Celebrating the Wonder and Wisdom of Jerry Huntsinger
“It happened September 21, 1962. My first day on the new job. At last! I was a writer! Hired to create publicity releases, news stories, feature articles. Or so I thought.
“Instead, at 9:00 a.m., the Executive Director of the charity comes into to my office and says: “Write the quarterly appeal.”
“ ‘Excuse me?’
“As he explains, the terrible reality crushes my enthusiasm for life.
“Jerry,” I counsel myself, “Your choice is to either write that fundraising letter, or walk out of here, and go back to the shabby apartment where your wife is hand washing diapers for two kids, and explain to her that …what?
“That you are going to pursue your quest to be the next Ernest Hemingway? Silly boy.
“So, I learned to love fundraising letters. Still do.”
And that’s how Jerry Huntsinger describes his start in a 61-year career that’s put him in the Pantheon of Great Fundraising Copywriters.
With this post The Agitator is celebrating Jerry’s 90th birthday (July 23) and I’m honoring 50 years of friendship and collaboration with him.
A river of humor, zaniness, generosity, wisdom and finely honed skill flows under the bridge that spans Jerry’s years. And…it continues to flow. When I looked at some campaign stats this morning at least six of Jerry’s packages are in current use as controls.
Beyond remarkable and consistently winning results is Jerry’s equally extraordinary commitment to life-long learning, his ability to change with the times and his willingness to share all this with generations of both budding and veteran copywriters and fundraisers.
I’ve never known Jerry to sit still. When I first worked with him, he wrote on a typewriter (always in Courier font)… then he dictated copy (he introduced me 20 years ago to the first of the Dragon Naturally Speaking series of speech recognition software)…and through those thousands of packages managed to find time to teach himself the electronic keyboard, write music for video games, and take evenings and Sunday afternoons to bring his joy and melodies to folks in nursing homes.
Most of all, I’ve always known Jerry as a teacher. A damn good one. If you have any doubt about that just read one of 87 Tutorials in his classic Fund-raising letters: A comprehensive study guide to raising money by direct response marketing.
Even better he’s made it all free and online by placing those 87 tutorials in the fundraising treasure trove – SOFII.Org. See Introducing the Wisdom of Jerry Huntsinger to discover this marvelous gift that you can put to work immediately.
Expanding on recounting of his first encounter with writing fundraising copy Jerry went on to explain what happened after out of financial necessity he abandoned his quest to become the next Hemingway:
“It worked out because everything I had learned as a short story writer fit in with fundraising letters. The only difference between me and other creative people was that, at a cocktail party, I just didn’t explain what I did for a living.
“So, my kids grew up, the grandkids graduated from high school. And I started advertising agencies and sold them, and gave advice, and wrote copy. And now, starting my 62nd year in direct mail fundraising, the only thing I know for certain is this:
“A letter isn’t any good at all unless the envelope in which it’s mailed gets torn open.
“All of the other techniques that fundraisers laboriously test and retest and studiously explain with charts and graphs and overheads and PowerPoint, make no difference at all if that envelope isn’t opened.”
Of course, Jerry’s advice doesn’t stop with the envelope. In his SOFII his tutorial—and in practice—he shares his experience and examples with everything ranging from Letter Openings to getting your copy through the organizational maze of critics and naysayers.
We’ve featured Jerry in lots of Agitator posts over the years (see Great Guides to Story Telling), checked his work against CopyOptimizer™ ( Turning Vision into Reality) and covered Jerry’s rant on the oft-overlooked the response form (known to the digiterati as the “landing page, ( Just Gimme Your Money).
For the sake of survival, he’s stayed current with all the latest trends. No way is Jerry Huntsinger going to be outdistanced by a younger writer who has a better grasp of technology than he does. To illustrate the point, in looking through my “Jerry Chron File” I found this piece on his view about websites; it’s a contemporary today as when he sent it to me 14 years ago.
‘On the other hand,’ he says, ‘I’m grounded in fundamentals. Through the decades I’ve discovered that
some things work, some things don’t – and you’ve got to be real dumb to keep on doing something that doesn’t work.’
Happy Birthday, Dear Friend.
Roger
P.S. Iots of Agitator Readers have worked with Jerry and benefitted from his advice. Please share. After all, Jerry’s an Agitator Reader too and I’m sure will appreciate your thoughts.
17 responses to “Celebrating the Wonder and Wisdom of Jerry Huntsinger”
Behavioral Science Q & A
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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Hi Roger,
I so appreciated your warm tribute to the great Jerry Huntsinger this morning, so with your permission would like to join with you in wishing Jerry a very happy 90th birthday on Tuesday. His gift to SOFII (www.sofii.org) a few years back of his tutorials was an exemplary act of great generosity and an investment in the future health and well-being of our splendid not-for-profit/ for change sector. The wit, wisdom and priceless experiences that Jerry shares in these – all for free – show why the man is and always will be a legend. Many happy returns Jerry, to match the fabulous returns on investment that’s sure to light up the lives and fundraising targets of all your students. All best, Ken
Nice tribute, exceedingly deserved. I hear a Jerry directive from a long ago CMS visit in my head at least once a week: “Cut to the chase!”
Happy 90th Jerry from a huge fan from the great white north. I studied your work constantly. Even had the pleasure of meeting you.
Stay cool,
hi, happy 90th birthday Jerry! You had me worried there for a minute… I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jerry on copy for one of my clients and the letters were always spot on. Congrats on your 90th and many more years of reviewing copy! I’m grateful for everything I learned from you, Cheers, Erica
hi, You had me worried there for a minute… I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jerry on copy for one of my clients and the letters were always spot on. Congrats on your 90th and many more years of reviewing copy! I’m grateful for everything I learned from you, Cheers, Erica
Happy Birthday Jerry!
Bravo Roger for highlighting one of the true titans in our sector!
Happy birthday Jerry! Your words have changed the world and inspired so many of us copywriters!
I couldn’t have asked for a more patient and supportive mentor.
I keep a hardcopy of Jerry’s tutorials close and check it often. Even now, not a letter goes by without being reminded of one golden piece of Jerry’s advice: “Don’t tell them what you’re going to tell them. Just tell them.”
Several years back I asked Jerry to write a control package for my new organization. It will come as no surprise to anyone that it is STILL the control.
A very Happy Birthday, friend.
Happy birthday, Mr. Huntsinger. I wouldn’t have lasted my first few years in this business if I didn’t have your books to stea … er, learn from.
Roger,
Also like Erica Waasdorp, I was worried when I read your headline—I thought we had lost one of the great pioneers of postal direct mail fundraising.
Jerry and I started our careers about the same time—the early 60s (it seems like 1860s in terms of how far the industry has come).
I don’t know if Jerry remembers but in May 1965 he and I arrived at a motel close to LaGuardia Airport on a Sunday. We spent Monday—Friday being taught the fundamentals of postal direct mail by the great Ed Mayer, Jr. Ed was the official “educator” of the Direct Mail Association. Later it became the Direct Marketing Association.
Fred Simon, a future president of Omaha Steaks, was also in the class of about 8-10 people.
Jerry had a major impact on bringing a high-level of professionalism to postal direct mail fundraising.
Jerry—your life has made a very important, positive difference to tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions, of people who have been helped by the charities you helped. Thank you and a very, very happy birthday.
Richard A. Viguerie
Well said. I’ve had the privilege of working with Jerry throughout the course of my career. Simply stated — he’s brilliant. Thank you.
Happy birthday Jerry. Your writings were one of a handful of master teachings that have guided me through my 30 year career as a copywriter. Thank you for your generosity
Happy birthday, Jerry! I paid for your training through the mail back when dinosaurs rummaged the earth and the internet was just a fleabite. You taught me everything I needed to get pointed in the right direction. To this day I quote you in pretty much every workshop I deliver. Now, of course, your vast knowledge is available for free on SOFII. Ravishingly done, sir!!!!
Happy Birthday, Jerry!
Jerry welcomed me to the direct response community when we met at an NCDC conference in the 70″s. We share Kansas roots and a passion for assisting nonprofits. Sharing his knowledge with us led to success for me and my colleagues. We are grateful! Best wishes for a very Happy Birthday!
Jerry, Let me also wish you Happy Birthday. You’ve made a huge difference to my career, and so many others. And while I’m sure your letters have raised tens of billions (not an exaggeration), your teaching have allowed your students to raise hundreds of billions more. A pretty wonderful legacy to the world.
Jerry’s birthday is July 25,1933