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1.0 to 90 in 60 90 direct mail tipsinjust60 minutes! Leah Eustace CFRE Fraser Green CFRE

Be clear on what youre trying to do with your pyramid

Stabilize the base

Grow the base

Grow the vertical

How sexy is your cause?

Are you Sick Kids or the Psoriasis Foundation?

Set targets appropriately!

Have a multi-year

(3-5) direction

Make sure this years plan fits into the bigger picture

Set expectations throughout the organization

Educate leadership both staff & board

Failure to do this may upset your apple cart down the road!

Number of appeals

Stewardship options

E vs. paper receipts, newsletters etc.

Phoning okay

Greater choice =

greater loyalty!

DM was a stand alone tactic in the 1980s

Not any more

Multi-channel world

Phone, online, face-to-face

Seamless baby!

Your direct mail program will only be as successful as your data allows it to be.

Invest in proven fundraising software and make sure someone is properly trained to get the most out of it.

Mail dates

Mail types (donor renewal, prospect etc.)

Response rates

Average gift

Revenue gross and net

Key ratios

Themes

Signatories

Length

Inserts (if any)

Info required

Work dates backwards

Include all key milestone dates

Work from this document daily or put reminders in your outlook calendar

If the path is met, the mail drops on time!

Take the time to write a powerful case for support

Were amazed at how many organizations dont have one (even the big guys)

A solid case saves time in the long run

Ensure everyone knows whats expected of them and when its expected

Interviewing signatories

Lining up suppliers

Everyone who needs to sign off

What determines success & failure?

Driven by strategy

Key performance indicators will come into play (more later!)

83% civic generation

Born pre-1946

Also called WW2 Generation

Grew up before television

Older, empty nest churchgoing woman

Make sure your package design, letter copy speak to her and not your executive director!

Focus group a letter with an elderly neighbour rather than your communications staff

Only purpose is to be opened

Simple often works best

Use teasers only when they contribute

Purpose of the letter is to create the impulse to give

Stay focused on purpose

Purpose is to facilitate easy giving

Make it easy to use!

Dont get complicated

Just make sure you include one!

Dont send your donor looking for envelopes and stamps

Make it easy!

The donor prefers to read you to I

Write from the outside in

Say you twice for every time you say I

Human beings are emotional animals

We decide on our emotions

Strike the right chord to generate response

The institution has no needs

Its all about connecting the donor with the beneficiary of the gift.

Despite what your boss thinks, long letters outperform short ones

Take as long as it takes to tell your story

Dont be afraid to ask

Be as specific as you can with your ask

Dont be afraid to ask more than once

Asking is why youre writing

A feature describes

A benefit is an outcome

Donors want to create the benefit with their gift

Its shorter emergency room wait times not an enhanced intake system

Whats your unique selling proposition?

If youre not unique, youre interchangeable

Positioning, the

Battle for the Mind

By Al Reiss & Jack Trout

problem

solution

credibility (yours)

Donors dont just give

Its an exchange

Each party gets something

For the donor, its the psychic reward

Talk about that reward

Influence the Psychology of Persuasion

By Robert B. Caldiani

Short sentences

Short paragraphs

Leave lots of white space

Make it easy to read

Your grade four English teacher would be furious!

Incomplete sentences

Contractions

Hyphens

The eyes lead to the brain the ears to the heart!

Make your letter sound like it REALLY comes from the person who signed it

Capture the voice/personality

Interviews work best

Notto use jargon

enhancing indigenous capacity-building among community-based non-governmental organizations

helping people help themselves

Peoples

imaginations can

see, smell, taste

touch and hear.

Made to Stick

is a great book

that will help your

messages both

penetrate and stay

in the donors mind.

If you show your passion for the cause, the donor will be infected.

Black type on white background

Lots of visual contrast

Photographs amplify your message

The preferred

font of direct mail

(older) donors

Human beings communicate by telling stories

The Story Factor

By Annette Simmons

Gross revenue minus expenditure

Divided by number of new donors

Sector average is $25

Rate at which first time donors make a second gift

Repeat donors divided by once-only donors

Sector average is about 35-40%

Call new donors simply to say thanks and welcome.

You dont get a second chance to make a first impression!

Get the thank you letter and tax receipt mailed within 72 hours.

Send a welcome kit to first-time donors

Gross revenue divided by number of gifts

Average number of gifts per active donor per year

Total gifts divided by total number of active donors

Sector average is about 1.3

Rate at which active donors renew their giving in subsequent year

Number of this years renewers divided by all last years active donors

You may need to add another renewal appeal to your yearly program to maintain your renewal rate.

Use newsletters to best advantage

Show money at work

Show positive results

Create donor satisfaction before

re-soliciting.

Average length of time during which an active donor will continue to give every year

Function of renewal rate

Refer to CMA handbook

Donor acquisition cost divided by conversion rate

Total revenue youd expect from an active donor before she lapses

Average gift x gift frequency x life expectancy

Key measurement of efficiency

Compares costs to revenues

Total revenue divided by total cost

True return on new donor investment

Gross return minus costs

Gross lifetime value divided by the left number in the revenue to cost ratio

Tender elements of production process to a number of suppliers

Give them the specs and hold an auction

Keep them competing for your business

Give them feedback on what you were pleased and displeased with

Little rewards can go a long way next time

If you order a years worth of business reply envelopes all at once

Some suppliers will even store them for you

Sometimes a supplier will give you a big discount if youll test drive a new product or service

Hand addressing for a nickel

Photos can certainly enhance your story and make your ask more compelling

But no photo is better than a bad one

Make sure you use high resolution photos with lots of contrast

It shows appreciation and that youre organized.

Create categories of thank you tactics

Simple form letters to smaller gifts

Personalized notes and/or phone calls to more generous gifts

Use board members to call if you can!

The thank you letter is a

wonderful opportunity to

talk about upgraded giving.

Their dollars at work

Talk about how youre using their gift

Lists acquisition

Personalization

Packages

Carrier envelopes

Reply devices

The list is endless!

Revolution in the Mailbox

By Mal Warwick

Gift size and recency are a great help to planning and measuring your campaigns.

Always test a new package against your control package

You do have a control package dont you?

Donor surveys are a great way to engage and get valuable information

We often use them with January renewal mail campaigns

Can you connect your donordirectlyto the recipient of the gift?

Why do you think child sponsorship programs are so successful?

Have a plan for monthly donor conversion

Monthly donor lifetime value four times greater

Most organizations can convert 5% to 10% of their donors to monthly if they do it right.

Mail and phone work best to convert donors to monthly.

Multi-donors

Credit card donors

Make sure you follow up on expired credit cards

We had a client that didnt

For your monthly donors

Dont just take their money

Keep informing them of how youre putting their money to work

Keep saying thanks

Ask monthly donors to increase their monthly gift after two to three years

Give them a good reason to!

Hidden Gold

By Harvey McKinnon

17% of your direct mail donors have made single gifts of $500 or more to charity

You want a share of that market

Make a plan and execute it

Make the offer as specific as possible (quasi-designated if you will)

Promise added value re: stewardship

One-third of your direct mail donors have either left a charitable bequest or are considering one

This money will overtake DM revenues in 8-10 years

Mail both annual giving appeals with legacy mailings throughout the year.

Take the time to bring the silos down

Of major gift strategy and direct mail tactics

Take the time to cultivate (at least a year)

Ask appropriately

Monthly (mail or phone sourced)

Large single gift

But they want to hear from you by mail

Dont phone or visit

Let them control the relationship

Theydontwant to feel pressured!

Testimonial from a living donor

Vision piece from CEO

Legacy-specific newsletter

Testimonial from surviving loved one

Iceberg Philanthropy

By us!

www.flagroup.ca

check out the

research room for

Business

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