Award Winning Blog - Agitator

How Do We Get the Damn Envelope Opened?

It is as true as it is unhelpful to note that the outer envelope (OE) must be opened before someone can pay attention to the insides and send back the reply form or not (almost always, not…). There is certainly a lot of envelope testing done, no disputing that. But, is there any theory guiding […]

Learn More August 10, 2020

In Their Own Words: Satisfaction and Frustration in the Donor Experience

When donors have their psychological needs satisfied, they’re more likely to give and keep giving because they’ll really want to. We previously talked about donors’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. As a quick refresher: autonomy refers to feelings of choice and volition; competence to feelings of making a positive difference, and relatedness […]

Learn More August 7, 2020

Death of the US Postal Service Exaggerated

Thought we’d bring some of the old band back for this timely topic—the state of the US Postal Service and the deliverability of direct mail. In simpler times—say 2019— the U.S. Postal Service was not a political football. But as with so many of 2020’s “features,” that’s where we are. Thankfully, much of the harshest […]

Learn More August 5, 2020

The “Intention to Give” Giving Gap

There is an entire field of study, decades old, focused on the relationship between intention to do something and doing it – intended behavior vs. actual behavior. This is far more involved and practical than the too simplistic and quite misleading adage that ‘people don’t do what they say’. In fact, the intention to do […]

Learn More August 3, 2020

Let Freedom Ring

The splendid and vile sides of America’s polarized politics were both on full display yesterday. As moving tributes to U.S. Representative John R. Lewis, the civil rights icon most closely associated with voting rights, were delivered at his funeral in Atlanta, Donald Trump issued a contemptible and foreboding Tweet suggesting the U.S. “Delay the Election […]

Learn More July 31, 2020

The Path of Continuous Improvement

Test ideas should, among other things, work backwards from the behavior one is trying to influence. Sure, the brown kraft test envelope might do better than the plain white control, but why? And is it going to increase response rate or average gift? And is it better with everyone or just a select group and […]

Learn More July 29, 2020