The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to... Raising More Money With Newsletters Than You Ever Thought Possible - 9781889102078

There's a sleeping giant in your midst. One with enormous fundraising potential.And unless your newsletter is bringing in thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars every year, it's time to shake it from its slumber.Today, countless organizations are raising more money with their newsletter than with traditional mail appeals.And after reading Tom Ahern's riveting new book, Raising More Money with Newsletters than You Ever Thought Possible, it's easy to understand why.Great newsletters, as distinguished from the mundane ones many of us receive, have so much more going for them.For starters, they deliver real news (not tired features such as "From the Director's Desk'' and "Introducing Our New Staff"). They make the donor feel important. They use emotional triggers to spur action. They're designed in a way to attract both browsers and readers. And they don't depend on dry statistics to make the organization's case.Ahern knows newsletters inside and out. Not only has he written his fair share, but he's analyzed scores of them for other organizations. Moreover, his workshop, "How to Write Great Donor Newsletters," is consistently over-subscribed.So when he speaks - as he does in engaging and eloquent prose- you hang onto his every word.The essence of Raising More Money with Newsletters than You Ever Thought Possible centers around seven fatal flaws, as Ahern calls them. "Almost every donor newsletter I see suffers from at least one of the flaws," he says early in the book. "You would be shocked by how many newsletters suffer from all seven." Along the way to discussing – and dissecting – these fatal flaws, the reader is treated to such chapters as: -Making news out of thin air -What a front page is for -Lower the grade level of your writing -Anecdotes versus stats -How should it look? A proven formula And those are only five of the 45! succinct chapters in this book.Chances are you already have a newsletter, that's the good news. You have the vehicle in place. The even better news is that transforming your newsletter into a substantial money raiser isn't all that difficult. As Ahern himself says, "You don't need a degree in journalism to publish a newsletter that will keep your donors inspired (and generous). You just need a few skills and insights." Read this book. Pick up those skills. And be assured that the ratio of time spent versus gains realized might well be the most cost-effective of your entire career.