Increase response rates by pre-filling your donors' personal information on your direct mail reply cards. It might be tempting to just leave these blank (it's probably modestly cheaper than pre-filling),...
The value of personalization in your direct mail (Tip #15)
Personalization is key. With the technology available today, there's no reason you should be sending targeted direct mail to any donor or prospect and addressing it to "Dear Friend" (or...
Communicating differently via mail with middle and major donors (Tip #14)
Middle and major donors require a different treatment in the mail than your regular donor base. These donors tend to prefer longer letters. Closed-face envelopes, higher quality paper, First Class...
Direct mail as part of an integrated fundraising strategy (Tip #13)
Donors don't behave in silos. They consume media via e-mail, print, TV, radio, mobile, social media and face-to-face. And recent studies suggest that in many cases, they consume multiple media at...
Take major donors out of your mail program at your own risk (Tip #12)
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 (#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 (#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...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#2)
Maximize the Return On Investment (ROI) in your direct mail cultivation (renewal) stream by segmenting your donors based on Recency (recent date of last gift), Frequency (total # of gifts...
Evaluating Fundraising Agencies and Consultants
Can I get a few direct mail samples and some pricing info from you? Ugh. These questions, more than any others, frustrate me as a nonprofit fundraiser. I got an...