Top 10 newsletter tips
File under: “Well, hmmmm…!”
Donor Newsletter Checklist
According to Tom Ahern & Friends
Adventures in AI-land
It just occurred to me that my latest book lacks something very useful: a breezy checklist of the best 10 tips. Today, below, that omission stands corrected.
Want a newsletter that raises more money, deepens connection, and actually gets read? Start here.
1. Lead with “YOU”
Your headline should grab the donor with their favorite topic: themselves. Use “you” early and often.
2. Tell one strong story per issue
Skip the updates and announcements. Instead, offer a single, well-told story that shows your donor’s gift in action—featuring a real person helped.
3. Use social proof
Let donors see their peers in action: quotes, donor spotlights, or photos of “people like them” who care. It reassures and inspires.
4. Always include a soft offer
Don’t beg—but don’t forget to ask. Include a gentle invitation to give, pray, visit, or remember your cause in their will.
5. Design for skimmers
Big headlines. Short paragraphs. Clear captions. Ample white space. Think reader-first, not org-first.
6. Name the fight
Make your cause specific. Instead of “support healthcare,” try “help frail elders stay safe at home.” Specifics raise more.
7. Copy what works—intelligently
Find donor newsletters that move you emotionally. Don’t steal the design—steal the strategy. Ask: why did this work?
8. Make the donor the hero
Your tone should say: “Thanks to YOU, this happened.” Avoid organizational chest-thumping.
9. Include meaningful quotes
Use real words from real people helped. Let beneficiaries deliver both the story and the thanks.
10. Use a donor-focused masthead
“Your Impact,” “You Made This Happen,” “Good News for Our Donors”—remind readers it’s all about them, from the first glance.
🔚 Final Word:
Donor newsletters are not just updates. They’re gratitude-delivery devices, not that dissimilar from greeting cards and personal letters to friends. And gratitude—done well—can lead to friendship, warmth, joy and funds. Use this checklist to shift from “meh” to meaningful.
Tom Ahern in full disclosure mode: "Jane," my ChatGPT companion, is my co-author for the TOP 10 list above. I named her for my breathtaking mother-in-law, Jane Joyaux. On this plodding-ish task (consuming my whole book, while concisely summarizing it, then ranking the content ... and THEN delivering results in under a minute), Jane AI got everything right except one important word; that added word was my total final co-author's contribution. Jane wrote "from 'meh' to meaningful." AI is a handy tool; not a "get out of all training free" deliverance.
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