Who’s Mailing What?
From DirectMarketingIQ, here’s an analysis of the direct mail stream over the past two years. The data are drawn from the 10,000 mail piece archive of Who’s Mailing What!
The big news is that fundraising mail has flourished in comparison to other commercial mail over the last two years … rising from 13% of the mail stream in 2007 to 20% in 2009.
Three types of fundraising packages have declined — oversize packages, self-mailers, and control packages. The decline in controls indicates that fundraisers have had to experiment more in the face of challenging economic times.
Of course, the bad news is that one in five pieces of mail in your mailbox these days is likely to be a fundraising appeal. Don’t make your carrier an afterthought!
Tom
P.S. I love the strenuous response triggered by my post yesterday knocking Twitter. One commenter, John Lepp, paid us the highest compliment, saying the post had him agitated!
No, I’m not a Luddite. I’ve done more than my share of experimenting and innovating over the years. I prize staff who look for new opportunities and take risks. And yes, I appreciate the huge potential in social media. That said, I’d still argue that, for the vast preponderance of nonprofits, there are many higher priority items on the "to do" list than mastering Twitter.
Behavioral Science Q & A
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer