If direct mail is dead it’s one hell of an exquisite corpse.

And, with each passing week it grows even more exquisite. Not that it’s ever died; just grown more valuable, important, and increasingly informed by more and more science.

We’ve been on the direct mail soap box a long time, particularly urging small to mid-sized organizations to give it a whirl. (See Missing Out:  Smaller Organizations and Direct Mail.)

The Reasons Why

There are many reasons non-believers may seriously want to get some direct mail religion.  “Religion” meaning…learn more about it…take the time to find an advisor who actually knows direct mail…then do the numbers. ( You might also want to scan read some of the 400+ posts on aspects direct mail in the Agitator Archives.

Here’re some reasons why:

1. Direct mail has higher response rates. Compared to digital mail which has on average a 20% chance of being opened, a postal letter has a 50% chance. In terms of response rates an average email has about a -.5% response rate while a printed letter delivered to a donor’s home enjoys a 4% response rate.
2. Direct mail boosts returns from activity in other channels. As you’ll see from Kevin’s post below direct mail –even where non-responses are concerned—has an aggregate effect of building brand value over the long-term.  An overlooked and oft-dismissed benefit of direct mail in nonprofits where longer term effects are ignored or downplayed.
3. Direct Mail is real and personal.  There’s good reason why the commercial world has posted a 40%+ year-over-year increase in direct mail.  In a world where consumers/donors are numbed by the withering bombardment of emails, a real envelope, real paper can be held, felt, folded, and communicates a real person to real person message.  This why recall is higher –as much as 70% higher—than digital

4. Direct Mail gives you a competitive advantage.  Instead of having your appeals drown in the digital flood tide, why not take advantage of a more open and welcoming channel.  Direct mail volume peaked at 213 pieces in 2006.  Today its volume is down to around 110 billion.

Couple this less competitive environment with the fact that people –53%– of all ages (yes, even Millennials) “look forward” to discovering what’s in their real world mailbox.

And to make the payoff even richer –although it may seem paradoxical—the current supply chain shortage of paper, envelopes, and mail house time further cuts down on the competition because of increased cost and effort to get the mail out.  Cost and effort well worth it in increased returns.

There are other reasons to pay serious attention to direct mail and you can find them listed here in the GivingMailBlog’s post What makes direct mail so efficient.

Even Better:  There’s Now Far More Science In The Art of Direct Mail

Here at The Agitator we’ve  increased our reporting on research and testing that empirically quantifies some tactics long intuited as good and exploded others as pure myth often camouflaged as  ‘industry best practices.”

A few posts on the key direct mail/direct response components well worth your attention.

Outer Envelopes  

• In Half of All Impressions are Wasted he explains the importance of brand and generally recommends killing the unbranded white Outer Envelope (E) , explaining why. In addition, for both direct mail and digital folks, Kevin explains why “active viewing” is where the payoff lies and how to achieve it.
• For further insights on the all-import OE you might also benefit from Jeff Brooks’ Future Fundraising Now posts here  and here sharing his insights on what to take into consideration when approaching copy and design for the OE.
• And for some fascinating examples on use of the OE read What’s On Your Envelope: Teaser? No Teaser? Both?where veteran copywriter Tom Ahern outlines options to consider when answering the question “What intriguing thing can I do on my envelope that might cause more people to open it?”

The Letter/Message

The fundraising library is packed with books on copywriting; many/most of them written  by proven pros, but published long before there was much behavioral science research to confirm or challenge assumptions of what makes for “success.”

It’s not the intention of this post to offer “how to” where the letter or messaging is concerned EXCEPT to note there’s now a whole bunch of valuable research available that even the most experienced copywriter will find valuabl

For a quick review of copywriting techniques informed by behavioral science just to the  Behavioral Science and Direct Mail Categories in the Agitator Archives

The Response Form

The response form (landing page/donation page) is one of the most essential but too often neglected elements of both a direct mail package its digital offspring.  Many a winning copywriter often spends nearly as much time on the response form as in the letter itself.    That’s because the response form is often the first item read after the envelope I opened and if a powerful distillation of the appeal isn’t there, the rest of the package may be tossed.

Again, this is not a how-to post on creating winning response forms.  Again the intent is to call your attention to the existence of more and more research on even this oft-neglected component of a package.

For an example of some of the findings now available to fundraisers on what should go into a response form (and other components of an appeal)see Kevin’s post And the Behavioral Science Award Goes To _______

Non-believers Please Note

There’s a more going for direct mail that most folks understand.  If you, or folks in your organization are quick to dismiss it you’re doing yourself and your organization a disservice.  Take the time to learn more about it, keep up with the growing body of research that not only makes direct mail even more powerful, but will also significantly improve your digital direct response efforts as well.

We’re not nagging, simply suggesting.  As veteran fundraiser Bob Hartsook commented in response to Kevin’s post, “CONGRATULATIONS.  You are pushing the profession to understand the application of fundraising research based on behavioral science is a worthy tool.”

Roger

P.S.  Please let us know if there are elements of the direct mail or direct response process you’d like us to cover.  Coming soon will be some exciting results of extensive testing of DonorVoice’s CopyOptimizer which quickly and inexpensively grades copy for readability and engagement/responsiveness