Telemarketing - Agitator

Communications

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We join with our Circulation Manager in wishing you a Happy New Year accompanied by all our best wishes that your Resolutions make it through the next 365 days. Which brings us to last of The Agitator’s Top Ten for 2015. Yes, we’re carrying these last two into this first day of 2016 because we’re […]

Learn More January 1, 2016

Throwing UK Fundraising Under the Bus

A number of thoughtful and concerned UK Agitator readers weighed in this week expressing a range of emotions from distress to disgust over what some termed the Institute of Fundraising’s (IoF) latest “betrayal” of the sector. On August 18 IoF announced an Update to the Code of Fundraising Practice. In effect the new rules say […]

Learn More August 21, 2015

Telefundraising Revisted

Five years ago today Tom posted on Telefundraising Works, calling it the “neglected stepchild of fundraising.” That post generated significant and helpful comments on approach and technique. Today, 60 months later, we’d appreciate an update from our readers on what’s what and what’s working with this “neglected stepchild”. Here’re some readers’ comments from 5 years ago: First, from Adrian […]

Learn More July 21, 2015

70 Steps To Getting Your Direct Marketing Right

It’s been awhile since we featured master direct marketer Denny Hatch. Search him in The Agitator archives and you won’t be disappointed. He speaks his mind and he speaks wisely. For those who prefer lists to narrative, Denny’s latest list could well qualify as the mother of all DM lists. Called The Direct Marketer’s Checklist, it’s simply a […]

Learn More March 5, 2015

How You Should Really Be Thinking About Acquisition Costs

Editor’s Note: The e-Book version of Retention Fundraising: the new art and science of keeping your donors for life is now available. You can click here to order either the e-Book or print versions. Part 5 of the book is titled “Do The Math” and the chapters in this section deal with key metrics, ranging […]

Learn More November 4, 2014

Ring! Ring! Telemarketing Mysteries And Case Studies

If there ever there were a medium where nonprofits consistently get it wrong it’s telemarketing. In my experience no medium, short of a personal visit, is as powerful. IF … used correctly, which unfortunately is seldom the case. CEOs and boards generally hate telemarketing. Adding to the dilemma is the fact that few fundraisers understand […]

Learn More October 1, 2014

Do It By The Numbers

I’ve been doing some end-of-summer cleaning out of my Agitator ‘inspiration bin’. The place where I store things to write about. I realized that I had gathered a heap of ‘number stuff’ … all fairly recent items, but my how they accumulate! So here are few for you list keepers. 3 Things You Can Do […]

Learn More August 28, 2014

Telemarketing Case Studies #3

I promised some telefundraising case studies awhile back, but then got distracted by all the usual direct mail and online fundraising stuff. But a promise is a promise, so here’s another case study from Gabe Raff, director of telemarketing strategies at Chapman Cubine Adams & Hussey (CCAH). Gabe’s case study involves building up the monthly […]

Learn More August 7, 2014

Poor Or No Strategy — Barriers To Growth, Part 9

Look no further than how strategy is typically thought of by most nonprofits and their consultants and you’ll quickly understand why poor or no strategy is a major barrier to growth. First, what a meaningful strategy that leads to growth is NOT. Strategy that leads to growth is NOT asking three different copywriters to draft […]

Learn More July 30, 2014

Telemarketing Case Studies #2

Can you, should you telemarket to high dollar donors? Many of you are probably responding … “YECH!” “GROSS!” “My development director would rip my heart out!” But Gabe Raff at Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey thinks differently. And has the data to back up his approach. Here’s a case study from Gabe on a campaign […]

Learn More June 17, 2014

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q: Do you have any insight on whether integrating an individual giving appeal with other comms from the charity in both appearance and messaging can uplift results? Or does the actual appeal become ‘lost’ for lack of stand-out?

Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]

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Q: Is there any research on response rate impact in direct mail when referring to a sustainer gift as ongoing or recurring (catching all frequencies) v. monthly or annual?

I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]

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Q: A major conservation nonprofit sends me lots of mail, many of which have on the envelope “time to renew” or “2nd notice.” I find this practice deceptive, especially as I haven’t given to said organization since 1997. It must be effective or they wouldn’t do it. But is it ethical?

Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]

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Q: I find it irritating when some nonprofits accept my “gift” and then ask me to cover their credit card fees separately. It feels like a practice that does nothing to help win donors and runs the risk of turning others off. Is there any data on this either way?

Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]

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Q: What are the three most important things to consider when designing a brilliant supporter journey?

There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]

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Q: Is there any evidence that changes to the tax laws in the USA changed end of year giving behaviors? Previously, ~30% of US taxpayers filed itemized tax returns allowing them to receive a deduction for charitable giving. Tax law changed in 2017 so that now only ~10% itemize. This should mean tax year-end giving should not matter to millions of people for whom it used to matter. Is there any data evidence to support this?

I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]

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Communications

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Throwing UK Fundraising Under the Bus

Telefundraising Revisted

70 Steps To Getting Your Direct Marketing Right

How You Should Really Be Thinking About Acquisition Costs

Ring! Ring! Telemarketing Mysteries And Case Studies

Do It By The Numbers

Telemarketing Case Studies #3

Poor Or No Strategy — Barriers To Growth, Part 9

Telemarketing Case Studies #2

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q: Do you have any insight on whether integrating an individual giving appeal with other comms from the charity in both appearance and messaging can uplift results? Or does the actual appeal become ‘lost’ for lack of stand-out?

Q: Is there any research on response rate impact in direct mail when referring to a sustainer gift as ongoing or recurring (catching all frequencies) v. monthly or annual?

Q: A major conservation nonprofit sends me lots of mail, many of which have on the envelope “time to renew” or “2nd notice.” I find this practice deceptive, especially as I haven’t given to said organization since 1997. It must be effective or they wouldn’t do it. But is it ethical?

Q: I find it irritating when some nonprofits accept my “gift” and then ask me to cover their credit card fees separately. It feels like a practice that does nothing to help win donors and runs the risk of turning others off. Is there any data on this either way?

Q: What are the three most important things to consider when designing a brilliant supporter journey?

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