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Invite a lapsed donor back without guilt
Practice: Getting the tone right. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
A donor who gave in 2024 hasn't given since. Write an email under 90 words, plain text: open with what their last gift actually did, make one specific ask of $50 with the link, and use no guilt (no "we miss you", "we noticed you haven't given", or urgency). Use only the impact numbers in your notes. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 90 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "4 sentences, each under 20 words."
- Opening with the ask. The AI leads with the request, or with "It's been a while!" Try: Add: "Open with what her 2024 gift did: 2 boats repaired, 16 more students rowing."
- Making a vague ask. "Please consider a gift" gives her nothing concrete to say yes to. Try: Add: "Ask for $50 for the winter indoor program, and say what $50 does."
- Adding guilt. The AI defaults to "We've missed you!" and "we noticed you haven't given". Try: Add: "No guilt or urgency lines."
- Ignoring where it will be pasted. AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the email. Try: Name the place and the format: "For the email. Plain text, no bold or headings."
What a strong prompt includes
- Opens with her impact
- Makes a specific ask
- Bans guilt
- Includes the link
- Sets a word limit
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