Alan Sharpe

Your Not-For-Profit Fundraising Letter Programs Has Three Goals.

Your direct mail fundraising program should have three goals. Goal 1. Acquires donors If your organization is typical, you lose around 15 percent of your donors each year. They simply stop responding to your appeals. Fifteen percent is average, but... Read >

Landing Pages And Direct Mail: Increase Conversions By Answering Top Three Concerns.

Your landing page conversions will increase once you answer three of the most common questions asked by visitors who receive your direct mail invitation to visit their website. Q1. Am I at the correct place? What you sell in your direct mail piece nee... Read >

Your Landing Page Should Resume Your Sales Letter In B2B Lead Generation.

Do you tell this lie in your sales letters? "Visit our website for more information." Too many sales letters invite prospects to visit websites that actually contain less information than what's found in the sales letter. This makes no sense when th... Read >

Write Successful Non-For-Profit Fundraising Letters With Personalization.

Have you ever played The Mennonite Game? When two Mennonites meet for the first time, they soon start asking each other questions designed to discover who and what they share in common. The game goes something like this: Moses: You look like you're Men... Read >

Reactivate Lapsed Donors With A Direct Mail Fundraising Survey.

A proven way to reactivate lapsed donors is to ask them why they have stopped giving. You can do this with a survey that you enclose in your mailing. Or you can leave space on the reply device for a few questions. According to Stephen Hitchcock, in his... Read >

Direct Mail Business-To-Business Sales Lead Generation: 5 Ways To Attract Hotter Prospects.

In B2B direct mail lead generation, as your volume of leads goes up, your quality goes down, and vice versa. The people in marketing prefer volume. They want the most leads for their dollar. The people in sales—the folks who must follow up on the ... Read >

Free Sample Donation Thank-You Letter for Fundraising Gift or Contribution.

The most important letter in direct mail fundraising never aks for a donation. Thank-you letters increase donor loyalty, strengthen relationships and increase your chances of receiving more gifts in the future, including major gifts and legacy gifts. ... Read >

In B2B Direct Mail Lead Generation, Sell Your Offer, Not Your Offering.

In business-to-business direct mail lead generation, sell your offer, not your product. This sounds like lethal advice to a sales person, and it is, to a salesperson responsible for closing sales and meeting quota. But your direct mail is not responsib... Read >

Why Envelopes Outpull Self-Mailers in B2B Direct Mail Lead Generation.

In business-to-business direct mail lead generation, letters invariably outpull self-mailers, including postcards. Your sales message belongs in an envelope for a number of good reasons. 1. Better privacy An envelope announces to the recipient, "priva... Read >

Donation Letters: Raise More Funds By Thinking Like Your Donors.

One of the shortcomings of direct mail fundraising is that donors are usually thought of as numbers and not as people. Each donor or member in the database has a unique donor number that identifies that individual. You and I are tempted to examine each do... Read >

Direct Mail Lift Notes: Boost Response by Breaking the Lift Letter Rules.

Do lift notes still lift response rates in business-to-business mailings? Yes, as long as they stand out. A lift note, of course, is an extra component slipped into a direct mail package to lift response. It's also called a lift letter. Publishers cal... Read >

Donation Thank-You Letters, Cards And Notes Should Never Ask For A Gift.

The most important letter in direct mail fundraising never asks for a gift. Ever. The thank-you letters that you mail to donors have one goal: to thank your donors for their generosity and support. Yes, your gift acknowledgement letters, notes and cards... Read >

Fundraising Mailing Lists: How List Brokers Can Help.

Last time I checked, there were 25,000 response lists and 50,000 compiled lists currently on the market. Among all of these lists, you'll find hundreds that work for fundraising appeals. Actually, you likely won't find them. Locating the best names for yo... Read >

Earn Six-Figures Copywriting? Why I Respectfully Disagree With AWAI and Michael Masterson.

Aspiring copywriter, be warned. Don't expect to "retire this year and still make more money than most doctors." Paul Hollingshead and The American Writers & Artists Institute say you can. According to their website, all that you need to do is take Mich... Read >

Boost Response Rates and Income with Appealing Fundraising Letter Envelopes.

Writing a terrific fundraising letter is a waste of time if your donor throws your entire package in the trash unopened. And that happens more often than any of us dare to think about. That's why your envelope is so crucial to your success. You... Read >