Dare one mention “direct mail” and “drama” in the same sentence?!
Read this story — Why I owe my career to a sea turtle — just published on SOFII about the “career-making” direct mail appeal Richard Armstrong conceived and wrote for the Center for Environmental Education decades ago.
Says the article:
“What made the sea turtle package work so well? Richard believes it received so much attention because it embraced a technique we don’t use as often as we should in direct mail copy-writing – drama. ‘ Reading the letter is as effortless as watching the television; like watching a mini soap opera playing out before you. Combining this with the fact this was a clear-cut problem with a very simple solution, explains why the donors naturally responded with such enthusiasm’.”
Drama! Do your direct mail appeals — or any of your fundraising appeals — have it?
Roger and I have employed the copywriting talents of Richard in the past. I first became aware of him in the early 80s via a project I was doing — the People’s Medical Society — with Bob Rodale at Rodale Press.
I discovered he was the real deal, even though some of his clients were a bit conservative for my taste. But anyone whose client list stretches from Greenpeace and Gay Men’s Health Crisis through mainstream Smithsonian Magazine and Newsweek to The Limbaugh Letter and National Review clearly has some talent going for him!
Check out Richard’s free e-sample book — My First 40 Years in Direct Mail — for some inspiration.
Tom
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I just downloaded the booklet, and am already 30 some odd pages in. What a terrific writer! Perfectly illustrates what you’re talking about here – thanks!
When I saw the title of this post I knew exactly which appeal this was about. When I started out in direct mail 20 years ago working for Kay Lautman, she shared the amazing story of she and Richard developed this package together. It was one of the packages she was most proud of — and it was wonderful to see it featured so many years later.
I’ve had a copy of this package floating around for years and shared it with many people. It’s an excellent example of great fundraising that helps the issue come alive and literally ‘crawl’ across the page.