It's Not Too Early to Think About Year-End

• Test timing — Revisit your schedule to see if earlier/later mail and send dates might improve results.
• Dec. 31 — The most productive date. Consider sending twice (in the same day).
• Giving Tuesday (Dec. 2 in 2014) — Give it a try: Create a test campaign strategy around this date to kick off your year-end online giving.
• Test formats — Just because you’ve always mailed a certain package at year-end doesn’t mean an alternate can’t work better. Do you always mail a card in November and a letter in December? Then test flipping the order.
• Renewals — And be sure to include year-end donors in your first renewal in January. They typically perform well!

Read the full Avalon article here.

Cheryl Keedy is senior strategist of direct response and marketing formats at Production Solutions. Reach her at ckeedy@psmail.com.