by Brian Gilbert
bgilbert@hackergroup.com
Direct Marketing
Email and Internet Direct Marketing
Fundraising Basics
Resources
What is it?
Marketing approach to individuals (consumer / donor ) that strives to make an impact through a direct medium, typically personalized
Mail (promotional, letter, postcards)
Telemarketing
Email marketing / Web marketing
Strives to get someone to take an action - buy something, make a donation, learn more
Usually involves testing, segmentation, and offers
50% list
30% offer or call to action
20% messaging and creative
Is it to beat last year’s campaign?
Is it to increase the size of your prospect and donor database?
Is it to increase the average contribution?
Is it to lower your cost per new donor acquisition? Is it to figure out your CPA?
Review previous efforts & learnings
Establish a communication calendar - don’t talk over other efforts
Make a plan for the year (at least 6 months)
Think through the entire communication stream for each campaign
Outbound
Thank you / Welcome
Telemarketing support
Fulfillment kits
What makes them tick?
What makes them respond?
What messages resound with them?
Think about a customer feedback survey or a mini-focus group of previous responders and non-responders
Always test - how else will you learn anything or improve your efforts
Testing options:
Package or platform formats
Sequence (letter vs. letter & telemarketing)
Email Subject lines
Copy treatments (appeal for help vs. success)
Call to actions - mail back vs. donate online
Offers (respond by X date, act now)
House file (Previous donors, top 20% of donors, event attendees, etc.)
Mailing list who hasn’t heard from you in a year
Rental list of people who don’t know you
Don’t treat all your audiences / donors the same
Tailor the messaging to maximize response
For example, you could segment by:
donor vs. prospect
active contributor vs. lapsed contributor
donor amount
source - how they found you
Spend the time to do the analysis
Use unique codes, pre-print donor sheets, or use color coded envelopes, etc.
Capture response information for people who phone in response or go online
Store all response information in a central worksheet or database
Number of Donations
Average contribution per donor
Cost per donation = costs/# donations
(all printing, mailing, creative, production costs)
Response Rate
# of phone calls generated, # of website visits, # of donor forms returned
Cost per new donor
Use the Right Medium for the Task
New Donor Acquisition Campaign
Don’t think that email is cheaper or better
Direct mail is better at getting a response and gaining mindshare - break through the clutter
Direct mail to make an impression and to be persistent, longer shelf life than email
Email is cost effective to communicate with people you have an existing relationship with
Bounces (hard & soft) (1-3% is standard)
Unsubscribe rate (typically <1%)
Open Rate (typically 30-40% is an average)
approximate metric only
HTML emails, preview pane, offline
Click Through Rate (5% is an average)
Unique vs. cumulative
Click to Open (CTO) Rate
Conversion Rate
Tell them how you got their email address - remind them they gave it to you
ALWAYS include an unsubscribe option (typically in the footer)
Create multi-part versions
HTML, AOL, Text for best results
Test different subject lines whenever possible
Include a signature from someone, don’t make it impersonal
If you can personalize the message with their name, DO IT!
Launch it on Tues, Weds, or Thurs
Proof read thoroughly and test all links
TEST TEST TEST
under IE, AOL, & Netscape
PC and Mac
Donor Acquisition Figures
Why do I need to find new donors?
10-15% of Donors churn every year, you need to replace them with new donors
When should I focus my efforts?
40% of charitable giving occurs in November and December
How often should you be mailing your donors?
You should be mailing them at least once a month, many leading non-profits mail 15-20/year.
People set aside charitable requests every month like bills, and then choose which to contribute to, mostly based upon emotion. Do you have an emotional element in your copy?
Keeping them active is key!
If they haven’t contributed in 7 months, they are at risk
If they haven’t contributed in 13 months, they are as good as gone… put together a program to win them back
Have an ask in EVERY touch! If you are sending a thank you note, a receipt, a newsletter, include another envelope and donation slip.
How much should I budget for acquisition?
It requires an investment approach, not immediate breakeven
Calculate the Life-Time value of a donor to understand how to fund the program
(Average annual contribution)*(average lifespan)= LTV
($300)*(4.5 years)=$1,350 LTV of a Donor
Most marketers spend 10% to 40% of LTV on acquisition programs
That means $150 to $500 on the above example
Monthly commitments are a turn-off to new donors
start with a one-time gift for new donors
give the option of monthly, but lead with one-time
Package the value / benefit / impact they can make for a specific dollar contribution
$22 buys meals for a homeless person for a week
$48 buys a day for a child at a summer camp
you get the idea...
You’ve got 21 days left to make an impact
Focus on your top 20%
Get your leadership involved in reaching your top donors
Test to see what works best for your audience
Never stop testing...
Things to look for in a Direct Mail Vendor
Fixed bid pricing
Experience with non-profits - references
Full service vs. lettershop
List help, copy
What to look for in a Email Vendor
Multi-part messaging
Get sample reporting
Self-service or outsourced?
Costs
set-up fees per campaign, HTML programming
testing management
$55 CPM (cost per thousand) delivery + setup
Other Resources
ClickZ, Marketing Sherpa, newsletters
Direct Marketing Association
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
Direct, DM News, Target Marketing Magazines
bgilbert@hackergroup.com