Dear Charity Clairity,

I’m wondering what role direct mail plays in our digitally-dominant world? My boss wants me to schedule fewer hard copy mailings, and rely more on less expensive email and social media. But I wonder if in the long run the ROI is better for direct mail than digital? Is there any research on open, conversion and retention rates for the different mediums? I did stop donor acquisition mailings a few years back because returns were so low. But, now I’m wondering if I was being pound-wise and penny-foolish.

— Direct and Digitally Dumbfounded

Dear Direct and Digitally Dumbfounded,

Great questions!

As media options continue to multiply, choosing the best channels becomes more and more fraught. And, as with most things, there’s no one right answer.

The truth is that reaching people today is more challenging – and more expensive – than it was 40 years ago when I began in fundraising. That being said, it was expensive even then!

You have to spend money to make money

For donor acquisition, direct mail returns of 2% were considered good then. And it cost $1.25 to raise $1.00. The real money came with repeat giving as measured by donor lifetime value. Still, the acquisition effort was essential because without it there would be no lifetime value whatsoever.

That’s still the case, even though direct mail acquisition guru Tom Ahern notes today 1% is cause for a party! John Lepp says anything between 0.25 and 1% is reasonable today. It’s not a lot, but it’s definitely more than nothing.

And what about other acquisition channels? Email, social media, text, advertising, events… the choices go on and on. You’ll want to try some of these, and your choice will depend on the channels you know your constituents frequent. Nothing will come from nothing. You should know, however, a recent NonProfitPro article found results disappointing:

“One of the biggest advantages of direct mail is that it yields a much higher response rate compared to other channels. Despite all the hype, the average response rate of online and social media channels is disappointingly low. The average email response rate is around 0.1%, the average response rate of paid search is 0.6%, and 0.2% for online display marketing.”

You also have to spend money to keep money

Think about it this way: If it’s your own money, perhaps you hire an investment advisor to make sure you don’t lose any value and also grow value over time. What if you were to consider your organization’s house list (any donors who’ve given to you in the past) your “donor investment advisor?”

Effectively, your list can advise you regarding who already cares about you. Used wisely, it can suggest those to whom you may wish to pay some special attention (e.g., first-time donors; monthly donors; upgrading donors; lapsed donors; major donors; event attendees, etc.). One way to do so is by sending them hard copy mail. In fact, per guru John Lepp, if you send direct mail to this house donor list you’ll get a response rate of 10 to 20% for your direct mailing.

Let’s look at some of the advantages of direct mail

It has a longer lifespan

A GLW Media study shows direct mail has an average lifespan of 17 days while email only lasts an average of 2 seconds. Often, multiple people in a household will see the direct mail piece lying around on a counter or kitchen table.

TIP: Include a QR code on your mail piece to help people take action more conveniently. Further personalize your communication through follow-up emails that serve as reminders to folks to take another look at your mailed piece.

It has a higher and faster response rate

A Direct Marketing Association report found 4.4% of people respond to direct mail while only 0.12% respond to emails. Hubspot found direct mail also speeds up the purchase timeframe. On average, any purchase decision (nonprofit donations, too!) takes longer than a week and over a third take more than a month. However, with direct mail, 73% of purchase decisions take only 1+ day.

TIP: Use one or more of these strategies to maximize the chance your letter will get opened. Also take the opportunity to personalize your mailing inside with personal, handwritten notes. It will ensure more folks pay attention to what you’ve written.

It offers a tangible, personal, memorable connection

A United States Postal Service study found 71% of Gen X and older consumers find mail to be more personal than online communications. They’re excited when they receive mail from you! Even 72% of Gen Z said they’d be disappointed to no longer receive mail.

TIP: Integrate direct mail with digital campaigns to create a synergistic effect that increases engagement. SG360’s research reveals integrated campaigns capture 39% more attention than digital-only initiatives. Moreover, these multifaceted campaigns provoke a 5% increase in emotional intensity, leading to a more memorable and impactful experience.

Bottom line

Different reports and studies yield slightly different numbers, but everything points to the fact that direct mail is more than alive and well and still plays an important role in donor acquisition, retention, and upgrades. And when it comes to building personal relationships, it generally outperforms the alternatives.

Alas, it costs more money than it used to and it takes more work. There’s simply no way around this reality.

So, it’s time to dispel the notion you can be successful on the cheap. The best course forward is to simply budget more for both donor acquisition and retention, and put in place written strategic plans to help you accomplish your fundraising goals in the most effective way possible.

Be dumbfounded no more!

— Charity Clairity (Please use a pseudonym if you prefer to be anonymous when you submit your own question, like “Direct and Digitally Dumbfounded” did.)

How do you use direct mail in your fundraising? Let us know in the comments. 

The post What Role Does Direct Mail Play In Fundraising In A Digital World? appeared first on Bloomerang.

However, you don’t need to dread the creation of your annual report! When well crafted, this resource can be a vital tool to retain and grow donor support.

This post is designed to guide your organization through the nonprofit annual report creation process. We’ll walk you through tips to make your report as effective as possible (with helpful templates along the way to provide formatting examples). Here’s what to expect:

• What is a nonprofit annual report?
• Nonprofit annual report template
• Best practices for creating your annual report
• Tools for creating your nonprofit annual report
• Inspirational nonprofit annual report examples

Ready to dive a little deeper into nonprofit annual reports and learn how you can craft yours to maximize the impact at your organization? Let’s get started.

Your nonprofit’s annual reports will receive much more attention when they’re thoughtfully crafted, compelling, and well-designed. Ensuring that your report is engaging and educational for your supporters will go a long way in building stronger, long-lasting relationships.

The templates and annual report examples throughout this article should help your nonprofit get started making your annual report the best it can be. If you’re looking for more information about donor communications and effective nonprofit reporting, check out these additional resources:

• The Ultimate Donor Engagement Guide + Top Strategies. Your annual report should work in tandem with your donor engagement strategies to enhance your audience interactions. This guide offers top donor engagement tips and strategies.
• How To Develop A Successful Nonprofit Fundraising Strategy. As mentioned, your annual report must support your organization’s fundraising strategy and other strategic goals. Review this guide for more information about developing a solid fundraising plan.
• 16 Top Donor Management Software Solutions (+ Buyer’s Guide). Your donor management software can generate reports on fundraising campaigns and donor engagement efforts to fill your annual report with rich data. Use this guide to explore top donor management solutions.

The post The Essential Nonprofit Annual Report Template & Full Guide appeared first on Bloomerang.

Now more than ever, effective fundraising is what your nonprofit depends on to survive. Your team likely spends countless hours planning events and campaigns in order to raise money for programs and projects that will further your cause. 

All this fundraising definitely involves sending appeals to your donor base. Whether you’re sending general donation requests, sponsorship requests, or end-of-year-appeals, it’s important to amplify your fundraising campaigns as broadly and loudly as possible. 

Deciding on the channels through which to send your appeals can be tough—there are so many ways to reach donors these days. The good news is that you don’t have to choose just one. In fact, you shouldn’t! 

A multi-channel fundraising strategy, or one that targets donors through a variety of mediums, is most likely to reach the widest audience and result in maximum funds raised. This type of campaign uses a combination of various digital methods and/or direct mail. 

At GivingMail, we’re experts on using direct mail appeals to help organizations big and small improve their fundraising numbers and achieve their goals. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the role of direct mail in a multi-channel fundraising strategy. We’ll answer the following questions: 

• What is multi-channel fundraising?
• Why should I use a multi-channel approach?
• What are the benefits of using direct mail in a multi-channel approach?

Leveraging the power of direct mail in a multi-channel strategy can lead to increased awareness of and engagement in your cause. Ready to learn more? Let’s jump in. 

What is multi-channel fundraising? 

Throughout the year, your nonprofit sends countless communications to supporters requesting contributions to your cause. These appeals may be general donation requests or appeals related to specific campaigns, projects, or initiatives. When you use more than one method to reach supporters, you’re executing a multi-channel campaign.  

The 4 main ways to reach donors with fundraising appeals are: 

• Email
• Social media
• Text
• Direct Mail

When deciding which approaches to include in your multi-channel campaign, it’s important to learn from the past. Rely on the data in your donor management platform to determine where your donors are most active. If, for example, your audience historically has an exceptionally low text-to-give response rate, you might consider sticking to email, social media, and direct mail strategies. Regardless of which channels you pursue, you’ll also want to align your marketing strategy across all of them. This means having a clear goal, audience, and message to unify your fundraising campaign and have the most impact. 

Further, a cohesive multi-channel strategy should also take into consideration the timing of the appeals and coordinate times to have the best result. Best practices and tips like the ones above can take your multi-channel approach to the next level. 

Why you should use a multi-channel approach 

The target audiences for each of the channels described above—email, social media, text, and direct mail—don’t overlap perfectly. The people most likely to open and respond to emails are not the same people who are likely to open and respond to direct mail, and so on. 

For instance, younger people are more likely to see appeals on social media or text, while older audiences are more likely to open emails and direct mail. 

Thus, when you use multiple channels to disseminate your appeals, you increase your fundraising capabilities by increasing the size of your audience. Every time you add a channel, you are exposing different potential donors to your campaign. 

Beyond expanding audience size, multi-channel fundraising campaigns that reach the same donor through more than one channel are more likely to drive that donor to conversion. For example, say Lisa used to volunteer with an animal shelter in college. Years later, she gets a Facebook message from the animal shelter asking for a donation to its latest project. She sees the message and means to respond, but has to run to a meeting. 

When a letter arrives in her mailbox two days later, it jogs Lisa’s memory, and she’s reminded of the dedication of the organization and its firm commitment to its mission. She sends a check in the mail for their initiative. 

The scenario above is backed up by statistics: campaigns that use direct mail plus a form of digital marketing yield a 28% higher conversion rate, meaning it’s to your advantage to approach your donors from different angles. 

What are the benefits of direct mail in a multi-channel fundraising strategy?

You might be thinking, “Multiple channels makes sense. But why direct mail? Isn’t everyone online these days?” That’s a trap that a lot of organizations fall into—thinking they should aim all of their marketing efforts at digital channels. The truth is direct mail remains a tried-and-true, reliable method for raising funds for nonprofits across the country. Here are some of the benefits of including direct mail in your approach:   

1. Direct mail has higher response rates 

The ROI (return on investment) for direct mail appeals when compared to other marketing channels is high; response rates to direct mail appeals are roughly 10 times higher than any digital channel (including email). 

While printing letters may seem like a big effort and expense, it’s beyond worth it to potentially capture all of those donations. Think about it: a donor in that margin could become one of your most loyal, longtime supporters. 

2. Direct mail can target older audiences 

Older donors are a highly sought-after and valuable demographic to pursue for fundraising. Baby Boomers represent the top source of revenue for nonprofits—they contribute a whopping 43% of all gifts made by individuals. Older donors have had years to build their careers and make money, making them good sources of support for charitable organizations. 

Further, out of the 72% of people aged 55-75 who donate to charitable organizations, 19% of them prefer to give via direct mail. That’s a significant portion of a high-value demographic that you’d be missing out on if you didn’t include direct mail appeals in your multi-channel fundraising strategy. 

If you find that your data shows you have room to improve in this demographic, direct mail appeals could be the answer.

3. Direct mail is more tangible and memorable

Sure, emails are visible on your screen, but so is every other digital ad you’re bombarded with every day. Many people can agree that an email just isn’t the same as holding a letter in your hand. Hard-copy fundraising letters  have more impact because your audience can actually feel your request. After all, you’re engaging with your audience in their own homes, and that is pretty much as personal as it gets! 

In addition to being tangible, letters are a great platform for memorable appeal. Because fundraising letters are usually 1-2 pages long, they offer plenty of room to tell a story and make an impact. The most effective letters catch your audience’s attention with an anecdote or emotional appeal. Then, they follow up with a request for a contribution. 

4. Direct mail allows for personalization 

Beyond telling a story in your fundraising appeals, personalizing your fundraising letters is a critical component of their success. It’s difficult to find “Dear friend” or “Dear supporter” charming—donors are much more likely to pay attention to and respond to an appeal that at least uses their name. 

Personalizing your letters with your donors’ names works in combination with the physical presence of the letter. Combined, they make a letter feel much more personal than an email or a text.

It’s important to consider other ways you can personalize your direct mail appeals. Using your nonprofit’s CRM, you can segment your donor base into groups dependent on factors like

• Demographic information.
• Previous engagement history.
• Giving method.

Doing so allows you to send customized letters to each group that reference your knowledge of the donors’ profile. This shows donors you went to the effort to find out a little about them before asking for a donation, which goes a long way in building relationships with them. 

If you’re unsure how to proceed with your fundraising letters or just want some ideas for how to format your appeals, check out our GivingMail request letters and templates. 

When you’re strategizing for your next fundraising campaign, keep in mind the importance of spreading a wide net and reaching the most potential donors. While no one channel has a 100% response rate, a combination of channels will get you closer to maximum participation. 

And, when it’s time to select channels for your multi-channel fundraising strategy, don’t forget about direct mail. Sure, online donations are common today, but direct mail remains exceedingly useful because of the high response rate, the personal nature of physical letters, and the valuable target audience. Good luck! 

The post Direct Mail in a Multi-Channel Fundraising Strategy appeared first on Bloomerang.

As we look specifically at direct mail or email strategies for new donor acquisition, the way to improve this global trend is to mail fewer people with a focus on connecting with the right people. Most of the time, people think of acquisition as casting a big net and trying to get as many fish (donors) into it as possible. In the past, this was actually a great tactic, but today, instead of going big, we recommend you go MICRO.

M = Mail to proven donors

There are many data sources out there for direct mail and email acquisition. These are often referred to as Response Lists or Donor Files. Usually, organizations use large compiled files that actually contribute to lower response rates.

You know the lists I’m talking about: the homeowners or voter lists, for example. Just because someone owns a home or is a registered voter doesn’t mean they’ll give to charity. It only means they own a home and are a registered voter.

Be sure the lists you choose include people who have a proven history of giving to other charities or organizations. It’s so tempting to use these massive compiled lists due to their lower cost. But remember: You get what you pay for. If you’re unsure about the different types of lists to use, seek out a list broker who works with nonprofits. Don’t just trust anyone who sells data to know what nonprofits need for new donor acquisition. If you want my recommendations for list brokers that I trust, please drop me an email.

I = Improve your selects

There are additional selections (selects) that you can add to most lists. When you add these additional selection criteria to the list, you’re narrowing the universe to those who will hopefully be a perfect match to your target audience profile. For the good Response Lists (aka Donor Files), you can select based on monetary amounts or recency of their last gift (some organizations make their lapsed donors available to rent, so please do look at recency). In addition to prior giving history, you may be able to add a select for religion or ethnicity or even geographical requirements, just to name a few.

Yes, adding selects to your list will increase the price of the list a bit. But by mailing fewer people, you’re saving money on the printing and postage, which is much more costly than a few selects. And it may help your response rate because you are mailing higher-quality potential donors. With that in mind though, keep in mind that adding selects on to compiled files is still probably not going to get you the response rate you are looking for.

C = Captivate your audience

No one can respond to your message if it gets lost in the mail or in their inbox. You want it to stand out. For direct mail this could be including a better teaser on the outside envelope. Or it could be having a different shape or feel to the package. Not all design choices have to cost an arm and a leg. We had a client who was raising money for a school and included a piece of chalk in the mailing. This really made the piece stand out in the mailbox, and the campaign was a huge success for them.

For email, the key metric to review is your Open Rate. If your open rates are low, really look at your subject line. Are you turning away people before they’ve even read what you have to say?

R = Reach their head and heart

Once you have your potential donor’s attention and they’ve opened the envelope or email, reel them in with a heartwarming story of how your nonprofit has changed lives and give them an ask that makes sense to them.

Finding the balance between reaching someone’s head and heart can be a true art form — and takes a lot of practice. Read through your acquisition appeal. Does it include a story of your mission in action that really tugs on someone’s heartstrings? Are you balancing that with clear information about what your organization does and how the potential donor can help?

This isn’t about making a super long letter. It’s about ensuring your communication is right for your audience and giving them what they need to make their decision to donate.

O = Optimize the timing

Believe it or not, there are better times of the year for acquisition. Potential donors are very particular about when they’re in the mood to give to a new organization. By and large, this is in the fall months. If you’re only doing one acquisition campaign, then do it in the fall to maximize your response rates. Look at your past campaigns and see if you see any patterns that you can replicate going forward.

Remember, when it comes to new donor acquisition, bigger is not always better. Try going MICRO to improve your response rates and then slowly build from there. And we’re here if you get stuck along the way.

The post Go MICRO And Improve Your Response Rates In New Donor Acquisition appeared first on Bloomerang.

And that’s a huge problem because 40% of your mailing’s success depends upon your list. Another 40% is the offer, while 20% is the creative. Where do you spend your time and energy?

Alas, fundraisers often leave the building of their nonprofit mailing list to the marketing folks. They let them worry about things like email deliverability and spam, clicks, and opens, subject lines, and A/B tests. All these things are important.

But there’s something more important. Something fundraisers need to proactively consider.

You can do everything perfectly in terms of fundraising technique, but it’s all for naught unless you have enough viable prospects.

It’s all too easy to forget about this all-important task or to think about it as merely an ‘administrative’ function that never rises to the top of your priority list. And, let’s face it, often marketing staff doesn’t fully understand what makes a good donor prospect.

You can’t ask anyone for money if you don’t have a list of likely donor prospects ready and waiting.

So… how about making this month a time to think about building your prospect lists?

Keep this in mind: for someone to be a realistic prospect for your organization, they must possess the qualities of “LIA“:

1. Linkage to you (i.e., they’ve been involved in the past, they or someone they know has benefited from your services, they know someone connected with your organization, etc.)
2. Interest in your mission (i.e., they’ve been involved with similar causes)
3. Ability to give

Here are some ways to find folks like these to add to your offline and online prospect lists:

1. Leverage Your House List(s)

These people have linkage! This is the easiest, most overlooked, resource for many organizations.  You’ve likely got plenty of folks affiliated with you in other ways than as donors. They may be names housed in multiple mailing lists and/or databases other than your donor database. These folks are connected to you, and it would be a shame to waste these connections. Look at clients, families of clients, students, families of students, neighbors, event attendees, volunteers, staff, former volunteers and staff… and so forth. Don’t ignore these folks when you do your fundraising and awareness-building campaigns. Each of these can become a separate segment for your mailings, with copy tailored to acknowledge how they are connected.

2. Mine Your Leaders’ Networks

Friends of current leaders (aka board members, other volunteers, donors, and even staff) are linked to their friends and, therefore, to you! There are a couple of strategies I like to make it easy, and fun, for your leaders to be helpful.

1. Consider a ‘Let your Friends Be Our Friends’ campaign.

Simply ask board members, other volunteers, and all those closest to you to give you the names and contact information they have for 3 – 5 of their family, friends, or colleagues who may be interested in what you do. Make it fun by offering incentives, such as ‘mystery’ prizes for those who complete/return their forms. Or maybe have a drawing to win a dinner donated by a local restaurant; everyone who provides names is entered to win! While you’re at it, ask when you’re ready to mail to these folks if your volunteer leader would be willing to add their name and/or write a brief personal note to go along with the appeal.

2. Consider a Peer-to-Peer campaign.

A single donor can become a new donor recruiter, and the equivalent of a major donor, simply by asking folks to join them in a mini-campaign. They thus attract new donors to your cause from their personal networks, while simultaneously multiplying their value to you as their $100 gift becomes $1,000 due to the matching gifts from nine of their friends. There are two great ways to handle this online:

• Purchase software to handle P2P campaigns right off your own website home page or main menu. This way, folks can run their own campaigns whenever they want. This is popular for birthdays and other celebrations, but can also be used for memorials in lieu of flowers and other gifts. You offer this as an ongoing fundraising opportunity right off of your website home page or main menu. As noted above, some organizations encourage supporters to set up their own “do-it-yourself” fundraising pages whenever the spirit moves them (e.g., birthdays, weddings, memorials).
• Launch mini-campaigns, each with a goal and a defined time frame, to generate funding for specific projects. You can ask your supporters to share your campaign via email or social media, and provide them with templates for so doing.

3. Use Share Buttons Everywhere

Never waste a good linkage; make your donors’ networks your networks! When you encourage folks to share their interest in and support for you, what happens? You make current supporters your list-building partners! Make it easy for existing supporters to tell their friends and family about their involvement by including share buttons on your email appeals, blog posts, e-newsletters, website, and thank you landing pages.

4. Build Your Email List Direct from Your Website

When people come to your website, they’re indicating some interest in what you do; make sure they find current, relevant, interesting content! Don’t let this be the last time they visit you. The truth is 70% of website visitors will leave after looking at just one page; most won’t return. One of the most important things you can do is proactively build your online nonprofit mailing list by engaging your visitors while they’re on your website. Make sure it’s compelling so folks are enticed to want to become even more engaged. A great way to do this is to share one or more stories, images, and/or videos on your Home Page. Or consider a menu drop-down with “Stories of Hope,” or some such header.

Also, be sure you have a prominent place on your Home Page where folks can enter their contact information if they want to hear from you. Don’t fall back on the simple, yet boring, “Join our Email List.” People get more than enough email. You’ve got to give them a ‘gift’ in return. The best way to do this is by offering donor-centered reasons why folks might want to join your list (e.g., “how-to” lists, recommendations, e-books, whitepapers, “story of the month,” etc.). There are free re-engagement tools you can use:

• Hubspot provides a free pop-up plug-in to redirect visitors or collect contact information.
• Hello Bar helps you sign visitors up for a newsletter or direct them to your social profiles.
• Sumo provides free pop-ups and a tool to “stick” your call to action (CTA) so it remains visible as users scroll the page.

5. Ask Board Members to Review Lists

To better assess both interest and ability, you need a little vetting. With un-vetted lists, you’re shooting in the dark. With a little volunteer feedback on those lists, you’ve got much more than a snowball’s chance.

• Put together a list of potential foundation supporters. Indicate the leadership, including trustees. Who do they know that works there? How might they be able to help you reach out to these folks? Do any of these suggestions inspire them to provide additional suggestions (e.g., another prospective funder in the same industry)?
• Put together a list of prospective business sponsors. You might begin with a “Top 50” listing in your community that may be published by a local paper or your chamber of commerce. You might also consider a productive brainstorming session at a board or committee meeting to help identify new prospective sponsors. I like to do this with event committees, and have been known to tape poster-sized sheets of paper around the room with categories of potential business supporters (e.g., Banks; Law Firms: Finance Firms; Real Estate; Architecture; Retail; Technology Companies, etc.).
• Put together a list of prospective individual donors.  I used to ask volunteers to bring in programs from events they attended so I could note who in our community was philanthropic. I’d also take notes from donor walls when visiting hospitals, universities, museums, zoos and theaters. Pay particular attention to donors to causes related to yours.

Keep Your Nonprofit Mailing List Fresh

A good list today could be a bad list tomorrow. Too often lists are filled with bad addresses, duplicates, the deceased, people who’ve never given, and/or donors who lapsed many years ago. In fact, roughly 20% of addresses in nonprofit databases are out of date. Mailing to these folks is a waste of time and resources. Plus it makes it difficult for you to evaluate your success. Because if you’re mailing to a lot of deadwood, your rates of retention and return on investment will fall.

Here’s how to continually re-build your lists:

1. Do an annual address correction request using a process like NCOA (National Change of Address). 17% of Americans move each year, and running an NCOA is a requirement to qualify for USPS bulk mailing rates.
2. Purge your list of anyone who’s never given and has been on the list for three years. 
3. Purge your list of anyone who’s given but not in the past five years.

You can use different guidelines, but make sure you have a policy and plan! For example, you might cull the list before you purge anyone, deciding to keep those such as former board and staff members on the list (they might leave a bequest). And you can always archive these names if you’re uneasy about entirely getting rid of them, but don’t waste precious resources mailing to them. Just don’t kid yourself. If you have a 7,000-name list but only 250 donors, that’s a sign something is really off.

Remember: Ultimately, your fundraising is only as good as your list. Spend some time on this!

The post You’ve Likely Got A Problem With Your Nonprofit Mailing List appeared first on Bloomerang.

Your appeal letter should feel like a letter from a friend, not a business communication or a paper for school. Let go of those formal tendencies and allow yourself to break a few brand guidelines if that’s what it takes.

Tip 1: Salutation

Address the letter informally. Use a first name or nickname to address your appeal. The only exception here is if you have a donor who has explicitly asked to only be addressed with the formal salutation. If they haven’t, use their nickname if one is recorded in your database and their first name if not.

Tip 2: Signature

There should only be one person signing the letter. It can be your executive director or your board chair, but not both. Two signatures sends a message to your donors that this letter is something a committee put together to send out, and that they’re getting a communication from a brand. One signature makes the recipient feel like another human is writing directly to them.

Tip 3: Paragraphs

Break up your paragraphs, make them smaller. A good appeal often has some paragraphs that are only a single sentence! Increasing white space makes the letter easier to read. And easier to skim, which is what most of your readers will do.

Tip 4: Reading Level

You’re aiming for a 6th grade reading level. Yes, your donors are smart enough to read at a higher reading level. But they don’t need to – keeping it simple means your donor can quickly and easily get the message you want them to.

My favorite tool for this is the Hemingway app – it’s free! Just copy and paste your text into the tool online and adjust until it’s easier to read.

Tip 5: Emphasis

You can use bold text and underlining to make your most important points resonate and draw your reader’s eyes to them. Make sure your ask is emphasized, and hit the parts of the story that are most going to make your donor want to give. Look over what you have emphasized; if someone read just those parts, without reading the rest of the text, would they understand your message? That’s your goal.

Tip 6: Font Size

Please bump your font size up to 14 point font. It’s so much easier to read. If someone opens up that envelope and looks at your letter, you want them to immediately get your message, not set it down to go in search of better lighting or reading glasses.

Tip 7: Length

Now that you’ve spaced out your paragraphs and made your font size larger, maybe your letter doesn’t fit on a single page. Good! A 4 page letter (two sheets printed front and back) often performs better. Let it be longer than a page.

Tip 8: The Envelope

Your letter is going to be one of a stack of pieces of mail that lands in someone’s mailbox one day soon. Will your donor want to open it? Adding a teaser can help. Don’t make your teaser say what you want them to do. They aren’t going to make a gift because the envelope asks. Make your teaser entice them to open the envelope.

Try these easy changes before you send your year-end appeal out the door this year. Small changes can make a big difference for your year-end fundraising!

The post 8 Simple Tips To Make Your Year-End Appeal Better appeared first on Bloomerang.

If your experience is anything like mine, then your direct mail appeal is probably a large source of income for your nonprofit. Or maybe you wish it was a larger source of income than it currently is. Here are four practical steps that you can take to improve your direct mail appeal and raise more money.

1. Review Your Mailing List

Who are you targeting? Are you sending appeals to individuals that your organization hasn’t heard from in 10 years? Are you sending appeals to all of your volunteers, or are they not even in your database?

These questions are essential to ask months before you actually start designing and assembling your direct mail appeal. If your database needs to be cleaned up, do it. If you need to gather updated contact information and add volunteers into your database, do it. You won’t have a successful direct mail appeal unless your data is complete and accurate.

2. Re-design Your Appeal — Stop Sending Letters

I am not at all advocating to forgo sending snail mail. Physical mail is still a powerful tool for fundraising. But you should send mail that people will want to open and read. Rather than writing a two page letter full of facts about your program that won’t be read in its entirety (if it’s even opened), create a compelling direct mail piece that stands out.

One way to achieve this is to change the format from a letter to a card. Most junk mail comes in letter form, not in the size of a greeting card. That’s why we suggest designing a 5×7 card that is visually appealing. And if you send a postcard, you automatically bypass the issue of getting the recipient to open the envelope in the first place!

However, these unique direct mailings can be more difficult to create on your own. If you don’t have the design skills or resources to produce and mail this type of high-quality appeal, then outsource it. It’s worth it!

Working with a nonprofit direct mail fundraising company is a great way to set your appeals apart from everything else that ends up in your supporters’ mailboxes. Plus, with a platform like GivingMail, you can even save money that you would have spent by taking a Do-It-Yourself approach.

3. Center Your Appeal Around A Story

Stories are motivating. The background of how a program started and how you plan to expand next year does not raise as much money as telling a story.

This means you have to work on identifying a story, which can be difficult depending on what your nonprofit does. For nonprofits that tutor students in reading, that’s easy. For advocacy organizations, that can be a bit more challenging. However, there are always stories to be told. It’s up to you to do the hard work of identifying the story and then telling it in a compelling way.

For example, you might have to think outside of the box and tell the story of why a volunteer has dedicated so much time to being an advocate for your cause.

4. Personalize Your Appeal

This is something that Bloomerang makes easy.

• Personalized Names
  This can be done on the appeal card or on the pledge card.
• Personalized Giving Amounts
  This cannot be overlooked. Asking for a gift of $100 from someone who gave $1,500 last year is embarrassing or, even worse, a missed opportunity.
• Personalized Supporter Information
  You should included columns in your mailing list that provide helpful data about donors. What year was their first donation? How long have they been a donor? What program do they volunteer with? Did they attend your last gala?

Personalized Notes

Each direct mail appeal should have at least one signature and a note by the Executive Director, a board member, or a staff member. It is best when the card is signed by an individual who knows the donor, but if that is not possible it is helpful to utilize the above personalized supporter information in your note. For example, you can thank them for volunteering each week at the front desk, or for being a consistent donor since the organization was founded 10 years ago.

The post 4 Ways to Improve Your Direct Mail Appeal appeared first on Bloomerang.

Year-end brings the largest flurry of direct mail within the nonprofit sector. Most charities rely on the final two months of each year to achieve more than 50% of the funding of their mission.  

New research confirms a course of action that can increase the results of those year-end appeals as well as other appeals throughout the year. The research was just released this week by the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy.

Thank You Letter BEFORE the Direct Mail Appeal

The portion of the research on Gift Acknowledgements we will be highlighting here centered on analysis of testing performed by Planned Parenthood. The essence of the analysis was based upon the simple premise of the following question:

Will sending a thank you letter out prior to your next direct mail appeal letter improve results?

The short and quick answer is YES!  Now let’s explore the how and how much.

This is a simple A/B test that virtually every nonprofit engaging in direct mail can reproduce with just a slight amount of effort. The Planned Parenthood appeal was divided into two equally sized groups. The first group did receive the thank you only (no solicitation) mailing prior as outlined in the slide below. The second group did not receive a pure thank you letter prior to being mailed the appeal letter.

The Difference an Extra Thank You Touch Can Make Will Surprise You

Most of you are probably guessing that the condition one group did perform better when the dollars were tallied after the follow-up solicitation. However, the level of difference, as shown below, certainly proves the practice as being well worth the time and effort!

Seldom does any such A/B test reveal a 67% increase over the control group.

There is much in the way of excellent analysis in the report regarding this test. My favorite analysis is this section:

“Whether a thank-you letter was sent did not change response rate to the renewal letter. The response rate to the renewal letter was 1.49% in donors who did not receive the thank-you letter and 1.43% in those who did receive the thank-you letter. A logit regression shows that whether donors received the thank-you letter or the version of the renewal letter did not significantly affect renewal rates.

But the thank-you letter massively increased the average donation amount…  Donors who received the thank-you letter gave more… to renew their annual gift than those who did not receive the thank-you letter.”

Summary

We hope this heightened your interest in various tests that you can do to increase the results of your direct mail appeals.  So much can be done to improve communications with your prospects and donors for most nonprofits.

We hope you find a new practice or procedure that can achieve a 67% increase in funding for your mission by such testing! If so, please drop a line or leave a comment to let us know.

The post One Simple Method To Increase The Results Of Your Next Direct Mail Appeal appeared first on Bloomerang.

It’s been said that there are only two guarantees in life: death and taxes. While the latter isn’t much of an issue for 501(c)(3)s, the former definitely is.

According to one study, 16% of donors lapsed because they passed away. When you combine that with the fact that a majority of charitable giving comes from baby boomers and older, running a deceased suppression process regularly becomes invaluable.

What is Deceased Suppression Processing?

During a deceased suppression process, the names and addresses of individuals in your donor database are matched against public records of deceased individuals. A deceased date, if found, is provided, allowing you to identify deceased constituents and marked them as such in your database.

The cost of such a data service typically starts around $500, and is well worth the investment. Here are three reasons why:

1. Not annoying a surviving family member

Hopefully you’ve never experienced the loss of a loved one or close friend. In certain contexts, being reminded of them can bring up fond memories. Receiving direct mail addressed to them is not one of those contexts, especially if the content includes language like “act now!”

Removing deceased individuals from your mailing list can save you the embarrassment of appearing insensitive to a surviving spouse or household member. It’s highly doubtful that those individuals would notify organizations (for profit or nonprofit) that the member of your mailing list had passed away (if they do, skip down to #3), and it’s unfair to have that expectation.

You owe it to the person who has supported you not to cause an ounce of pain to their surviving loved ones. This reason alone is enough, but read on if you aren’t yet convinced.

2. Cost savings

While saving money on direct mail campaigns comes second to the point above, it should not be overlooked, especially if you perform multiple direct mail campaigns each year.

Let’s say you invest $500 in the data service. At four mailings per year, with a cost of $0.49 per mailing, you would only need to remove about 250 names to fully (hard) cost justify the expense (if you have a large, old list that has never been cleansed).

However, don’t let not breaking completely even on the hard costs keep you from investing in the service. Not annoying even a few donors makes it worth while, and can even open doors to additional stewardship opportunities.

3. Final opportunity to show appreciation (and more)

Learning that a dedicated and engaged donor has passed away should trigger a lot of activity for you as a fundraiser, especially if you have data on members of their household.

Sharing your condolences with a surviving family member is an amazing stewardship opportunity. Make time to let them know how much you appreciated their support over the years, while including its tangible outcomes. They may not even be aware, and there’s no greater gift than communicating that legacy.

Who knows? That spouse, partner, son or daughter may continue supporting you in honor of their dearly departed.

Along with other data services like wealth screening and NCOAs, deceased suppression processing is an indispensable part of the fundraiser’s toolkit. It’s not hard to find a provider for such a data service. It’s likely that your donor database provider can point you in the right direction if not provide it directly.

So take a look at your donor database to decide if such a data service is right for you. If you’ve never run one, and/or have an aging constituency (with special consideration for multi-year givers), now might be a great time, especially if a major outreach campaign is upcoming.

Have you ran a deceased suppression process? How were the results? Let me know in the comments below!

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The post 3 Reasons Fundraisers Should Invest in Deceased Suppression Processing appeared first on Bloomerang.

There seems to be as many theories regarding nonprofit direct mail as there are about the weather. No other area of today’s fundraising world has as many consultants and “experts” making their opinions known on a single subject.

Perhaps this is the case because it is relatively easy to accumulate a multitude of very detailed metrics regarding the performance of direct mail. With just a little bit of effort and a modern donor database you can segment your mailing list and track the results from a multitude of angles. Another key reason for the vast number of opinions is the fact that nearly every single charity engaged in fundraising does some form or facet of direct mail.

Input from the Wise Old Sage

I know Jerry would not mind me using the term above since he often jokes about his age and oh so many years of experience. My friendship with Jerry Panas dates back more than 30 years. He was one of those mentors that I looked up to for wisdom and advice as far back as the early 1980s.

Jerry recently sent out his 15 personal favorite “Irrefutable Laws of Direct Mail.”

Immediately after reading the 15 rules, I sent Jerry an email asking if I could share them in an upcoming blog post. Just as quickly Jerry said “Sure, if it will help your community, I am in!”

So without further ado, please read and enjoy what decades of experience and wisdom can bring with the list of 15 rules below:

1. The package should not feel or look too expensive. That’s not what captures attention. But the material should be in keeping with the style and character of the institution.

2. I do not believe photographs add to the package. In fact, they can be distracting. It’s the message that must be read. And if you do use photos, they tend to be postage stamp sized. They’re not very exciting.

3. As much as possible, the letter should look like the writer sat down at the computer and started typing. This is to be a personal letter from the writer to the probable donor. That’s why I don’t think photographs are a good idea. You don’t put photos in the middle of a personal letter. One thing more: studies show that the response is less when photos are used.

4. Getting your probable donor to open your envelope is your biggest challenge. Make certain that it’s compelling. Intriguing. The recipient makes a decision to open or to pitch the package in the first 6 seconds of looking at the envelope.

5. Keep in mind the first thing they look at is their name. Then the P.S. Next, the signature. And after that, the first paragraph. If you haven’t hooked them in the first paragraph, they won’t get beyond that.

6. They spend as much time looking at the return card as they do the letter. Make certain the card contains an appeal as compelling, dramatic, and urgent as the letter.

7. A one-time appeal does very little to capture attention and interest. Direct mail works best with multiple solicitations within a short period of time. “Get in their way”— that’s what I recommend.

8. Segmentation is the key. Your 30-year-old donor and your probable donor who is 70 have little in common. Neither do a lawyer and a teacher and a non-donor. Nor a doctor, a patient, and a nurse. You must approach them differently. They may be wearing the same t-shirt, but they do not act or think alike. That means your database has to work wonders for you. In some ways, it must turn itself into a pretzel to give you the kind of segmentation you need.

9. How do you like to receive an envelope with a label that is not fully typed or is at an angle? How about window envelopes? That’s what I thought! Use regular envelopes. Get the typing right.

10. Personalize every opportunity you can. Call Mr. Jones, “Mr. Jones”— and if you know him well, “John.” You’ve always known this and didn’t have to be told. But repetition is good for the soul. A person’s name is his or her most precious possession.

11. Worry a great deal about the strategy for your mailing, the creation of the package, and then being able to evaluate it later.

12. It’s helpful to go to a production house for all of the other stuff. It will pay off.

13. Successful copy is not written by a committee. You’ve probably learned this the hard way. If you let three or four get involved in reading your material, you’re sunk. Instead, have one (perhaps the signer) read the material and approve it. Trust your own good judgment. You’ve got style, savvy, and good common sense. You’ll know what works best.

14. The world of direct mail is best not left to an amateur. Writing the perfect piece is one part an art and one part a science— mixed generously with an intuitive sense of what will work. But it’s more a science. There are plenty of folks around who are very good in this field. If the package is done properly, it will not cost you. It will produce a great deal of money and a host of friends. I know several I believe are among the best. I will be pleased to share those names with you.

15. We have our greatest problem with the president of the college who signs the letter. Well, that’s the truth of it! “That’s not the way I write. It’s not my style. It’s not very dignified for a college president.” I understand all of that. The person who signs the letter has to understand that we’re directing the piece to a very special segment of the database. And every study shows that folks who respond read at an eighth-grade level.

Did Jerry miss any of your proven favorite rules? Please let me know if there are any new rules Jerry should add to his list.

I truly hope they make a difference in some manner for your direct mail efforts in the future!

Bonus: watch our Bloomerang TV interview with Jerry Panas:

The post 15 Tried and True Rules for Direct Mail From A Legend appeared first on Bloomerang.