BTW—Common Knowledge hosts a weekly webinar series, usually free. I highly recommend them.

One of the trends that excited me most was the increasingly central role that video will play in nonprofit (and everyone else’s) communications starting this year. Two things are contributing to that fact: Technology’s making it easier to stream video and video production tools are easily accessible, simple to use, and affordable.

In the last several months, mobile devices like smart phones and pads have made huge leaps in their capacity to stream video, and internet providers continued to provide faster wireless services and increased bandwidth. Meanwhile, the flipcam and other small, simple video cams—and easy movie editing software included on most computers—have brought production capabilities to almost anyone. If you don’t have any one on staff who knows how to shoot and edit video, you can easily find someone to do it for you at a reasonable rate.

The big predictions

What’s going to be happening in the nonprofit world with video this year?

• Mobile video breaks out

Greater speed and capacity will have everyone viewing video on their phones or pads.

• Video advertising becomes more popular

Following commercial advertising trends that recognize dynamic is more effective than static, video ads will join SEO and banner ads as ways that nonprofits can cultivate supporters.

• User-generated video content goes mainstream

Your nonprofit isn’t the only one capable of producing video that can advance your organization. Your supporters can—and do—too. They’ll be looking for ways to help you tell your story through this medium. Invite them.

• Marketing video blossoms

Our lingering reliance on text and photos will fade further as nonprofit storytelling makes more and more use of video—a medium (thanks to TV) that everyone’s familiar with and one that humans find very engaging.

Your first steps

If you’ve never done a video before, start now! And probably, start small.

Produce a video in 2011. Take a look at all your communications strategies and objectives this year (and your budgets) and seriously consider which could be better met through a video. There must be at least one opportunity in there somewhere! (Read more about video strategy in my past post on it. Figuring out who you’re trying to reach and why is a critical first step.)

Find a videographer who knows how to shoot, edit, help create a story arc, and do effective interviewing. Work with them on your first production to learn the ropes.(BTW: The rule of thumb for budgeting is about $1,000 for each finished minute of video, but you can pay more if you want a really professional result.) Once you’ve been through the production process a few times, and have gained skills, you may be able to buy a small video camera and do production yourself.

Think in advance how you will use/promote the video, and what ROI you’re after. Will you put it on your website, in an email, on YouTube, on your social networking sites? Also think how the video will integrate with and support your other communications tactics. What response to the video will spell success?

Measure results against the ROI you outlined. By tracking these results, you can get better with each video production you do. You don’t have to be great right off the bat, but you do owe it to your supporters to get better and better.

I leave you with one statistic: Within the next three years, it’s estimated that nearly half of all the information on the internet will be streaming video.

Need any more motivation?