Direct Mail Marketing Benefits, Strategies and Expectations - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Direct Mail Marketing

Benefits, Strategies and Expectations

Kimberly Knab President Beyond Direct Marketing

What are some of the benefits of direct mail?

What are some of the benefits of direct mail?

• Introduces your affiliate to new people
• Helps you communicate consistently with donors
• Keeps your organization top of mind and your need urgent
• Gives donors a convenient way of giving a financial gift
• Renews relationships with lapsed donors
• Builds a “pool” of major and planned giving prospects
• Offers recognition (branding) and fundraising
• Ability to target the right audience
• Offers program stability and growth
• Increases online and other giving
• Makes your donor feel important
• Easy to track and analyze!

Direct Mail 101

A STRATEGIC direct mail program consists of three parts:

1.Acquisition

A cost-effective way of reaching thousands of qualified prospective donors.

• 2. Donor Renewal

Mail active donors regularly to stay top of mind, keep your need urgent and give them the

• pportunity to give.
• 3. Acknowledgement

and Cultivation

Thank donors, inform them about how their gift is making a difference, invite them to events and personally cultivate them to minimize attrition.

Pump new donors into your program. Pump new donors into your program.

Active Donors

Prospects Prospects Donor Attrition Major/Planned Donor

What does direct mail do?

Gets into the hands of the right people. Grabs the reader’s attention. Gets the reader to

• pen the envelope.

Gets them to give a gift! Captivates the reader.

What does a strategic direct mail appeal look like?

The anatomy of a direct mail appeal. Creative Design

• Design to minimize the

struggle to read at any age.

• Use the right images.
• Plain, corny and obvious is

what works!

The anatomy of a direct mail appeal continued...

Writing to Fundraise

• Make it URGENT
• Make it EASY TO READ
• Make it REPETITIVE
• Make it CONVERSATIONAL
• Make it COMPELLING
• Make it BALANCED
• Make it LENGTH-APPROPRIATE
• Make it CLEAR
• Make it PERSONAL

Personalize

What else is important when I send

• ut a direct mail appeal?
• The List(s)
• Timing and Planning
• Take Advantage of Discounts
• Donor-Centered – Make Your

Donor the Hero!

• Stop Making it About Your

Personal Preferences

• Let Data Drive Decisions

Top Three Direct Mail Myths

Too much mail

It’s the thing donors most often complain about. But the fact is, more donor contact means more donor revenue, both in the short term and long term. And cutting back donor contact leads to weaker donor retention. Here’s the fact: You’re in a lot more danger from sending too little mail than too much.

The “Rested” Donor

Can you think of any healthy human relationship that improves with no communication? Donors who don’t hear from an organization for months after they’ve given are far less likely to ever give again. Here’s the fact: The more recently a donor gave, the more likely she is to give again.

The Killer Complaints

If you say anything at all to a large group of people, some will complain. Some donors will complain no matter what you do. Too much mail. Too little mail. Mailings are too expensive. Or too cheap. They complain about your sense of urgency, your grammar, your color choices. It feels bad when donors complain. I have seen nonprofits so fearful of donor complaints that they scrapped successful campaigns because of a handful (or even just ONE) complaint. Here’s the fact: Only program-wide results should guide how you act program wide.

Source: Jeff Brooks, “The Fundraisers Guide to irresistible Communications: Real-World Field-Tested Strategies for Raising More Money”

What can we expect from sending out direct mail appeals?

Donor renewal and acquisition appeals perform very differently, and thus, they must be tracked separately.

DONOR RENEWAL Response Rate: 3-6% Average Gift: $70-100 ACQUISITION Response Rate: 0.5-1.25% Average Gift: $35-$45

How can we track direct mail?

At a basic level, analyze the following: Average Gift = Total Revenue / # of Responses Response Rate = # of Responses / # Mailed Gross Revenue = Total Revenue Generated Net Revenue = Revenue – Costs Net Revenue Per Piece = Net Revenue / # Mailed

Tracking Code

Append a simple tracking code to a remit slip.

TOTAL REVENUE COST NET MAIL ACTUAL NUMBER NUMBER % GROSS AVERAGE PER PIECE PER REVENUE TOTAL DATE PROJECTED DONOR RENEWAL APPEAL NAME DONOR SEGMENT MAILED RESPONSES RETURN REVENUE GIFT MAILED PIECE PER PIECE COST 1/23/12 Actual January Partnership Fund Drive $1+, 0-36 months 2,370 177 7.47% $12,918.02 $72.98 $5.45 0.60 $4.85 $1,422.00 1/23/12 Projected January Partnership Fund Drive $1+, 0-36 months 2,370 119 5.00% $8,887.50 $75.00 $3.75 0.60 $3.15 $1,422.00 3/12/12 Actual March Help Build a Better Future One Square Foot $1+, 0-36 months 2,367 71 3.00% $4,392.04 $61.86 $1.86 0.60 $1.26 $1,420.20 3/12/12 Projected March Help Build a Better Future One Square Foot $1+, 0-36 months 2,367 83 3.50% $5,384.93 $65.00 $2.28 0.60 $1.68 $1,420.20 6/11/12 Actual June Everyone Deserves a Decent Home $1+, 0-24 months 1,847 81 4.39% $5,319.00 $65.67 $2.88 0.60 $2.28 $1,108.20 6/11/12 Projected June Everyone Deserves a Decent Home $1+, 0-24 months 1,847 83 4.50% $4,571.33 $55.00 $2.48 0.60 $1.88 $1,108.20 8/6/12 Actual August Back to School $1+, 0-24 months 1,759 102 5.80% $7,719.05 $75.68 $4.39 0.60 $3.79 $1,055.40 8/6/12 Projected August Back to School $1+, 0-24 months 1,759 79 4.50% $5,145.08 $65.00 $2.93 0.60 $2.33 $1,055.40 9/10/12 Actual September Matching Gift $1+, 0-48 months 2,769 126 4.55% $23,404.00 $185.75 $8.45 0.60 $7.85 $1,661.40 9/10/12 Projected September Matching Gift $1+, 0-48 months 2,769 125 4.50% $11,214.45 $90.00 $4.05 0.60 $3.45 $1,661.40 10/15/12 Actual October Fall Handwritten $100+, 0-36 & $25-99, 0-12 1,260 119 9.44% $13,844.00 $116.34 $10.99 2.42 $8.57 $3,049.20 10/15/12 Projected October Fall Handwritten $100+, 0-36 & $25-99, 0-12 1,260 126 10.00% $13,230.00 $105.00 $10.50 2.42 $8.08 $3,049.20 11/5/12 Actual November Holiday Letter $1+, 0-60 months 3,206 147 4.59% $21,819.05 $148.43 $6.81 0.60 $6.21 $1,923.60 11/5/12 Projected November Holiday Letter $1+, 0-60 months 3,206 112 3.50% $9,537.85 $85.00 $2.98 0.60 $2.38 $1,923.60 15,578 823 5.28% $89,415.16 $108.65 $5.74 0.75 $4.99 $11,640.00 15,578 726 4.66% $57,971.13 $79.80 $3.72 0.75 $2.97 $11,640.00 97 0.62% $31,444.04 $28.84 $2.02 0.00 $2.02 $0.00 TOTAL REVENUE COST NET MAIL ACTUAL NUMBER NUMBER % GROSS AVERAGE PER PIECE PER REVENUE TOTAL DATE PROJECTED ACQUISITION APPEAL NAME LIST ORIGIN MAILED RESPONSES RETURN REVENUE GIFT MAILED PIECE PER PIECE COST 9/10/12 Actual September Matching Gift Response List 24,211 150 0.62% $7,068.50 $47.12 $0.29 0.65 ($0.36) $15,737.15 9/10/12 Projected September Matching Gift Response List 24,211 182 0.75% $6,355.39 $35.00 $0.26 0.65 ($0.39) $15,737.15 11/5/12 Actual November Holiday Letter Response List 25,000 186 0.74% $8,829.47 $47.47 $0.35 0.65 ($0.30) $16,250.00 11/5/12 Projected November Holiday Letter Response List 25,000 225 0.90% $8,437.50 $37.50 $0.34 0.65 ($0.31) $16,250.00 49,211 336 0.68% $15,897.97 $47.32 $0.32 0.65 ($0.33) $31,987.15 49,211 407 0.83% $14,792.89 $36.38 $0.30 0.65 ($0.35) $31,987.15

• 71
• 0.14%

$1,105.08 $10.93 $0.02 0.00 $0.02 $0.00

OVERALL ACTUAL GROSS REVENUE $105,313.13 OVERALL PROJECTED GROSS REVENUE $72,764.01 DIFFERENCE IN OVERALL GROSS REVENUE $32,549.12 LESS OVERALL COST $45,377.15 OVERALL ACTUAL NET REVENUE $59,935.98 OVERALL PROJECTED NET REVENUE $27,386.86 DIFFERENCE IN OVERALL NET REVENUE $32,549.12

CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS ACTUAL VS. PROJECTED REVENUE COMPARISON January 1, 2012

• December

31, 2012 Habitat for Humanity Sample Client

DONOR RENEWAL

ACQUISITION PROJECTED TOTALS DIFFERENCE IN ACQUISITION TOTALS (ACTUAL

• PROJECTED)

DONOR RENEWAL ACTUAL TOTALS DONOR RENEWAL PROJECTED TOTALS DIFFERENCE IN DONOR RENEWAL TOTALS (ACTUAL

• PROJECTED)

ACQUISITION

ACQUISITION ACTUAL TOTALS

What are additional strategies to increase results?

• Integrate your online

and offline fundraising efforts.

• Make your website

donor-friendly.

• Integrate additional

marketing channels.

• More cultivation!

Kimberly Knab President, Beyond Direct Marketing 310-498-2369 Kimberly@BeyondDirectMarketing.com www.BeyondDirectMarketing.com