Posted on Tue, Aug 24, 2010
By Pete Carter, Senior Vice President
Monthly giving across the pond represents a significant portion of overall charitable contributions. In fact, several charities in the United Kingdom (Oxfam, for example) have several hundred thousand monthly givers. How do they do it? Is it even possible to replicate these results in the United States?
First, it’s important to understand that these monthly givers are not contributing via check. Paper checks are so last century. In Europe, and particularly the UK, monthly givers generally sign up via what they call “direct debit,” or what we call electronic funds transfer (EFT). So when conducting a monthly giving (or sustainer) recruitment campaign, don’t even think about accepting monthly mailed checks.
It is true that unlike in the United States, in Europe, it’s extremely common for consumers to use direct debit or “easy pay” for their personal bills. So if you think EFT will be too hard to sell to your donors, then a credit card option will work pretty well, too. However, it’s important to be aware that a sustainer file built on credit card giving will suffer from greater attrition than one based primarily on EFT.
These are the 5 most common techniques used around the world for recruiting monthly givers:
1. Face-to-face: Street canvass and door-to-door campaigns are very common in Europe. Some groups rely exclusively on this technique for recruiting new monthly givers. Face-to-face campaigns are gaining popularity in the United States. I was recently visited at home by a representative for the ACLU. I let him conduct his initial ask; after which I told him I was only going to make a one-time gift, which he seemed happy enough to take. This technique is expensive, which is why relatively few groups make use of it in the US. But if your organization is well-known, and if you target with careful accuracy, you might be able to build on this technique’s track record of success.
2. Telemarketing: Telemarketing is the bread-and-butter of most American monthly giving programs. Targeting those who just joined with a combo “thank-you” and “here’s another opportunity to help” telemarketing message has proven enormously successful for many organizations.
3. Television: Remember that Sarah McLachlan infomercial you’ve seen with sad puppies and kittens late at night? That’s the ASPCA using direct response television to recruit monthly givers. Television spots come in two varieties: long-form (usually 30 minutes or longer) or short-form (commercial sized, perhaps 30 or 60 seconds). Depending on length and placement, these spots can be very expensive, but we wouldn’t continue to see them if they weren’t working.
4. Direct Mail: Mail is less expensive than the first three options, but generally has a lower positive response. The good news: these monthly givers tend to be the most committed.
5. Online: The least expensive option, and one that allows for the greatest flexibility. Think of the price point options you can test, or the premium offers, or messaging points! If you don’t have initial success engaging donors with an online recruitment campaign, try it again with a different spin.
Are there any techniques that we’ve left out? And which have been the most successful for you?
Posted on Wed, Aug 18, 2010
By Amy O’Connor, List Planner
As direct marketers, we put our blood, sweat, and tears into every package we produce. As great as our work can be, it’s useless if we can’t actually get our package to our donors and prospects. Possibly the most important step we can take to make sure our lists are accurate is by using NCOA and PCOA processes. Here are a few of the most commonly-asked questions.
Q - What is Proprietary Change of Address?
A – Proprietary Change of Address is a type of change of address processing that collects data from commercial sources (banks, credit cards, magazine subscriptions, etc.) that have new change of addresses which were not reported to the post office in the traditional method: NCOA. The PCOA data can be used in direct mail campaigns to target the ideal address of an individual. PCOA might also be known as MaxCOA – each vendor that offers it typically uses their own naming convention.
Q – Who provides it?
A – Most merge purge and database service bureaus offer this service, however the name of this process vary between service bureaus.
Q – How do you use it?
A – PCOA is used to find the most recent change of address, that the Post Office and NCOA do not have listed, and therefore send all mail to hypothetically the ‘best’ address.
For example:
NCOA has John Smith at 123 Apple Street, NY, NY
PCOA has John Smith at 234 Banana Street, NY, NY through as the new address he gave to his subscription magazines.
If PCOA was used, John Smith would be mailed at his Banana Street address.
Q – When is Proprietary Change of Address a good idea?
A – Based on recent testing, we have found that PCOA is best used to find new addresses of lapsed contributors. These donors already have an established relationship with your organization, but have not recently responded to direct mail efforts. There is a cost associated with using this type of processing, and we have found it most effective to uncover donors who would have given but had been mailed at the wrong address. We have not found it to be an effective tool on rental names, as these donors have active information from the address the rental list provided.
I hope this served as a nice introduction to the change of address system. Do you have any more questions?
Posted on Tue, Aug 03, 2010
By Jenny Allen, VP of Client Services
I don’t know what phobia keeps you up at night, rats, bats, spiders, or even needles and/or dentists, but what I’m afraid of as a direct marketer is...
That’s right I am afraid of kitchen garbage cans. They have the potential to kill any direct mail package we send. As direct marketers we know that the packages we create and send can make or break our client’s cash flow budgets. That if we are too boring, too cerebral, or say too much anyone can dump our work of art (read: heart and soul) into the trash as they sort the evening’s mail.
So in dealing with my phobia I did some research which tells me I only have 8 seconds to get and keep someone’s attention … but if I can get it, I may have as long as twenty minutes. So with this information in mind what are the things that I can do to ensure that I use that 8 seconds wisely?
So I have come to the logical conclusion that, as fascinating as the letter, insert, and the reply may be, if I expect to have anyone read them I must make the teaser and the outer envelope irresistible. Now that was the easy part. The hard part is how we do this.
So here are my top seven things to remember when creating carrier art and teasers:
- It’s called a teaser not a lead – keep it brief and interesting.
- Break Expectations – move away from the DM standards. Some people call it innovation. I call it the “what the hell is this?” factor.
- Humor is subjective – tread carefully. When trying to be funny or tongue in cheek remember this little direct mail piece will be received by all types of people.
- If you use graphics or photos, don’t overdo it. The lead on the carrier images should also be teasers as to what is inside.
- Steal smart. Research what for-profit companies are sending. These folks have a lot of money to spend on testing and they use it! Look at the cable company, credit card, and/or bank promotions you get EVERY day.
- Kicking it old school – slick often does not work! How many four color carriers get mailed more than once?
- Renew – that simple word will give you so much. This is not a secret but if you are sending renewals, you better add the word “renewal” to the carrier – don’t think that people need to be tricked into renewing with cool treatments.
Here's one last bonus tip for you: Never stop testing your assumptions. Now, I’m positive that I am a genius, but I always like to have the data to back-up my assumptions.
What assumptions have you put to the test?
Posted on Tue, Jun 22, 2010
By Suzanne Kirkendall, Production Manager
Regardless of the state of the economy, direct marketers and their clients are always looking to save a buck. The production process is the most costly part of the direct mail process, and as a result offers the most opportunities to save money!
1. Try downsizing. Take a look at your current packages and consult your production team about alternate sizes for components – newsletters, calendars, brochures or other inserts, for example. Sometimes even a minor change in size may provide cost savings if it means running more efficiently on press equipment – a better fit on the press means less paper and less waste.
2. Change paper stock to help offset rising paper prices. Consider reducing paper weights – Instead of the usual 60# paper stock, try 55# paper for your letters, or for a two page letter or insert use 50#. For some inserts, you can even try a lower paper grade. Small changes can lower cost without lowering quality.
3. Use existing dies. Is a custom die cut necessary for a window envelope or address labels, or can you design around an existing die that you’ve used before, or a printer already has in inventory? You can save hundreds this way in die cut charges.
4. Gang run your printing. You can significantly lower your print costs if you can gang run whenever possible. For example, you may be printing for a large prospect mailing and you plan to use same or different versions of some components in subsequent appeals. Gang printing these components can save on costly set up charges and lower costs on your overall budget.
Are you printing OEs and BREs for an ongoing acknowledgement or renewal program, but can’t print for 6 months or a year? Often you can work out a lower negotiated price with a printer if you can commit to an annual volume.
5. Piggyback. For print jobs that might be cost prohibitive to smaller organization, piggyback with another of your production vendor’s clients print run and share the savings. Because of our large annual print volumes at AH&A we can offer savings to all of our clients.
6. Commingle. Maximize your postage discounts! One of the best ways to reduce you postage costs is through commingling. If you are not currently commingling your mail, it is simply the process of combining several mail streams from multiple mailers into one mailstream, which can result in big postage savings. If you’re not sure about your savings potential, a postage cost savings comparison can be provided by your mailshop.
7. UAAC or PCOA. Don’t waste money on undeliverable mail. NCOA (National Change of Address) is based on information submitted to the Post Office. But did you know that up to 40% of moves are not reported? The address you may have on file that has been processed through NCOA, may be valid, but the addressee my not reside at that location due to death, divorce, etc. Running your file against UAA (undeliverable-as-addressed) national databases such as UAAC or PCOA, you can suppress those UAA mailing records saving printing, mailing and postage for undeliverable mail! Charges apply only to matches found, and the savings far outweighs the cost per suppression.
As great as these suggestions are, there are still even more ways to save money on production costs! What are YOUR favorite cost cutting tips?
Posted on Tue, Jun 08, 2010
By Pete Carter, Senior Vice President
Regardless of the success of your direct marketing program, it is very important to occasionally take a step back and re-evaluate what you are doing. With these 10 questions, you’ll know where to start and once you answer them, you’ll be amazed by what you’ve learned!
1. To whom am I mailing? I start with this question because it’s probably the most important. Even the most creative, compelling message won’t work if the audience isn’t the right one. And just because electronic contacts are low-cost doesn’t mean that audience selection isn’t just as important when sending emails.
2. Is my data clean? To obtain postage discounts, the Post Office requires periodic file cleansing using standard NCOA processing. But you can do more – from “max” or “preferred” change of address processing offered by various vendors to simply staying on top of donor comment mail, and emails. Like the NCOA for postal addresses you should also have a twice yearly ECOA run on your email file to ensure you have the most current emails for your file. People change/drop email addresses FAR more often than they change their address or even their phone numbers. Clean data leads to higher net productivity.
3. Am I over-designing? Direct marketing isn’t the place to get too adventurous with complicated designs. (For more on nonprofit fundraising design, check out A Look At Style by Chris Quillian) The #1 goal is readability, on the computer screen and on the printed page. So leave out the reverse type, for example, and be careful to avoid clutter
4. Will my donors/members care about this message? So often, organizations get caught up in anniversaries, milestones and other celebrations that have great significance internally, but don’t really mean a great deal to those on the outside. Consider carefully - will they really care? Check out last month’s Dear Jim for more tips on using anniversaries well.
5. Am I spending too much, or too little, on postage? Postage savings can be maximized by co-mingling. Conversely, high dollar donors deserve first-class treatment (and that applies to more than just postage!). A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to determining postage rates.
6. Am I suffering from multiple-personality disorder? If your online and offline messages aren’t integrated, the answer is probably “YES.” Your message should be consistent across all channels.
7. Am I being polite? Saying thank-you promptly isn’t just good manners – it’s good marketing. Your acknowledgement program – online and offline – should be sincere, relevant and personal. Leave the donor/member with a good feeling, and they’ll be predisposed to give when asked again.
8. Am I prepared for an emergency? How will you communicate with your donors/members in an urgent situation? Are systems in place that allow for rapid turn for electronic, telephone and direct mail communication in an emergency? AH&A’s urgentgram format is an excellent solution for getting in the mail as quickly as 2-3 days after a crisis.
9. Am I getting the best possible cost for my marketing materials? A seasoned production shop like the one at AH&A will be able to competitively bid each campaign to multiple vendors. And our significant annual mail allows us to negotiate excellent costs for our clients.
10. Is my list generating all the income it can? List rental (with permission!), affinity credit cards, and product merchandising are all ways to increase income from your list – but as always, proceed with caution on this front.
As important as these questions are, there are still more ways to improve your marketing strategy. What would you suggest?
Posted on Thu, Jun 03, 2010
The Abigail Van Buren of fundraising gives it away for free.
By Jim Hussey, President
I’ve decided to offer my advice to those with inquiries concerning their fundraising troubles … a sort of “Dear Abby” column for the fundraising forlorn. I'm even willing to dole out this advice free of charge. Those with questions need not fear a monthly retainer bill or any other type of charge. Just please don’t tell any of my clients I'm giving it away for nothing!
Our most recent question comes to me via email. I'll make an exception today, but in the future, I'd encourage you to submit your questions in the comments section below.
Dear Jim,
How important is proofin your work? Whenever I have a grant application or a direct-mail letter to send out, I perfer to save the $50 it cost to have a professional proof reder review the copy, and simply have someone on staff red it over. Do you agrees with this cost-saving strategery?
Sincerely, Bad Righter
Dear Bad Righter,
Having a professional proofreader review all marketing documents, including direct-mail packages, grant solicitations and annual reports, is vitally important to your fundraising efforts. Spelling errors and poor grammar lead to questions about the professionalism, legitimacy and effectiveness of the organization … and as a result, a diminished chance of securing a contribution.
Posted on Tue, Jun 01, 2010
No one wants to listen to complaints every day. Whether the complainer is a spouse (“Put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher!”), one of your kids (“Why can't you take me to the mall?”) or a donor (“Stop sending me so much mail!”), it might seem easier to ignore the situation than to do something about it.
But just as you don't want your spouse to file for divorce or your child to hitch a ride to the mall from a stranger, you also don't want a valuable donor to say goodbye to you.
Too many nonprofit organizations don’t deal with complaints in the best manner, and many complaints end up in the garbage can with no response. What’s the best way to deal with them? Your strategy should first depend on whether the complainer is a donor or non-donor.
If the complainer is a donor, you need to pay extra-special attention to what the person is saying - and to how you respond. Probably the most frequent complaint from donors concerns the frequency of solicitations. Too often, organizations respond to such complaints by automatically suspending most solicitations to the donor. This is a major mistake.
Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center and one of the early innovators of direct-response fundraising, once told me about an analysis he conducted into the giving histories of SPLC's most frequent donor complainers. He surprisingly determined that these complainers actually were the most valuable contributors on his donor list, with higher retention rates and longer donor histories than other contributors.
Dees realized that instead of suppressing these donors from his mail schedule, which effectively would lower a donor's likelihood of responding again, he should pursue another strategy. Instead, he developed a sophisticated response system to directly address complaints. In the case of a complaint about the frequency of solicitation, he would send a thorough letter explaining the necessity of frequent solicitations, while also explaining the benefits of SPLC's sustainer program, which would allow the donor to contribute on a regular, pre-determined basis.
Dees’ strategy resulted in increased donor bonding, with many donors joining the sustainer program and pledging regular contributions. As he explained, donors just want to know they have been heard. A personal and quick explanation on the organization’s part often will be rewarded with even more loyalty by the complaining donor.
This strategy also will work for other types of complaints.
- If a donor complains about the use of telemarketing, tell her why your organization uses it.
- If a donor complains about a stance your group has taken on an issue, send a thorough reply explaining why the organization did what it did.
You'll be surprised by positive responses from donors who are grateful to know that their opinions are important.If the complainer is someone who’s never donated to your organization before, and who probably is responding to an acquisition effort, there are other considerations to incorporate into your response.
For organizations that address politically sensitive issues, complainers might disagree with your stance. If this is the case, a response generally isn’t needed, although do yourself and the complainer a favor by including the individual on a do-not-solicit suppression file, which you should use with each merge/purge.
What if the complainer is belligerent? Calls you names? Thankfully, the days when such characters attach your BRE to a brick and mail it back are long gone. But such individuals still gladly will send you letters filled with vitriol. While it might give you temporary enjoyment to answer these people in kind, such a letter could find its way back to your boss or, worse, the press. Avoid the temptation and just add the complainer to your suppression file.
Any advice on how to deal with complaining donors or supporters? Please share your thoughts with us!
Posted on Tue, May 25, 2010
By Jim Hussey, President
Today, our nation and our world face a lot of "big picture" problems. The Gulf of Mexico is flooding with oil. Haiti is in ruins from a shattering earthquake. Global warming is melting our polar ice caps. Major wars rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and numerous other spots around the world. The fear of terrorism is higher yet. AIDS and other epidemics threaten to kill millions. And thousands of people across the world die every day from starvation.
Nonprofit organizations are rising to the challenge by educating the public, organizing support and raising revenue to address these major problems. And while these organizations need to focus on the “big picture” in most of their public-education efforts, often they should do the opposite in their fundraising campaigns. In other words, and in a reversal of an often used phrase they need to “see the trees, rather than the forest!”
Huh?
“What is he blabbering about?” you might be asking right about now. Here’s what I'm trying to say:
Often, nonprofit organizations focus their fundraising communications on such massively big problems that the potential donor believes that no amount of his support could possibly help. This is what I refer to as a “drop in a bucket” scenario.
Here’s a fictional example of how an environmental group addressing global warming might, in fact, create this kind of situation:
Dear Friend,
Global warming is rapidly heating our planet. A huge hole has opened in our ozone layer. Polar ice caps are melting away. Chunks of ice the size of Texas have split away from Antarctica. Current coastlines will begin to disappear as water from the melting ice drowns our coastal cities. Millions of people will be displaced or die from the resulting change in weather patterns.
Please send us $15 to stop this catastrophe.
See what I mean? A recipient who reads this literally could envision a drop of water plopping into a huge bucket… because that's how he’ll view his relatively small contribution in comparison to the problem it’s supposed to address. It will discourage many potential supporters from even addressing the subject.
OK, that example may be somewhat of an exaggeration, but it's not so far off of the mark.
Some fundraisers attempt to fix this problem by changing the ask to something like, “Please send us $15 to stop this catastrophe, and we'll send you this really cute teddy bear.”
In other words, they overcome the donor’s hesitance by offering a bribe for a contribution. I’m not condemning those who use premiums to overcome the reluctance of potential donors. A few of my clients will testify that, in some cases, I’ve urged them to do just that.
Bring it home
But before succumbing to the easy solution of premiums, you should try another method when addressing “big picture” issues such as global warming, war, world hunger or deadly diseases. First, you should attempt to bring the issue down to a level that the potential donor can more easily understand, and can more easily visualize how his $15 contribution will make a difference.
Child-sponsorship organizations understand this strategy better than anyone. Can one person stop world hunger? No way. But can one person, feed one child in a Third World country? Yes... that is a manageable goal. And can a single person stop global warming? No- But one person can support lobbying efforts in Congress to pass higher automobile mileage standards or other regulations that stem emissions that cause global warming.
The next time you attempt to communicate with potential donors about the “forest” of challenges that your organization wants to address, remember to take the time to point out a few of the trees.
How are you successfully showing the "trees" in your appeals?
Posted on Tue, May 18, 2010
By Chris Quillian, VP Graphic Design
We do a lot of fundraising direct mail packages for nonprofit organizations. The marketing style that tends to be effective for them is one with a personal touch. This means rubber stamps, handwritten notes and highlighting things of interest. It also means telling people how their donation can help. The complete opposite of this style is advertising, which tends to be more sales-y and flashy. It gives more attention to the product or service and tells people how it can help them.
So, you may ask, what if fundraising mail looked like advertising mail? Would shiny envelopes with elaborate Photoshopped graphics get people to open them? Maybe ... but most likely not. Would language like “Special Offer” or “New and Improved” give people a warm, fuzzy, feeling? Definitely not. The reason fundraising mail looks the way it does is because people tend to want to open things that look important or personal. They want to hear what THEY can do to help. They do not want to feel like their donation is being wasted on, well ... advertising.
When it comes to the two types of mail, it’s fairly easy to tell them apart. Advertising mail tends to be image and graphic heavy, while the fundraising mail keeps things simple and, well, direct. Both styles are equally effective, when done correctly. Here are some of the basic differences between the two styles:
- Advertising mail spends money to make money.
- Fundraising mail is done on a limited budget to keep the money for the cause.
- Advertising mail uses four-color photos and coated (glossy) paper stocks to promote their products.
- Fundraising mail occasionally use photos (often black and white) to help set a mood.
- Advertising mail uses words and phrases like “Special” or “Guaranteed Now” to add sales punch.
- Fundraising mail uses words and phrases like “Your Response is Required” or “Please Help Today” to give power to the donors.
- Advertising mail sometimes uses special techniques, like pop-ups or die cuts to add a “wow” factor to the product.
- Fundraising mail uses standard formats, like a plain white #10 envelope, to keep the focus on the issue.
- Advertising mail talks to you by promoting deals and features of the product or service.
- Nonprofit fundraising mail wants to hear from you ... Usually in the form of a donation and/or a petition.
These are just a few differences between advertising and nonprofit mail styles. Have you noticed others? Please feel free to add your own.
Posted on Tue, May 11, 2010
By Annie Hughes, Vice President of Client Services
Mother’s Day was this past Sunday, and this holiday is always a great reminder for all of us that we need to recognize some of the most important people in our lives: our mothers.
Whether you send flowers, give a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant or simply a card from the heart, the motivation is the same—you want to show Mom how much she means to you.
There is a connection between the love we want to show mom and the appreciation organizations should be showing their donors all year long. And, the best way to show your donors how much their support means is to thank them – with an appropriate, timely message.
The amount your organization is investing in those thank you notes is worth it! It’s widely accepted that the health of an acknowledgement program and the quality of an organization’s cultivation tools are directly related to strong renewal rates, multiple gifts from donors and improved lifetime donor value.
Acknowledgements and other cultivation efforts should be seen as opportunities to expand on a donor’s relationship with the organization and further bond a donor to your cause, but there are some tricks of the trade that can help you get the most bang for your buck.
- Welcome Kits: Welcome kits do more than say thanks, these important packages showcase opportunities for additional engagement with donors who are just getting to know your organization and reminds them that they made a smart investment by joining your cause.
- Ask for A Second Gift: Don’t shy away from asking for a follow-up gift. Acknowledgements provide a golden opportunity to convert new donors to multi-giving donors with a special second gift ask.
- Cultivation Campaigns: It doesn’t hurt to send donors a no-ask cultivation letter and/or email to inform them of recent happenings at your organization. This will ensure that your donors feel a part of your efforts and that they are kept in the loop on the critical work your organization is doing. (You can even include a BRE to help offset the costs of a cultivation mailing.)
- Showcase Leadership Giving or Sustainer Programs: Within your welcome kit or acknowledgement program you can showcase special giving programs by inviting new donors to join the monthly giving sustainer program or major donor program depending on level of their first gift.
Just like you showed your mom how much you care last Sunday, a smart organization will make the most of every opportunity to cultivate the relationship they have with their donor base by showing their members how their involvement is critical to the success of the organization’s mission.
Is your nonprofit thanking and cultivating your donors? What other ways can an organization show their donors how much they care?