Direct Mail

Lead the Way
October 1, 2008

“How to Look Good Naked” … “Yard Crashers” … “Pimp My Ride” … “Extreme Makeover” … “Kitchen Nightmares” … “What Not to Wear” … “This Old House” … “Makeover Manor” — we are a society obsessed with transformation, renovation and beautification projects. And while I can’t match the pimpologists’ promise to “turn your hooptie into a dope-ass, date magnet,” I see plenty of letter copy that could benefit from a talented wordsmith’s makeover. I don’t mean changing the offer — although lackluster offers also abound. Instead, I suggest restyling the language to get your offer noticed, in a good way. Your letter’s

2008 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence: And the Winners Are …
September 1, 2008

Judging for the Gold Awards was a little more low-key this year, it seems. (We think it might be because the ASPCA’s Steve Froehlich couldn’t make it. But please … don’t tell him we said so.) Also, there was no hotly contested tie for Package of the Year that had us seeking tiebreaker after tiebreaker like last year. But the competition was just as fierce.

Gather Ye Data — Just Be Sure to Use It Well
August 1, 2008

Earlier this year, I gave myself a whisper-thin, featherweight notebook computer for my birthday. I am giddy in love with this skinny beauty and its elegant performance, heart and soul. I know now why the brand has a cult following. The setup process was blissfully easy, and after I registered my notebook online, I received a confirmation e-mail that made me smile. “Hi. Welcome … We’re just as excited as you are,” the headline read. “You can’t possibly be,” I thought, having discovered in less than an hour after I powered it up how the notebook and the brand’s latest operating system would

What Is This Multichannel of Which You Speak?
June 1, 2008

On a cold and windy Wednesday afternoon a few months ago, I became a rabid online activist. Curious about the current state of multichannel marketing and integration efforts, and, more specifically, about what nonprofit organizations are doing to convert online action takers to donors and members, I signed petition after petition. I took pledges. I contacted my elected representatives in Congress. I sent letters to the White House and the United Nations. And I signed up for a slew of e-news offers and action alerts. It was an exhausting, but illuminating, exercise. Determined to do my part to advance the cause of integrated, multichannel

What’s the Big Deal?
April 1, 2008

I’ve been tracking an unusual renewal series as it unfolds — a purely postal mail campaign reminiscent of coordinated multichannel campaigns. Today, savvy nonprofits are exploiting all the multichannel possibilities and using e-mail to bookend renewal and special-appeal campaigns sent by postal mail, for example — alerting the donor that an important mailing is coming and following up after its projected arrival with another e-mail inquiring about its receipt and calling for action. The renewal series I’ve been monitoring is using this same strategy with a sequence of physical pre- and post-mailings around a Big Deal package. Building the anticipation The pre-package before

From the Ashes
April 1, 2008

There’s a lot to be said about failure. Mainly that it stinks. No, seriously — failure helps you appreciate success a little more, right? And on a less existential level, it can teach you a lot about what not to do next time around. That’s no more apparent than in the world of direct-mail fundraising efforts. And from what we hear, it happens to the best of them. So to prove you’re not alone when one of your ideas isn’t as all-fire successful as you had hoped, here are a few failure stories from fundraising pros. Hear Ye, Hear Ye … Don’t Traumatize Your

Five Reasons Not to Panic
April 1, 2008

Recession is looming. Direct mail is dying. E-mail has fallen short of its bright promise. Donors are cynical. Contributions are drying up faster than the ice caps are melting. It seems like everywhere you turn these days, prophets of doom are predicting dark times ahead for fundraising. If you’re not careful, you might almost start to believe that things aren’t going so well. Maybe it’s time to take a deep breath. Yes, there is cause for concern. But there also are plenty of good reasons to hold on to your seat and ride out the storm.

Ten Common Mistakes Made in Nonprofit Direct Mail
March 18, 2008

In her report “Ten Common Mistakes Made in Nonprofit Direct Mail,” fundraising consultant Sandy Rees lists the following big boo-boos: 1. Failure to ask for a gift. 2. Using a dirty list. 3. Failing to personalize. 4. Bad timing. 5. Asking for the wrong amount. 6. Ignoring automation benefits. 7. Asking for generic help. 8. Poor quality letter. 9. Paying too much for postage. 10. Failure to measure. Read the complete article here.

The Watergate Guide to Straight Talk
March 18, 2008

No one has taught me more about effective communication than Richard Nixon. I was 21 when the White House tapes were published. And as much as I loved the inside view of the politics, I was even more taken by reading those verbatim transcripts of actual speech. Listen to Nixon speaking about Vietnam: “ … we have to take the hard line now. We’ve got to — we’ve got to keep our guys flying out there. It’s all we can do. We have no other choice. And if you start indicating anything about ceasefire or coalition government or anything like that we’re not

Affinity Credit Card Offers
February 1, 2008

The second time I received multiple affinity credit card offers on the same day, I started paying attention. At first glance, with the exception of the nonprofit logos on the corner card of each outer envelope, they seem identical. All shout the 0 percent fixed introductory APR until 2009 — but smaller, thinner type qualifies what month the offer ends and that it’s only for cash advance checks and balance transfers. All but one have a personalized teaser letting me specifically know that this particular card is “The most rewarding card of all®.”