Fundamentals of Direct Mail

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Fundamentals of Direct Mail
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What well talk about.

• Benefits of direct mail
• Basic truisms for effective direct mail
• Types of direct mail campaigns
• Components of a direct mail package
• Production Considerations
• Evaluation

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Benefits of Direct Mail

• It offers you an opportunity to tell your story
  to donors and prospective donors
• It is a direct and cost-effective way to reach a
  high number of prospects
• It works an index of National Fundraising
  Performance shows that 90 of gifts received by
  national member/donor programs are in response to
  direct mail
• Source Target Analysis Group Quarterly Index
  of National Fundraising Performance

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Elements of a Successful Direct Mail Package

• The List
• The Offer
• The Creative
• The Timing
• All are equally important!!

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Effective Direct Mail

• Is personal (from one person to another)
• Is conversational
• Tells a story
• Is direct and has a sense of urgency
• Engages the reader/has a hook
• Focuses on readers needs passions
• Develops an emotional and rational case
• Pride, value, nostalgia, excitement, concern
• Accentuates the positive
• Makes use of you and I

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Effective Direct Mail

• Defines specific need clearly
• Asks often
• Middle of first page, bottom of each page, at
  end, in P.S., on reply form
• Asks for a specific amount
• In the letter and on the reply form
• Offers and explains tangible benefits
• Closes the sale
• Makes use of the P.S.

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Effective Direct Mail

• Has a clean, economical look
• Has short paragraphs
• Has simple sentences
• Has readable type 12 point or larger
• Is signed by one person

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Basic Components ofyour Direct Mail Package

• Letter
• Reply form
• Attached or detached
• Reply envelope
• Postage or no postage
• Outer envelope
• Address Correction, teaser, postage
• The extras/inserts
• Buckslip, Lift note, Freemium (decal, bookmark,
  cards)

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Reply Form Think Database
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Four Main Types ofDirect Mail Campaigns

• Acquisition mailings
• Renewal mailings
• Special appeals
• (sometimes called additional gift mailings)
• Lapsed mailings

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Acquisition Programs

• A healthy donor program will continually bring in
  new donors to build the file and replace those
  donors lost through attrition
• Acquisition mail is an investment
• Costs more than you will make the first year
• Necessary for long term health of program
• Where youll get your mid-level and planned
  giving prospects

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Acquisition Programs

• Have a compelling offer at the right time.
• Offer
• Discount membership?
• Benefits? (event tickets, discounts to
  attractions that are natural tie-ins to your
  organization)
• freemium?
• Timing
• Know your market (Example Around Washington,
  would you mail in August? Then again, maybe--if
  youre a public television station!)
• When does it make sense for your organization to
  tie in to a local or national issue and have a
  presence in the mail?

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Acquisition Programs- Getting Good Lists

• Rent lists of people who you think likely would
  be good matches for your organization
• Consider using a vendor or broker
• Exchange with local nonprofits mail to those
  who have made a gift in the past 18 months
• Use internal sources
• Get a competent mail house to do the merge/purge
• Create a list policy and give members a chance to
  opt out

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Renewal Mail Programs

• This is the most important but often neglected
  revenue source
• Very high return on investment
• (example for public television industry, its
  approximately 5 cents to raise 1)
• Allows you to build on your relationship with
  your donors
• Its another opportunity to thank them and report
  back on the impact of their past support

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Renewal Mail Strategy

• Timing
• Mail every month same time without fail
• Start well before their membership/annual gift
  lapses
• 5 or 6 notices
• Segmentation
• First year vs. multi year
• Gift Asks
• Personalize, if possible, based on past giving
  (for example last gift, 1.5X, 2X)
• Copy
• Length and tone should vary with each effort
• More urgent as series moves along
• Maintain consistency. Dont rewrite every month
• Note remember to acknowledge in the p.s. that
  If youve already mailed in your renewal gift

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Special AppealsAdditional Gift Programs

• Excellent revenue building source
• Opportunity to communicate with members and build
  your case
• After renewal mail, highest return on investment
• Additional gift givers tend to be more loyal

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Additional Gift Strategy

• Timing
• Tie in with a specific event or need
• Segmentation
• Recency
• Frequency
• Monetary
• By data overlays
• Gift Asks
• Base on last gift amount
• 1X, 1.5X, 2X formula
• Include higher amounts
• Laser if possible
• Copy
• Based on specific need
• As much personalization as you can afford to do
• Experiment with longer letters

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Additional Gift Mailing--Single Effort or Series?

• Best results with a follow up letter
• Two weeks after first effort
• Generally performs half as well
• Same pitch but briefer copy
• Test what the market will bear
• Some stations have three-letter series
• Send follow ups to best prospects
• Consider changing outer envelope
• Teaser, Second Chance, Deadline

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Lapsed Programs

• Lapsed members have a proven connection with your
  station often untapped potential
• More cost-effective than acquisition mail
• Generally will renew at a higher rate than new
  members after they rejoin

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Testing BasicsHow and when should you test?

• Only make one change at a time
• Be sure you can replicate the test
• Keep test panels the same size (25,000 is
  recommended but you can do less)

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What you can testRemember - only one change at a
time

• Number of drops
• Ask ladder
• Discount offers
• Premium
• Ink Color
• Celebrity endorsement
• Outer envelope design
• List
• Envelope color
• Postage treatment
• Letter copy/length
• Freemium
• Involvement device

• Personalization
• Package format
• Outer envelope teaser
• Geographic region
• Live stamp on return or BRE
• Envelope shape, size, window placement
• Highlighted ask on reply form
• Number and type of inserts
• Who signs letter
• Seasonality
• Paper stock
• New package

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Production Considerations

• Personalization
• Window envelopes
• Print quantities together
• Generic outer envelope with lasered teaser copy
• Custom lasering or inkjetting on reply form
• Use similar paper/sizes
• Check into paper costs and options
• Talk to letter shop or broker find economies of
  scale
• For mid-level or higher-dollar donors, youll
  want to make the look different

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Working with Vendors

• Printers Mail Houses List Brokers
• Research vendors thoroughly
• Ask for references and work samples
• Work closely with vendors
• Reduce expenses
• Insure postal compliance (Make friends with your
  postal service!)

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Evaluate Your Results

• Number of gifts
• Response rate
• Overall and per effort
• Size of average gift
• Net revenue
• Renewal/Retention
• Cost per dollar raised
• Compare with other organizations

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• Fundamentals of
• Direct Mail