Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Direct Mail Appeals That Motivate Donors to Give and Give Again (Recording)

  • Duration
    90 Minutes
  • Author
    Jeff Brooks
  • Course Level
    Beginner
  • Year Created
    2022
  • CFRE Approved
    1.50 Points

Price

$54.00
charityhowto_approved
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Direct Mail Appeals That Motivate Donors to Give and Give Again (Recording)
Recorded
Top Rated

A Whopping 95% of the People Who Attended This Nonprofit Training Rated It As Great to Excellent!

This nonprofit webinar recording will lead you step by step through the creation of a powerful and effective direct mail appeal letter. From concept to writing, design, to printing and mailing -- you’ll master the elements of success in direct mail fundraising.

Some of these fundraising techniques will surprise you … but these are the things that move donors to respond, as proven again and again from real-world fundraising experience.

Your presenter, Jeff Brooks, has been a fundraising professional for more than 25 years. He has written and directed thousands of direct mail projects for nonprofit organizations across North America and Europe. Using tons of real-life examples, he’ll show you the tested and proven best practices for appeal letters that engage donors and get results.

Join us and learn how to connect with donors through some of the best nonprofit donor engagement strategies: Direct Mail Appeals!

During This Nonprofit Webinar recording for Nonprofit Professionals You Will Learn:

How to create a reply coupon that sweeps in donations like a magic vacuum cleaner
-The amazing first step to your appeal letter project that will save hours of time and dramatically improve results.
-How to craft a motivating fundraising offer: The most important thing you do in every piece of fundraising
-Three important tactics that improve response rates
-How to keep the bureaucratic requirements from gumming up the works

How to write an appeal letter that your donors will read, understand, and enthusiastically respond to
-The most-read passage of every fundraising letter (it's not the passage you think!)
-The proven writing style that wins over donors
-2 things to avoid like poison ivy!
-How to make sure every reader gets the point
-One weird truth about fundraising writing that only the pros know
-7 secrets to winning style

How to make an outer envelope that virtually commands people to open it
-The super-common envelope approach to avoid that kills response rates
-Two diametrically opposite envelope tactics that both work
-The power of variety, and how to harness it affordably

How to write the rest of the direct mail package that brings it all together
-What not to put in the package if you want people to respond
-Some cool insert ideas that boost response
-How to make the return envelope really do its job

This is a masterclass on the art of direct mail fundraising, based on decades in the trenches and hundreds of head-to-head direct response tests … a decades-long learning curve that you can climb in just 90 minutes.

You’ll Get These BONUS Materials:

  1. Direct Mail Fundraising Appeal Checklist.
  2. 6 Free Online Tools to Improve Your Writing.
  3. Creative Brief Template
  4. Fundraising Results Excel spreadsheet template.
  5. The Webinar Recording and Slides

What Attendees Said about This Nonprofit Webinar:

“I've been doing direct mail for years, but it has been a long time since I've taken a refresher course. This was very helpful. It reiterated what I already knew and gave me many new suggestions and concrete concepts to integrate into my direct mail fundraising.”

Laura Brann, The Summit Center

“There's so much to learn packed into this webinar, I'll be listening to it several times to absorb it all. Jess was an excellent presenter. Definitely referring this one to others.”

Ruthanne Hill, Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund

“Wow! Jeff was an amazing presenter who broke down the topic into easy, manageable tasks and concepts to grasp. He made it fun and engaging to watch and participate.”

Frederick Tran, Allies in Youth Development

“very knowledgeable presenter. gave me many things to think about as we prepare our annual appeal letters. found out there were many things we were doing incorrectly which is why our ROI is so bad!”

Krista Cardona, House of Refuge

“This webinar was effective in covering a lot of material in a good amount of detail. Easy to think about how one could apply to their own work.”

Allison Hough, Pennsylvania SPCA

“This webinar was very useful, worth the money, I will be able to use all of this information in my next appeal letter”

Renee Stout, CICOA Foundation, Inc

“Mr. Brooks shared great strategies that will be easy to implement along with great tools to make the process easier. Well organized and interesting presentation.”

Barbara Dell, YWCA Hartford Region

“This was a great review of the basics with lots of specific examples to help guide my future success.”

Katherine Indermaur, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

“I've been in fundraising for more than 25 years and have been tasked with annual appeal responsibilities for the first time. This is just what I needed to get started!”

Jennifer Richard, Voices for the Children

“Excellent presentation. Great opportunity to confirm what we are doing right, but more importantly what we can improve and of course what we are doing wrong.”

Paul Hoogeveen, ChildVoice

“Cuts to the chase of what works, I found this very informative and applicable!”

Peter Crouch, Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services

“This webinar supplied practical ideas that can be used for nearly any appeal/direct mail!”

Katherine Andrews, Central Philadelphia Development Corporation

“The presenter is definitely an expert on the issue and the materials. I liked how he used his experiences to shape the tips and examples. I feel prepared now to create a direct mail piece.” 

Kristine Witherspoon

“Jeff’s first-hand knowledge is priceless and opens a door to “out- of-the-box” thinking. His do’s and don'ts were so unexpected. I can’t wait to work on our first appeal with these new ideas.”  

Terri Isom, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baker

“I'm thrilled to take this back to the Comm & Outreach team with specific guidance on how to increase our fundraising success for our annual Spring mailer. CharityHowTo webinars are always timely and relevant.”

Sherry Pease, Foothill Conservancy

About Your Topic Expert:

Jeff Brooks has served the nonprofit community for more than 25 years, working as a writer and creative director on behalf of large and small nonprofits, including CARE, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, World Vision, Feeding America, Project HOPE, and dozens of urban rescue missions and Salvation Army divisions.  He has planned and executed hundreds of campaigns in direct mail, print, radio, the internet, and other media that have motivated millions of donors to help make the world a better place.  

He blogs at futurefundraisingnow.com, and is the author of three books: The Fundraiser's Guide to Irresistible Communications, The Money-Raising Nonprofit Brand, and How to Turn Your Words into Money. He lives in Seattle.

For more on nonprofit donor relationships and acquisition, check out these webinars.

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