The Amazing Power of Crazy Envelopes in Direct Mail Fundraising

Direct mail fundraisers struggle and sweat over the letter, working to make it persuasive and motivating. In many conversations about direct mail fundraising, it is as if the letter is the only thing that really matters.

I have a slightly disturbing secret to tell you. The letter is only marginally important to success in direct mail fundraising. There are two elements that have more impact on success than the letter: the offer (which should live in every element of the piece) and the outer envelope. And the envelope is probably the more important of the two.

Repeated testing shows that if you want to improve a piece of direct mail, improve the outer envelope. That can mean a lot of things, but one of the most impactful things you can do is the manufacture of the envelope itself.

In short: The stranger the envelope, the better.