Stop. Sending. Email. Blasts. Now.

Crazy-talk, I know. But stay with me on this.

Here’s what I’m guessing you’re thinking: “Email’s free.” “Online giving is where it’s at.” “Email will help us connect with everyone on our email list and they’ll give (or attend our event).”

I know you worked hard to get those email addresses.

So you “blast” ‘em!

Stop please.

You may even be thinking, “Hey Thomas, you’re the guy who’s always talking digital, “e” and online giving. What’s your beef with an email blast?”

Yep. I’m all about “e” and digital or whatever you choose to call this brave new world. But I’m 100% against email blasts.

I’m not against email. In fact I believe email may be the most powerful yet underutilized tool in your marketing and fundraising toolbox. In fact, I’m so crazy that I think every professional should be building a personal/professional email list (if you’re curious about that you may want to sign up for our newsletter, that’s one of the topics ahead in the newsletter).

If you can reach someone’s inbox with an email that they open and read, you have unparalleled intimacy with that person. The email inbox has fewer distractions than other digital channels. It’s just you and them. And that’s the promiseland if you want to get your message across.

You’re probably ahead of me, but my problem isn’t with email as a tool or channel. My problem is with the term email “blast.” In fact, Constant Contact, MailChimp or MyEmma (or any other tool) aren’t the problem. It’s using them to “blast” emails that’s the problem.

“Blast” isn’t a relationship term. I’m not playing word games with you, I’m observing the fact that time after time when organizations think email “blast” they abuse their email list or they misuse email as a tool.

“Blast” will lead you to think you can blast ‘em whenever you want to (hey, it’s free and it’s just a blast). Email is hardly free. In fact, ultimately it could be the most expensive channel you use. Really.

“Blast” leads you to think of a group, a herd, a pack or a mob of people. Oh, that’s so bad. You don’t think about the individuals when you “blast.” You are thinking about broadcasting, blasting, hosing ‘em down with your message. You should be thinking about communicating like you’re communicating with only me. You have my attention. And that is powerful and valuable.

Here’s how you should think about email:

Every email address is precious. If someone gives you an email address, treasure it and don’t abuse it (or take advantage of their trust in you).

Every email you send is a relationship opportunity. Email gives you the chance to connect with a real, live person. Not the target of a blast. In fact, you should right now begin thinking about how to segment your email list just like you segment your direct mail mailings.

Your reputation as an email sender is valuable equity. It’s like your credit score. It’s precious and fragile. If you send emails that regularly get marked as spam or you don’t keep your email list perfectly clean, you’re blowing it and you will suffer. If you delegate the management of your organization’s email list to the intern or someone who doesn’t understand this, you’re risking future opportunity. Once someone unsubscribes to your email, you have to stop emailing them until or unless they give you permission to email them again. Period.

OK, so everyone knows that, right? But, if so, why do some many organizations treat email like a clear-cut logger treats the forest? If we all know that email addresses are gold and that with the click of a link the recipient can terminate the relationship, then why do so many abuse email as a strategy? It’s because they’re thinking “blast” not relationship.

Every email you send should use my name. Here’s where it can get gimmicky. Without going crazy with data fields, the person you’re emailing should know you’re talking to them. Don’t have names for all your email addresses? I understand, you’re not alone. So beginning today, work very, very hard to get at least a first name. Ultimately we have to get that email address buckled to a donor record so you can really know who you’re talking to. So start today getting names with those email addresses.

Every email you send is an opportunity to learn. Any time you send an email make sure you know the metrics for the previous email you sent. What are your open rate trends? What are your click-thru rate trends? What happens if you put the person’s name in the subject line? What happens with a short subject line?

Every email you send is a chance to connect with a real live person. People who give you their real email address have invited you into their lives. Treat them with respect. Oh . . . and you are sending emails from a live email address, right? An email address with a person’s name attached to it? And if they hit “reply” they won’t get bounced, they’ll get a real person? Right? If you’re not doing that . . . you’re just blasting and that is bad mojo.

As I step off my soapbox and enter the real world, I need to say that the Oneicity team is involved with a ton of email work for our clients. And we certainly use the term “blast” in our work. But we’re doing everything to make any email a relationship-building communication — not a “blast.” So. When you hear us slip and call it a “blast” know our intention. Plus, we’re still figuring out what to say instead of “blast.”

What should you say rather than “blast”? I’d love to know what you think. What do you think about this? Is the word “blast” really all that bad? How are you using email? (And if you wonder what I’m thinking about audience building and email lists, sign up for the newsletter that’s what we’re talking about next).

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: OakleyOriginals)

Traditional donor acquisition remains expensive. Plus, traditional direct mail results for donor acquisition aren’t what they used to be in the “good old days” (that’s about 4 years ago). Smaller organizations really struggle to find the budget to deploy new donor acquisition strategies.

Are you looking for an easy, non-budget busting donor acquisition strategy that you can do this week?

Well I have just what you’re looking for.

First, before I tell you about the strategy, I want you to understand this principle: “people cook from recipes.”

I got that idea from my buddy Chris Brogan. I’ve interacted with Chris a bunch in the last 6 months or so. He’s a genius and is making things happen on the for-profit side of the fence. (Fair warning, Chris is great but my mom wouldn’t be happy about some of his word choices, if you get my drift. At any rate, he’s worth checking out because he’s the real deal.) I also should say that may not even be a direct quote, but it’s a “direct idea.”

Back to “cooking with recipes.” That means, if you want a donor to do something, you have to give them the “recipe” or the steps. Got it? It’s easy, but most people don’t do it.

OK, here’s a great idea that you can do on a budget of any size.

Our friend, Peter Drury, over at Splash sent me an email Saturday morning.

The email’s subject line was: Please do NOT give to Splash on May 15!

Peter is our friend who’s the Development Director over at Splash, a great nonprofit that provides clean drinking water.

Here’s the body of the email from Peter:

That’s right. If you have already given to Splash, we don’t want to ask you for money again. Here’s what we want you to do instead (which is even more important).

SEND 10 PEOPLE THE FOLLOWING EMAIL:

Paste this into subject line: You are the smartest person I know!

Paste this into the body:

Dear [Name],

I’m sending this message today to:

1. Tell you how I know you are so smart:

[YOUR TEXT HERE. Example: Remember when you told me not to marry that awful guy? You saved me!]

2. Ask you to please donate to Splash through this link on May 15, because on this one day, for 24 hours only, your gift will be “stretched” to become even larger. (Why Splash? Watch this video.)

3. Tell you that if you do this for me, then you are smart enough to know that I owe you one!

Much love,

[Your Name]

With your help, we hope to raise some much needed funds, but more importantly, find more smart people like you who want to make a real, lasting difference in the health and lives of children with clean, safe water.

A couple of pieces of information to help you get what Peter is up to.

May 15 is the Give Big Day here in the Seattle area. The Seattle Foundation has a cool matching program for gifts given to selected nonprofits and charities on the 15th. It functions like a matching gift for Seattle area nonprofits.

What Peter is doing is tapping a list of donors, asking them to connect their friends to his cause at a time when their gift will be stretched (increased) by the Foundation). Most importantly, he gave them a recipe. He very specifically tells step-by-step how to help.

There are a couple of things that he doesn’t do that I’d recommend doing (like: call me by name in his email) and I’d probably do a copy tweak or two, but don’t sweat that. Notice his genius: a specific step-by-step way to help.

Pretty cool, huh? This is a version of a strategy we teach our small consulting clients. Peter has a great spin on it.

A couple of thoughts about how you might use this idea:

This works best in the “e” space or as a digital strategy. You can do similar strategies with “ink on paper” and postage or on the phone but if you do that you’ll start spending money quickly and your results will decrease. Email is the way to go. (Here’s yet another reason why I’ve been preaching about the value and equity inherent in your email list.)

This works best with a deadline. You have to give people a reason to do it now. If you don’t, most of us will decide to “do it later” which in real life means “never.”

This works best with a match or stretch.  Potential new donors (and those of us telling our friends about our favorite causes) will react best when our gift is multiplied in some way.

This works best when it remains really, really simple. Make it, like Peter did, fool proof. Peter gives me what to write, where to put my name, etc. But I would suggest making it even more simple. Lindsey and I discussed this, and decided we’d recommend you ask for your donor to send only 5 emails.  5 is easy. 10 is less easy. You want, EASY.

This works best when you don’t have to deliver all the information in the message. You’ll want to send people to very specific landing pages as Peter does (or better yet a microsite). That will allow you to keep your message simple and clean while giving potential donors all the necessary info. The advantage of specific landing pages or microsites is that unlike your primary web page, all the info the prospective donor needs is right there in the email with fewer rabbit trails or distractions.

Pretty nifty, huh?

You can use this principle for your nonprofit, your church, your new book, your new speaking course, your new whatever. If you’re not into donor acquisition, think “audience building,” the recipe works.

Give them a recipe.

Go ahead give it a shot.

Before I forget, if you found this helpful, you might want to email 5 friends, using this link to tell them about the idea and about our blog.

You might say: “Wow, what a great donor acquisition idea from the Oneicity blog.”

Or: “Steve Thomas, at Oneicity, swiped a great donor acquisition recipe from his friend.” (Peter would love that one!)

Or: “Oneicity has a great audience building idea you should check out.”

Of course, you could grab this and tweet it.

And because it’s important, if you’re not signed up for our
newsletter you should. I save our very best stuff for the newsletter. I think you’ll enjoy it.

You get the idea and the recipe.

So, what do you think? Do you love Peter’s recipe as much as I do? How are you going to try your version? I’d love to know what you think. Oh, and give Peter a shout-out for his great idea.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: USArmyAfrica)

But once I realized she wasn’t talking about me, I caught up. And I had to agree, I like ugly, too. In a world where beauty reigns . . . where even newscasters are chosen for their chiseled features or Cosmopolitan allure, I like ugly.

Ugly gets direct mail packages opened.  We do a ton of direct mail for clients. Both mail we produce, as well as projects we consult on. The reality is that good direct mail is sorta ugly.

In a world where the post office is struggling, and many organizations’ response rates are declining, and my mailbox is crammed full of everyone’s “offer,” I want direct mail appeals for my clients to get opened.

And ugly works. Don’t believe me? Try this: Spend an hour at the post office watching people pull mail out of their PO Boxes and sort through their mail. Almost all the items look the same. Almost all of it gets tossed in the trash right there. Even the pretty, polished advertising pieces get trashed.

But watch what happens when someone gets the UGLY PIECE. (If you’re lucky enough to run across it).  They handle it . . . they look it over . . . they put it in the take home pile. Sometimes it gets opened on the spot! And that’s the hardest thing to do in direct mail . . . get the envelope OPENED.

Over the last five years, we’ve tested package after package after package. And it’s true. UGLY wins over pretty every time. With the same internal components. UGLY gets the package opened.

So if you want your appeals to get tossed straight in the trash, if you like the idea of hundreds of your carefully crafted and most eloquent requests for funding to never get read, then avoid “ugly.”

Here are my rules to make sure your donors ignore your direct mail:

Make sure your envelopes blend in.  Better yet, make them look like pretty, slick advertising pieces; you know, to show how professional and cool your organization is.

Don’t use bright, contrasting colors; they won’t match your logo palate. Make sure you have your branding document near at hand when designing.

Refuse to use an unusual or attention-grabbing teaser; after all . . . they don’t fit your image and who really reads those words anyway?

And most of all, NEVER use a large, unusual font; people might think you don’t understand great design!

Bottom line: if you want to improve your direct mail revenue, then be bold, embrace a little “ugly.” It’ll be OK, in fact, you may enjoy the income more than great design. (I know you may be hyperventilating at this point, but it’s OK, it’ll be worth it when you see the improved income).

Don’t believe me? Good. Test it. Do it. Get someone’s attention. GET UGLY.

Remember, it’s a direct response fundraising piece . . . it’s not primarily branding design. It’s primarily about getting the envelope opened because if they never open the envelope it doesn’t matter how perfect your message was. Sad but true.

I like ugly.  Ugly raises money. And I’m all about raising money.

How about you? Does this make you crazy? I’d love to hear what you think.

Oh . . . and if you haven’t signed up for our newsletter, you really should. The next issue is centered on why you must stop sending email blasts. It’ll leave you thinking, I promise. We save our best stuff for the newsletter. It’s free and you can sign up here.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: alexbrn)

But it does raise the question, should events be in your fundraising toolbox?

We all know doing a “live” event can offer a lot of excitement . . . and can offer a degree of fun danger as well. I’ve personally seen some excellent events raise a lot of money . . . and we’ve seen some poorly done ones lose money.

What hurts the most is to see a good organization try to hold a great event and still lose money.

So is this something you want to pull together? Of course, I can’t answer that question for you. But if you do I can give you our counsel on how to start and here it is:

1.  Choose your goal.  There are only three reasons to have a live event.  Get Money.  Get New Donors. Get Attention (awareness).  And let’s be real here, the only value of awareness is to push the other two!  Choose one reason.  It’s not ok to think, “I want a little of each,” because that’s precisely what you’ll get. A little. Very little. And hey, pleasing the board or the boss is important — but it’s not a goal.

2.  Choose your audience.  Who do you want to come to the event?  (Hint: everyone is not the right answer.) Is it major donors? Is it people under thirty?  Let the goal help choose your audience. Focus on the group that will meet your goal.

3.  Choose the type of event. Wait, we’ve already done that!  Ok . . . big mistake.  The best way to sabotage an event is to choose the event first, and to force your audience to fit. Let the audience help choose the event. Honestly . . . having a 5k run and focusing on your planned giving supporters does not make a good event.

4. Make it mind-blowingly memorable and contagious (I know I said “3” but this is a bonus and maybe, maybe the best one). You have to answer the question in everyone’s mind: Why do I want to come to your party?

Will what happens at your gig be better, more interesting, more engaging, more fun, more life-changing, more fascinating, more provocative than anything else happening in my life that day? 

If I’m a part of your target audience, and you can’t answer that question — and remember, you (and everyone inside your organization) will not be good judges of what pumps me up — get on the phone and ask me.  Pitch me. Pitch an outsider and watch for their eyes to light up (or glaze over). Remember you have huge competition: competition from other events, television, movies plus the competition of “negative inertia” (that, “Oh let’s just stay home tonight” thought).

If people’s eyes don’t light up, think seriously about not holding the event. Do something else instead.

And one last thing: if your goal is to raise revenue, net revenue, be sure to ask the toughest question,  “Will this event raise more total organizational revenue than without it . . . or will it simply generate substitutionary giving?  If your major donor rep can ask her donors for the same amount, why go through the extra work.

And talk to us. We’ve got some exciting ideas about the something else!

Oh, one more thing: you will incorporate a healthy dose of Social Media into your event, right? While we’re at the event. Right?

So what about you?  What’s working for you? What events do your donors enjoy? I’d love to be invited to your events.

And, if you aren’t getting our free newsletter, you’re missing out on our very best strategy, thinking and information. You can sign up right here.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: Sukanto Debnath)

But you know us, we aren’t going to charge our clients more so we can have a booth. We just can’t do things like everyone else. So what did we do? We decided to give someone the chance to “Win What Matters.” It’s a great chance to reward someone with a truly meaningful gift.

Not at CLA? That’s OK. We’re so different, we won’t even require you to be here. We are hanging out at the hotel Starbucks. So if you’re here, we’ll be there from 6:30A to 7:30A. If you’re not here, drop us a line and we’ll find a way to have that cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, maybe you would want the chance to win what matters even if you’re not at CLA? No worries. We’ll let you in on the contest since you’re part of the tribe.

Let me know what you think of the contest! Would you rather have the iPad or would you rather win what matters? I love having your thoughts! You make us better.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: Oneicity)

Lindsey, Hoots and I are headed to Anaheim to hook up with some of the best and the brightest at the 2013 CLA National Conference. We don’t do booths (they raise the overhead and we’d have to charge clients more) but there are at least 3 easy opportunities to connect with us.

First, we’re sponsoring the Internet and Technology track. So you’ll see us around there handing out fortune cookies, making sure things go smoothly and generally hobnobbing!

Second, we’re going to do a meetup thing on Wednesday and Thursday mornings in the Starbucks (hey, we’re from Seattle, where else?) at the convention hotel from 6:30 to 7:30AM. We’d love to see you there. AND if you get there early before we run out of money, we’ll buy your coffee. Please drop by and say, “Hey.”

Third, we’re teaching one workshop on “How to Increase Your Online Giving with Free Tools” Thursday afternoon (or some title pretty similar to that — you know how it is with seminar titles). Just come to the session and we’ll teach you some of the coolest things we’ve been learning this year that will make a big difference in what you do online.

Of course you could just make a comment or email us and give us a way to contact you. Or give us a shout on Twitter (we’re @oneicity) or our FB page. We’d love to put faces with comments and get the chance to hear what you’re up to.

And if you’re not headed to CLA, watch the Twitter feed and FB page, we’ll keep you up to date on what’s happening and the cool things we’re going to be teaching the good folks at CLA.

Thank you for making the conversation around here wonderful.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: Lindsey Lind)

If your message isn’t earth-shaking, world-changing and life-altering, you’ll be ignored.

I’m writing this from one of my favorite coffee shops, Pegasus Coffee, which not only has great coffee but the owners have created a terrific nearly European vibe. They serve great food and pastries plus are the hub of much of the great conversations on here on the island. They posted today’s entrée as I was finishing up. You can see it in the shot of their wall-menu: “water buffalo Bolognese.” I’ve eaten a lot of sauces and more than my fair share of Bolognese, but water buffalo? That got my attention. Wish I could have stayed for lunch.

The Pegasus gang wants to create interest, buzz and break through all the other messages I’m immersed in. They do it in a variety of ways, one way that works is avoiding boring menu items.

It works the same way for you and your donors. You have to grab their attention and work hard to avoid boring them. You, also, have to make your message scannable and easy to take in (read, hear, watch).

Daunting? You betcha. It’s a tough challenge.

But if every time you start to create a communication you remind yourself:

Donors aren’t sitting around waiting to hear from you.

Donors will receive messages every day from worthy organizations just like yours (and some they love every bit as much as they love you).

Donors will only spend a few seconds deciding if they will answer your call, read your email or open your letter.

That’s the reality. You’ll only have a few seconds to win their attention. You can’t wimp out with namby-pamby safe language.

You have to win their attention, break through the boredom with bold passion and surprising facts that stop them in their tracks.

It’s a harsh reality, but it is reality. And you can overcome it!

So what do you think? How do you cut through the clutter and distraction? What connects with you in your life? I love hearing what you’re up to. (I’ll let you know how the water buffalo Bolognese is when I see it on the menu again).

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: Steve Thomas)

Sunday afternoon Hoots and I headed to San Diego to attend Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing World. It was a couple of days with the best and busiest in the social and digital world.

Mike Stelzner of Social Media Examiner did a killer job leading their first conference. It was worth every penny to learn from the best in the business, and it was worth it to hear the two words over and over — and more importantly to see the studies and results behind the two words.

The funny thing was, that even though the conference was billed as, “Social Media Marketing World” and Stelzner runs Social Media Examiner, it really wasn’t about social media.

It was about digital marketing, or as we say around Oneicity, the “e” stuff. It was 2 days of how the smartest in the business world are using the digital tools today to build relationships and ring their cash registers. We follow these business leaders closely because they’re ahead of the NPO sector — they have bigger budgets and usually are able to do better R&D. We’ve found that by following these guys, we can figure out our version of these strategies for our clients.

There will be much more to talk about on this topic. But for now, let me give you the two words you have to be thinking about in order to grow your ministry and influence the world.

After 2 days with some of the best and brightest in the business, we’re convinced that you have to figure out how these two words fit into your world.
Ready?

Mobile.

Email.

Stats and more information to follow in the weeks ahead.

Mobile maybe the single biggest change you have to make. And by “mobile” I mean smart phones of any brand and tablets of all kinds. Tablets aren’t as tricky as smart phones. Those little cell phone screens are killers. One of the primary reasons Oneicity is redesigning our website at this moment is to accommodate mobile devices. You can’t delay. Look at all those people whipping out their smart phones . . . sleeping with the smart phones by their beds . . . just look around. The PC is fading. You have to think about how your website looks on mobile devices. But with technology today, you don’t have to go out and create a whole separate website just for mobile. That’s what’s cool. But more on that to come in another blog post.

Email maybe the shocker for you. Maybe you’ve been sold the bill of goods that email is dead or not effective. Ummmm . . . nothing could be farther from the truth. I’ve been telling clients that the inbox delivers unparalleled intimacy and access. Email is where people are reading what they don’t want to miss. That’s where you need to be. Nurture and grow your email list. It’s not as trendy as building an app but I promise results will follow if you do email right. Again, more to come.

Mobile.

Email.

So what do you think? Do you see the power and potential in mobile and email? I’d love to know what you’re thinking.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: Steve Thomas)

But these things keep me up at night, so here you have it; the three times you should NOT jump into the new frontier.

Do not jump, if:

1. The Board Chairperson orders you to do it because it’s “cheap” and easy. First of all “cheap” is never a reason to develop a strategy. “Cheap” means looking only at the cost, not developing a plan that works and delivers revenue. And “ cheap” means getting what you pay for (sadly). Social media is a great value when done properly. But the value comes with investing the time, energy and analytics to make it happen. Cheap and easy usually means doing it poorly. And with social media, not doing it at all is better than doing it poorly. “Bad” social media means death to donors and prospects, and once lost they will not be back. Resist doing it unless leadership understands the true cost – and value—of engaging in social media. But help them understand first. And then jump in with all gusto!

Do not jump, if:
2. You’re not willing to turn over control. I keep seeing ministries and nonprofits using social media to bombard people with their message . . . after all it’s FREE! Let’s post all the time asking for help and talking about US, US, Us. That’s a quick way to lose your audience.

Ummm . . . Social Media is not broadcast media, it is a social media. I’m thinking “duh” as I write this but really, how much “social” do you see on your Facebook page from organizations? I’ve been watching my Facebook page closely the last few weeks. It’s been depressingly difficult to find any PEOPLE having conversations. And maybe it’s just me, but I’ve had trouble getting conversations from many who are “broadcasting” on Social Media. They’re talking at their communities. Acting like Texaco or Ivory Soap circa 1964 isn’t going to work today.

Social Media is conversation with people. Social Media is about listening. Think about this, you’ve been at a party and gotten stuck standing next to the bean dip with the guy who’s looking for a sale or a job . . . and all he’s doing is talking about himself. And when he does stop to ask a question, it’s still all about what he wants or wants you to do. What you’re going to do for him . . . that’s when I’m looking for an exit.

As I’ve been watching, I’m cringing how many good organizations are doing the same thing. Nothing but blah, blah, blah . . . Hoots always says that a good Social Media plan begins with listening. That has never been more true. And it’s true in any Social Media platform or channel. I’d add that a good Social Media plan is really being interested in learning about the people who are your friends (or fans or followers or whatever) — then they’ll be ready to support you financially.

Effective social media means turning over control, engaging in conversations, developing relationships, and listening to others (in public) who might not say what you want them to say. That’s the deal. If your ministry isn’t prepared to do so, then hold off. But only for a day or two! Do everything possible to change that philosophy, and then jump.

Don’t jump in, if:
3. You don’t want new relationships. Or you already have more volunteers, donors, dollars and prospects than you need for the next 15 years.

Ok, sorry about the last one. My first two reasons are actually cautions, not prohibitions. (But I had to get you to read this somehow!) Now here’s the real point. Fundraising is changing forever; social media is here to stay, and you have to be a part of it. And you have to be a part of it now.

And here’s the good news: your organization already has people who love you. And you, if you read any of the crazy things we say around here, already “get” how this works. So, you have one of the greatest tools of all time in your hands: Social Media.

Start a conversation. Ask a question. Respond to a post. Jump in. You’ll do great.

What do you think? Have you started using Social Media? What do you see that is working for you – or not? I love hearing how you’re thinking.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: pedrosimoes7)

To solve a $15.9 Billion shortfall (yes, that’s $15.9 billion) last year alone, our USPS announced it intends to cut $2 billion in expenses by eliminating deliveries on Saturday.

We’ve already seen a raise in postage in 2013 — this after closing nearly half of its distribution and processing centers last year, with plans to close over a thousand additional post offices around the country. (I’m sure you’ve noticed the better service already ).

And now, to generate new income and boost its public image . . . introducing new and exciting USPS apparel for you to purchase! (Look out Brooks Bothers!) Sends shivers down the spine of all direct mailers!

So here are three things NOT to do and six things you should be doing. Now . . . Immediately . . . YESTERDAY.

Don’t do these three things:

1. Do NOT jettison your direct mail for online giving. Not yet. Remember, direct mail still works and often provides more income than online giving (although we have one client that probably will change that this year!). And it is still the number one driver of people who give online. If you’re like 95% of the established NPO’s out there, direct mail is still a significant source of your revenue. Don’t give it up simply because it’s getting more expensive — don’t kill your golden goose until you have a better goose or your goose will be cooked. (OK it’s a bit corny, but it’s true). Instead, mail smarter. (See #5 below) NOTE: If you’re one of the growing number of start-up NPOs or small ministries following us, there are a whole different set of rules about direct mail for you. Stay tuned.

2. Do NOT buy into useless rules of thumb. There are so many variables on the fundraising landscape today that you need to nicely toss anyone who is quoting national rules of thumb out of your office. Sure there are averages. Yep, there are trends. But unless you are a national ministry, national rules of thumb are not helpful. If you are local or regional, that’s only the baseline on what you need to know.

3. Do NOT grasp at straws. Adding a new line of apparel bearing your logo may be cool, but I’m thinking it’s not going to raise a lot of revenue. Yes, it’s time to shift to a new paradigm, but let’s make sure we’re looking at new ideas and models rationally (see #5 below) and not out of fear (or because the board chair’s nephew has a new multi-level marketing opportunity).

The six things you need to be doing – NOW – are these:

1. Do make sure every direct mail piece you send is directing people to your website to make a gift. And I don’t mean just mentioning your website. I mean really pushing your donors to make an online gift site so they become increasingly used to this type of transaction. In a recent impact for a client, we found that pushing donors to give online not only increased online giving, it increased checks in the mail as well!

2. Do make sure your website is engaging, current, and evolving. The more interesting the interaction your donors and prospective donors have on your webpage, the greater the chance for gifts, repeat gifts, and return visits. You want your website to interesting and helpful to them… so they want to go there.

3. Do push automated giving. Push it now! If you don’t already have recurring gift program, set it up today. Now! Monthly giving programs that are maintained and nurtured have astonding returns on investment. Plus many of your donors will love giving that way. Promote your plan in gift receipts and online. Give your donors opportunities for recurring credit cards, EFT and electronic checks. Once you get them signed up you should continue to build the relationship.

4. Do invest in social media. And do it now! If you aren’t doing it already, begin today. Now! (If this sounds familiar, it’s because I can’t say it enough). 3 out of 4 Americans use Social Media (Forrester, The Growth Of Social Technology Adoption, 2008). That’s 75% gang. Do you really want to miss out on an opportunity to connect with that many people? Certainly, social media isn’t the only way to communicate with them, but if people who could be your donors and supporters are using a communications tool, you really need use it, too. You wouldn’t ignore email or phone contacts just because you didn’t “need” it would you? The coming death of mail is ushering in the “age of engage” (maybe it’s the other way around, isn’t it?). So it’s time to jump aboard here.

5. Do invest in analytics — Analytics are priceless. Instead of learning what is happening all over the country, find out what is happening with your donors. The story is right there in your data. Dig around. Get someone who knows what they’re doing to kick over the rocks. Get a second opinion on what is happening to your fundraising. What we’ve seen repeatedly is that it is possible to mail fewer pieces and receive more income (net income!). And we’re seeing exciting results in social media using these analytics as well. It’s all happening out there and it is within reach of more and more smaller ministries.

6. Analytics must ALWAYS drive strategy. Sorry to be repeating myself, but the fact remains that strategies – including new, untried tactics and tools — divorced from analytics is guessing. And guessing is like flying an airplane into a fog bank without instruments. I don’t want to be on that plane. You don’t want to build your organization on anyone’s guess.

To put something in the in the mail now, to develop new strategies, to increase revenue in today’s market you have to be even more wise than before. Mail is an expensive tool that requires sophisticated strategies for success. Figure out how to mail the right people at the right times and you’ll discover that although nearly dead, direct mail can behave quite nicely for you.

So, talk to me . . . what’s your direct mail story? I always love to hear from you.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity

(photo credit: macinate)