Direct marketing pro (and publisher of Target Marketing) Denny Hatch, who’s seen it all, distilled a ton of experience into this article on direct response copywriting.

I’ll summarize some of his takeaways here, but you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t taste the full flavor of Denny’s entire piece (our ".edu" readers will be especially tantalized).

Take it from Denny:

  • The right offer should be so attractive that only a lunatic would say no.
  • Make it easy to order.
  • Inserting a deadline will create a sense of urgency. Choose your deadline carefully. A date too far in advance has no urgency. On the other hand, pick a date that’s too close and if for some reason the mailing is delayed, your effort is chopped liver.
  • If you have the budget, test direct mail alone, e-mail alone and a combination of the two.
  • The more of the key copy drivers—the emotional hot buttons that change behavior—that you can insert into your effort, the more powerful your argument. Those copy drivers are: fear – greed – guilt – anger – exclusivity – salvation – flattery.
  • Use flattery. Analyzing more than 1,000 mailings, the late guru Axel Andersson—a brilliant statistician—discovered that 42 percent used flattery.

I know this stuff is old hat to you. After all, you’re an astonishingly successful fundraiser already … one of the best in the biz … people have mentioned your name to me. So just pass Denny’s piece along to one of your junior colleagues and they’ll be eternally grateful.

Tom

 

This article was posted in: charities, communications, copywriting, Denny Hatch, direct mail, direct marketing, Don't Miss these Posts, email marketing, fundraising, higher ed marketing, nonprofits, online fundraising.
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