What's a Good Response Rate for a Direct Mail Appeal?

We've been talking with Brian Weiner of the One to One Group about direct mail and successful fundraising appeals. What's a good response rate for a direct mail appeal? Here's what Brian says:

It’s easier to describe a “bad response rate” since the statistical norm is less than one-half of one percent. That would unquestionably be a bad rate of response. We are seeing well-targeted, socially centered, and personally messaged appeals deliver an average single mailing rate of response of 4% to 20%.

Those results today depend in great measure on how the donor or donor prospect views the charity’s position in “the social safety net.” In other words, food banks, which are at the center of the social safety net are typically going to do very well in this economic climate. Arts organizations, which are deemed less socially vital, be that right or wrong, seem to find the current climate more challenging.



Will direct mail ever die?

As a student of marketing, I believe in the product life cycle and so, to some degree I believe that direct mail will change as it matures. Variable direct mail and pURLS are but two examples. Last I looked, direct mail still accounts leads the way as the preferred donor vehicle by about a margin of 2-1. I don’t see that changing soon. Social media, cause marketing, email will play a part…but donor caution will cause direct mail to retain it’s dominance for some time to come.

Best of all, since most organizations are not using dialogue tools, pURLS, variable messaging, or responsive email…there is plenty of room for conventional growth. In the end, each of us wants to be recognized for the role we play in the support of a charity, and we want to be acknowledge for our value.

Any thoughts or questions about direct mail? Be sure to leave your comments and thoughts for Brian here.

3 Elements of Effective Direct Mail Appeals

Today, too many direct mailers…and especially nonprofits…are in the “broadcast” industry when in pursuit of donor dollars. They craft a message and then distribute it, often through the most inexpensive means possible (i.e. – newsletters, copied form letters, email blasts), waiting anxiously to see what the postman brings each day.

We have seen an uptick in this “low touch” communication over the last year as the economy tightened. I would suggest that there is much that can be done, at a reasonable cost per dollar raised, to help connect with donors:

1. Personalize everything…the more the better. In the process, provide recognition where it is due. Who among us enjoys receiving “Dear Friend” letters?
2. Incorporate dialogue in everything you do when you mail. Don’t just send a thank you letter to a donor…send a thank you and a survey with a postage paid envelope. Make sure the survey addresses the recipient personally and not generically. Create opportunities to dialogue, and then respond to each one that you receive back.
3. Develop intelligent asks. Donors find formulas insulting (you gave $30 last year, so let’s ask for $37.50 this year…) and without intelligence based research, donor asks based upon historical giving are a shot in the dark in a weakened economy.
   
   My favorite story comes from one of the Florida universities where a west coast donor had given $500 each year for five years. During a trip to California, the VP of Development scheduled a meeting with the donor after a wealth analysis showed that the donor had the capacity and the propensity to give much more. When asked why the donor chose to give $500 each year, his reply was, “That’s all you asked for…”
   
   In the end, the donor made a multi-million dollar commitment to the University. Effective asks are vitally important, as we are in the midst of a period where donor retention is perhaps more important than donor expansion.

-Brian Weiner, Principal, One to One Group

   Stay tuned for part 2 of the direct mail discussion...and don't forget to leave your comments for Brian!