Write Fundraising Letter Overlines That Donors Cant Resist (Includes Samples & Examples)

The headline that appears over the salutation in a fundraising letter is known as the overline. Overlines have one goal: to persuade your donor to read your letter.

According to direct mail copywriter and author Hershell Gordon Lewis, the best kind of overline to use in a one-to-one piece of communication like a fundraising letter is a hand-written overline, one that looks like a spontaneous burst of enthusiasm. Hand-written overlines, says Lewis, should not look "produced." I agree.

Your goal, then, if you decide to use an overline, is to work up more enthusiasm in your readers than your letter can generate without the overline. Here are some guidelines to follow.

Don't give too much away
The goal of your overline, like the goal of your envelope teaser copy, is to arrest attention and arouse curiosity. The quickest way to depress enthusiasm in your readers is to ask them for a gift right up front in your overline. Or to say that you will be asking them for a gift later on in the letter. Don't give too much away.

So instead of writing this:

Your gift today will help us stop gun violence.

Write this:

How do you keep a pistol out of the hands of a 12 year old?

Make the reader want to continue reading
You want to intrigue your reader, tease your reader into reading your opening sentence, then your second sentence, right on through to the end. So your overline, if you choose to use one, should set up a predicament, or pose a question, or suggest a paradox, or in another creative way compel the donor to read on.

Think about signing the overline
A handwritten overline is a little like a P.S. It serves as an afterthought, a spontaneous thought that the writer had just before dropping the letter in the mail. One way to emphasize the one-to-one tone of a fundraising letter is to have the person who signs the letter also sign the overline with his or her initials. Your overline would look like this (handwritten, of course):

Please be sure to read the important update I've enclosed. A.J.S.

Consider a 3M Post-it Note
Recent advances in printing and mailing machines let you attach a yellow Post-it Note to the top of your letters. To make these notes even more powerful, write them in the same color ink that you use for your signature, and address them to each donor by name.

Tie your overline into your envelope teaser copy
One way to use overlines is to make them answer a question or riddle that you created on your mailing envelope. But be careful here. Your letterhead overline is really the beginning of your letter and not the conclusion of your outer envelope teaser copy.

Your overline must work on its own after the envelope is discarded. Your readers, once they have read your outer envelope teaser copy, opened your envelope and started reading your letter, will not likely read your outer envelope teaser copy again. If they pick up your letter a week from now and start reading, they will not return to the outer envelope teaser copy and start reading there.

For this reason, your outer envelope teaser copy and your letter overline copy must work on their own as two grammatical thoughts. When your outer envelope teaser copy ends with ellipses, for example, your letterhead overline must begin with a capital letter, even though the overline may be completing the thought that you started on the outer envelope. Make each letter overline a complete thought on its own, one that begins with a capital letter.

About the author
Alan Sharpe is a professional fundraising letter writer who helps non-profits raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using creative fundraising letters. Learn more about his services, view free sample fundraising letters, and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.fundraisingletters.org.

© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).

---

Things You Need to Know Before Joining a Direct Sales Company

A lot of people are very intrigued by the idea... Read More

No Regrets

Here's a chilling thought. If you were to die tomorrow,... Read More

Peddlers, Hucksters, & Empty Suits

Ever feel like you were "just a salesperson"? I think... Read More

Don?t Waste My Time!

Many participants in my programs ask how to deal with... Read More

Why I Hate (Most) Benefit Statements

Benefits are what motivate people to purchase from you, right?... Read More

The ?Write? Way to More Sales

The sales letter you can't put down?the advertising copy that... Read More

5 Ways to Encourage Impulse Purchases

I just bought six square pieces of spongy fabric for... Read More

Is Sales Profession an Oxymoron?

If you are in Sales, you have probably heard these... Read More

I Don?t Want To Be Sold; I Want To Buy

I went shopping for clothes today.My plan was to buy... Read More

How To Dramatically Improve Sales Closing Ratios

A closing question asks for a final decision. A trial-closing... Read More

Buying Wholesale Mannequins

Many mannequin manufacturers sell their mannequins in wholesale. This means... Read More

How to create your own Unique Selling Proposition

Why would a prospect buy from you rather than from... Read More

Sealing The Deal Over The Business Meal

Doing business over meals is a ritual that has existed... Read More

Generating Sales Leads

Any company that relies on selling a product or service... Read More

How to Really Benefit from Associations (Part 1 of 3-Part Series)

Looking for new leads, new contacts, new business opportunities? Do... Read More

Selling Abilities - Part 1

Selling "-abilities": Reliability (Part 1 of 4) Most salespeople... Read More

Give Up the Need to Sell

Most business people will tell you that selling is not... Read More

Are You REALLY Listening?

Being a good listener requires more than just keeping quiet... Read More

Selling ? Remember These Ten Rules and Succeed

There are thousands of books and seminars on how to... Read More

Buying Mortgage Leads - Three Things to Consider

The time comes for all mortgage brokers and loan officers... Read More

How To Sell Your Products or Services on Value And Stop Selling On Price Alone

Have you ever met with, or talked to a prospect... Read More

Incentive Dilemma:

Manufacturers and distributors are rolling out more sales incentive programs... Read More

12 Handy Tips for Generating Leads through Cold-Calling

Cold calling can be a great way to generate quality... Read More

An Ideal Selling Situation

The largest sale that I ever closed was negotiated over... Read More

How to Give Your Customers a Choice Between You and the Competition and Have Them Choose You

Instead of giving your customers or potential customers a choice... Read More

Going Back To Get Ahead

Have you ever run DOWN an escalator that was going... Read More

Value Based Pricing, Not Price Cutting

Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include... Read More

The Biggest Mistake In Selling!

Some trainers and sales managers teach that there are prospects... Read More

How To Get Your Mail Past The Gatekeeper And Into The Hands Of The Decision Maker GUARANTEED

There are several ways to get your information into the... Read More

First, Fast, And Foremost . . .

First - being before all others. Fast - moving or... Read More

Why Cold Calling Is Dead

Our world of selling is closed off from other areas... Read More

Interactive Sales Letter Skyrockets Conversions with 2 Simple Questions

There are many tactics and techniques that go into converting... Read More

How To Make An Extra $100,000.00 Each Year

HOW TO MAKE AN EXTRA $100,000.00 EACH YEAR BY ADDING... Read More