Guide · 1 min read
Images in fundraising letters that work
An image can carry the whole story, or ruin it. It says more than a thousand words, and can therefore be read in a thousand ways.
The right image strengthens
The right image strengthens the text and can almost carry the whole story. The wrong image can ruin the whole impression. Choose the image as carefully as you choose the words.
What works best
The knowledge from the DM Lab gathers what tends to work better than its opposite.
- Larger images work better than small ones.
- Colour usually works better than black and white.
- People or animals work better than objects, and one person better than many.
- Close-ups work better than distance, and eye contact better than none.
- Serious or sad images work better when a problem is to be illustrated, as in an appeal.
- The small and vulnerable work better than the large and robust.
- Eyes, heads and the unusual catch the gaze.
Serious for the problem, happy for the thanks
Use serious images when a serious problem is described, and happy images when you say thank you. A hybrid is possible, with the problem and the release side by side.
Faces and gaze direction
Leif's checklist from the DM Lab asks whether the letter uses faces, eyes and gaze direction to steer the gaze. An image where the person looks towards the text gives the reader a direction.
Dignity and ethics
The person pictured is a rights holder, and the one who uses the image is a duty bearer. Balancing dignity against showing the gravity is hard, and sometimes not every right can be upheld.
Follow the guide to ethical use of images from Fundraising Norway (fundraisingnorge.no/etisk-regelverk), especially for vulnerable groups and for AI-generated images.