‘Common Logic’ Is Not Always Logical

Much of the so-called “common logic” of direct-mail fundraising that is still being handed down to new generations of fundraisers is bunk. In reality, illogical methods often win the day. Let me review just a few of the most common situations in which uncommon ideas succeed.

Avoiding tax day
One of the oldest myths in our business is that you should avoid sending solicitations around April 15. The logic seems reasonable … potential donors should be in a less generous mood after cutting a large check to Uncle Sam.

In reality, I have not seen a consistent, measurable downturn around tax time with any of the dozens of clients I have worked with over the past 22 years. In fact, several of my clients experience their highest appeal response rates during this time period.

I believe it’s possible that so many organizations have suppressed mailings around April 15, that it actually has become a great time to mail, because there is less competition for those who continue to send out solicitations.

Long letters versus short letters
Is it better to write long letters or short letters? This is one of the most common debates you’ll hear between direct marketers. Some will adamantly argue that long letters are best. Others will be equally vehement about the necessity of shorter letters. I have seen and heard of numerous tests involving longer versus shorter letters.

There are few other arguments in direct-mail fundraising that are as fruitless as this debate. This should not be an “either/or” deliberation. Sometimes short letters are best. At other times, longer letters are preferable. It just depends on the subject, the client and the moment.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a prospect letter, an appeal to a lower-dollar donor or a solicitation to a major donor, the letter should be short or long depending on the individual need of the package.

A prospect package that I wrote for one client included only six paragraphs, and it was the control for more than seven years. Another long-term control for another client was six pages long and worked for more than six years. One of the long-term prospect control packages for the American Cancer Society includes no letter. I have developed very long and complex packages for some major-donor solicitations, and then developed very short, urgent messages for the same audiences the next month.

The only common logic that should be used in determining the length of a letter is doing what is appropriate for that campaign. A lesser-known organization probably will need more time and space to explain its mission, while a better known cause, such as the American Cancer Society, often needs very little explanation.

Simplify the means of responding
The easier it is for a potential donor to respond, the more likely that donor will respond … right? It seems this should be obvious, but it’s not.

Some of the most successful appeals I helped develop for a political party involved a survey that included a dozen pages of questions, and a whole page of instructions. Not only did the respondent have to answer the many questions, but they also had to fill out a lot of personal information and then fold the form to fit it into the relatively small response envelope. Attempts to simplify the form failed in tests. Against common reasoning, the audience liked the more complex survey and response better.

This strange circumstance of an audience responding better to a solicitation that requires more effort on their part also has exemplified itself with numerous nonprofit organizations who have found that non-BRE response envelopes that require the donor to add a stamp often improve results when tested against BREs.

Does this mean that you should always make it as difficult as possible for a donor to respond? Of course not. However, such successes do show that you should not be afraid of thinking outside of the box and questioning “logical” fundraising practices.

Jim Hussey is president of Adams Hussey & Associates. He can be reached at jhussey@ahadirect.com.