The Agitator promised more examples of good work in our editorial calendar for the year. How about this one?

Donor relationship consultant Lisa Sargent shares this case study on a donor newsletter overhaul she and designer Sandie Collette performed for Merchants Quay Ireland. You can check out the ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions. Condensed below are the principles that guided the revision …

1. Choose Your Colors: Go for four-color if you can. Strive for harmonious colors that are consistent with the ‘feel’ you want to establish.

2. Consider the Masthead: Do you want to be remembered? Don’t bury your name!

3. Add a Table of Contents: In any multi-page communication, you must guide readers to the next page… and the next.

4. Select Proper Font and Type Size: Stick with the old rules of readability: serif font for print, and sanserif — or sans serif — online. Especially if your donors are in the 45-70 age group. And beware: reversed-out text is notoriously tough to read in long stretches.

5. Use Photos Always: What’s best is authentic photos of the real people you are helping. Whatever you’re depicting, avoid stock photos.

6. Guide the Reader: You have to guide the reader through each article – and at the same time write for skimmers and scanners. This means:

• Headlines, instead of being cute, tell part of the story;
• Deck – the intro beneath the headline – tells a little more of the story;
• Body copy, if long will use subheads, and tells the full story;
• Jump Heads, appear where an article is continued to another page, and usually include a piece of the headline to orient the reader.

7. Break Up the Copy: Mix full-length articles and shorter snippets of information – bulleted points, pull-quotes, call-out boxes with bits and pieces of news, shaded areas.

Up to this point, Lisa is talking about style and presentation. Now, as for the content …

8. Thank the Reader and Show Accomplishments: Show the reader, through stories, testimonials, profiles and more, all the amazing things their donations are making possible … this, after all, is the reason you’re writing.

9. Don’t Be Afraid of Numbers: Use graphics. Just be sure you explain numbers clearly, and always bring it ‘round to the donor’s role.

10. Include Inside Information: Don’t bury your readers in jargon; but don’t ‘dumb down’ everything either – in some cases jargon or technical terms can make the reader feel like an insider.

11. Feature Offers and Deadlines: These create urgency and excitement… and also prime the reader for subsequent fundraising appeals.

12. Call Attention to Your Website: More than once!

And finally, to bring it all together …

13. Strike a Balance: Nonprofits need to tread carefully when it comes to the overall appearance of their donor communications: not too homespun … but not too glitzy either.

Good advice. Good illustration.

Tom

P.S. Check the article for Lisa’s recommendation of the “greatest book on donor newsletters”.