Direct mail fundraising: Longer is still better

One of the more common critiques you'll hear of direct mail fundraising letters:  It's too long.

Meaning:  I'd never read a letter that long.

Talking about how long a letter should be is rather like debating how long a piece of string should be; it depends on what you want to do with it.

But really, that long letter (however long it is) is probably not too long.

Longer letters usually work better than short ones.  That's a fact, not just my opinion.  I've tested different letters more times than I can count.  In the last five years, I can think of one time that a shorter letter motivated more giving than a longer one. 

Yeah, it's weird, but it's true. 

Direct mail is still a readers' medium.  And those most responsive to direct mail are those who actually intentionally get their information through reading.  So longer letters work better.  We don't know if people actually read longer letters -- it's entirely possible that they don't.  But we know the response is usually better.

This could change in the coming years as a new generation of busier, more cynical, less print-friendly donors become our audience.  But I'm not going to assume shorter letters are the better choice until donors prove it to me.

(It doesn't quite go without saying that relevance trumps the length question any time.  A short relevant letter will almost always beat a long irrelevant one.  But a long relevant one will generally out-pull both.)

Your donors may be different.  You may have tested into more success with shorter letters.  But if you're relying on short letters because you personally don't have time to read longer letters, you're probably making a mistake. 

(For more on the dangers of using your own taste and experience to judge marketing efforts, see The pathetic fallacy in fundraising)

Comments

[Graham]

Thank you - I have a board member who insists my letters are too long (and I rarely go beyond 3 pages). Now he will be able to see it's not just my opinion vs his.

[Shannon Aronin]

I knew there was a reason the top fundraising charities still relied on long letters. Everywhere I turn, clients tell me "make it shorter." They all want their DM letters to read like blurbs. It's a hard sell when everything else says go shorter! Thank you for stating this truth -- hopefully some nonprofits are LISTENING!

[Jonathon Grapsas]

Completely agree Jeff.

I'm yet to see a test (on warm) show short utpulling long. Fo our clients 6 pages beats 4 beats 2 and so on..

But of course, you can't send 4 pages of crap and expect it to pull. You also can't send a 4 page phone bill.

It needs to include all of the things that we know work: brilliant copy, emotive story, human focused, strong and repetitive (personalized) ask amounts, a deadline, a target amount etc..

I wish I had a dollar for everytime someone said to me "I wouldnt read that". I would be a wealthy man.

As you alluded to, more people probably dont read it ta do. But do we really care? The response is what matters (and of course net income).