Book review: Raising More Money with Newsletters than You Ever Thought Possible

You have to love this title: The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to... Raising More Money with Newsletters than You Ever Thought Possible by Tom Ahern. The book is more mercifully brief than its title. And I highly recommend it. (Available at Amazon and at Powell's Books.)

This book quickly covers a lot of ground -- everything from what donors care about, to how to write headlines to good design. If you follow the principles in this book, you will get good results -- and by results, I mean net revenue. I know that because I follow most of them, and they work.

Here are Ahern's seven fatal flaws that keep newsletter from being effective:

1. Newsletter fails to use the word "you" often enough.
   
2. Newsletter skimps on emotional triggers.
   
3. Newsletter has no news.
   
4. Newsletter isn't donor-centered.
   
5. Newsletter isn't designed for rapid skimming and browsing.
   
6. Newsletter has weak or dysfunctional headlines. (The "most deadly" of the fatal flaws.)
   
7. Newsletter depends too much on statistics to make the case (not enough on anecdote.
   

That's just the beginning. There's a lot more in this short book. Worth your time and your money.

If you do a newsletter, get this book. If you don't do a newsletter, get this book and then start publishing a newsletter.

(Full disclosure: The Domain Group and one of our clients' newsletters are mentioned in the book.)