4 Reasons Why Long Fundraising Letters Beat Short Ones 90% of the Time

Are You Ready to Let Facts Confront Your Beliefs About Donors?

Yes, long fundraising letters work better. It’s true for nonprofits. It’s true for direct mail in many for-profit industries. It’s generally true in email too (though not as often).

But don’t take my word for it. Take the word of a 30 year fundraising professional who has tested this over and over and over again.

Jeff Brooks over at Moceanic wrote a terrific article about why long fundraising letters work better – even though many nonprofits persist in trying to use short ones instead.

Their greatest fear?

“No one has time to read long letters.”

But is this true? A 30-year old mother of three with two jobs? She probably doesn’t have time. But that mother’s 66-year old retired mother? Different story.

And more importantly – who is more likely to donate, and donate big, to your cause? You got it. The grandmother. She has more time and likely has more money to spare. Plus, she sees the world differently than the 30-year old. She’s thinking about legacy, about the meaning of life, about how she can help make a difference in the years that remain to her.

There are things that matter more to her than what’s happening on social media, or what the president tweeted about this week. She may not want to leave all her money to her kids. She might want to do more.

Here’s the main point Brooks makes:

It doesn’t matter what we like. It matters what donors respond to.

In fact, it doesn’t even matter what donors say they like. It matters what they respond to. And according to Brooks, almost every time (90%) he tests long fundraising letters against short ones, the long letter does better.

Read that again please, because facts that go against our pre-conceptions – however unfounded – need to be grappled with. (True in politics as well…)

90% of long direct mail fundraising letters beat short letters. 90%! And according to him, about two thirds of longer emails do better than short ones.

For me, I love this kind of data, because I have always believed long direct mail letters and long emails work better. So I don’t have the problem of wrestling with this fact. I love writing longer letters for my clients.

What’s a long direct mail fundraising letter? Brooks says 4 pages is NOT long. I agree. 4 pages is just two pages front and back. With all the small paragraphs and graphics we like to throw in, 4 pages is really like 2 pages. So if you’re sending out 1-page (or half page!) fundraising letters, don’t be surprised that hardly anyone responds. Or, if people are responding, next time send a long fundraising letter to half your list, and see which one does better.

If you don’t test, you don’t know.

So, why does Brooks believe long fundraising letters work better? Here are his four reasons:

1. Donors Like Reading

That can’t be true. Can it?

Well, if you tell a good story, and include depth, detail, despair, delight, and drama, then people will read it. Isn’t that why they read books? A good fundraising letter can be like a good short story. But not if it’s just one page. Then, it looks like a form letter.

Long fundraising letters are just more enjoyable to read. And some donors – especially older ones with time on their hands – like to read good stuff about issues that matter to them.

2. Multiple Personalities

Different people respond to different kinds of stimuli. This is why logic alone doesn’t persuade people to vote for political candidates. Because logic isn’t enough. Some people respond to logic, but probably less than 10% of people really operate from this basis most of the time.

So if you use logic as your primary fundraising approach, you’re going to fail. Massively. Making the logical case for why you need money is really easy. But you won’t convince most people to act if that’s all you do.

A longer letter allows you to use more effective and a greater variety of appeal styles. Here are a few stimuli various kinds of donors respond to:

• Stories
• Injustices
• Great deals (like being put in a special category if you give a certain amount)
• Premiums (receiving a special gift when you give)
• Urgency (deadlines and the Principle of Momentum)
• Personal impact

That’s just a few. And with stories, there are many different types. You can focus on one person or one animal. You can tell a story about a group of oppressed people, and highlight three or four of them. You can tell sad stories. Happy stories. Redemptive stories. Tragic stories. Ongoing struggles – perhaps even over multiple letters. Tons of variety here.

The point is – in a long fundraising letter, you can activate ALL of those stimuli at once, and thereby appeal to all kinds of donors who respond to different things.

For instance, some donors don’t care about premiums. In fact, they complain about them. “Why are you wasting money on these gifts when you could be spending it on your cause?” But other donors love the premium, because it tangibly connects them to your mission and their part in it. They treasure these things, and they become featured decorative items in their lives.

Long fundraising letters appeal to more kinds of donors, and therefore produce a greater response.

3. Readers Jump Around

Many readers don’t actually read the whole letter. They skip around. They read just the headings. They read just the bold and underlined parts. They look at the photos, the captions, and the P.S. (which is why you should always include captions and a P.S.)

They start at the end, then go back and read the beginnings of certain paragraphs.

With a long letter, you’re giving these readers multiple points of entry, and multiple places where they can get hooked. You can make the ask over and over with multiple calls to action.

All you need is enough stimuli to provoke a response – “Yes, I’ll give to this.”

You don’t need them to actually read the whole letter. But with a short letter, there’s nowhere for them to jump around. If your one shot at a lead, a close, and a P.S. don’t hook them, you’re in the garbage bin.

4. Length Conveys Importance (and Credibility), Not Spam

How do you feel when a credit card company sends you a one page offer letter?

If you even bother to open it (since you already know what it is), how much time do you give it? Probably less than five seconds.

The same is true with one page (or half page) fundraising letters. I see it, I get the point, and I make a purely logical (meaning failed) decision about whether to give or not. You haven’t made an appeal for me to give.

But imagine a brave credit card company that sends a different kind of letter. So big it doesn’t come in a normal #10 envelope. Imagine getting an 8-page letter about a credit card.

You’ll likely give that one a bit more attention. Why? Because it’s longer. And that makes it seem more important and worth a few moments to look over.

Plus, trust is such a huge factor in a donor’s choice to give. And a longer letter is by its very size more trustworthy.

See 4 ways to build trust with donors.

That’s why I hate it when people call long emails spam. Have you ever gotten a LONG spam email? Look through your spam folder and click on ten of them. I’ll bet you a free email you won’t find a single one that’s more than 100 words. Probably not more than 20 words.

Real spam is usually just one sentence. Sometimes just a link. Who clicks on these? It’s mind-boggling.

But long emails are not spam. Because it takes actual skill to write long emails. And spammers have no such skill. The ones who do try end up with so many grammar and spelling mistakes that their incompetent foolishness is laid bare, and mockery and derision ensues.

Long emails, and long direct mail letters, have instant credibility by their length alone.

Write Long Fundraising Letters. Get More Response.

Again – 90% of long letters outperform short letters. (Notice my use of repetition in this long article? It works)

Honestly, what more do you need to know? Yes, you need to write a good long letter. That’s a different article. But few disagreements ever favor one side 90% of the time. This isn’t even a debate. It’s a settled argument, unless you’re sending out an emergency disaster appeal, in which case shorter letters do perform better. (Why? Because people already know the need and want to help). ‘Pattern interrupt’ is another reason the occasional short letter does better.

But put aside your struggles about ‘no one has time to read,’ and ‘they’ll complain’ and ‘they’ll unsubscribe’. Yes, some will. But you’ll get more response, and make more money, and build more donor loyalty, and have more impact in the world.

And that’s what this is all about, right?

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