Award-Winning Blog


Good Enough Is No Longer Good Enough – Part 2: Commitment

In Part 1 we noted that the days of launching an acquisition campaign without setting aside substantial additional time and funds to properly deal with new donors is a principal reason why organizations find themselves on the decline or plateauing when it comes to growing donor value and net income. Also noted is the importance […]

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Why Good Enough Is No Longer Good Enough: Part 1

I ended my last post No One Wants More Email with the admonition, “We all need to get used to demanding more information and start challenging the status quo. Why? Because nothing, absolutely nothing is more dangerous to our future than acceptance of the status quo.” No area of the fundraiser’s work is more deserving of […]

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Direct Mail Buzzes

I’ve noticed a few good items regarding direct mail lately that I’m sharing today. First up from Target Marketing is Paul Bobnak’s collection of The 6 Best Direct Mail Teasers of 2016. Gotta get that letter noticed and open folks! Here are the two probably most relevant for Agitator readers, from Consumer Reports and The […]

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Memorial Day

Roger and I are taking the day off; it’s the end of  Memorial Day weekend in the States.   Since my coming of age in the Sixties, the US has fought wars and engaged in military actions some of which I actively opposed, but nothing should detract from paying honor to those who have given their lives in […]

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8 Biggest Email Mistakes

Our subject line today is the model of perfection … according to online marketing firm Marketo. Why? It’s clear and direct … not clever. ‘Unclear subject lines’ is the first of eight biggest email mistakes marketers make according to Marketo in this white paper. They cite a case study reporting that clear subject lines received 541% […]

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It’s audience, not channel

The problem begins, as usual, in a spreadsheet. You must budget direct marketing and your board will not accept something with three lines: revenue, expenses, and net.  How then to split your marketing programs? Naturally, you do this by channel, since that’s how you’ll be spending money. A rational decision spurs irrational implications of thinking of […]

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