What mixing up friends can tell you about crafting appeals

Like many of you, I am on Facebook.  Do you ever—just momentarily—get friends on Facebook who have the same first name confused?   Especially if their profile picture isn't of them.

I can't be the only one, can I?

It got me thinking:  if I, while reading Facebook, an activity that I apparently enjoy, still only skim names (causing me not to absorb a person's last name, thereby getting people with the same first name confused), what does that say for the people who read your fundraising appeals?

Now, some people will sit down with your letter and read it carefully, all 2 or 3 or 4 pages of it.  But most will just skim it, while holding it over the trash can (how treacherous for your dear appeal!) and deciding whether to reply or pitch it.

Obviously, you want them to reply.  Immediately, before it falls off their radar.

So this is our challenge as fundraising communicators:  we have to evoke emotions strong enough to compel people to act, and we have to do it in such a way that it will happen even when they only skim our letter. 

This is why we leave a lot of white space.  Why we strategically use bold font, underlining, bullet points, and some combination of the three.   Why we repeat our message and call to action.

After you spend all that time carefully reviewing your letter, try to skim it.  Invite others to skim it—really, tell them to make sure they skim. Then find out what they got from it, and how it affected them (if at all).  Before sending it out, make the necessary changes to get your message across when you have a reader who isn't really reading.