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Title: Persuasive Writing in Fundraising and Advertising
Description: Notes from the Persuasive Writing in Fundraising and Advertising class taught at the University of Pittsburgh. Full of in-depth notes and examples on how to produce compelling, successful advertisements and fundraising efforts based on the type of tactics you wish to execute (and why these methods would be successful based on statistics and facts). Helpful insider tips included!

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Persuasive  Writing  in  Advertising  and  Fundraising  

 
September  2,  2015  
• Persuasion  Diagram  (Rhetorical  Situation  Box)  
o Purpose  (top)  
§ What  is  my  purpose?  
o Persona  (left  side)  
§ So  what  do  I  need  to  sound  like  to  reach  the  audience?  
o Content—emotional  logical  (bottom)  
§ The  actual  content  
o Audience  (right  side)  
§ Who  am  I  writing  this  for?  
• Persuasion:  attempting  to  change  the  audience’s  attitudes,  beliefs,  or  actions  
o Purpose:  to  persuade  the  audience—to  convince  
o Audience:  must  figure  out:  “so  how  can  I  present  this  to  them  to  meet  their  
needs?”  
§ Demographics:  
• Things  we  can  look  at  and  concretely  know  
o Age  
o Gender  
o Occupation  
o Income  
o Education  
§ Psychographics:  
• People’s  attitudes  
• Personalities  
• Lifestyles  
• “Why  does  this  feel  like  home?”  
o Persona:  Ethics  and  Credibility  
§ You  somehow  have  to  come  across  as  believable  
§ How  to  appear  as  credible:  
• Back  things  up  with  facts  
• Use  testimonials—“the  power  of  the  story”  
• Enthusiasm  
• Sincerity  
• Establish  common  ground  
o Content/Message:  
§ Comes  last  
• Should  fall  into  place  after  analyzing  the  purpose,  persona,  and  
audience  
September  9,  2015  
• Argument—Writing  That  Makes  A  Point  
o Persuasive  Arguments  
§ Reasoning  from  Evidence  
• You  gather  evidence,  examine  it,  and  come  to  a  conclusion  
§ Claims  and  Warrants  

• You  make  a  claim  then  give  all  the  reasons  to  support  it  
Definition  
• Talk  about  characteristics  or  function  of  something,  the  parts  of  
something—you  just  analyze  and  define  what  something  is  
o Example:  food  product—talk  about  the  nutrition  and  
what’s  inside  of  it  
§ Cause  and  Effect  
• Because  of  this,  then  this  
o If  people  are  skeptical,  this  is  a  great  way  to  persuade  them  
§ If  you  do  this,  then  this  will  occur  
§ Compare  and  Contrast  
• This  laundry  looks  better  than  this  one  after  being  washed  with  
this  detergent  
§ Narration  
• You  let  people  tell  their  stories  
AIDA  Method  
o Attention  
§ Get  people’s  attention  
• Even  before  the  main  point  
§ “You  can  make  a  difference—children  are  dying  in  Africa  every  day”  
o Interest  
§ Why  would  this  help/be  good  for  them?  
o Desire  
§ They  say,  “I  need  to  have  this/I  want  this/this  needs  to  be  a  part  of  my  
life
...
”  
§ “Sometimes  when  people  want  this,  this  happens
...
”  
§ “I’d  be  happy  to  move  ahead  with  this  and  check  out  prices  for  this  and  
this  if  you  like  this  idea
...
 
Advertising  in  General  
o Walk  through  5,000  ads  per  day  
o What  reaches  the  most  customers?  
§ Television—the  Super  Bowl,  in  particular  
What  Makes  A  Good  Ad?  
o Grabs  people’s  attention  
§ Color  
§ Shock  value  
§ Images  
• Animals  
• Sex  
• Babies  
§ New  and/or  different  
o Focuses  on  the  consumer  
§ People  should  be  able  to  look  at  the  ad  and  automatically  see  “what  is  in  
this  for  me”  
§ Only  you,  and  only  from  us  
§ “The  Chosen  People  Effect”  
• Everybody  wants  it—not  everybody  can  get  it—but  you  can  get  it  
§ Use  the  word  “you”  
o Stress  Benefits  instead  of  Features  
§ Features:  
• What  it  is  
• What  it  does  
§ Benefits:  
• How  it  will  help  them  
o Look  better  
o Feel  better  
o Save  money  
o What  Makes  You/The  Product  Different  
§ Intangible  
• Prestige  
§ Tangible  



• Size  
• Color  
• Etc
...
 
o Remember  the  Subtext  
§ Advertising  sends  out  a  message,  but  then  sends  out  another,  more  
subtle  message  with  colors,  effects,  and  more  underlying  messages  
o Being  Clever  Just  For  The  Sake  of  Cleverness  Is  Not  Automatically  A  Great  Ad  
o People  Need  To  Know  Where  To  Go  Next  
Getting  People  From  Point  A  to  Point  B  
o Point  A:  Do  not  care,  not  interested  or  looking  
o Point  B:  I  want  this,  I  think  I  need  this  
o Five  Great  Motivators  for  Advertising:  
§ Fear:  Something  will  happen,  so  we  have  this  to  go  against  that  
• Whatever  it  is  that  you  did  wrong,  we  can  help  you  
§ Exclusivity:  What  brands,  where  you  got  it  and  shopped  abroad  
§ Guilt:  All  fundraising,  pretty  much,  is  based  on  guilt  
§ Greed:  We  want  to  have  good  stuff,  and  a  lot  of  good  stuff  
§ Need  for  Approval:  We  can’t  have  them  thinking  this  about  it  
§ Convenience:  We  do  it  because  it’s  easy  
§ Pleasure:  Anything  we  think  we  could  enjoy  
§ Sex:  Concept  of  love  and  affection  
§ Duty  or  Honor:  We  do  it  because  it’s  the  right  thing  to  do  
§ Ego  gratification:  It  just  makes  us  feel  better  about  ourselves  
o Types  of  Consumers:  
§ Person  who  will  shop  for  it  and  buy  it  
§ Person  who  will  use  it  
o What  influences  these  types  of  consumers?  
§ Culture  they  come  from  
• Want  to  be  a  part  of  that  group  
§ Social  class  
§ Family  
• Size  
• Our  role  in  the  family  
• Values  
§ Demographics  
• Measurable  things  
§ Psychographics  

Immeasurable  things  
o Attitude,  lifestyle,  etc
...
 
o Time  
§ Obsessed  with  things  that  will  save  us  time  
o Enjoyment  
§ Things  that  will  make  us  have  fun  
o Convenient  
• Creative  Strategy  
o Tone,  Benefit,  and  Placement  
o Six  Steps  
§ Study  the  product,  read  all  you  can  about  it,  do  research  
§ Study  the  competition  
§ Survey/ask  others  
§ Position  the  product  
• Theme  or  message  that  puts  the  product  in  the  middle  of  the  
market  they’re  trying  to  reach  
§ What  kind  of  image  or  personality  do  you  want?  
§ What’s  the  big  idea?  
o Benefit  
§ What  it  can  do  for  the  people  you’re  trying  to  sell  it  to  
o Reason  Why:  
§ Benefit  that  gives  you  the  reason  why  you  should  buy  that  
o USP,  Unique  Selling  Proposition:  
§ Reason  why  that  involves  the  unusual  or  important  thing  about  it  
• One  unique  selling  proposition  to  give  it  the  angle  
o Brand  
§ Name  or  term  or  design  or  symbol  that  identifies  what  you’re  selling  
o Branding  
§ Process  of  creating  the  unique  identity  for  something  
o Creative  Hook  
§ Emotional  trigger  that  attracts  buyers  










Golden  Arches  
Wendy’s  girl  (the  guy’s  daughter)  

o Campaign  
§ The  big  thing  with  all  linked  together  aspects  
Advertising  Jobs  
o Media  
§ TV,  radio,  magazine,  newspaper  
§ Gets  ads  placed  on  the  radio  
o Join  a  retailer  
§ Work  for  Sears  and  do  marketing  for  them  
o Ad  agency  
Print  Ads  
o Clearly  defined  audience—print  is  the  best  way  to  reach  them  
o Successful  Print  Ads  
§ Know  your  audience  and  target  the  thing  that  will  best  meet  their  needs  
§ Headline:  
• Phrase  or  sentence  that  opens  up  the  ad  
• Usually  in  much  larger  type  
• More  prominent,  and  it  gets  attention  
o Anything  on  top  of  the  headline:  over-­‐line  
o Anything  below  the  headline:  underline  
§ Text:  
• “Copy”  
o Text  that  gives  more  information  
o If  there’s  a  lot  of  writing,  break  it  up  with  subheads  
• Caption  
o Below  the  picture  describing  it  
• Tagline  
o Phrase  near  the  bottom  of  the  ad  
o Slogan:  if  its  on  every  ad  that  that  company  has  
• Call  out  
o Off  to  the  side  beside  the  picture…  call  out  
o Bigger  type  quote  in  a  little  place  on  the  side…  call  out  
Headlines  Specifically  
o 5  times  more  people  read  the  headline  than  the  copy  
§ Message  of  what’s  going  on  somehow  has  to  attract  the  right  people  
o Requirements  
§ Must  be  able  to  stand  alone  
§ Must  set  the  tone  for  the  text  
§ Highlight  the  key  benefit  
§ Hooks  to  the  special  group  of  people  you’re  targeting  
o Good  headlines  
§ Direct  benefit:  One  that  talks  about  a  direct  benefit  
• Save  50%  this  weekend  
§ Reverse  benefit:  What  will  happen  if  you  don’t  do  this  
§ Ones  that  give  you  facts  

• 90%  of  our  customers  are  return  customers  
Ones  that  give  you  news  
• New  product  
§ Ones  that  lead  readers  into  the  poppy  
• Want  to  save  20%  on  your  tuition  bill?  
§ Include  the  brand  
• Make  it  memorable  
§ Use  language  effectively  
• “Small  ass  for  sale”  in  pair  with  a  little  donkey  graphic  
o Indirect  headline—not  quite  sure  or  intrigued  or  interested  
§ One  word  headlines  
§ Long  headlines  (two  lines?)  
§ Capitalize  the  first  word  and  then  only  proper  nouns  
§ No  punctuation  in  headlines  
§ Use  words  that  attract  people:  “Introducing,”  “new,”  “announcing,”  
“at  last”  
§ Numbers  in  a  headline  are  helpful—price,  free,  etc
...
 
§ Variety—different  sections  
§ Cost  is  inexpensive  
• Cheap  way  to  get  your  message  out  there  
§ Can  offer  coupons,  response  features,  etc
...
 
§ Size  
§ Circulation  
o Ads  in  newspapers:  
§ Classified  ads  
• Jobs  for  sale  
• Apartment  rentals  
§ Display  ads  
• Bigger  ads  in  the  newspaper  
o Lots  of  different  sizes  
• Usually  for  retail  if  it’s  local,  but  if  it’s  national  then  it’s  
recognizing  the  brand  
§ Supplement  ads  
• Something  to  stick  inside  the  newspaper  
Magazines  
o How  we  classify  these  
§ Audience  
§ Geography  
§ Demographics  
§ Editorial  content—subject  matter  of  magazine  
§ Physical  size  
§ Distribution—how  is  it  delivered  
o Advantages  
§ Longest  lifespan  of  all  media  
§ Nicer,  higher  quality  
• Visual  appeal  
§ High  market  segmentation  
• Very  specialized  audience  
§ When  people  read  magazines,  they  have  time  
§



Very  long  advertising  life  
Can  use  direct  response  techniques  
• Coupons,  phone  number,  web  address  
§ Can  put  a  lot  of  detail  in  the  copy  
o Disadvantages  
§ Clutter  
• Ton  of  ads  in  magazines  
§ Long  lead  time  in  magazines  
• Often  need  to  submit  things  6  months  ahead  of  time  
§ Expensive  
• Front  and  back  covers  
• Centerfold  
§ Decline  in  readers  
Copyright  
o People  who  write  copy  are  called  copywriters  
§ Good  copywriters  
• Love  writing  and  good  at  it  
• Have  an  ear  for  the  right  word  or  right  phrase  
• Can  change  hats  fairly  quickly  in  terms  of  personas  
• Can  handle  lots  of  revision  
• Curious  about  people  and  things  
• Great  sense  of  humor  
• Very  hard  workers  
• Visual  thinkers  
§ Words  to  use:  
• Clearance,  discount,  important,  improved,  grand  opening,  free,  
new,  sales,  going  out  of  business  stuff  
• Avoid  anything  negative  or  conditional  tense  
o Conditional  tense:  it  might  happen—would,  could,  should  
• Instead  of  saying  “if  I  could,”  say  “When  I…”  
• Never  write  anything  that  your  mother,  your  hairdresser,  or  your  
plumber  wouldn’t  understand  
• The  generic  word  is  always  better  than  using  the  number  
associated  with  it  
• Present  tense  is  always  the  most  powerful  
o Progressive  tense  (-­‐ing)  is  terrible  
• If  you  want  to  suggest  that  people  have  a  choice,  then  ask  a  
question  
o Do  you  want  to?  
o Would  you  like  to?  
• Avoid  clichés!!!  
§
§



 
September  23,  2015  
• Copy  writing  
o Be  succinct  
o Be  specific  

Get  personal  (“we”  or  “you”)  
Keep  a  single  focus  
Be  original  
Feel  free  to  break  the  rules  (grammar)  
Copy  length—it’s  wide  open  
§ On  the  web,  people  have  a  very  short  attention  span  
o Try  a  lot  of  different  versions  of  things  
Put  together  copy—“Predicament  Copy”  
o Think  of  a  problem  your  audience  would  have  
o Bring  your  audience  in  using  the  word  you  
o Offer  a  solution  
o Restate  that  problem  with  the  happy  ending  
Direct  Marketing  
o Types  of  marketing  
§ Catalogues  
§ Telemarketing  
§ Direct  Response  Advertising  
• Print  
• Broadcast  
• Internet  
§ Direct  mail  
• Infinity  group  
§ Infomercials  
Direct  mail:  print  advertising  message  for  a  product  or  service  that  is  delivered  by  mail  
o $100,000,000,000  business  
o “Junk  mail”  or  “spam”  
o Can  Be  Approached  in  Two  Ways:  
§ Target—mailing  list  of  customers  
§ Blanket—goes  to  a  whole  geographic  area  
o Objective  
§ Get  it  into  the  hands  of  the  right  person  
• The  right  person—who  would  buy  something  there  
o Advantages  and  Disadvantages  
§ Advantages:  
• Usually  gets  to  the  person  who  opens  the  mail  and  that’s  usually  
the  person  who  makes  financial  decisions  
• Can  target  direct  mail  geographically  and  you  cannot  do  that  in  
any  other  print  form  
• Has  enough  stuff  in  it  typically  that  can  tell  a  story  
o Complete  sales  pitch  
• No  competition  
• Almost  always  personalized  
o Your  address  
o Your  name  (usually)  
• Built  in  feedback  
• Very  high  response  rate  
o
o
o
o
o







Disadvantages:  
• Reputation—junk  mail  
• Cost—costs  more  than  most  other  media  
• Only  as  good  as  the  mailing  list  
• Vulnerable  to  natural  disasters  
o Niche  Mailing  
§ Name—good  thing  
§ Must  find  a  way  to  get  you  to  open  it-­‐-­‐TEASER  
• Peekaboo  of  card  on  front  
• Free  things  inside  
• Guilt—“you’re  missed”  
• “Do  not  bend”  
• “For  ______  only”  –exclusivity  
§ Every  good  thing  about  my  envelope  
• Blue  and  gold  
• Firm  
• Peekaboo  of  card  
• “Earn  a  welcome  bonus  of  75,000  membership  rewards  or  more”  
o To  use  toward  equipment,  travel,  and  more  
• “Choose  where  your  business  gets  more:  3x  points  in  1  out  of  5  
categories”  
§ Everything  good  about  the  letter  
• The  longer,  more  pictures,  etc
...
 
o Since  the  subject  of  the  image  was  a  young  boy,  I  thought  an  anti-­‐smoking  ad  
was  the  best  routed  to  go  since  anti-­‐smoking  ads  with  children  can  be  very  
persuasive  
§  
o All  the  ad  needs  is  color  
§ The  ad  only  needs  color
...
 
o This  is  an  ad  that  is  basically  a  tip  on  how  to  be  successful  
§ This  ad  suggests  tips  on  achieving  successfulness
...
S
...
”  
• A  question  will  draw  people  in  
o Letter  Makes  Sure  People  Know  What  Benefits  Are  
§ Will  they  feel  good?  

o
o

o

o

o
o

o

o

§ Will  they  get  something?  
§ Will  they  save  money?  
Features  vs
...
”  
o If  there’s  something  you’re  going  to  get—they’re  going  to  demonstrate  it  
§ You  will  be  able  to  see  what  that  is  
o Might  promise  to  share  a  secret  (exclusivity  factor)  
o The  more  money  they  have—the  more  pieces  they’ll  include  
o If  possible,  they  will  address  people  by  name  
o They  will  be  specific  about  what  they  do  and  NOT  talk  about  competition  or  
their  field  in  general  
o Piece  of  direct  mail  should  make  it  easy  for  that  person  to  respond  
§ Envelope?  Reply  card?  Website?  Telephone  number?  
• How  easy  is  this?  
o If  it’s  too  complicated—people  will  not  do  it  
Letter  of  Intent  
o Letter  of  what  you  plan  to  do  for  that  project  
§ PITCH  LETTER  
o Here’s  my  project—here’s  what  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  today  
§ Here  are  the  sources  I’ll  need  
§ Here  are  the  projects  I’m  thinking  about  at  this  time  
§ Can  I  go  ahead  with  this  project?  
o Very  short—not  a  lot  in  there  
o MEMO  
§ Here’s  what  I  think  I  want  to  do  
§ Details  
• Sources  
• Types  of  things  I  might  create  
§ Here’s  who  I  think  I’m  going  to  do  it  for  
§ Can  I  go  ahead?  
Final  Project  
o Creative  Strategies  
§ Research  
§ Audience  
§ Examples  will  make  this  campaign  work  
• Why  a  web  piece?  
• Why  direct  mail?  
§ Persona  
o “If  I  want  a  job—what’s  going  to  help  me?”  
Direct  Mail  Assignments  

October  5,  2015  
• Primary  Research  
o Original  research  
§ Survey  
§ Interview  someone  
o The  brand  itself  
§ The  organization’s  information  itself  
• Secondary  Research  
o Journal  articles,  etc
...
 
o Because  it  provides  tax  benefits  
o Because  of  a  sense  of  duty  
§ We  believe  we  have  an  obligation  to  make  things  better  for  fellow  human  
beings  
o Because  it  is  a  blessing  to  do  so  
Cause  
o Must  be  a  cause  the  audience  might  be  interested  or  support  
o Use  the  words  “I”  and  “you,”  but  mostly  you  
§ 9  ways  to  use  the  word  you  
• Look  it  up  
o Focus  on  benefits,  how  people’s  lives  will  change,  etc
...
 
o Always  have  a  call  to  action  
o Longer  is  better  
Methods  to  get  People  Contribute  
o Personal  contact  
§ Will  you  support  me  in  this?  
§ Will  you  contribute  to  this?  
o Direct  mail/Fundraising  

§
§

8  kinds  of  fundraising  letters  
Grants  and  proposals  

October  7,  2015  
• Eight  Types  of  Fundraising  Letters  
o Letter  Recruiting  New  Donors  
§ Looks  just  like  direct  mail  
o Letter  welcoming  a  new  donor  
§ Never  asks  for  money  
§ Talks  about  organization,  different  opportunities  to  get  involved  
§ Thank  you;  we’re  glad  you’re  here  
o Annual  Fund/Gifts  
§ Backbone  of  “the  money  from  here  keeps  us  going”  
§ Pays  salaries  of  the  people  who  work  there,  maintenance  and  upgrades  
of  the  buildings,  etc
...
 
§ Usually  a  one  time  thing  
§ Go  to  people  who’ve  already  given  
§ Specific  time  references/urgency  
§ “We  need  help  with  this  special  thing  right  now”  
§ Asks  for  a  certain  amount  of  money,  based  on  the  amount  you  usually  
give  
§ Talk  about  specific  project  
§ Hype  personalized/warm/personal  
• One  person  talking  to  another  
o Letters  for  year-­‐end  contributions  
§ Why  do  people  give  around  now?  
• Thanksgiving  
• Christmas/other  December  things  
• TAX  BREAKS  –  if  you’re  going  to  take  it  off  your  IRS  this  year,  you  
must  make  the  contribution  by  this  time  
§ “Thankful,”  “as  the  new  year  begins,”  “special  year-­‐end  gift”  
§ High-­‐quality  look  
o High  Dollar  Gifts  
§ Usually  directed  at  the  nonprofit’s  most  generous  supporters  
§ Ask  amount  is  high  
§ It  looks  very  elegant  and  upscale  
§ Highly  personalized  
§ Concept  of  exclusivity  that  you  will  be  in  this  group  of  our  highest  donors  
or  that  someone  else  will  match  your  gift  
o Donor  Upgrade  Letters  
§ Trying  to  get  people  to  give  more  than  they  did  the  last  time  

Involves  getting  into  a  group  or  circle  or  level  
If  you  give  us  this  much,  you’ll  be  in  this  group,  will  be  invited  to  this,  and  
you  will  get  that  
o Thank  You  Letters  
§ Always  thank  your  donors  
§
§

 
 




20  Questions  You  Need  To  Ask  For  A  Fundraising  Package  
o 1  Purpose  
o 2-­‐7  about  the  audience  
o 8-­‐15  what  do  you  want  these  people  to  do  
o 16-­‐20  what  about  the  benefits  they  will  get  
Lengthy  Version  
o Why  are  you  writing  this?  
§ Recruiting  new  donors?  
§ Annual  fund  money?  
§ Year-­‐end  stuff?  
§ Thank  you?  
o What  do  the  people  you’re  writing  to  have  in  common?  
§ Profile  of  the  people  
o What  distinguishes  this  audience?  Characteristics  most  of  them  have?  
§ “They’ve  been  giving  to  the  Red  Cross  for  over  20  years”  
o What  do  you  know  about  their  feelings?  
§ Psychographics  –  audience  
o What  is  your  audience’s  relationship  to  the  organization?  
§ Long-­‐term?  
§ Never  given  before?  
§ Close  friends?  
§ Just  got  started  being  involved?  
o What  is  the  typical  recipient  like?  
§ One  person  to  represent  this  one  group—what’re  they  like?  
o Why  would  that  typical  recipient  respond  favorably  to  what  you’re  going  to  ask  
them  to  do?    
§ What  message  will  get  them  involved?  
o What  is  it  you  want  them  to  do?  
§ Money?  
§ Volunteers?  
§ On  board  for  life  or  just  for  this  project?  
o What  is  the  minimum  amount  of  money  you  want?  
o Is  there  anything  else  you  want  them  to  do  right  now?  
o What  are  the  specific  circumstances?  
§ Special  problem?  
§ Need?  
§ Issue?  
§ Opportunity?  
o Who  is  the  person  who  will  sign  the  letter/appeal/fundraising  package?  

§ What’s  that  person  like?  
What’s  the  connection  between  the  person  who  will  sign  it  and  the  problem?  
What  is  the  connection  between  the  signer  and  the  people  who  get  this  request?  
What’re  the  signer’s  feelings  and  thoughts  about  this?  
List  all  the  tangible  benefits  
§ What’re  people  going  to  get?  
o List  all  the  intangible  benefits  
o Why  do  your  readers  need  to  respond  right  now?  
o Is  there  any  deadline?  
o What’s  going  to  happen  if  you  don’t  receive  enough  responses  in  time?  
October  12,  2015  
• Fundraising  Package  
o 20  questions  from  last  week  
§ Spend  half  your  time  on  these  questions  
§ If  you  can  get  these  down,  the  writing  will  go  really  fast  
o Figure  out  what  the  parts  of  the  package  are  going  to  be  
o Write  the  reply/response  advice  
§ What  do  you  want?  This  is  the  thing  they  respond  with  
o Outer  envelope  
§ Teaser?  
§ What  will  get  the  reader  to  open  this?  
§ Make  it  look  exclusive  and  fancy,  not  cheap  and  desperate  
o Write  the  lead—gets  people  into  it  
§ One  sentence,  a  couple  sentences  
§ Frequently  starts  with  their  biggest  benefit  or  story  
o Write  the  P
...
 
§ Should  include  strongest  element  of  your  appeal  
§ What  is  the  big  deal  here?  Come  back  to  it  in  the  P
...
 of  letter  
o What  kind  of  things  in  terms  of  graphic  design  to  make  this  come  together?  
o Write  the  rest  of  the  writing  
§ Psychology  of  giving  
• Tips  on  who  to  send  to  
o Don’t  leave  anyone  out  who  might  send  you  a  check  
o Avoid  the  people  who  are  never  going  to  contribute  
o Someone  who’s  already  given  money,  try  to  get  them  to  give  more  money  
• Things  that  get  people’s  attention  
o P
...
 
o Photographs  
o Typeface  
o First  sentence  
o Easy  reply  system  
§ Older  people  –  checks  
§ Younger  people  –  online  
o How  many  times  did  I  use  the  word  you?  
o Answer  people’s  unspoken  questions  
o Talks  with  people  not  at  them  
o
o
o
o

 
October  14,  2015  
• Broadcasting—Radio  and  TV  
o Overview  
§ TV  
• Get  people  to  think  visually  
§ Radio  
• Get  people  to  think  with  sound  
• They  create  their  own  picture  based  on  the  words  that  are  spoken  
§ There  is  always  a  lot  to  compete  with—distractions  
• Cut  through  all  the  clutter  and  people  who  are  zoning  out,  leaving  
the  room,  etc
...
)  
§ Anything  that  has  news—“new  and  improved”  
§ Things  that  are  emotional  
o Script  
§ Music  playing  
§ Characters  
§ Graphics?  
§ Script?  
• Radio  specifically  
o Advantages  
§ Radio  reaches  more  people  more  often  than  any  other  medium  
§ 93%  people  in  this  country  listen    
§ 15
...
 
Disadvantages  
§ Nobody  can  see  it—everything  must  be  very  good  to  compensate  
§ Must  get  people  to  pay  attention  to  this,  and  there  is  a  ton  of  clutter  out  
there  when  radio  spots  are  running  
• Not  only  pay  attention,  but  remember  what’s  in  there  
Great  for…  
§ Building  brand  awareness  
• We  stand  by  this  
§ Covering  one  idea  or  one  benefit  
• A  big  sale  thing  weekend  
Terrible  for…  
§ Complicated  with  a  long  list  of  points  
Writing  for  radio…  
§ Write  it  then  read  it  several  times  
• Does  this  make  sense?  
• Can  their  imaginations  fill  in  the  other  four  senses  and  make  this  
clear?  
Effective  Radio  Ads  
§ Format  
• Identifies  what  it’s  about  very  early  on  
• Identifies  it  frequently  
• Promises  a  benefit  very  early  on  
• Repeats  that  benefit  
§ One-­‐on-­‐One  focus  
• Feels  like  a  conversation  
• Feels  like  someone  you  know  is  talking  
§ Tailored  to  a  specific  time,  place,  and  audience  
• Know  your  audience  
• Find  the  time  and  place  you  can  reach  them  
o Work  force—before  and  after  work  
§ Very  simple  
§ Provides  basic  vital  information  
• What  it  is  
• What’s  the  main  benefit  
• Where  can  I  get  it  
• Emphasize  what  makes  you  exclusive  
§ Takes  into  account  that  listeners  are  doing  something  else  too  
§ Always  has  a  call-­‐to-­‐action  at  the  end  
§ Capitalizes  on  local  events,  news,  weather,  holiday—whatever  is  
going  on  at  the  time  
§ Uses  the  strengths  of  the  station  
• Gear  to  the  audience  
§ Good  radio  will  use  humor  appropriately  
Important  Elements  of  Radio  


o

o

o
o

o

o



§ Music—Jingle?  
§ Music  Library—stock  music  
§ Do  something  original  
§ Sound  effects  
o Type  of  Radio  Commercial  
§ One  person  reads  through  the  whole  commercial  
§ Dialogue  
• Effective  because  we  love  listening  to  conversations  
§ Number  of  people  talk  to  the  listener  
§ Dramatization  
• Little  one-­‐minute  story  
§ Same  sound  over  and  over  and  over  
§ Interviews  
• Man-­‐on-­‐the-­‐Street  kind  of  thing  
§ Jingle  
• “If  you  have  nothing  to  say,  sing  it”  
o Project—just  have  the  script  
o SCRIPT  
§ Upper  corner  
• Name  
• Length  
• Date  
§ Audio  
• Instructions  
• Sound  effects  
§ Words  
• All  caps  
• What  gets  said  
• Spell  out  numbers  and  even  “Dot”  in  www
...
 
o Actual  Example  
o Rinse  and  Repeat  
• Brief  Evaluation  
 
Big  Elements  of  Advertising  and  Fundraising  
• The  Biggies  
o Print—magazine,  newspaper,  etc
...
 
§ They’re  larger  than  life  so  they  command  attention  
§ People  spend  less  time  at  home  than  they  used  to,  so  more  people  see  
them  
§ They  remind  people  of  whatever  it  is  (especially  if  they’ve  heard  of  or  
thought  of  something  before)  
o Disadvantages  of  Billboards  
§ Goes  by  quickly  
§ People  going  by  might  not  be  paying  attention  
§ Visual  clutter/pollution  
o Must  haves  
§ Must  be  eye-­‐catching  
• Take  main  words  from  campaign  
Blimps/Buses/Transit  Ads  
o Lets  advertisers  and  fundraisers  get  their  messages  across  at  key  times  
o Buses  circulate  through  the  community  
§ Get  the  message  out  there,  short  and  sweet  
§ Interior—aimed  at  passengers  
§ Exterior—aimed  at  those  you  pass  
o Super  King  Bus  Ad  
§ Wheel-­‐to-­‐wheel  on  traffic  side  (for  drivers)  
o King  Ad  
§ Traffic  side  but  smaller  
o Queen  Ad  








§ Curb  side  
o Tail  
§ Back  of  the  bus  
Directories  
o Put  information  about  company  
§ Yellow  pages  
o Name  of  organization,  service  you  offer,  address,  how  to  reach  you,  the  hours  
you’re  open,  and  how  to  get  there  
o Advantages  
§ Over  90%  of  the  people  go  to  a  directory  and  use  the  service  that’s  there  
§ They’re  cheap  
§ Very  long  shelf-­‐life  
o Disadvantages  
§ Clutter  
§ If  anything  changes  about  you,  people  can’t  find  you  until  the  next  
directory  comes  out  
§ Hard  for  certain  groups—elderly,  people  with  non-­‐English  speakers  
§ Almost  everybody  doesn’t  use  a  phone  book  
Brochures  
o Almost  every  business  has  one  
o How  you  get  basic  information  out  to  potential  customers  or  supporters  
o Basic  format:  
§ Trifold  
o Highlights:  
§ Speaks  about  this  “thing”  in  general  
o Types  of  Brochures:  
§ Specific  product  
§ Specific  event  
§ What  to  do  in  a  certain  location  
§ Impresser  
o Good  Copy  in  Brochures  
§ Tell  a  story  
§ Use  headings  
§ Use  front  page  
§ Use  everything  to  give  a  story  about  what  they  have  to  say  
§ Start  telling  you  that  story  right  on  the  first  page/cover  
• What  follows  works  like  a  mini  book  that  has  flow  
§ There’s  a  beginning,  middle,  and  end  
§ It  has  transitions—not  just  some  random  categories  
§ Strive  for  a  personal  tone—natural,  relaxed  
§ Stress  benefits,  not  features  
§ Support  your  claims  
• Testimonials  
• Guarantees  
• Trials  
• Stories  

§
§

• Reputation/stable  organization  
• Let  that  person  talk—have  that  person’s  picture  
Text  organizers  and  ways  to  break  up  the  space  
Bulleted  list  any  time  they  can  

 
October  28,  2015  
• Final  Project  
o Slogan  
o Headers  
§ Purpose  
§ Audience  
§ Persona  
§ Message/Theme  
§ Research  
§ Constraints  
o Advertise—not  public  relations  
• Flyers  
o Advertise  a  limited  time  promotion  
§ Event  
§ Special  Service  
§ Product  
o One  side  of  a  regular  piece  of  paper  
o Usually  don’t  look  as  nice  as  print  ads  
o Very  timely  
• Internet  
o Rapidly  growing  
o eCommerce—buying  and  selling  on  the  internet  
o A  lot  like  direct  marketing,  but  cheaper  because  you  get  to  talk  to  people  one-­‐
on-­‐one  without  having  to  pay  direct  postage  
o A  lot  like  TV  because  it  can  have  motion,  animation,    graphics,  video,  words  
o A  lot  like  outdoor  advertising—only  use  a  few  words  to  grab  people’s  attention  
o A  lot  like  print—has  form  and  a  shape  to  it  
o They  know  you  
o Involves  a  way  to  have  a  conversation  
o Anybody  can  compete  in  a  global  marketplace  
o People  love  to  hang  out  on  the  Internet  
o Banner  Ads:  
§ Link  to  advertisers  site  
§ Click-­‐through—how  often  people  respond  to  one  of  those  ads  by  clicking  
on  it  
§ Cookies—information  stored  on  your  computer  that  tracks  your  
movement  online  
§ Offline  advertising—website  on  print  or  TV  ads—drive  people  to  your  
online  presence  
§ Search  marketing—consumers  online  searching  for  a  certain  topic  
§ Short  ads  on  somebody  else’s  site  



§ Skyscraper:  long  skinny  on  the  side  
§ Pop  up/superstitial:  annoying  things  
§ Looks  like  a  billboard  
o Have  a  website:  
§ Pick  a  page  to  do  that  fits  with  what  you’re  trying  to  get  across  
• Relates  to  you  selling  something  
§ What  is  the  purpose  of  a  website?  
• Offer  information?  
• Offer  customer  support?  
• Promote  a  service?  
• To  let  people  know  about  organization/section  that  raises  money  
§ Who  is  your  target  audience?  
§ Domain  name  that  people  can  remember  
§ Must  have  a  page  where  people  can  sign  up  to  be  on  the  mailing  list  
§ “Last  updated”  –continually  update  website  
§ Should  always  be  a  link  to  current  news/announcements/stuff  that’s  
happening  right  now  
§ FAQ—pick  and  choose  the  list  of  questions  
§ Cross-­‐reference  everything  you  do  
o Email  blast:  
§ Must  be  legitimate—NOT  spammy  
§ “We’re  so  glad  you  signed  up  to  be  on  our  email  list!”  
• Opt  out  at  any  time  
§ Promise  a  benefit—20%  off—presale  
§ Options  to  find  additional  information  
Purpose:  
o Trying  to  brand?  Click  through?  Sell?  

 
November  2,  2015  
• Film/movie  Advertising  
o Should  look  like  film/TV  script  
o Ads  in  theaters/lobby/on  cups/on  tubs  
o Think  billboard  and  branding  product  identification  
• Social  media  
o Younger  audience  
o Ad  on  Facebook  
o Facebook  page  that  actually  sells  or  raises  money  for  something  
o Series  of  tweets  IF  the  purpose  is  to  drive  people  to  your  website  to  actually  
subscribe  or  sell  things  
o YouTube—get  people  to  the  website  
• In-­‐store  ads  
o Aisle  display  
o Something  on  shopping  carts  in  the  store  
• Guerilla  marketing/new  media/alternative  media/non-­‐traditional  advertising  
o Kind  of  weird  
o Different  than  where  you’d  usually  see  anything  







o Billboard  ad  in  a  strange  place  
o Restroom  stall,  mobile  billboard,  bookbag,  chalk  messages,  parking  lot  
Title  Page  
o Don’t  say  for  Persuasive  Writing  for  Fundraising  and  Advertising  or  for  Pam  
O’Brien  
o Include:  Campaign  title,  who  you  represent,  your  name,  the  date  
o “A  Campaign  to  Increase  Nike  Shoe  Sales,”  slogan:  “Just  do  it”  
Creative  Strategy  
o Sets  the  scene  
o In  order  to  fully  understand  the  campaign,  here’s  what  you  need:  
§ Introduction  
• This  section  explains  my  creative  strategy  for  this  campaign
...
 
• Why  you  chose  this  
§ Purpose  of  campaign  
• Raise  money?  
• Sell  something?  
• Reach  a  national  or  local  audience?  
§ Target  audience  
• Why  you  chose  them  
• Who  these  people  are  
§ Research  that  was  done  
• Secondary  sources  
• Primary  sources  
• Divide  into  text  and  images?  
o This  is  the  information  I  got  
o These  are  the  images  I  took  
§ Message  
• The  theme  
• The  slogan  
o Must  show  up  on  every  example  
§ Tone/Persona  
§ Constraints/Limitations  
• IF  ANY…  
o I  suck  at  graphic  design  
o Etc
...
 
§ No  more  than  15  sentences  
§ Bullet  points—basic  information  
§

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What  can  people  gain  from  this  presentation?  
Bring  something  to  drink  
Remember  to  breathe  
Slow  down  
Memorize  the  first  and  last  sentences  
Pause,  and  practice  where  you’re  doing  to  pause  


Title: Persuasive Writing in Fundraising and Advertising
Description: Notes from the Persuasive Writing in Fundraising and Advertising class taught at the University of Pittsburgh. Full of in-depth notes and examples on how to produce compelling, successful advertisements and fundraising efforts based on the type of tactics you wish to execute (and why these methods would be successful based on statistics and facts). Helpful insider tips included!