2019 direct mail best practices for fundraising success 9 18-19

Direct Mail Best Practices
for
Fundraising Success
Ken Miller – Denali Fundraising Consultants
September 18, 2019

Overview - Fundamentals
1. Scheduling
2. List
3. Envelope
4. Letter
5. Delivery
2Denali Fundraising - 907 250-8488

Overview - Advanced
• Premiums & freemiums
• Mailer match
• Variable data printing
• Envelope spraying
• A/B testing
• Multi-Channel promotion
Please ask questions!

2019/20 Direct Mail CampaignsGoals&Plans
Our
campaign
goals
Our plans
CalendarandWho
When do
we it?
Who do
we mail?
Implementation
What do
we mail?
How do
we mail?
FollowUp
Track
results
Thank
yous

Sample Direct Mail Fundraising Dashboard

Annual Schedule
• 2-4 Appeal Mailers – to donor database
• 1 Spring Campaign - May
• 1-3 Holiday Campaigns (1 in Nov & 2 in Dec)
• 2 or 3 Affinity Mailers – to individuals with connection to nonprofit
• 1 Spring - May
• 1-2 Holiday
• Included with appeal if number of donors is small
• Included with acquisition mailer if appeal mailer has large number (1000+)
• 2 or 3 Acquisition Mailers – to purchased acquisition list
• 1 Spring - May
• 1-2 Holiday (Nov and/or Dec)

Appeal, Affinity & Acquisition

Annual Schedule - Advanced
• 2-4 Newsletters – to donor database & affinity list
• Spring (Mar)
• Fall (Sept)
• Summer (July) optional
• Winter (Jan) optional
• 1 Receipt Mailer – to last years donors
• Make sure there is remit envelope – usually January
• 1 Annual Report – to major donors and organizations
• Make sure there is remit envelope – usually summer
How many times are you touching your database?
Best practices is 10-15!

Receipt – Annual Report - Newsletter

Holiday Schedule - example
Drop Mon Name Type Match Amount Cost Count $ Amount % Avg. $ Goal
11/10 Nov Holiday Ask 1st Appeal BP 2000 $ 1,800 80 10,800 4 135 8000
11/20 Nov Holiday Acquisition/Affinity Acquisition Conoco 5000 $ 4,500 4500
12/1 Dec Holiday Ask 2nd Appeal Tubular 1850 $ 1,700 6000
12/5 Dec Holiday Acquisition/Affinity 2nd Acquisition ExxonMobil 5000 $ 4,500 4500
12/5 Dec Valpak Coupon Fairweather 90,000 $ 2,000 2000
12/15 Dec Holiday Ask 3rd Appeal Wells Fargo 1500 $ 1,300 2600
142,000 $ 15,800 $27,600
Track for 6 weeks
Goal is 4/1 ROI Appeal
Goal is .8/1 ROI Acquisition

The List
.

3 Types of Mail Lists
•Donor list
•Affinity list
•Acquisition list

Donor List
Most valuable list 2-4% donation rate
• Clean up list
• Delete duplicates
• Merge addresses
• Find missing addresses
• Send list for NCOA

Cleaning up Lists
1. Filter header row
2. Make state 2 letter
3. Check city spelling in filter
4. Make zip 5 digit
5. Remove double spaces
6. Remove punctuation
7. Conditional format addresses for duplicates
8. Conditional format last name for duplicates
9. Find missing addresses
See example

Donor List - Original

Donor List - Corrected

Finding Addresses

Finding Addresses
• Go to Zabasearch
• Choose Alaska as the state to
search
• Look for wealth (ability) when more
than one address
• Use Zips 99516, 99515, 99577
• Type in first and last name (or cut
and paste)
• Enter in address in spreadsheet

3 types of Mail Lists
•Donor list
•Affinity list
•Acquisition list

Affinity Mail List
• Affinity List - have a connection but
have not donated
•Events
•Volunteers
•Email lists
•Facebook page likes

Event Signups & Volunteers
• Affinity List - have a connection but have not
donated
•Have sign up sheet for name and
email at every event
•Volunteer sign in sheet
•Find addresses and add to affinity
list

Email Lists
• Affinity List - have a connection but have not
donated
•Download list from Mail Chimp,
Constant Contact or database
•Filter against donor list
•Find addresses

Download Facebook Page Likes
Affinity List - have a connection but have not donated
• Go to your page (must be Admin)
• Click on "Settings" Tab (2nd to end on right)
• Select "People and Other Pages" in left hand column
• Start at first name and copy down, keep scrolling
• Open new spreadsheet
• Right click and paste “Match Destination Formatting”
(2nd Icon)
• Sort A-Z, filter names against donor list
• Find addresses or hire Denali FSP at .50/name

3 types of Mail Lists
•Donor list
•Affinity list
•Acquisition list

Acquisition List
• Need new donors
• Purchase the best list possible
• Cost is .20 per name f Denali FSP
• Major donors if possible
• Demographics and ability
• Local, local, local!
• Household 150K+
• Women 80K+

Acquisition List - Example
Purchase list by type of nonprofit

The Envelope
• Best practice remit (#6) envelope design
• Best practice outer (#10) envelope design
• Cost and bulk purchase
• Spraying envelopes

Remit Envelope
• Best practice remit (#6) envelope design
• Cost and bulk purchase
• Spray remit w campaign especially if one color

Remit Envelope - Front
30
1. Logo in Black & White
2. Tag line
3. TAX-ID
4. Address with MID Bar Code
Denali Fundraising - 907 250-8488

Remit Envelope - Back
31
1. Logo in Black & White
2. Tag line
3. Secure online donation
4. Horizontal string begins w $50
5. Recurring gift
6. Legacy gifts and phone number

#10 (Outer) Envelope

Cost & Bulk Envelope Purchase
• Purchase at least one year’s worth
• Spray envelopes for each campaign
• Ask for nonprofit discount
• Envelopes.com
• A/T Publishing
• Mail house – PIP and TNT
See example

Cost & Bulk Envelope Purchase

Direct Mail Best Practices - The Letter
• Best practices design
• 14-16 pt. type
• At least 1.15 spacing between lines
• Serif font
• Two sided
• Trust marks
• A picture tells a emotional story…
• Use bold, underline, italics
• Tax ID number
• The power of the PS (always offer online or website giving)

The Letter
• Letterhead optional
• Date
• Dear First Name only
• Tag line – teaser
• Photo
• Bold
• Thanks to donors like you…
• Trust marks in footer

The Letter – page 2
• Letterhead optional
• You and your
• Company match w logo
• Red color (optional)
• P.S. with online match – very
important
• Bold
• Thanks to donors like you…
• Tax ID
• Trust marks in footer

Direct Mail Best Practices – Fundamentals
The Ask
• Donor centric letter
• Always ask yourself “who is my donor?”
• Older female with ability ($$$)
• Tell a story of one client impacted or helped by nonprofit
• Make the donor the hero (Google Jeff Brooks)
• Your donation, your support, your help
• A picture tells a thousand stories… engages emotions
• The power of thank you to past donors
• With your past support…

Delivery & Costs
• Postal Design Regulations
• Sizes – Postcard, Letter, Flat (Annual Reports, etc.)
• Mailing panel
• Automation – Bar Code
• Mailer ID and nonprofit mail rate – see slide
• Non-Profit Rate
• 13c vs. 25c vs 49c
• List Management
• National Change of Address (NCOA)
• True NCOA $20

Delivery & Costs

Direct mail cost for 5K Mailer

Advanced Mail Practices
• Freemiums, Premiums and Inserts
• Valpak, AWWU, Enstar
• Mailer match
• Variable Data Printing
• Envelope spraying
• Auto calls
• A/B Testing
• Multi-channel promotion

• Freemiums, Premiums and Inserts
• They work
• The theory of reciprocity
• Address labels
• AWWU bill insert mailer – 45,000
• Great if you can get
• Remit envelope in monthly bill mailer
• Booked year in advance
• Valpak Coupons – 90,000
• Good for holiday acquisition
• Coupon
• Enstar
• Free if you can get
• Tear away coupon at bottom of bill
• Booked in advance

• Mailer match
• 25-30% increase in number of responses
• 25-30% increase in dollars raised
• Corporation gets advertising, acknowledgement and promotion
• Look at former corporate funders and reach out to them
• It is a pledge
• XYZ company will match all donations up to a total of $x,xxx dollars

• Variable Data Printing
• Already use – date and name
• Add new columns in spreadsheet and send to mail house
• Personalizes the letter
• Examples
• With your support of $XXX (add 20% to last donation) we can feed XXX
amount of kids this…
• Your donation will support kids from XXX elementary school
• We thank you for your last donation of XXX (amt) in XXX (month),
because of donors like you…

• Spraying envelope
• Spray #10 with teaser
• Cost 1-2c
• Increases open rate

• Auto Calls
• 1st call 3 days before letter drops just to say thank
you for past support
• 2nd call 2 days after letter arrives again thanking for
support and please contact with any questions or
concerns
• Very effective – see example
• Cost is very inexpensive
• Strategies 360

• A/B Testing
• Have control (does change)
• Have variable (changes)
• Test
• Mailer match
• With or without premium
• Color vs. black & white
• Plain vs. variable data
• Envelope no teaser vs teaser
• What others?
48
Control
Variable

• Multi-Channel Promotion
• Public Service Announcements (PSAs) run during mail campaign
• Radio & TV
• Radio shows during holiday season especially
• Emails
• Eblast donor letter
• ENewsletter same time as paper newsletter
• Facebook, Twitter and social media
• Promote post $100 = 10,000+
• Google
• Simple Google Ads $50

Thanking Donors
• Thanking by letter/card
• Within 48 hours!
• Hand written
• Talk about what the donation will do
• Use the words “Thank you”
• With or without receipt (I did not)
• Thanking by phone (in addition to letter/card)
• Establish level that Development Director thanks by phone call ($500-$999?)
• Establish level that Executive Director thanks by phone call ($1000-$2499?)
• Establish level that Board Member thanks by phone call ($2500+?)
How does your nonprofit thank the donor?

Summation
• List, list, list – Clean up list internally or contract out
• Create affinity list and find addresses .50/name
• Purchase good acquisition list or .20/name
• Get best pricing for good ROI
• Write donor centric letter
• Thanking by phone (in addition to letter/card)
How does your nonprofit thank the donor?

Final Thoughts
•Facilitate the relationship between the
donor and the nonprofit mission
•Try something new!
•Enjoy the process and the journey
•Ask for suggestions or help
•Encourage others in the field

Ken Miller – Denali Fundraising – www.denalifsp.com
250-8488 – ken@denalifsp.com
Blogs and websites to favorite
AFP Alaska Chapter – Scholarships, monthly training, annual
conference & more!
The Foraker Group – ongoing NPO trainings
Jeff Brooks – “Future Fundraising Now”
Roger Craver – “The Agitator”
Tom Ahern – “Donor Communications”
53
Presenter’s
Contact Information

2019 direct mail best practices for fundraising success 9 18-19

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