Direct Response

It's no secret: I am the biggest fan of social media marketing. Why? Well for one, that's where everyone's at—or at least a good percentage of your potential customer base. According to eMarketer, nearly one in four people worldwide used social networks in 2013. Many marketers, however, remain unsure about the steps to take to…

Minutes of testing could save marketers’ hides for months, if not longer. Testing is touted but sounds difficult to many, so marketers may not do it as often as would be ideal. However, having a firm foundation may make marketers feel more comfortable about taking the plunge. Lisa Qian instructs viewers of this O’Reilly Media…

Writing is hard, even when it’s at the literal core of your job. In fact, I’d wager it’s hard especially when it’s at the literal core of your job. Fortunately for us, the future is now, and it includes some seriously useful tools to help writers of all genres and industries tackle their craft, from…

The year 2015 has been one of change and revolution, both in and outside marketing. As we approach the final stretch of this turbulent year, I thought it prudent to review some of the most prevalent talking points in marketing, and why they probably shouldn't be talking points in 2016. Not because these aspects of…

Writing direct-mail copy, like most things, gets easier as you practice. Don’t expect perfection on your first try—or probably your 10th try, either. But also don’t stop writing; this old dog knows that a lot of us are not born fundraising copy writers. But that doesn’t stop us from trying to write copy that will—even in a small way—help change our world for the better.

Last week I promised to provide practical tips on writing direct mail. For some of you, writing direct mail is something you enjoy, and for others, it’s something you just have to do. But I think we can all agree on one thing: the direct-mail letter that doesn’t get read (or at least scanned) is unlikely to raise much income. People need to read the words we’ve carefully chosen to convey the need and our solution, but we can’t demand that of anyone....

Email. Love it or hate it, one thing is for sure: You need to be using it in your fundraising efforts. But email is no longer new—in that regard, it has more in common with direct mail than it does with 
social media or other app-based channels. For some, 
it’s become routine and unsexy, and with that comes a dangerous tendency to view email as a necessary evil, rather than a bonafide fundraising and marketing workhorse...

While I am by no means the best direct-mail writer in the world, I have learned a lot since I was “asked” to write a letter back in 1980. I worked for a nonprofit that struggled to make payroll, and our writer had resigned. I met all the requirements for adding “direct-mail writer” to my workload: I could walk and breathe simultaneously, and I was too dumb to say “No.” ...

If you've been following our 10th annual NonProfit PRO Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence coverage over the last few weeks, you've no doubt seen the many great flashback recaps of previous award winners. You're also likely aware that the submission deadline for this year's awards is today. Have you submitted your campaign? If you haven't, fear not: We're extending the deadline for submissions to Friday, Sept. 25...

Open rates are a tried-and-true email metric. As Matt Laudato, senior manager of big data and analytics for Constant Contact, puts it, “An email that's never opened is an email that never has a chance for that click, [and] never has a chance for that conversion.” But are marketers doing everything in their power to…