Bridging the Creative Gap: Direct Mail and Electronic Fundraising

But many marketing and fundraising best practices transcend the medium involved. Here are a few examples.

The hook
We call it the envelope teaser in direct mail. In outbound e-mail, it’s the subject line. E-mail was at first a novelty, but for many of us who get literally hundreds of e-mails a day, it can be a burden. How do you stand out from the inbox competition? The subject line is the key. To me, leaving the subject line blank is a sure sign of spam, so that’s probably not your best option. Be compelling; be brief. Which do you think works better: “Learn about Treehuggers” or “Toxic waste in YOUR local rivers!” The better subject line — and envelope teaser — is the second option.