Five Tips to Better DRTV

3. Create a branded, professional message. Graphics are extremely important — everything from voice-over to music to the images on the screen. Consumers and donors alike don't want to be associated with anything that looks cheap or unprofessional.

4. Have programs in place that can measure things such as the ROI of your media dollars. “In most cases, nonprofits use DRTV for lead generation. So what happens on the back end will determine how successful the DRTV spot was. Sometimes you won't know for three to six months how successful your campaign is, but then how you work your database on the back end and using other techniques such as outbound telemarketing and really monitoring your Web conversions will help you determine [the results],” Seavey says.