Read this online? Yes, you can: View here. :)

📍What we're talking about this issue: 
A better way to look at fundraising letter length, for better results

Photo by me (of me :)) fundraising copywriter 
and Thankology author, Lisa Sargent

(Yes, that's an Oxford comma t-shirt.) 

Dear defender of good,

One of the most common arguments I come up against as a fundraising copywriter is appeal length... be that print or digital. 

And sadly, too many fundraisers out there (and boards, and decision-makers, etc.) really and truly believe that only the shortest letters and appeals get results.

 Why sadly? Because my experience, and the experience of lots of other fundraising practitioners out there measuring results, proves differently.

This Loyalty Letter unpacks the field-tested truth about how long your letter really needs to be to get it right... 

How Long Is Too Long?
(The real truth about letter and email length)

✍️ By Lisa Sargent
Fundraising copywriter

November 2024

My job is fundraising copywriting. 

So if people don’t read the direct mail appeals I write, you better believe I know it. Revenue, response, retention, those things are going to go down. 

Which means I also know – firsthand – that when someone tells you, “No one reads long letters anymore” – it’s rubbish. 

But we’re not here to be combative. 

Instead, I want you to think about your letters like a working fundraising writer. 

So today we’re going to take that “No long letters ever” myth (because it IS a myth) and run with it...

Let’s assume you one day decide your fundraising appeals will not... must NEVER... exceed 1 sheet of paper. (DO NOT decree this in real-life please. It's a huge mistake. Keep reading.)

Let’s also assume you want to format your letter for maximum readability (readability boosts response fyi). This means:

• You need 1-1.5” for your nonprofit logo/letterhead
• You want 1” margins left and right
• You want ~1” for bottom page margin
• You need type size set at 12-14 points, in a font that isn’t condensed
• You need to tab (indent) your paragraphs
• You need 1-2 lines for a page turn reminder (e.g., ‘continues on other side’; watch my YouTube video w/ John Lepp on this)
• You need 1-1.5” for your signature block and side 2 sign-off 
• You may (or may not) need an add’l .5 -.75” for footer with your charity number, tax ID, disclaimer, etc. 
• You may (or may not) need a 2” address block.

I am NOT saying you can’t successfully write short. You can. I have. Lots of others, too.

What I AM saying is that after the above, you have about 750 words to get the job done. 

Add a paragraph on both sides to ask for a gift, and you’re at, what, 650 words?

In the wrong hands these letters get real boilerplate, real quick. In real-life, this works so much better:

Make your fundraising appeals as long as they need to be to: 
>> Tell your story with emotion, clarity, resonance, truth, and urgency, present a strong offer, and provide repeated calls to action.

 

>> Format for readability.

>> If you use photos (Designer Sandie and I often do), you also need space for photo captions.

From nearly two decades of measured results like conversions, click-throughs, average gifts, and response rates, I can tell you this:

Many of my best-performing appeals are 6-page letters. (Yup. Recently, too.) Many others are 4-page letters.  

Several of these include multi-year control packs (a.k.a. banker's packs, that have yet to be surpassed in terms of results and response). 

Some are 2-pagers. None are postcards. And again, all of this is based on actual results. 

Top emails? 450 to 750+ words. (More on that in a minute.)

So if your team is agonizing over short letter vs. long, have them focus instead at what no one really wants: 

Photo (c) Lisa Sargent, Thankology [design: S. Collette]

No one wants a 4-page letter crammed onto 1-page/2-sides;

 

No one wants 8-point type with yawning wide line measures that skyrocket eye fatigue and create an Impenetrable Wall of Text (what do I mean? see above);

 

No supporter wants boilerplate. They want emotion, a strong offer, life, authenticity, connection, urgency, love. 

Write the above into all of your creative briefs before you mandate letter length, and watch your fundraising appeals improve.

For your emails? 

You can absolutely write longer (as in 450-750 words). But remember to keep it top-heavy: 

• You have 1-2 lines to get to the point. 
• Make your first call to action (i.e., Ask) within 140 words. (My best-performing emails do this in the first 90 words or so.)
• Front-load your subject line (best parts first)
• Below first call to action you can expand your story, and add repeated calls to action after that
• Check out NextAfter's research around plain-text emails (and, really, their entire Digital Research Library: great for experimenting with format) 

Now the next time someone tells you it's 1-page or else, you have a different way to look at things.

Super quick... 

I'm so honored to let you know I'll be a guest on the forever wonderful Pamela Grow's Motivate Monday on 25 November. "So Much More Than Thank You," sign up here free: https://motivatemonday.pages.ontraport.net/ 

See you in two weeks! 

Write with great heart always,

PS. You, amazing readers, have made my plucky little book on the power of gratitude -- Thankology -- the #1 new release in Nonprofit Organizations & Charities books on Amazon US (and top 50 direct marketing books, woohoo!). I hope you'll use it in the new year to do lots more with gratitude -- and read the free Thankology chapter I shared last Loyalty Letter, here.

❤️ Not yet signed up? Subscribe to this newsletter