You have a copywriting deadline to meet, but how are you supposed to deliver high impact copy, without spending every waking hour of the day perfecting it?

Here are a few easy steps that will improve your fundraising copy at the snap of your fingers. These four changes should take your copy from “wow…” to “WOW!” in under 20 minutes.

More “you” language.

Yes, I know, I used to hate hearing this, as if the addition of one word could magically change the entire feel of a piece, right? Well – it turns out, the addition of “you” language really does make your copy more compelling! But I’ll caution my fellow perfectionists, instead of restructuring entire sentences, try simply adding in “you” & “your” wherever you feel it fits most organically.

Remove “people like you” language.

Really, unless you’re writing a prospect appeal, I’m not sure that the term “people like you” should ever be used. Instead, try replacing this with “you”.

More psychological triggers.

According to Jen Shang, an expert on the psychology of fundraising, donors respond best to the following words: kind, caring, compassionate, helpful, friendly, fair, hard-working, generous, and honest.

More donor; less institution.

Positioning the donor as the agent of change doesn’t have to be difficult. Give the credit to the donor. Replace “we” with “you”. Avoid downplaying impact with filler words. Remove or replace the words “help, support, and enable”. For example, “we help to feed kittens across Canada” transforms into “you feed kittens across Canada” – empowering the donor!

Presto – and you’re done! Your copy is instantly more compelling by implementing these four easy changes and should give your copy a mini glow-up in 20 minutes or less.

Let me know in the comments below if these tips helped you to quickly transform your fundraising copy into something you’re proud of!