A meditation with bullet points, The Fundraiser's Guide to Irresistible Communications: Real-World, Field-Tested Strategies for Raising More Money by Jeff Brooks (Emerson & Church) is meant to inspire, reinvigorate, and fire up the fundraiser who has reached a fork in the road of his or her career, hit a wall, or just wants some new ideas to help make their professional messaging more productive.

Brooks' central thesis is that fundraising communication is different from just about every other kind of communication and needs to be understood on its own terms. Indeed, entirely too much fundraising, Brooks argues, ignores the reasons why people donate, is needlessly complicated, and is often intimidatingly technical. As a result, it lacks urgency and relevance, is too often removed from the concerns of its intended audience, and ultimately is ineffective.

Brooks is big on simplicity, in both language and presentation, and argues that it is key to getting donors to engage with your organization and feel like they are making a real difference on an issue they care about. Treat each mailing as an opportunity to talk with your donors about the impact of their donation, he urges. Respect their time by sharing unforgettable stories rather than overwhelming them with policy discussions or wonkish research. Show, don't tell. (Brooks was an English teacher earlier in his career.) Much of this is common sense, he admits, but doing it is harder than it looks.

He also shines when he discusses the psychological reasons behind some of the "low-tech, high-touch" techniques, such as always using a "P.S." in letters. He delves into why seemingly blunt techniques such as underlining, highlighting, suggesting specific dollar amounts, and repeating "the Ask" several times in a letter are often more effective than more nuanced approaches. People respond to these choices, Brooks contends, even if they consciously find them to be "gimmicky." What strikes the development officer as "good" often fails to register viscerally with prospective donors, and there is often a large disconnect between messages that a development officer thinks a prospective donor will like and messages that actually cause a donor to break out his or her checkbook. Knowing your audience, Brooks reminds us, is frequently more important than getting your audience to know you.

Unfortunately, while Brooks clearly has a lot of respect for professional fundraisers and makes a persuasive case for donor-centric fundraising, The Fundraiser's Guide to Irresistible Communications reads and feels more like an extended collection of blog posts than a book. That's too bad, because the author makes some interesting points that could have benefited from a more in-depth treatment than he gives them. For instance, one of my biggest problems with the book is that it lacks an adequate discussion of e-mail funding appeals. Also helpful would have been a clearer exposition of the life cycle of a fundraising campaign — that is, guidance as to how to implement some of the ideas touched on in the book over the span of a campaign.

Indeed, while Brooks believes that emotion, more than statistics, moves donors to action, that doesn't entirely excuse The Fundraiser's Guide from being heavy on anecdote and reassurance and light on data. The book could have benefited from a few case studies not so much to ask from a book that bills itself as "field-tested." And while arguing that some practices work better than others, the book provides precious few resources beyond its covers for readers who want to delve into the nitty-gritty of fundraising communications. It's just Brooks reflecting on his own experiences as a professional fundraiser.

So while fundraising professionals are likely to respond positively to many of Brooks' recommendations, especially his enthusiasm for ignoring conventional wisdom, The Fundraiser's Guide to Irresistible Communications is probably best suited for those new to fundraising or who are coming to it from other fields. Yes, many of his suggestions are general, and the book is more descriptive than prescriptive. But as an extended essay on the psychology of fundraising, it's a fine starting point for professionals looking for reassurance that their work is important, and, when done well, fills a crucial need: to help generate and channel the resources necessary to make the world a better place.