Increase donations with Email and Direct Mail

Using email and direct mail together only improves your fundraising efforts, and they are a perfect mix for any organization. Since email is the best way to reach out to people who are already digitally connected, direct mail is the best way to reach out to people who are more comfortable with traditional tactics.

Foremost, direct mail is an excellent way of reaching your donor base. You may not have been able to reach through email alone. Second, email provides a more personal experience and direct mail provides a more in-depth experience.

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What is Direct Mail and Why is it Important for Fundraisers?

Direct mail is one type of marketing that has been around for over 100 years. Fundraisers have been no stranger to using this one tactic during the last century. And we know you encourage donors to support your cause when they receive a direct mail piece.

As it’s still an important part of many organizations’ communications strategies, direct mail appeals may even be more important now than ever before. As your donors are aging, it’s the younger generations who value their time spent with direct mail.

The many benefits of direct mail are that it’s cost-effective, easy to segment, and offers the chance to connect with your constituents.

How Email Marketing Benefits from Direct Mail

With a high success rate, direct mail has proven to be an effective communications tool. The approach is perfect for reaching out to your donors in the comfort of their home and getting their attention outside of an online platform.

While it’s been around for a long time, direct mail has seen some changes with email marketing. The popularity of direct mail declined over the years as more and more people switched from traditional mail to email. However, as we all hunkered down during the pandemic, direct mail has found its way back into homes our now more than ever before.

Email Marketing is a powerful tool for any institution. It can help you reach a wider audience, drive traffic to your website, and generate more donations. But email marketing doesn’t work on its own. It needs the support of other marketing tools to be most effective.

Direct mail provides an opportunity to connect with your audience in person – something that email can’t do. And it also provides an opportunity to build a relationship with your constituent that will lead them back to your site and keep them coming back for more.

There’s no doubt that both these methods have their pros and cons, but what if you could use them together for better results?

How to Combine Direct Mail & Email Marketing for a Better Response

Direct mail and email marketing are two of the most popular ways to reach out to your donors. But how do you know which one is right for your campaign?

Email marketing and direct mail are both great ways to reach out to potential donors, but they work best when used together. There are a few different ways that you can use email in your direct mailing campaigns. Here are five ways you can use email and direct mail with your appeals.

1. Target email non-responders

No matter how exciting and innovative your email marketing campaign is, some people will just not open your email. This could be because of several reasons. Maybe they are so inundated with emails, or your appeal gets lost in the shuffle. If you are struggling to get your donors to open your emails, a complementary direct mail piece is the option.

2. Sense of urgency

Sending annual appeals with direct mail takes planning, creative and content. Annual appeals sent with direct mail brand your campaign, connect your donors to your institution, and shares your annual goal. Adding an email can create a sense of urgency so your donors act sooner rather than later. The closer you get to the end of your campaign, use an email to update your constituents on the status of reaching your goal.

3. Use direct mail as part of your email drip campaign

Drip campaigns play a role now more than ever in fundraising campaigns. With all the data you have on your donors, infusing a personalized postcard or letter to your donors will help give your appeal a boost to your next drip campaign. Add a QR code to your direct mail and drive them to a landing page that mirrors the same creative as the drip campaign. Incorporating digital and direct mail helps you reach more donors in more places.

4. Email as a follow up to direct mail

Research shows that when you combine direct mail with email communications, the response rate is 25% higher. This approach also means that more donors will visit your donation page. So, the combination of direct mail and email is a good idea because more donors will see your donation page.

5. Event communications

As traditional as they are, there’s nothing quite like an invitation sent in the mail. The formality of an invitation is even more effective when followed up with an email to connect the donor to an event page. Using direct mail and email marketing together is a more effective way of reaching your constituents and drive attendance or donations to your event.

Conclusion: A Combined Approach to Direct Mail & Email Marketing that Works!

Direct mail and email marketing are two of the most popular marketing channels. Using them to complement one another gives each channel a lift. Whether you’re targeting your non-responders or implementing a drip campaign, direct mail and email work best together when you integrate your segmentation data into each. This combination will help you create a better donor experience by providing them with over one option for engagement.

Do you need help to pull together your email and direct mail campaign? The team at BCG Connect can help manage your next campaign and drive more donors through integrative approaches with direct mail and email. Contact us today.