# If Only You’d Known, You Would Have Raised So Much More - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/if-only-youd-known-you-would-have-raised-so-much-more/ - Published: 2019-02-18T16:29:00+00:00 - Author: Howard Lake **Airtight Answers to 40 Questions Essential to Your Fundraising Success.** Forget any conjecture you’ve heard. Ignore the anecdotal advice. At last you have airtight answers to 40 questions crucial to your fundraising success. In his book, _If Only You’d Known, You Would Have Raised So Much More_, Tom Ahern provides proof-positive answers to questions should as: * How old is the typical donor? * How long do donors stick around? * How quickly should you thank a first-time donor? * Should you include an ask in your thank-you letter? * How often in a single appeal can you ask for a gift? * How often can you ask without driving away donors? * What’s the best length for a direct mail letter? * What is the number one reason you lose donors? * Which sequence of gift amounts raises the most, smallest to largest or largest to smallest? In total, you’ll find 40 definitive answers, each one world-sourced from top fundraising practitioners, creative agencies, and veteran researchers working in seven different countries. Ahern writes in his signature style: fast, friendly, funny, plain-talking … even blunt when the occasion demands. And his incontestable findings are critical to small and big nonprofits alike. ## **About Tom Ahern** Tom Ahern is considered one of the world’s top authorities on how to make donor communications more profitable. He is author of _[What Your Donors Want and Why](https://www.emersonandchurch.com/products/what-your-donors-want-and-why)_, [_Seeing Through a Donor’s Eyes_](https://fundraising.co.uk/books/seeing-through-a-donors-eyes/), [_How to Write Fundraising Materials that Raise More Money_](https://fundraising.co.uk/books/how-to-write-fundraising-materials-that-raise-more-money/), and [_Making Money with Donor Newsletters_](https://emerson-church.myshopify.com/products/making-money-with-donor-newsletters), all published by Emerson & Church. He collaborated with Adrian Sargeant and psychologist Jen Shang on prototyping innovative direct mail packages for PBS TV. As a “message strategist” he’s won three IABC Gold Quill awards, all for nonprofit communications campaigns that achieved unusual success.