Want to make an important direct mail campaign stronger?
Sean and I have six big tips that can really super-charge response:
- Mail in a stand-out envelope — bigger, more colourful, not the usual!
- Use a matching gift offer.
- Enhance the pack in as many ways as possible: Longer letter, bigger reply device, as many lift pieces as you can think of!
- Call your donors before they get the mail — or after.
- Use email and mail together, make it into an “event.”
- Repetition! Send several emails. Send a follow-up direct mail. Maybe even send the original pack again!
Want to learn more about what really works in direct mail? Uncover all of the amazing best practices of direct mail fundraising in our course 7 Steps To Creating Record-Smashing Direct Mail. It’s available for all members of The Fundraisingology Lab.
1 Comment. Leave new
Would love to get some stats on the email repetition. We are just doing our own split testing now of one group of donors receiving an email on the DM landing date and another group two days following. I can’t imagine based on our preliminary results that emails to all of them before, during and after an appeal would be effective. Any chance you can share more input on where this has been tested (NZ is sometimes its own little world), how it has been effective (e.g. increased avg gift, increased retention, increased number of donations), and if there have been any consequences found (e.g. increased churn, reduced avg gift, significant number of complaints about too much contact). Appreciate any insights you can provide.