What a character! (Or, the face and story of your direct mail appeal.)

“He’s a character!” “She’s a character!”

Nobody wants to be the subject of those sentences, right?

Yet, when writing, one needs always to be thinking about the story element of character. Even when writing direct mail! Think: who is the face of my appeal? Whose story is it, anyway?

The character of your direct mail appeal is rarely going to be the organization—university, hospital, etc.—for which you’re writing. Unless you aim to write a boring solicitation.

The main character of your direct mail appeal is not always the signer. Sometimes it is, but not always. For instance, right now, I’m smack dab in the middle of the university fall semester rush, writing direct mail appeals to hit mailboxes as bright-eyed undergraduates begin their classes in September.

I’ve interviewed many deans of colleges and schools within universities of all stripes and sizes—private and public, tiny and ginormous. Most of those deans are lovely people, as are most of the university faculty for which I’ve written. But, it pays to think—will the face and story of a faculty member engender the most feeling in that person opening the envelope? And, by feeling I mean reaction both emotional and logical. Will that face stir both a response from the heart and the head—that will translate into a gift?

To approach this topic of character from another angle, let’s talk about fiction. When we talk about point of view, we’re talking about which character in a story we’re experiencing the action through (sorry, poor grammar there). Sometimes, the story is presented through one main character; sometimes through many. Other times, the point of view isn’t based in a character but is omniscient—seeing all, hearing all. This can be very effective to get a story across, but it can sometimes feel distant.

In direct mail, we want the person opening the envelope to feel as close to us as possible. We want the story of our organization to become their story (or at least the story of that moment of theirs). So much so, that that person takes action—makes the call, goes online, sends a check, etc.

I’m not saying deans appeals from deans can’t work beautifully. But, think about the college student with a compelling story, the hospital patient, the engaged alumnus or donor. Because these constituents aren’t within our organizations, aren’t on the payroll, their stories can be harder to get. But they just might be worth it, for the sake of presenting a compelling character in your next appeal.