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<title>Alan Sharpe - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alan_Sharpe</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:37:34 -0600</pubDate>
<image><title>Alan Sharpe - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alan_Sharpe</link>
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<copyright>Copyright 2012 EzineArticles.com - All Rights Reserved.</copyright>
<description><![CDATA[Alan Sharpe is a a fundraising practitioner, author, trainer and speaker. Through his books, handbooks and workshops, Alan helps not-for-profit organizations worldwide to acquire more donors, raise more funds and build stronger relationships. As the Director of Direct Development with The Gideons International In Canada, Alan manages their direct mail, major gifts and planned giving programs.]]></description>
<lastBuildDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:58:59 -0600</lastBuildDate>
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<title>How Angry Are Your Donors With You? Take This Quiz and Find Out</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6702455</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6702455</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:58:59 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Have you upset one of your donors recently? Just how mad do you suppose they are at you, on a scale of 1 to 10? Take this quiz and find out.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Answer the Only Question Non-Profit Donors Have and You'll Raise More Money Fundraising</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6687439</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6687439</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:06:51 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your donors have only one question that bothers them. Here's their question: "How will my donation change the world?"]]></description>
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<title>Penelope Burk Versus Donor Behaviour: Direct Mail Fundraising Is Not in Decline</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6642219</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6642219</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:57:03 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Donors will tell you they receive too much mail. But respond anyway. Donors will tell you they hate receiving fundraising telephone calls during supper. But give over the phone anyway. Donors will tell you they prefer to hear from you by email. But then won't read your email appeals.]]></description>
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<title>Online Fundraising: Ask for Email Addresses, Not Donations, on Internet Websites</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6596882</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6596882</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:40:06 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The key to raising money online isn't Facebook or YouTube or Twitter or a donate button on every webpage. It's email.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Why Average Lifetime Donor Value Is the Most Important Metric in Fundraising</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6581380</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6581380</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:19:54 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Nothing says more about the success of your fundraising program than the lifetime value of your average donor. Average lifetime value, of course, is the gross income you receive from your typical donor during the time the donor is giving to your charity.]]></description>
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<title>Give Your Donors What They Want So Your Non-Profit Gets What It Wants</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6554111</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6554111</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:14:14 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The secret to building long-term, profitable, mutually beneficial relationships with donors is to think the way donors think. Here are some ways to see your donors as people and not pocketbooks. Understanding how your donors think is your key to helping them-and you-make a measurable difference in the world.]]></description>
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<title>When to Ignore Your Direct Mail Fundraising Test Results</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6521977</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6521977</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:38:44 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When you test one thing against another in the mail and Thing A outperforms Thing B, you know what works, right? The key to knowing what works in direct mail fundraising is testing, right? There are at least three times when you should ignore your test results.]]></description>
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<title>How to Calculate How Many Donors You Need to Reach Your Annual Fundraising Goal</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6506507</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6506507</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:46:37 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Does your charity need to double or triple or quadruple its income over the next five or ten years? Are you trying to figure out how to do that? Follow these simple steps to discover how many donors you'll likely need to reach your goal.]]></description>
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<title>Boost Your Fundraising Letter Response Rates and Revenue With Five Simple Segmentations</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6490851</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6490851</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:35:39 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your fundraising letter can flop just as badly with your donor if it sounds as though you don't know her. The same letter mailed to every donor in your database can't help but sound generic and impersonal.]]></description>
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<title>Questions to Answer Before Requesting a Quote From a Direct Mail Fundraising Consultant</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6483299</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6483299</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:51:47 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If your charity wants to retain the services of a direct mail fundraising firm to conduct your next mailing, answer these questions before you pick up the phone. You'll save yourself a lot of time, and give the firm everything they need to give you an accurate quote.]]></description>
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<title>Don't Measure Fundraising Costs, But Cost-Effectiveness</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6459800</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6459800</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:00:50 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If cutting your fundraising costs boosts your net revenue, cut. If increasing your fundraising costs boosts your net revenue, increase. Keep your eye on the right end of the horse and you'll raise more money, and do more good with it to change the world.]]></description>
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<title>Five Indisputable Laws of Direct Mail Donor Acquisition With Fundraising Letters</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6443986</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6443986</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:18:35 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I am not a prophet, I am not the son of a prophet, but I do serve on the board of a non-profit. And I've discovered through the years that charities who succeed at acquiring donors through the mail obey five immutable laws of direct mail fundraising. These laws aren't carved in stone. But they should be.]]></description>
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<title>Fundraising: Invest in Donor Acquisition Yearly, or Die</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6411056</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6411056</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:58:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Read through the diaries of the pioneers who settled the Western parts of the United States and Canada and you'll discover that the most desperate act of hunger was to eat your seed corn. Eating your seed corn sealed your death, even though it prolonged your life for a while. Charities today are making the same deadly mistake.]]></description>
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<title>Why You Must Start a Bequest Marketing Program Now</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6399578</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6399578</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:04:18 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Never before has there been more money available to your organization than right now. Members of the "Greatest Generation," those who lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War, now in their 80s and 90s, are collectively leaving billions of dollars to charitable causes in the United States and Canada. Their preferred vehicle for giving isn't a check.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Donor Acquisition Tests: Five Ways to Evaluate Your Results</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6359598</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6359598</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:19:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[How do you know if your direct mail donor acquisition test mailing was a feat or a failure? Answer enough of these questions in the affirmative to satisfy your boss, board, or banker.]]></description>
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<title>How to Get a Second Gift From a New Direct Mail Fundraising Letter Donor</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6350735</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6350735</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:05:37 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Only 35% of the donors you acquire through direct mail will give you a second gift. Most donors acquired through the mail are acquired at a net loss (you must spend money to acquire each donor), so you can see how important it is for you to do all that you can to encourage first-time donors to give again.]]></description>
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<title>Avoid Photos in Your Direct Mail Fundraising Letters</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6287765</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6287765</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 10:57:22 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A letter is a piece of correspondence sent from one person to another. It's personal. This is the main reason your direct mail appeal letters need to look like letters and not like pages taken from a newsletter, brochure or annual report.]]></description>
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<title>Does Asking for a Gift or Donation in Thank-You Letters Help or Harm? Test and Find Out</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6269414</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6269414</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 May 2011 07:50:41 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Don't listen to fundraising consultants like me who say you should never ask for a gift in a thank-you letter. That's what I used to say before I was hired by a non-profit that did ask for donations in its gift acknowledgment letters. I wanted to axe the practice.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Letters: Casanova Never Mailed One Love Letter a Year, So Neither Should You</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6245608</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6245608</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 May 2011 08:15:14 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The worst thing you can do in direct mail fundraising is mail only one appeal a year. Direct mail is part of your annual campaign, yes. But that doesn't mean you should mail only one fundraising letter every 12 months. Annual doesn't mean annually in direct mail fundraising. Here's why you must ask for gifts by mail more than once a year.]]></description>
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<title>Internet Fundraising: Distracted Online Donors Do Not Donate</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6185389</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6185389</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:02:57 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The percentage of people who visit a website and get somewhere through the shopping cart process but eventually give up is around 59 percent. So that means more than one out of every two visitors to a website has a credit card in hand and is ready to buy (or donate) but does not. They give up.]]></description>
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<title>Boost Your Direct Mail Fundraising Letter Response Rates Three Ways</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6144156</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6144156</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:05:48 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[So how can you increase the percentage of your donors or members who participate in your fundraising? Here are some ideas.]]></description>
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<title>Know Your Six Fundraising Numbers or Die</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6123234</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6123234</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:13:33 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In fundraising, you live or die by your numbers. You can't hope to get your budget approved (or hold onto your job) unless you can demonstrate that you know your business. And your business is numbers. Here are the six numbers you need to know cold.]]></description>
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<title>Help Donors Read Your Fundraising Letters Quickly</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6089196</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6089196</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 08:59:42 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[So what can you do to help your donor read your letter and respond with a donation? Help her read quickly.]]></description>
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<title>Why You Will Lose Donors Today, Guaranteed: The Facts About Donor Attrition</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6035289</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6035289</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:02:04 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Today you will move backwards, no question. If your charity is small, you will lose a few donors. If your charity is large, you will lose more donors. But either way, you will have fewer donors today than you did yesterday.]]></description>
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<title>The One Question Your Donor Newsletter Must Answer</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5951219</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5951219</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:27:27 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your donors expect something from your donor newsletter that they don't expect from their daily newspaper or cable news show. Yes, your supporters read your newsletter and the newspaper to discover what's new, what's going on, what's current. They read to be better informed, to understand the issues better.]]></description>
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<title>How Long Is a Long Fundraising Letter?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5902951</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5902951</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:58:43 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Even a short letter can be long. A short paragraph can be long. Even a short first sentence can be long if it fails to grab the donor's attention, appeal to the donor's self-interest, and motivate the donor to continue reading.]]></description>
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<title>To Write Better Fundraising Letters and Direct Mail Appeals, Attend AA Meetings</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5857835</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5857835</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:40:56 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Some of the most gripping and moving stories I'm ever likely to hear, I heard at AA meetings. You see, at every Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, a man or woman in recovery is invited to tell their story. Every story is different, but follows a simple formula. That formula is what makes AA meetings so powerful, and memorable. Incorporate that formula into your fundraising letters and you'll touch hearts. Donations will follow.]]></description>
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<title>Write Better Fundraising Letter Outer Envelopes by Copying the Tabloids</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5827838</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5827838</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:01:50 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Consumers buy tabloids because of their headlines. The more outrageous the headlines, the more likely consumers are to buy the newspaper. If you want your donors to open your fundraising letter envelopes, learn a lesson from the tabloids. Write teaser copy on your outer envelopes that makes them irresistible.]]></description>
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<title>In Direct Mail Donor Acquisition, Ignore Your Initial Results</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5767822</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5767822</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:11:42 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The secret to success at acquiring donors through the mail is to ignore your initial results. The results you generate in the first few months of your direct mail acquisition campaign might delight you or they might distress you, but they will almost certainly mislead you. Don't decide to continue of halt your program based on short-term results. That is reckless.]]></description>
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<title>Should Your Donation Thank-You Letter Ever Ask for a Gift?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5736808</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5736808</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:18:19 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Donors are a strange bunch. Gather a number of them into a small room for a focus group and they will tell you not to solicit them, however subtly, in a gift-acknowledgment letter. Ever. But do that very thing in their mailbox and they will respond. What donors say they will do and what donors actually do are often two separate things.]]></description>
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<title>FAQs About Trading Mailing Lists With Other Charities for Donor Acquisition</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5677735</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5677735</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:34:22 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Q1. What is list trading? A. List trading, or swapping, is the practice of exchanging mailing lists with another charity. They mail a fundraising letter to your list and you mail a fundraising letter to their list.]]></description>
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<title>Top Five Ingredients of a Successful Fundraising Letter</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5641925</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5641925</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:05:07 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Direct mail fundraising will be harder in 2011. Postage rates are increasing. Attention spans are decreasing. And discretionary income, which is to say, the money your donors use to support their favourite causes, is tighter. So, if you want to succeed at raising funds with direct mail letters, follow these five timeless tips. ]]></description>
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<title>Is Your Fundraising Copy Silly? Test Your Online, Letter and Email Writing to Find Out</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5571578</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5571578</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:56:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you consider yourself a comic? Your donors might. If you are at all typical, you have let these two silly words steal their way into your copy, rendering it ridiculous. But take out your scissors, remove these offending articles, and your writing will become clear, concise and compelling.]]></description>
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<title>Predict Your Direct Mail Fundraising Campaign Success With Doubling Day</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5530625</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5530625</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:05:11 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Doubling day is that point in a direct-mail appeal life cycle when you can anticipate that half the responses have been received. Doubling day can measure the total number of responses received, or the total amount of money received (although these two days are likely to be different).]]></description>
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<title>Major Gift Fundraising and Prospect Research: How to Find Major Donors in Your Donor Database Part 1</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5371256</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5371256</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:13:58 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The best person to approach for a major gift is someone who already supports your charity. Sometimes those donors are hidden in plain sight in your donor database. Here's how to find them.]]></description>
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<title>Better Fundraising Letters: Eight Tips for Effective Direct Mail List Segmentation</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5293502</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5293502</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:37:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Make a distinction between individuals, foundations and businesses. Do not mail one appeal letter to everyone without distinction. Instead, segment your database into individuals, foundations and businesses, and speak to each audience in a unique way.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Four Common Database Mistakes That Will Derail Your Direct Mail Fundraising Campaigns</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5251464</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5251464</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:34:39 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I dislike being called Allan, Allen, Mr. Sharp and Mrs. Smith. If you want to please me as a donor, start by getting my name right and follow up by getting my address correct. To do that, avoid these four common mistakes found in most donor databases.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Why Hospital Lotteries and Sweepstakes Are Bad for Your Health As an Organization</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5089887</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5089887</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:40:00 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Hospital lotteries and sweepstakes raise millions of dollars for good causes but they do more harm than good. Here's why.]]></description>
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<title>Good Fundraising Letter Reply Devices Tell Donors What to Do in Direct Mail Appeals</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5013491</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5013491</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:01:41 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[One of the most important parts of your direct mail fundraising letter is the copy that tells your donor how to donate. Somewhere in your letter and on your coupon you need to give explicit instructions telling the reader what the reader must do to make a financial contribution. Here are a few ideas.]]></description>
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<title>Raise More Donations With Fundraising Letters by Making it Convenient For Donors to Respond</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4724386</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4724386</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:54:21 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[One of the fundamental requirements of direct mail is that you make it easy for your prospects, customers and donors to respond. The word to remember is "convenience." You must make responding as convenient as possible. Here are some ways to do that with your donors.]]></description>
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<title>Eight Mistakes to Avoid in Donation Thank You Letters For a Fundraising Gift Or Contribution</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4634685</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4634685</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:52:17 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The easiest way to encourage a donor to mail you another donation is to thank her properly for her last gift. There are right ways and wrong ways to thank your donor. Avoid these mistakes when mailing your donation thank-you letters, notes and cards.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Boost Internet Fundraising Donations by Thinking Like Walmart Online</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4568802</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4568802</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:51:19 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When donors and potential donors land at your website ready to make a donation, they hunt for a button that says Donate. They don't come looking for a button that says "Support Our Cause," or "Foundation" or "Donor Links" or "Giving."]]></description>
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<title>Friendly Fundraising Letters - Six Easy Ways to Warm Up Your Next Donation Request</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4505156</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4505156</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:10:47 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The secret to making your impersonal fundraising letter personal is personalization. Which is hard when you don't know your direct mail donor personally. So here are some ways to make an otherwise form letter friendlier when all you know about your donor is their name, address and giving history.]]></description>
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<title>Improve Fundraising Letters by Writing to Emelia, Not to Everyone, In Your Direct Mail Appeals</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4476275</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4476275</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:37:15 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You must write an appeal that speaks to each reader individually, not to everyone in general. Getting their name right is the easy part.]]></description>
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<title>Internet Email Fundraising - Raise Funds Online With These Nine Email List Building Tips</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4437533</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4437533</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:10:33 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The secret to raising funds online is not Facebook or Twitter or texting or even your website. It's email. To raise money on the Internet you need the email addresses of folks who believe in your cause and want to see you in their inbox. Here are nine principles to follow in acquiring those addresses.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Can You Write a One-Sentence Fundraising Letter?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4378505</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4378505</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2010 14:09:57 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In New York City, publishing capital of the world, lives an unorthodox book editor. He does not read manuscripts from aspiring authors. Instead, he asks the author to summarize the plot in five words.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>In Online Fundraising, Website Visitors Judge Your Homepage Like a Book Cover - Quickly</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3748081</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3748081</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:08:51 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When people visit your home page, they are judging you by your cover, by your front page, by your front door, by the cover of your book, so to speak. It's the first impression that they have of your organization, and you don't want to lose it here.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Donor Newsletters - Acquire New Donors With Your Fundraising Newsletter</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3446797</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3446797</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:02:35 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your donor newsletter doesn't have to be something that you mail to people after they give you a donation. If your newsletter, business model and board of directors allow it, you can use your newsletter as a way to acquire donors.]]></description>
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<title>Donation Letter Reply Devices - Four Ways to Make Your Fundraising Letter Reply Coupons Effective</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3299729</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3299729</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:09:55 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Successful direct mail donation letters contain three things: a compelling case for support, a request for funds (the "ask"), and a response device. The case is the Incentive. The ask is the Imperative.]]></description>
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<title>Donation Request Letters - Why a Convicted Felon Should Write Your Next Fundraising Letter</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3260228</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3260228</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:14:12 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I know a man who spent 21 years in maximum security prisons. A product of rape born in an abandoned building, he was incarcerated at age eight into Canada's most violent and brutal reform school. He became a chronic runaway, then a gang leader, then a drug king-pin.]]></description>
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<title>Online Fundraising - Are These Four Vital Words on Your Non Profit Fund Raising Website?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3061409</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3061409</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:48:15 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your success at online fundraising depends on four words. If you want to acquire members and donors, raise funds and encourage others to advocate for your cause, these four words must appear on your website.]]></description>
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<title>Online Fundraising - Your Website Visitors Want to Get Engaged</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3035647</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3035647</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:11:06 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The non-profit organizations who raise the most money online use their websites to engage visitors. This is a vital step in raising money online. It's not enough just to have a Donate Now button. You have to have a website that actually encourages people to do something on your website and get involved in some way.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Letters - Should You Mail a Reminder Or Follow-Up Letter?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2871625</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2871625</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:06:45 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Just so everyone is clear, we're talking here about a "reminder letter" or "follow-up" letter that a non-profit mails a few weeks after sending out a major appeal. The reminder letter is mailed only to donors who have not responded to the first appeal, and "reminds" them about the need discussed in the earlier mailing, and asks them to respond with a donation. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Is Your Returned Fundraising Letter Mail Costing You $481 a Piece?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2797861</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2797861</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:22:43 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You have a costly problem with returned mail. All non-profit organizations do. You mail perfectly nice letters to donors who have supported your cause for years, and then, one day, without so much as a by-your-leave their mail comes back to you marked RETURN TO SENDER.
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Help Your Lettershop Bungle Your Direct Mail Fundraising Letter Campaign</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2761471</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2761471</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:49:02 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I know from reliable sources that the Mr. Murphy who coined Murphy's Law ("If something can go wrong, it will") worked as an account manager at a lettershop. After leaving his position of direct mail fundraising manager at a national charity. After all, in what other line of work, other than, say, launching a space shuttle, could you meddle with so many small details to sabotage your mailing? Murphy knew every way to mess up a direct mail appeal, but he had his favourites. Here they are. Follow these fun steps to compromise donor confidentiality, increase the chances for mistakes, and boost your volume of nixies and undeliverable mail...]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Do Your Donation Request Letters Speak to Someone Or to Everyone?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2691693</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2691693</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:28:59 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The secret to success in direct mail fundraising is to write to an individual, not to a list. Write to someone, not to everyone. Take this short quiz to discover if your appeal letters are personal or impersonal.]]></description>
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<title>In Fundraising, Do Not Watch Costs, But Cost Effectiveness</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2498558</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2498558</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:01:36 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The metric to watch in fundraising is not cost. It's cost-effectiveness. We fundraisers have to spend money to make money. How much we spend, and when we spend it, and how we spend it, should be determined not by some arbitrary number on our budget but by the return we anticipate from spending that money.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>How to Find and Identify Wealthy Major Gift Donors in Fundraising</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2410967</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2410967</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:56:45 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The first step in major donor fundraising is identification. You must identify those individuals you think have the capacity to give a large gift, are connected to your organization in one way or another, and are concerned about your cause. Here are some ways to identify major gift prospects.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Need Sample Direct Mail Fundraising Letters? Donate to Your Competitors</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2320783</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2320783</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2009 19:44:31 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[One of the quickest ways to learn the craft of direct mail fundraising is to donate money to your strongest competitors. Pick the Top 10 organizations you admire and mail them a donation of at least $20. Then watch your mailbox. What you'll get is a correspondence course in raising money with paper and postage.]]></description>
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<title>Major Gift Fundraising Program Lessons</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2178595</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2178595</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:58:00 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The main difference between direct mail fundraising and major gift fundraising is simple. Direct mail fundraising solicits small gifts from many people while major gift fundraising solicits large gifts from few people. One tactic solicits on paper, the other in person.]]></description>
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<title>Major Gift Fundraising - &quot;Moves&quot; Management is Key to Success</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2044284</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2044284</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:51:17 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The key to securing large gifts from your donors is relationships. Relationships that are warm, professional and mutually beneficial. But how do you nurture or cultivate those relationships with prospective donors who have little or no connection with your organization and your cause?  With a comprehensive moves management system.]]></description>
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<title>Do Direct Mail Fundraising Envelopes Need Teaser Copy?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1990416</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1990416</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:25:14 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Which pulls better, an outer envelope dressed in  the fashions of the day or a naked envelope? If I have  the courage, and the approval of the board, I will test  this with my next mailing.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Letter Length -  Six Ways Not to Decide Their Length</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1805288</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1805288</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:17:56 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[How long should your next fundraising letter be? One  page? Two pages? Six pages? What is the correct  length for a direct mail appeal?]]></description>
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<title>Reduce Your Direct Mail Fundraising Letter Costs and Attrition Rates With NCOA on Your Next Appeal</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1782831</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1782831</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:07:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What would you do if I broke into your office at midnight, sat down at your computer, and jumbled the mailing addresses of 1,200 of your current donors so they became undeliverable?    You'd be upset. My actions would cost you plenty.]]></description>
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<title>In Direct Mail Fundraising Appeal Letters, Don't Ask For the Donation Or Gift</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1614569</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1614569</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:32:47 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[f your donation request letters are typical, you repeat yourself throughout your letters by asking the donor to give or to donate, to mail you a gift or a donation. My advice, which bears repeating, is to stop, um, repeating yourself so much. Juggle things up a bit. Here's how.]]></description>
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<title>Christmas Fundraising Letters - Make Your Direct Mail Appeal Original But Contemporary at Year End</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1571811</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1571811</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:19:42 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If your non-profit organization is typical, your direct mail program raises 50 percent of its revenue with one mailing-the Christmas appeal. More people give more money to the "Holiday Season" letter than they give to any other single mailing all year. Your goal this Christmas is to persuade these generous donors to give again. Here's how.]]></description>
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<title>In Direct Mail Fundraising Letters and Appeals, Use Present Tense to Increase Donations</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1551482</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1551482</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:52:52 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Presenting tomorrows possibilities and yesterdays news in the present tense makes news stories more forceful. Removing conditional phrases (can, may, might) from sentences also makes them stronger. Same goes for fundraising letters.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Donor Acquisition - How to Ask For the Right Amount With Prospect Fundraising Letters</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1412868</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1412868</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:47:22 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[How much should you ask a person to donate if they have never donated before? If you ask for a large gift, they will not give. And if you ask for a small gift, they will give. But maybe if you ask for a gift that's larger than your small ask but smaller than your large ask, you'll also get a donation. If you ask for an amount that generates a huge response, you'll likely agonize that maybe you could have asked for just a little bit more and got it.]]></description>
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<title>Back-End Premiums in Direct Mail Fundraising Letters - Think Twice Before Offering</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1400035</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1400035</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:32:05 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Yes, your goal with offering a front-end premium is to boost net revenue. But offering a book or DVD or other incentive affects more than just your short-term bottom line.]]></description>
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<title>With Donor Database Fundraising Software, it Pays to Be Exclusive in Data Entry</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1318403</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1318403</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:35:30 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The most valuable thing in direct mail fundraising isn't  your donors, but your donor data. Your building could  burn down this afternoon, and all your staff could quit,  and you'd still be able to recover if your donor data  remained intact. But if you lose your donor data, you  lose, period.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Letter Tests - Eight Rules For Successful Donation Package Testing</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1299733</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1299733</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:36:59 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The best way to improve your direct mail fundraising program is through testing. Don't follow fads, board whims, or a gut feeling that turns out to be indigestion. Instead, test. And, to save money and time (and further indigestion), follow these eight rules.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Look For Connection, Not Cash, in Prospective Direct Mail Donors If Writing Donation Request Letters</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1281595</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1281595</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:23:01 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The most important quality to look for in a potential direct mail donor is a connection with your cause. You shouldn't be looking for millionaires, or billionaires. Direct mail fundraising works by soliciting small gifts from lots of people regularly. Even retired folks can give you a small gift.]]></description>
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<title>Lapsed Direct Mail Donors Respond Better Than New Donors in Fundraising Letter Appeal Mailings</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1246611</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1246611</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:13:09 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Lapsed donors and expired members are usually better prospects for a donation than cold lists. A direct mail appeal sent to people who have not given a donation in the last 12 months or 24 months or even 36 months is likely to generate a higher response rate and a higher average gift than a similar appeal mailed to a list of non-donor names that you rent.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Fundraising - Boost Response By Not Including A Reply Envelope</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1197545</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1197545</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2008 14:39:45 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Asking for a donation in every single thing you mail your donors (and a reply envelope asks for a donation, however subtly) is wrong-headed. You and I are in the friend-raising business. And friends who are always looking to their friends for money soon find themselves looking for other friends.]]></description>
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<title>Special Events Fundraising - Estimate Bigger Budget, Smaller Income When Planning</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1189312</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1189312</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 May 2008 13:24:57 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Special events are a great way to raise money. And a great way to lose money, too. So if you lack experience planning and hosting special events, or if your non-profit organization does not have a particularly high profile in your community, you should plan on your budget being big and your income being small. In other words, you should overestimate your costs and underestimate your income.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Major Donors Prefer To Donate Online Rather Than By Direct Mail Says Internet Fundraising Survey</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1191651</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1191651</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 May 2008 13:12:20 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The majority of major donors prefer online giving over direct mail. In a survey conducted by Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research, 51 percent of survey respondents said online giving is their preferred channel, compared with 30 percent who said they prefer giving by mail. These "wired wealthy" donors prefer their mouse over the mail for a number of reasons.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Monthly Giving Programs - Seven Benefits Of Preauthorized EFT Giving In Fundraising</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1180766</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1180766</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2008 13:13:00 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[According to the folks who make Donor Perfect, the fundraising software, 28% of donors say they would probably or definitely consider making recurring donations if this method of giving was offered. So why not offer it? Here are seven reasons to start a monthly giving program.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Will Direct Mail Fundraising Work for You? Test and Find Out</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1164971</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1164971</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2008 15:18:59 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Direct mail fundraising is like proposing marriage. You won't discover if it works for your organization and your cause unless you ask. And you do that with a direct mail test. You craft your case for support, your write and design a strong donor acquisition package, you rent a list (preferably many lists) of potential donors, and you ask a small group of people on that list to marry you, sort of.]]></description>
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<title>Online Fundraising - Attract Donors with Search Engine Optimization</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1149256</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1149256</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2008 10:36:05 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Like every other charity, you want a high ranking on the search engines. Unfortunately, many charity websites appear poorly in search engine rankings-or not at all-because they are not written and designed to take advantage of how search engines work. So how do search engines rank your web pages? ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Letters - Mail an Envelope, Not a Postcard</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1134206</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1134206</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:51:57 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I have on my desk a direct mail fundraising envelope that I have never opened. And never will. Perhaps you can learn a lesson from its failings.  The offending article was mailed by the Canadian Red Cross. It is a full-colour envelope, 6.5 inches wide and 5.75 inches tall, with a window. The envelope promotes the organization's lottery.  This envelope fails most of the tests in my book.  Here's why.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Your Non-Profit Donor Newsletter Has Just One Reader Where Fundraising is Concerned</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1032032</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1032032</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:46:06 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When you write your donor newsletter stories, do you write to one reader at a time? One person writing to another? Or do you make the common newsletter mistake of writing from "us" to "them?"  Direct mail donors are individuals. They donate as individuals. And they read your newsletters as individuals. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Make Your Direct Mail Sales Letters More Powerful with More Personalization Says Consultant</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1027085</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1027085</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:06:52 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The easiest way to increase your direct mail response rates is to make your packages more personal. Given the choice between reading a flyer and reading a hand-written note from a friend, most people will read the personal note first. Here are some ways to make your direct mail packages more personal.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Fundraising Donor Newsletters - Show The Person Behind The Story, and The Story Behind The Person</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1017216</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1017216</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:08:35 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The quickest way to improve your donor newsletters is to start seeing your world in story form. Behind every person there is a story. And behind every story there is a person. Your job is to uncover both. Your donors want to read about people, not projects. So write about people. Show photographs of people. Let me give you an example of what to avoid.]]></description>
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<title>Boost Donor Newsletter Readership With Great Photos in Your Fundraising Print and Email Newsletters</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/988187</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/988187</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:08:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your fundraising newsletter will attract more readers, raise more funds and retain more donors when you publish outstanding photographs.      Photographs are the most important images you can feature in your donor newsletter. Good photos make your newsletter pages more interesting.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Writing Effective Business Reports in Five Simple Steps</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/983805</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/983805</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:52:32 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Samuel Johnson once said that "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money." Writing is hard work. It's laborious. Writing, especially business report writing, is more than just putting words down on paper. It's a process. The writing process includes all the activities-thinking, writing, discussing and revising-that take place as you write a business report. Master the five steps in the process and you will write effective business reports.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Online Fundraising Donation Pages and Forms Must Answer Donor's 3 Questions at Your Website</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/974842</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/974842</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:09:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you use direct mail fundraising letters to drive donors to your website to make their donations? If you do, make sure your website donation page answers the three most common questions asked by donors.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Online Fundraising - Four Deadly Blunders to Avoid with Website and Email Fund Raising</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/961642</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/961642</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:29:08 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The good news is that 62 percent of adults visit a non-profit's website before donating (according to a recent online survey conducted by Harris Interactive).  That's also the bad news.  For many non-profits, the quickest way they can scare away donors is to direct them to the organization's website. Too many non-profit websites are making blunders that discourage donors from browsing, donating, volunteering or referring others to the site. Here are four common blunders, and how to avoid them.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Writing Business Letters, Proposals, Reports - Omit Needless Words Says Online Writing Course Coach</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/957166</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/957166</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:14:19 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[William Strunk wrote a short, valuable essay on the need to omit needless words:  "Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."  Here are some examples of wordy and redundant phrases, and ways to shorten them, so that your business writing becomes tighter and clearer.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>How To Write Effective Business Letter Proposals When Writing At Work, Contemporary Or Formal</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/944200</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/944200</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:00:37 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do your letter proposals generate business? Or do they often miss the mark? I've learned that letter proposals must do four things. Incorporate these four steps into every letter proposal and you'll see improvements. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Reduce Your Direct Mail Fundraising Costs by Mailing Less Often to Those Who Give Less</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/935575</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/935575</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:22:35 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The secret to reducing your direct mail fundraising costs is counterintuitive, like fertilizer. Next time you're out in the boonies, watch as a farmer spreads fertilizer over his field. As he passes over the parts of his field that always produce the smallest yield, he spreads little or no fertilizer. As he passes over those parts of his field that traditionally deliver the highest yield, he pours the fertilizer on thick. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>In Public Speaking, Use Eye Contact to Show You Honestly Care</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/931613</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/931613</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:35:55 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Want to learn a vital lesson in public speaking from the CIA? Make eye contact with your listeners. Failure to make eye contact is often a sign of deceit, says Lindsay Moran, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer and author of Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy. Another expert, Derrick Parker, who served with the New York Police Department for 20 years, agrees that shifty eyes are evidence of a shifty nature. So make eye contact with your audience, frequently and sincerely.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Letters - 41 Things You Can Mail to Donors</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/923088</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/923088</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:58:06 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A fundraising letter  fanatic is someone who thinks the only  thing you can mail a donor is a fundraising letter. But  that's just one of more than 40 things you can mail to  make friends and raise funds using paper and  postage.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Writing Effective Business Letters - How to Organize Your Thoughts Before You Write</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/919628</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/919628</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:22:06 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your business letters, to be effective, must be organized, clear, direct and short. Writing letters with these qualities takes time (at first) and effort. Before you begin writing the letter, organize what you want to say. The simplest way to organize your thoughts is to arrange them around three characteristics...]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Programs - Five Vital Signs that You're Healthy</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/910387</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/910387</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:36:24 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I spent last night visiting two hospitals with my four-year-old son, Spencer. I noticed that the staff at each hospital took the same vital signs (pulse, oxygen saturation, temperature, breathing) to determine Spencer's health. Nurses and doctors miles apart, working for different hospitals, on different shifts, knew the same things to look for to determine the health of their patient. You must do the same with your direct mail fundraising program. Here are the five vital signs to watch for to make sure your program is healthy, and remains healthy. ]]></description>
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<title>In Public Speaking, Prepare Longest for the Shortest Speeches and Business Presentations</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/908723</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/908723</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:45:29 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Experience will soon teach you that the shorter your speech, the longer you must prepare. Provided you respect your subject and your audience, that is. This is especially true of important talks, such as college commencement addresses and graveside eulogies. The more important the occasion, and the less time you have to talk, the more time you must take to prepare.]]></description>
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<title>Direct Mail Fundraising Success Depends on Strong Case for Support in Donation Request Letters</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/900321</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/900321</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:08:46 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The secret to raising funds with direct mail appeal letters is not found in what you say or in how you say it but in why you say it. Success is found not in technique but in truth. The truth of your case for support. That's why, before you write a word of your fundraising letter you must state your case for why a donor should support you.  ]]></description>
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<title>Be Confident Public Speaking by Mastering a Simple Three-Point Outline</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/898712</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/898712</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:50:11 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Human beings use threes to conceptualize everything. So if you want to deliver a speech that is both easy to follow and easy to remember, divide your talk into three parts-beginning, middle, end-using the outline feature in Microsoft Word. There are three advantages to doing so.]]></description>
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<title>Boost Fundraising Letter Response Rates With Creative Business Reply Envelopes in Donation Appeals</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/891891</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/891891</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:16:22 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When was the last time you agonized over what to put on your business reply envelope? If you're like most non-profit organizations, your BRE never changes. You mail the same BRE with every direct mail fundraising letter. But maybe you should re-think the humble BRE.]]></description>
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<title>Business Report Writing - Improve Your Skills With This Checklist And Tips</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/890369</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/890369</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Dec 2007 12:10:12 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Business reports are usually written to address a problem. So make sure that after you've investigated the problem, gathered your facts and presented your recommendations, you don't create more problems by leaving mistakes in your business report. Get first-class results when writing your business reports by checking your reports in three ways before you hand them in.]]></description>
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<title>Sales and Business Presentations - Key to Persuasion in Public or Corporate Speaking is Credibility</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/877526</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/877526</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:18:43 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you want to be more persuasive in your sales presentations, business meetings and speeches, work on your credibility. You can't sell anyone anything, not even an idea, if you are not believable, or credible. ]]></description>
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