20 Direct-Marketing Ideas for Small Nonprofits, Part 3

11. Test timing because timing is everything
Don't accept standard recommendations on timing, Batcheller said. Figure out what works best for your donors. For instance, the standard timing recommendation for sending e-mails is Tuesday and Wednesday, according to industry best practices. However, through testing the Lincoln Center found that its donors respond to e-mails the best on Thursday and Friday. In fall 2011, e-mails sent based on standard timing recommendations had a 1.88 percent response rate, while e-mails sent on Thursday and Friday during that same period had a 6.02 percent response rate for the organization.