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Optimizing Direct Mail Programs: Post-Pandemic and Beyond – Tip #3

Tip #3: Better Together – Email and Direct Mail

This is the last post in our special blog series discussing effective ways you can optimize direct mail programs in a post-pandemic world and beyond.

Many organizations that rely on annual giving have embraced an omnichannel approach in their direct mail efforts. Although they are often pitted against each other, combining email with direct mail is a great example of two mediums that are stronger together.

Combining email and direct mail can help maximize your fundraising campaigns by boosting your engagement rates and increasing your ROI. While these two tactics certainly have merit individually, many organizations don’t realize how powerful they can be when paired together.

This partnership couldn’t have better timing from a content, messaging, and outreach perspective since “digital burnout” continues to plague potential donors.

Digital burnout has many variations, including “virtual fatigue” and “webinar fatigue.” It’s easy to overload your constituents with virtual information if you are relying heavily on email in the current climate.

Consider the following statistics:

  • 56% of customers find print marketing to be the most trustworthy type of marketing1
  • 44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email2
  • Digital burn out has been on the rise since 2019 and has worsened since the pandemic3

Utilizing direct mail and email together is more impactful than using just one. Benefits of email include quick and direct contact, easy tracking, and the ability to change messaging quickly. Direct mail can be more logistically challenging, but the ethos it invokes is hard to ignore. Why not combine them and have the best of both worlds?

Here is an example from a client who was able to successfully pair these tactics to create a comprehensive spring appeal program:

Pingree Spring Appeal Letter

Email

Although there is still some uncertainty around the future of fundraising, there are many creative and practical ways that organizations like yours can reach potential donors and convey your organization’s message. Analyzing your outreach methods and seeing how they can complement each other is a great start.

What do you think about our third and final tip in this “Optimizing Direct Mail Programs: Post-Pandemic and Beyond” series? We’d love to hear your feedback. Click here to leave us a comment.

Sources:

1 & 2 = Mann & Co.

3 = Inc.

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Optimizing Direct Mail Programs: Post-Pandemic and Beyond – Tip #2

Tip #2: The Cost of Poor Graphic Design

In this special blog series, we will discuss effective ways you can optimize direct mail programs in a post-pandemic world and beyond.

Our previous post examined the critical step of perfecting data management to ensure a successful and compliant direct mail campaign. But what good is flawless data if you haven’t focused on your design elements?

In the best-case scenario, a fantastically designed direct mail piece will delight your audience, compliment your call to action and invoke donations. In the worst-case scenario, a poorly designed direct mail piece is deemed irrelevant, alienates your audience, or is tossed in the recycle bin. Although expert data management will ensure that you are targeting the correct people, impactful graphic design and messaging is what will ultimately compel them to embrace your cause.

A recent design firm analyzed how much money they lost in one day based on the time their employees spent attempting to decode a poorly organized chart. It totaled $273, which was more than the daily rate of one employee.1

It is possible to underwhelm with an underdeveloped design, but it can be just as offensive to potential donors if you overwhelm your direct mail with information and graphics. Subtlety is not always a bad thing if you are appropriately taking advantage of every available space on your direct mail piece.2 A good designer will be able to usher you through that process, and understanding the nuances will eventually become second nature.

How can you ensure that you are considering thoughtful graphic design practices in your own direct mail initiatives? Here are some general guidelines from our very own BCG Connect graphic design team:

  • Focus on function as well as form
  • Embrace concise and relevant copy
  • Remember to follow your pre-existing brand guidelines for continuity
  • Make sure the tone of your message is reflected in the images you use

Effective graphic design can make or break your direct mail campaign. The fundraising world especially relies on empathy and ethos in their outreach to potential donors.

Here are some examples from our clients who asked us to help them balance their data management needs with effectual graphic design.

Data segmentation will never lose its importance, but when you combine it with innovative and well-crafted graphic design, you are elevating your direct mail strategy to a whole new level.

What do you think about our second tip in this “Optimizing Direct Mail Programs: Post-Pandemic and Beyond” series? We’d love to hear your feedback. Click here to leave us a comment.

Sources:

1 = Evergreen Data

2 = Target Marketing

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Optimizing Direct Mail Programs: Post-Pandemic and Beyond – Tip #1

Tip #1: Debunking List Management 

In this special blog series, we will discuss effective ways you can optimize direct mail programs in a post-pandemic world and beyond.

Direct mail is known to be an efficient and engaging channel that helps retain and acquire donors in the fundraising world. But has coronavirus changed its credibility?

The answer may pleasantly surprise you. According to the USPS Market Research and Insights Report, 65% of those surveyed stated that receiving mail lifts their spirits, with 54% of respondents stating that mail helped them feel more connected.1 

You may be thinking, “Great! Sign me up.” But it’s a little more complicated than that.

In our internal May 2020 BCG Connect client survey, 100% of respondents described their organizations as understaffed. Additionally, 99% of respondents indicated that they do not have the time or resources to focus on fundraising campaigns to their desired extent.

At the best of times, fundraising campaigns require careful planning and copious amounts of attention and detail orientation to yield results. The most successful direct mail campaigns are the ones that are the most highly targeted. In order to develop a customized, engaging direct mail piece, you have to perfect one key element: proper list management. List management can single-handedly make or break your campaign.

The good news is that direct mail is resonating with donors and prospects. The bad news is that many organizations are overwhelmed and understaffed. So, what action should organizations take to run a highly targeted direct mail campaign without straining their already limited resources?

The answer: outsourcing. Utilizing a partner who understands the intricacies of list management can ease the stress of your campaign, increase your bandwidth, and help you meet your fundraising goals.

Direct mail is reaching audiences in meaningful ways during these unprecedented times. It’s more important now than ever to analyze your list in order to optimize it and run a profitable campaign.

What do you think about our first tip in this “Optimizing Direct Mail Programs: Post-Pandemic and Beyond” series? We’d love to hear your feedback. Click here to leave us a comment.

Sources:

1 = Target Marketing

2 = USPS Market Research and Insights

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