Don't take your major donors out of the direct mail stream. This is one of the worst things you can do for your organization. Typically this happens for one of...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#11)
One page. Two pages. Eight pages. There is no right or wrong length for direct mail fundraising letters. Don't believe what anyone tells you about this. Those are personal biases...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#10)
Handwriting increases performance. Ink on paper (especially blue ink) does wonders for improving results. The added personalization and authentic feel handwriting provides can help increase both response rate and average...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#9)
Increase your response rates by including mission-relevant involvement devices in your direct mail. These aren't premiums like address labels. Instead, I'm talking about items that require the donor to interact...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#8)
The priorities are 1) Audience, 2) Offer, and 3) Creative. In that order. When building a direct mail fundraising campaign it is often tempting to focus the most time and...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#7)
Recency is key in direct mail fundraising. Most nonprofit board members and executives (and even some fundraisers) don't want to believe it, but your best potential donors are those who...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#6)
If you want to acquire donors at a higher average gift level, start testing catalog subscriber files. You'll get lower response rates (because these people aren't necessarily qualified charitable donors),...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#5)
Direct mail fundraising is counter-intuitive. Chances are that you, your board and others on staff have opinions about your direct mail program. And chances are even better (in fact, close...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#4)
Write your direct mail letter like you'd write to a close friend. Make it warm, personal and informal. Adhering to the APA and MLA style guides might make the brand...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#3)
In this multi-channel world, anywhere from 10% - 30% of the responses to your direct mail campaign will be captured online. Make sure your website is optimized for giving. And...