Are you ready to become a better fundraising writer? [BOOK REVIEW]

Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (2nd Edition) by Ann Handley

Why is so much fundraising writing so bad? Not just fundraising writing, but writing almost everywhere.

Crummy, lifeless, misdirected, confusing, hard to read. Just bad.

Is it because we just need more professional writers on the job?

Sure. That might help. And as one of those professionals, I have to recommend outsourcing for talent.

But that’s not the main reason for the badness. At least according to Ann Handley. She believe most people are capable of writing well, and this book is a great place for anyone to start.

Its 91 chapters each zero in on something that will help you write better, whether you are a professional writer or not. It covers everything from having a good writing process to grammar and usage, to voice, to storytelling to tons of specific writing tactics.

Like chapter 79, “Writing Headlines” (which applies nicely to writing subject lines too). Here are a ton of great tips:

• 90% clear and concise, 10% clever. Old-line headlines were the other way around: Full of wordplay and other forms of cleverness. Being straightforward is much better. Cleverness is secondary.
• Create a curiosity gap, but with moderation. They’ll want to read it if the headline or subject line promises to tell them something they care about. But don’t turn it into clickbait by overpromising.
• Place your reader directly into the headline. Say it with the word “you” (or the donor’s actual name).
• Be specific. Numbers (like “4 reasons” or “16 things you need right now”) are interesting.
• Think: Why now? Creating time urgency is critical.
• The right articles and modifiers give specificity. Prefer “the” over “a/an,” and choose modifiers (those, their, that, this) over both.
• Paint a picture. Use nouns and verbs to make it visual.
• Ask a question. Or better yet — answer a question. 3 things elephants don’t need
• Add a specific detail. This will get a lot more attention than a general statement.
• Front-load your headline. Sometimes headlines or subject lines are cut chopped off for your reader. Make sure they know what it’s about from just the first half of the headline.
• Give prominence to keywords and key phrases. This helps algorithms be on your side. But make sure it’s still a human-connected headline.
• Write seven headlines. Pushing yourself to do this is worth the extra time!
• Read your headline out loud. It should sound natural and colloquial.

This isn’t a book about fundraising writing, but it will help you be a better fundraising writer. It’s a big book, but a quick read full of humanity and humor.Highly recommended.