However, as they go, they glance at bits of text on the page. People skip from their name (the important bit!) down to the signature. I’ll now take each of these elements in turn and think about how we can use them most effectively.Ĭatching attention along the reading curve That’s right: People will only read your wonderfully-crafted letter through from the beginning if you have already persuaded them it’s worth reading. Then they will make a decision about whether or not to go back and read the letter from the beginning. If there is a PS, then they will read it at this point, probably in full. They then reach the signature, hoping that an actual person has gone to the trouble to actually sign the letter, or as close as possible.
#Direct mail letter full#
They probably don’t stop to actually read full sentences (they’re on their way to the end of the letter to find out who’s written to them!) but the words they see will help them start to fill in their answers to other questions like ’What is this about?’, ’What do they want?’ and ’Is it worth me reading this now?’ The opening words, and elements that are in bold, underlined, indented, sentences, or single-line paragraphs. On the way, their eye will catch on some parts of the letter. They glance at logo and date, the address block and salutation first, and then skip straight to the end of the letter to look at the signature and signatory. People look for answers to the personal questions first - questions such as ‘Who is writing to me?’ and ’How are they addressing me’. Siegfried V ögele, Handbook of Direct Mail ‘The Reading Curve – when the reader looks for personal details then skips to the end, before deciding whether to read the letter properly.’ CDE project 22: media relations and the public face of charities.CDE project 21: working with suppliers as partners.CDE project 19: evidence of impact and effectiveness.CDE project 18: supporters as champions for your mission.CDE project 16: creating a distinctive service culture.CDE project 15: the role of trustee boards and senior managers.CDE project 14: getting the right people as fundraisers.CDE project 13: giving choices and managing preference.CDE project 12: inspirational creativity.CDE project 11: communication with individual donors.
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