Keep talking

PromoWriting _________________________
SHIRA LINDEN • 203 371-0654 • www.promowriting.com

Keep talking

By talking, I don’t mean chatting. I mean keep communicating with your target market.

Cynus Applied Research conducted a national study as to why donors stopped giving to a charity they donated to previously. Their findings: almost one half of respondents discontinued their gifts because they did not receive adequate information as to what happened following their donation.

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For a complimentary copy checkup contact Shira at 203 371-0654, via email at shira@promowriting.com, or her website www.promowriting.com or http://www.linkedin.com/in/shiralinden

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So, make sure you keep your audience abreast of how their donations are making someone’s life better using copy that connects your donors to your organization and draws them in. Spread the word of your successes, contacting donors via a mix of direct mail and Email marketing efforts.

You can lead off with Email marketing and follow up with direct mail, a blend which will maximize the advantages of both media. While Email is extremely cost effective an instantaneous, direct mail is the standard bearer. Data show donors found or maintained via direct mail are more loyal and easier to contact for subsequent campaigns versus electronic media. Direct mail can be used for fundraising efforts or to drive donors online to a sweepstakes or PURL (personalized URL) for example. Or integrate the two with triggered Emails (see prior post).

How often to keep in touch? Five times per year is the magic number. Keep changing the channel for optimum results.

Best Strategic Ideas in a Challenging Economy

PromoWriting _________________________
SHIRA LINDEN • 203 371-0654 • www.promowriting.com


Presented to Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association (DMFA)

by Lynn Edmonds, L.W. Robbins Associates


Ideas all direct marketers can benefit from:


• Change return envelope paper from 24lb to 22lb stock.

• Reduce colors on components from 4-color to 2-color.

• Switch to offset letters vs. personalized, lasered letters.

• Use smaller inserts.

• Cut back on printed newsletters: reduce from 4 to 2 per year and/or offer them online.

• Order control packages for 6 months of mailings.

• Follow major direct mail with inexpensive mailings – Postcards, buckslips or emails 2-3 weeks after initial mailing to boost response.

• Prospecting is an investment that will pay off 3-5 years down the line, it’s not an income producer.

• Eliminating just one acquisition mailing will have a huge negative impact on net revenue.


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For a complimentary 20 minute consultation on how sparkling writing or custom editorial content can motivate and persuade your target audience contact Shira at 203 371-0654 , via email at shira@promowriting.com, her blog Turbocharged Sell Copy http://promowriting.blogspot.com, or her website www.promowriting.com or http://www.linkedin.com/in/shiralinden

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Strategies specific to non-profits:


• Talk about your budget crisis, the need, and what might happen if you fall short. One charity got a 7% response and a $57 average gift from a campaign to mid-level donors using this strategy.

• Recognize mid-level donors with a mid-level donor club, typically for donors giving $100 to $999, and create special appeals aimed at this group.

• Give the club a distinctive name and branding that is meaningful to donors and ties into the non-profit’s mission.

• Name the giving levels, making donors feel appreciated at each level while encouraging them to aspire to the next level.

Sweeps and contests that work for Non-Profits

PromoWriting _________________________
SHIRA LINDEN • 203 371-0654 • www.promowriting.com

Companies in variety of markets have used sweepstakes to lift response since the dawn of the modern era. Many non-profit fundraisers have not tested this proven strategy because they are unwilling to risk it, due to concerns that sweeps do not project the desired image. Towards that end, I interviewed Cary Castle , Senior Vice President of Development and Communications at United Spinal, who became a convert to sweeps and raffles early in his career.

Cary tells the story of how Consumers Union, his former employer, ran out of cash in the early 1980s. Using telemarketing, they called subscribers asking for money. Much to their surprise, the strategy worked and subscribers started sending in donations. The modus operandi evolved from telemarketing to direct mail, with a $25,000 raffle successfully motivating donors to open their wallets.

Fast-forward to 2000, when Consumers Union was looking for ideas to ratchet up their fundraising efforts. They met with Jerry Huntsinger, direct mail fundraiser, who suggested offering donors the choice of a car or cash. The monkey wrench was that Consumers never endorses products. But a work-around was discovered. They decided to describe the car as a mystery car tested by Consumer Reports and found to be a top-rated model. The raffle was conducted over an entire year with many mailings. According to Cary , response took a dramatic upturn, and donations skyrocketed.

The next refinement involved adding an Early Bird. Now, donors could win $5,000 with every mailing, which added immediacy and moved the needle quite a bit. The cash award subsequently dropped to $2,500, with donations staying about even.

Ironically, according to Cary , no one ever picks the car (or other prize). Everyone chooses the cash. But the sexiness of the offer captures their imagination. He finds that a low key creative treatment yields better results. The more the mailer screams contest, the worse it performs.

As a result of Cary ’s experience at Consumers Union, he became a big believer in sweeps and raffles. Now that he’s moved over to United Spinal, Cary has been running a sweeps with a $5000 cash prize or TV, which he says works very well. To ensure the offer runs smoothly, he uses an independent sweepstakes judging agency (Ventura Associates) to handle the legal details. This also assures donors that an independent party is selecting the winners.

The aforementioned United Spinal offer was tested in 2007 and rolled out in 2008. The United Spinal mailer mentions the raffle on a buck slip, and sometimes on the outer. They rotate packages, one 6 x9, another 4 x 8, and enclose a letter, brochure, reply envelope, freemium (note cards or labels), buck slip and reply device.

United Spinal has tried email marketing but has not ventured into online sweeps. “Online marketing is growing but it hasn’t been great for us. Most of the money comes in through the mail,” Cary reported.


For a complimentary 20 minute consultation on how sparkling writing or custom editorial content can motivate and persuade your target audience contact Shira at 203 371-0654, via email at shira@promowriting.com, her website www.promowriting.com or http://www.linkedin.com/in/shiralinden