It is great to see that the techniques we learned in direct mail seem to apply in the digital space too.

I reckon that in direct marketing, nothing has actually changed in how the ‘offer’ works. Just we deliver it differently with different technology.

Soi Dog Foundation – a dog pound in Phuket, Thailand – is leading the way in Facebook direct marketing. Raising nearly $8,000,000 through Facebook so far AND achieving amazing advocacy goals they are one to watch.

Here I have just a few of the ‘direct mail on Facebook ads’ and posts they run.

1. The Soi Dog Facebook page today. No messing, straight in with a strong offer.

2. Classic strong headline, ‘person’ in need looking straight to camera, a clear offer of what you can do.

3. And again, strong headline, ‘person’ in need looking straight to camera, a clear offer of what you can do.

4. Make the donor the hero. Literally.

5. Consequences of not giving made very clear. Great before and after imagery. If you dig through archives you’ll find an ad like this somewhere in a magazine, direct mail or newspaper in the 1960s.

6. Classic two-step. Get a lead and convert them. Not dissimilar to the long-running ‘improve your memory’ and ‘free investment guide’ that appeared in newspapers 1950s-1980s.

Zooming in on the live Facebook page, I noticed 1,008 people reached within 31 minutes of posting this. Amazing.

If you are serious about raising money online, read the old stuff – all of Mal Warwick’s old direct mail stuff, Ogilvy on Advertising and more.