10 responses to “Do You Really Want To Alienate Me?”

1. Rick Gentry says:

   January 2, 2013 at 8:33 am

   And, can we add to that, do you really, really want to alienate me… Just exchange my mailing address one more time, I dare you… Actually I don’t, because I really can’t handle another dozen postal appeals misspelling my name, or calling me a “Dear Friend,” even though I’ve never met you nor have I ever had any contact with your organization, net alone shown any interest in your mission.

2. Barry Cox says:

   January 2, 2013 at 9:08 am

   Tom, you old grump, you forgot to tell those lazy emailers to get off your lawn and turn down their damn music. Valid point nonetheless. I’ll be saving your missive for next December in hopes of convincing some client to go with a “Plenty of Time” subject line and approach I’ve got on the shelf.

   As in, “Sure, there are only a few days/hours left in 2013. But we make it so easy for you to give your year-end gift, it takes just seconds for you to help save puppies/orphans/polar bears. So, you’ve got plenty of time … providing you act now.”

   All I need is a client who wants to stand out in crowded year-end inboxes.

3. Fern Sanford says:

   January 2, 2013 at 10:28 am

   Amen to that. I think what’s at the bottom of this is the lack of a donor-centric dialogue. They are all about the institution and not the donor. If you are asking a donor for a voluntary gift, you should talk to the donor, as an individual, as an important person.

   And they should receive a nicely written, sincere acknowledgment. I didn’t just buy something from Amazon. Hell, I just got a nice e-mail from the CEO Aeropostale thanking me for my patronage over the past year and promising to do even better in service and quality. We could all learn a little from that.

4. Sue says:

   January 2, 2013 at 10:58 am

   Gee – has anybody asked the donor how they view emails at the end of hte year? Are they running screaming from your nonprofit? I never look at a marketing survey of “ONE” to make a determination of best practices.

   If done correctly in a well thought out end of year camapgin – end of the year eappeals are can be very successful.

   For example for the last 10 years with the organizations I have worked for we have sent a “last chance” and “before you celebrate” – wishing the donor a happy new year and thanks for all they have done – with another ask (incorporated into this campagin was a video thank you and a statement of all we have done thanks to you ) – and unlike the “few” extra dollars you mention Tom – we have seen a significant number of gifts. This year we saw an increase of 76%.

   So I encourage everyone to look at their communications and campagins – that will make all the difference in how successful you are in your ongoing engagement with your donors. Happy New Year Everyone!

   So before we go off and

5. Marji says:

   January 2, 2013 at 12:13 pm

   Probably because it works! It annoys a few, but for many people it increases the likelihood of giving…at least that has been the experience of the nonprofit I work for.

   We raise far more money asking our supporters multiple times at the end of the year than we ever did asking just once or twice.

   And luckily, for folks like you, there is a delete button or, if you are truly horrified by the amount of emails, an unsubscribe button. In our case, we have not found that open rates decrease, or spam reports and unsubscribe levels increase because of our multi-email model.

   If the data shows multi-email works, then keep doing it. If the data don’t, stop!

6. Jacob Smith says:

   January 2, 2013 at 4:01 pm

   I agree with the unstated sentiment: too much email decreases long term donor value.

   I do think the tone is a bit pejorative. I’m not an “online pimp.” I just know the value of digital and know that the majority of donors don’t ready their email everyday.

   Direct mailers have for years mailed more than a donor would say they wanted in order to increase overall value.

   There is no reason we shouldn’t do the same digitally.

7. Sarah says:

   January 3, 2013 at 12:54 pm

   It seems like less and less makes you happy these days. Agitator or Agitated? I really appreciate your focus on the donor but it seems like all grump these days. You’ve gone from pushing us to try and innovate to just complaining some of the time. I am a long time reader but you’re tone is deflating me lately, especially first thing every morning. Please find more “deserve a raise” or at least some ideas.

8. Shirley says:

   January 4, 2013 at 2:03 pm

   Hey Tom,

   Thanks for always sharing your views & helping us to think about our appeals & our donors in new and different ways.
   I was left a little confused by your message…
   Give me an alternative… send only 2 or 3 year-end messages, or none at all? What were you really trying to tell me?
   What should I be doing instead?
   Don’t just tell me what I’m doing is wrong, but offer me your thoughts on what I should be doing.

   I look forward to more of your new and innovative donor forcused ideas in 2013.

9. Linda says:

   January 7, 2013 at 11:52 am

   We sent no appeal this year. We got a few gifts from people who I think probably have a date marked on their calendar to sit down and write checks to their favorite charities. It is not going to pay the bills. I’m feeling queasy about our prospects, even though I know that we have needy folks looking for help.

   I agree — I got innundated this year in particular with last-minute campaigns. But what IS the real, effective alternative? The people that we can reach face-to-face are often unable to give right now. The people that are raking in the dough don’t seem all that charitable. I don’t know what the answer is, but, I don’t see WalMart starting to step in and care for our community in any real sense, any time soon, even though I think that’s what we’re aiming toward.

10. Shari Schwartz says:

    January 7, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    WOW! This is great. I want to forward it to all those end-year appeals so they will know how annoying it is. But I deleted ALL of them. I had already given. How about a year-end thank you for all we did?