Be a Delorean…not

In 1981-82, John DeLorean thought of something unique: a sports car featuring gull-wing doors. The car gained popularity for its use in the movie Back to the Future. The company failed after a short time. Mechanical failures, cost overruns, and lack of power led to the company’s demise.

John DeLorean took a chance on something original, and it failed.

We can say the same thing about fundraising writing.

There are proven methods that work. Short paragraphs, no longer than 3 sentences. Donor-centric language that features the donor as the hero. Times New Roman, at least 12 point font. This means that the best fundraising letters kind of all look the same.

That’s a good thing.

Listen to experts like Jeff Brooks. Do what they tell you to do. You’re not writing poetry, but please show, don’t tell. You’re breaking the rules you learned in English class. You’ll fall in love with white space and sentence fragments.

But don’t go crazy. Stick to the tried and true. The Toyotas and Chevys. Don’t be a DeLorean.

And you’ll raise a lot and travel far.