Direct Mail

The October 2007 issue of Professional Fundraising, the British fundraising publication, included this to-the-point “case study” that underscores the importance of testing your appeals. “The Children’s Society first introduced its toothbrush mail pack in November 2004. Since then the charity has sent out around a million packs and raised [more than 600,000 British pounds] from the mailing, which uses the strapline: ‘No time to pack when you’re running from abuse.’ The pack asks donors to send back the toothbrush, each of which costs the charity [2 pence] to buy, with an extra donation to help fill a bag for a runaway child. The charity

Direct mail can be a challenge, even under the best of circumstances. But despite its difficulties, industry research consistently indicates that, when it comes to funding your mission, direct mail still is the foundation of the most successful donor-contribution efforts. Yet, all too often, CEOs, CFOs and boards of directors don’t really “get” direct mail.

[Stephen Pidgeon is chairman of Target Direct, a direct-mail fundraising agency in Gloucestershire, England. At the 27th International Fundraising Congress, which was held in the Netherlands last week, he presented a session titled New Challenges Facing Direct-marketing Fundraisers. Here, he offers a synopsis of the session.] It’s not getting any easier, but there’s still a pile of things you can do that will radically improve your direct-marketing fundraising. However, fundraisers of the future will have to put in considerably more effort to achieve the same and better results — and that means improving the supporter experience in much the same way that commercial companies

Every organization that sends direct mail knows that, nine times out of 10, including a premium in a direct-mail package will increase response. But, similarly, it’s also common knowledge that in addition to increasing the cost of a mailing — both in terms of production and postage — premium mailings net lower-value donors. So, what to do? Peter Schoewe, senior consultant with direct-response fundraising firm Mal Warwick Associates, shared two key tips for how to get the most out of up-front premiums in the monthly, consistently useful Mal Warwick’s Newsletter last November. They are: 1. Give the prospect a premium they want, not what

The book “Open Immediately! Straight Talk on Direct Mail Fundraising: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why,” by Stephen Hitchcock, president of Mal Warwick Associates, features 81 chapters that look at nearly every facet of direct-mail fundraising, from acquiring and renewing donors to writing effective letters to the art of the ask. The second chapter of the book — titled “Hairsplitting Traps to Avoid” — discusses the balance nonprofit mailers have to strike between nitpicking for quality and sticking with their mailing schedule. “If you’re spending all your time trying to make each mailing perfect, you won’t be able to get out all your

‘Fake surveys suck!” This is a piece of comment mail I’ll never forget. Scrawled boldly across the survey in thick, black marker, the donor’s opinion of the organization’s effort to engage him couldn’t have been more succinct.

Happy Junk Mail Awareness Week! It’s still on the horizon — Oct. 1 to 7 — but it’s never too early to start planning your festivities! Unfortunately, Junk Mail Awareness Week isn’t intended as a celebration of the ways direct mail creates jobs, fuels economic growth and funds good deeds.

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.

For some months now, I’ve been collecting samples — giving small donations to a number of charities (in addition to those I usually support), so that I can get an idea of who’s doing what with their “post-gift” donor communications.

Remember the old days, before Al Gore invented the Internet? Direct mail was king in the direct-response fundraising world. Then came the Web and the predictions that it would dominate all other media, making books, magazines and newspapers obsolete. And, oh yes, direct mail was on its way out.