I got this envelope in the mail today from a very worthy nonprofit agency, along with an Office Depot sales flier, an expensive booklet from Verizon trying to persuade me to switch to Verizon (I already use Verizon, now called Frontier), a check from a client, and two utility bills. Surveys of my nonprofit clients consistently show that direct mail is ranked very highly in their communications toolkit, for donor development, solicitation, donor acknowledgement, annual appeals, and promotion of programs and services.
It is a very flexible medium that can be targeted with pinpoint accuracy to reach just the people you want to reach -- no waste. (Unless, like Verizon, you send a "Switch to Us" booklet to your existing customer; the list has to be accurate!)
This is the time of year when my mailbox will fill up with what used to be called "annual appeals." (Most savvy nonprofits are now making their appeals much more frequently than "annually.")
So here's my point. Would you open the envelope above? Why?
It came in a #10 business envelope with the nonprofit's logo and return address and that sterile, very impersonal bar-code address that screams, "junk -- throw me away." That was all there was!
At least the Verizon booklet was visually appealing with a special offer on the front cover, and if they mail it to the right people they might get some new customers! Same with the Office Depot sales flier -- the cover had lots of the most commonly needed office supplies advertised at sale prices.
The only reason I opened the piece you see above was to use it as an illustration for this blog.
And it got worse once I got inside. A letter telling all about their mission and a sort of ramble, with a generalized request for a donation. I already know their mission, it is self-evident from the name of the organization! What's in it for me? In other words, why is a gift to you at this moment in time relevant to my life and my interests, and what would make me put your reply in my "bills to pay" folder along with the two utility bills so that I'll write you a check? How will my donation make a difference? And why now, rather than later?
But it doesn't matter what's IN the envelope if there is nothing to make me OPEN it. So, back to the envelope.
The plain envelope could be improved very easily in a couple ways.
THE BEST WAY: If they had merely called on their large cadre of dedicated volunteers, they could have addressed the envelopes by hand, in pen. I always open those, because I know it came from a human and was meant for me personally. I assume it is personal correspondence -- which it is! They are asking for my money; I take that personally! I would hope the nonprofit would, too! Even if it is a very large mailing list, many nonprofits (not all) can garner volunteers or a local high school Key Club for this type of work. Giving money is an important decision; make the effort to show that you are directing your communication directly to me! With the bar code, I figure, "10,000 other people with more money me will get this, let them donate, I've got two utility bills bills to pay." Remember when you send your direct mail that you are competing with my utility bills!!
BONUS, but not essential: A real postage stamp would make me likelier to open it. This is only for smaller mailings to larger donors, as at a certain point the cost differential vs. bulk mail is hard to justify.
So it doesn't have to be fancy. A plain envelope addressed to me in a personal way would make a huge difference.
Other ideas:
Some sort of text on the outside of the envelope. Now, if they had done step number 1, there would be no need for this. But if I get a bar-code addressed, bulk mail envelope from a nonprofit, I know it is a fundraiser. What else could it be? So give me a reason to open it and see what you're after! I might be interested! Otherwise, you are asking an awful lot of me to open an obvious fundraising appeal with no reason to do so, when I have two utility bills to pay!
The text could be a million different things, and it need not be creative. "A note from Linda Jones. ..." That would tell me it's a personal message from Linda (fictional name), who presumably is well known and respected around here.
One that never fails is, "You're Invited." Because I want to see what I'm invited to! Inside, it might explain, "You are invited to help stamp out child abuse!" OK, count me in! That's better than most of the chicken-lunch functions I get invited to this time of year!
If you use anything in the nature of a "teaser" line, think twice. Instead of this:
Your gift today will help us stop gun violence.
Try this:
How do you keep a pistol out of the hands of a 12-year-old?
Here's one I saw years ago from a library:
"Why don't woodpeckers get headaches?"
And a classic:
"Do you close the bathroom door even when you're the only one home?"
OK that last one wasn't a nonprofit solicitation, it was a magazine solicitation, from Psychology Today. But the principle is the same!
One more idea: Don't put your organization name or logo on the piece at all; just a P.O. box or street address, in plain text. Then I have no idea WHAT it is, and I am forced to open it!
So a plain #10 envelope is fine, you don't need a fancy-pants direct mail package, but you do need to get me to open it!
So as you think about your next fundraising letter, think about what you are doing; you are asking someone to give you their money for nothing tangible in return. Office Depot will give me manila folders; Verizon will give me faster DSL. You want me to give you money and get nothing. So your sales job is much harder!!!
Make it personal; giving money is a personal thing to do. And make it compelling enough that I will send you a check, despite the fact that the client payment I got in today's mail is less than the two utility bills!!
Have a great day,
Steve Cebalt, Author
The Communications Handbook for Nonprofits and Foundations
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