ACS’ Direct Mail Relaunch Beats Goal - The NonProfit TimesThe NonProfit Times

ACS’ Direct Mail Relaunch Beats Goal - The NonProfit TimesThe NonProfit Times: "New donors declined by 11 percent. New donor revenue dropped by $11.3 million. Had the suspension of its direct mail acquisition program continued, the American Cancer Society (ACS) projected a loss of almost $30 million over five years."



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Live From DMA: Direct Mail Hiatus Cost ACS $30 MillionThe NonProfit Times

Live From DMA: Direct Mail Hiatus Cost ACS $30 MillionThe NonProfit Times: "New donors declined by 11 percent and new donor revenue dropped by $11.3 million in the first year that American Cancer Society (ACS) paused its direct mail acquisition program. Over five years, the hiatus would have had a projected impact of $29.5 million to the organization."



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Stephen Pidgeon: Our direct mail is more creative than in the US | Third Sector

Stephen Pidgeon: Our direct mail is more creative than in the US | Third Sector: "I'm just back from the US, where I'd been invited to speak to neighbouring chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the US equivalent of our Institute of Fundraising. I was reminded of the different status fundraising holds in the US, where local charities provide many services that are provided in the UK by local or national government."



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Live From DMA: Direct Mail Hiatus Cost ACS $30 MillionThe NonProfit Times

Live From DMA: Direct Mail Hiatus Cost ACS $30 MillionThe NonProfit Times: "New donors declined by 11 percent and new donor revenue dropped by $11.3 million in the first year that American Cancer Society (ACS) paused its direct mail acquisition program. The hiatus had an impact of $29.5 million over five years."



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Door Slamming on Ad Response as It Slams on Home Delivery? : Page 1 of 2 : Target Marketing

Door Slamming on Ad Response as It Slams on Home Delivery? : Page 1 of 2 : Target Marketing: "Direct mailers are losing out as the U.S. Postal Service pushes for curbside and cluster box mail delivery, says a new report from the USPS Office of Inspector General (opens as a PDF). "



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Postal Panel Wants Review of Rate Hike Blasted by Nonprofits - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Postal Panel Wants Review of Rate Hike Blasted by Nonprofits - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "For the second time in less than two weeks, the Postal Regulatory Commission has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to review a planned rate increase on periodical mailings that has angered nonprofit magazine publishers, reports Postalnews.com, an industry news site."



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April Postal Increases Worry Nonprofit Magazine Publishers - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

April Postal Increases Worry Nonprofit Magazine Publishers - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Some iconic publications by charities like Consumer Reports and Guideposts may decide to publish less frequently in print because of unexpectedly large postage increases due to take effect next month.





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Mailers Play The Match Game To Boost Response - The NonProfit TimesThe NonProfit Times

Mailers Play The Match Game To Boost Response - The NonProfit TimesThe NonProfit Times: "Mailers Play The Match Game To Boost Response
By Richard H. Levey - February 20, 2015
What’s in a name? A 22-percent increase in donations, based on a direct mail test, is the answer.

TechnoServe offers capitalism-based poverty-reduction assistance to people in developing countries. When its leadership wanted to increase its unrestricted funds, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offered an asset at least as valuable as cash: The right to use the foundation’s name in a donor-match mailer."



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Why Can't I Mail It? - USPS Regulations on Booklets : Target Marketing

Why Can't I Mail It? - USPS Regulations on Booklets : Target Marketing: s you know from Part One of "Why Can't I Mail It?" with postcards and Part Two with self-mailers, there are many times that a design element causes a mailing to go at a higher rate of postage. This can be frustrating as well as expensive. In order to help you stay away from potential issues, here are some things to keep in mind as you are preparing a direct mail campaign.

Survey Finds Direct Mail Gets Quicker Action than Email

Survey Finds Direct Mail Gets Quicker Action than Email: If you deal with your snail mail more quickly than email, you are part of the overwhelming majority of people who do. That's according to recent research in the UK from the Direct Mail Association (DMA). The study, called From letterbox to inbox - Building customer relationships 2013, was released this past summer.

Pamela Barden-Stand Proud and Don't Let the Naysayers Get You Down : FundRaising Success

Pamela Barden-Stand Proud and Don't Let the Naysayers Get You Down : FundRaising Success: As someone who has worked with direct mail for my entire career, I cringe when I hear "junk mail," roll my eyes when I hear the claim that rigor mortis has set in, and continue to urge anyone who will listen to invest in direct mail — but do it right.

Why?

Simply put, because direct mail works. Randy Brewer of Brewer Direct  recently said, "Let's not trade dollars for dimes," reflecting the reality that direct mail is still outraising newer forms of fundraising. Bottom line: It should never be "either/or" — smart fundraisers know they need to be digital-savvy, but they also need to be direct-mail-savvy.

USPS Update: 7 Issues Mailers Need to Know : Page 1 of 2 : Target Marketing

USPS Update: 7 Issues Mailers Need to Know : Page 1 of 2 : Target Marketing: Direct mail remains an important part of many marketers' multichannel mix, capable of cutting through the electronic messaging clutter and driving strong ROI. However, direct mailers must adapt to the rapid changes taking place in the U.S. Postal Service, Opens in a new windowincluding evolving technology requirements and cost-cutting measures. Marketers also need to be aware of the financial challenges facing the USPS, and the Congressional support of Postal Service needs. Here are seven key issues forcing it to evolve.

Rumors Of Direct Mail’s Death Greatly Exaggerated | The NonProfit Times

Rumors Of Direct Mail’s Death Greatly Exaggerated | The NonProfit Times: Rumors Of Direct Mail’s Death Greatly Exaggerated
By The NonProfit Times - April 29, 2013

With the ever-growing popularity of e-mail and the Internet, it begs the question: Is direct mail dying? Based on information from Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the answer to that question is a resounding “no.”

That was one of the statistics examined in the “DMA 2013 Statistical Fact Book,” an annual publication based on the results of a survey of hundreds of nonprofits and businesses across the United States and covers a variety of direct-mail related topics.

Case Study: 50 things (at least!) not to do in your direct mail appeal | Agents of Good

Case Study: 50 things (at least!) not to do in your direct mail appeal | Agents of Good: Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:

50 things (at least!!!) NOT TO DO in your direct mail appeal.

Nonprofits Outspent For-Profits On Prospecting - TheNonProfitTimes

Nonprofits Outspent For-Profits On Prospecting - TheNonProfitTimes: Commercial and nonprofit marketers collectively will spend about $168.5 billion on direct marketing efforts in 2012. That’s slightly more than half of all ad expenditures in the United States.

However, the average response rate for direct mail, the most popular direct marketing channel, is down almost one full percentage point from 10 years ago, according to the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Response Rate 2012 Report.

How to Write a Great Direct Mail Fundraising Letter

How to Write a Great Direct Mail Fundraising Letter: "It is very problematic to provide examples of fundraising letters. They vary tremendously, depending on the nature of the charity, the resources that charity has to apply toward direct mail fundraising, and the creativity of the person who writes that letter."

Study: Online-Acquired Donors Switch To Mail, Not Vice-Versa

Study: Online-Acquired Donors Switch To Mail, Not Vice-Versa: "Study: Online-Acquired Donors Switch To Mail, Not Vice-Versa

Multichannel giving has become popular for fundraisers as a way to build constituent support. But, the large majority of donors on file give through only one channel and use only direct mail as their vehicle for donations. The only donors who do significant multichannel giving are new donors acquired online, who switch in large numbers to direct mail giving in subsequent years.

That's among the findings of the 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Multichannel Giving Benchmarking Report for Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company based in Cambridge. Mass. Authored by Helen Flannery and Rob Harris, the report shows “ It is the ability of online-acquired donors to become multichannel donors -- that is, to start giving through direct mail -- that significantly boosts the retention and long-term value of this group of donors far beyond what they would be if online giving were the only channel available.”"

Blackbaud Research on Online Giving � A. Fine Blog

Blackbaud Research on Online Giving � A. Fine Blog: "I was very pleased by the response from the attendees, but it’s not what stuck with me for the day. I attended a presentation later in the day by Blackbaud. Chuck Longfield, the company’s head of research gave a presentation on the state of fundraising on land and on line that the company gathers from it’s 24,000 nonprofit users (quite a data set!) Here is a link to the findings they were reporting on. I asked Chuck if he was seeing any trends in the behavior of donors whose entry point is online. Do they give less over time? Do they give once and never again? Are the size of their donations less than the ones given by donors who begin through an in person event or through direct mail?"

Charities mail out coins, hope for larger return - USATODAY.com

Charities mail out coins, hope for larger return - USATODAY.com: "Paul Bobnak, director for 'Who's Mailing What!' a service that collects data on direct mail operations, says the company's records show the use of coins in charity mailings is increasing this year after several years of decline."

Show & Tell: Generation Y Donors | onPhilanthropy

Show & Tell: Generation Y Donors | onPhilanthropy: "The report entitled “Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults,” a report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project part of the Pew Research Center’s series entitled “The Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next,” found that “two-thirds of teen internet users 63% are online every day while 36% of teens go online several times a day.” [i] This reflects that Generation Y needs to be engaged often online and their attention has to be held before another cause captures their activism and their monetary support. From emailing them ways to volunteer, to communicating with them about how a personal donation can go directly to assist a cause, Generation Y is online and expects nonprofits to court them through social networking, website interactions and emails."