Hi! We're Julie Cooper and Brett Cooper, fundraising copywriters for great causes. Does your fundraising bring in as much money as it could? You can send donor communications that stir hearts to action. We'd love to help. π Start by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
No matter where you are on the "perfect" scale, I hope you know you are just right. Also: this is the 83rd issue of the Fundraising Writing Newsletter. Please forward it as much as you can bear. They can βsubscribe here for free.
In this issue:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Hi Reader,
A few weeks ago, Brett and I went to the movies to catch the 25th anniversary edition of Titanic in 3D (cried again! β and, oof, shocked myself by how much I empathized with the older characters this time!)...
...and we accidentally arrived over an hour early...
...so we did something naughty (sorry, AMC!)...
...we snuck into another theater to while the time away.
It was Theater #13, showing Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
We had zero expectations.
Just thought: something light before something heavy.
And, wow, Puss in Boots had us on cuteness overload, grinning ear to ear.
In the film a key enemy-turned-ally for Puss in Boots is Goldilocks, an orphan taken in by a crime family of three bears: Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear.
As per Goldilocks' claim to fame, there's a moment where she tries a bed that's too soft, one that's too hard, and one that's just right.
Which, nerdy me, eventually got me thinking of sentence and paragraph variety and "Full Goldilocks" fundraising writing...
Okay, to clarify:
In my mind, Goldilocks suggests "just right" β aka, when testing beds or porridge or what-have-you: the one in the middle.
Also in my mind, "Full Goldilocks" suggests the whole spectrum of options β aka, all 3 bears (little, medium, big).
So: the "Full Goldilocks" fundraising writing approach = writing with all 3 bears.
E.g.,
Short sentences, for sure.
Plus sentences of medium length included regularly, like generous dashes of salt.
And, importantly, don't forget sentences of greater length β perhaps extending a thought or a string of thoughts with the help of punctuation ... for variety and effect.
(See what I did there...?)
(The "e.g. sentences" were all 3 bears: little, medium, big.)
Now, look for the "Full Goldilocks" fundraising writing approach on display in this example from the end of an appeal letter we wrote for a client for EOY 2022:
Did you spot all 3 bears?
Allow me to illustrate with highlighting. Refer to the color-coding key in the following screenshot:
Key takeaways for "Full Goldilocks" sentence variety:
Now, let's look again ... this time, for paragraph variety:
Key takeaways for "Full Goldilocks" paragraph variety:
Hey, those are (pretty much) the same takeaways!
Hey, this is easy!
Fundraising life lesson: even if you're not from the Chicago area, GO BEARS (the Mama Bears and Papa Bears) and GO CUBS (the Baby Bears)!
Yep, this is your year: GO ALL 3 BEARS!!
For your brain, heart, and funny bone...
Until next time: May you embrace life and fundraising with a "Full Goldilocks" mindset, so your loved ones, admirers, and other supporters never hibernate on you.
All our best,
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PS: Hey β here's the third in our weekly video series called Win It in a Minute. You can subscribe here.
In this video, Tom answers the question:
"With a case for support, is short and sweet better?"
Want to become a case writing expert in an afternoon? Register for Tom's March 30th webinar all about "How to Write a Fabulous Case!"
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βPPS: Need help with your donor comms? Book a free call with us. We'd love to talk to you about how we might stir your donors' hearts to action for your good cause.
Hi! We're Julie Cooper and Brett Cooper, fundraising copywriters for great causes. Does your fundraising bring in as much money as it could? You can send donor communications that stir hearts to action. We'd love to help. π Start by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
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