The Big Rush

This past week we did a lot of rushing in my family. From piano to birthday celebrations, from haircut to dinner to middle school tour, from futsal to more birthday celebrations…it was a whirlwind. As we rushed from activity to activity, I also did some rushing in my work life. And it got me thinking about how compressed our schedules have become in the last few years. What used to be a six week process of strategy-research-outline-draft-refine-review-perfect-mail has, too often, become a mad dash from outline to draft to review to mail -- with no time to strategize, thoroughly research, refine or perfect anything.

I see it all the time in news reporting. It's almost impossible to read a news article today without finding at least one typo. Even larger news outlets have become so quick to publish that they do their fact-checking after the story's out.

I am not a technophobe, and I don't hate progress. I do not want to go back to the days of stinky blueline proofs and camera-ready copy. I love being able to type, copy and paste my way through drafting and editing.

But I do wonder if we've hit the limit of how fast we can go.

Now, I know computers can and will do things faster. They'll continue to advance, and my children or grandchildren will likely wonder how we managed to get by with such clunky interfaces as keyboards and mice.

But true creativity and excellent, thoughtful work still take time.

Before I write a word, I like to take time to absorb the information and notice what bits and pieces stand out for me. If I do my research and then step away, my brain helps me out by sifting through things and organizing it all, so that when I do sit down to write, the words flow more easily.

And the same principle works once the copy's written. My best direct mail letters need rest before they're ready for the world. I have to step away for at least a day -- ideally for three or four days -- so that I can see clearly what needs work.

Yes, I can -- and often do -- turn things around on a dime. I've written, directed design and sent to the printer direct mail packages in the course of one business day. (With a lot of help from clients, graphic designers and printers!) And many of those packages were successful.

Some of them were not.

The truth is, my best, most enduring packages have been those that I was allowed to spend weeks on.

As you rush to meet deadlines, consider if there might be a value to slowing down. I'm a firm believer that done is better than perfect, but that doesn't mean I don't try to be as perfect as I can be -- and sometimes that means taking an extra day or two.

Sometimes, the best way to beat the rush is to slow down and let it pass you by.

Busting Direct Mail Myth #5

The last Direct Mail Myth I want to bust is the one that is the most true: Premiums always boost response. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but adding a premium to an acquisition package very often will boost your response rate. And while I have less experience with premiums in house mail, it's certainly true that a well-chosen premium can increase both your average gift and your percent response. But premiums in direct mail come with a host of complex issues, and the truth is they don't always work.

Here are three things to consider when you're looking at premiums:

-- How much do they cost? And I'm not just talking about the cost of the actual premium. What will your costs be to fulfill the premium? If it's an up-front gift -- a magnet, notecards or address labels, say -- will the added weight up your postage, or will the item itself distract from the real purpose of your package, which is, of course, to get a gift? If the premium is something you're sending out once people donate, how much will it cost to mail it to them? Some seemingly cheap premiums have hidden shipping costs that make the item prohibitive.

-- Is the added cost worth it? If you get a boost in response -- either in larger average gifts, or more donors -- you need to do the work to see if that pencils out against the cost of the premium and fulfillment. And how do those donors renew? Are they joining just to get the premium, then dropping like flies? Or are they sticking around, ensuring that the added costs are made up by their years of giving?

-- And most importantly: How does the premium fit with your mission? An environmental organization that sends address labels may acquire more donors, but that extra paper is sending a subtle, unintended message that they may not be quite as green as they claim. On the other hand, an environmental that promises a tote bag is putting their money where their mouth is -- and getting more effective advertising when donors carry the bags in public. Carefully consider what your chosen premium says about your organization: is that a message you want to send to your potential donors?

To me the biggest question to ask yourself about premiums, encompassing all the things I discussed above, is this: Do you want donors who support you because you shower them with gifts, or because they believe in the importance of your mission?

Busting Direct Mail Myth #4

I've worked with many organizations whose development directors desperately wanted to move them toward a more member-supported structure, rather than relying exclusively on grants, foundations or one or two heavy-hitter donors. And one of the biggest stumbling blocks they've faced has been trying to convince reluctant board members and executives that $25 direct mail donors are worth pursuing.

It's one of the most persistent myths of direct mail: that the "small-time" donors will never amount to anything significant for the organization.

Direct Mail Donors Have Hidden Depths

Sure, they may start out giving only $25, but treat your donors right, and they may just grow with you. Many of the largest organizations' major donor lists are made up primarily of people who started out giving small amounts -- people who tested out the organization with a $25 or $50 gift, then gradually gave more as they liked what they saw.

And who hasn't heard a story about a nonprofit receiving a massive bequest from a donor who'd never given more than $30 a year while alive?

When you show your donors you know who they are, you appreciate your support, and you're using their money wisely, they reward you by continuing to give -- and perhaps even increasing their donations.

Direct Mail is a Volume Business

One $25 donor might not ever give you the same amount as one good foundation grant. But many $25 dollar donors will. And not only that, these are the people who can create a groundswell of support for your cause, who will tell their friends and family and neighbors about the good work you do, and who will -- if taken care of properly -- be your most loyal and vocal public advocates.

Of course, that means you must invest in your outreach to these "small-time" donors so you can collect and retain a large enough number of them to support your work.

Embrace Your Smaller Donors -- and Bust Those Myths!

For more busted direct mail myths, check out my earlier posts here and here. And stop back next week when I bust the 5th and final direct mail myth!

Busting Direct Mail Myth #3

I spend a lot of time reading up on the latest "musts" of direct mail and talking to fundraisers about their programs, and I've noticed quite a few direct mail myths that just won't die. You can read my earlier posts debunking the first two big myths here and here. Today, I want to talk about the third common myth: Direct Mail is too old-fashioned for our donors.

Believe me, I understand where this one is coming from. We all want to think that our donors are different. They're special, more sophisticated than the average donor. They don't need all those underlines and bold and emotional language.

Wrong.

A few years ago, I wrote a letter for an organization run by a very respected, very intelligent scientist. He was widely published in prominent scientific journals and national newspapers and magazines. He was a great writer, and he hated the letter I wrote for them. Ripped it to shreds. He deplored the overly emotional tone and the use of 2nd person point-of-view. He was adamant that his donors would see through such a hackneyed ask and leave the organization in droves.

Naturally, I was upset. I had worked extremely hard getting the complex technical details in the appeal right and melding those with the kind of impassioned, personal plea I know works in direct mail.

The development staff and I sat down and discussed how to proceed, and eventually, we convinced the executive director to test his approach vs. my approach. The results were definitive in my favor.

Now, this guy was a Ph.D. He had a couple of decades of experience in writing about his subject on me. But he didn’t — at that time — know direct mail at all.

He took one look at my appeal letter and saw all the things a good academic writer is trained to avoid like the plague: hyperbole, simplified language, lots of “you”, too much bold and underlines.

But those things work.

Which isn't to say you can't inject some sophistication into your direct mail. Many of my clients routinely fundraise for incredibly complex and technical issues, and they get great results. But they use tried and true direct mail techniques, as well.

Remember, your primary goal is to get your direct mail opened and responded to, so make it easy for people to understand what you want them to do. That means bold important passages, underline key points, bullet your arguments, and include an emotional P.S.

And yes, dome of your donors will be put off by direct mail. It's important to remember that a large percentage of the population is not direct mail-responsive (including me!). Which is why it's critical to have many channels and opportunities for your donors to give.

Next week, I'll bust Myth #4 -- so stay tuned!

Busting Direct Mail Myth #2

Continuing my post from last week talking about 5 myths of direct mail, today I'm going to talk about a myth I really wish were true for my clients.

Myth #2

A closed-face Outer Envelope always beats a Window Outer Envelope.

I have heard this myth time and again, and I really do want to believe it. Honestly! If this would prove true for even one of my clients, I would be forever grateful because I hate writing teasers.

But time and again, I have urged clients to test this to no avail. The Window Envelope with teaser wins every time -- with both a higher percentage response and a lower investment per donor.

Now, I know other organizations have tested this and found the opposite results, so please, please, please don't take my word for it. Test it for yourself. Because remember, it's not a rule until you test it yourself.

But don't become wed to one way of sending out your packages. Instead, remember the function of the Outer Envelope: to get opened. If it doesn't get opened, you don't get a gift. It's that simple.

So if the personal touch -- a closed envelope, the signer's name in the cornercard, maybe even a handwritten font for the donor's name and address -- is getting your direct mail opened, then keep using it.

But if your response rates aren't what you'd like, try mailing a Window Outer Envelope with a teaser. But make it a good one. A great teaser can do a lot of heavy-lifting by setting up your letter -- and your ask -- all in a handful of well-chosen words.

Your teaser and envelope graphics can also do double-duty by drawing donors' attention to their own names. We're all self-centered creatures, and even the most moving teaser probably won't thrill us quite so much as the site of our own names. Many of my clients find that a small teaser above the window that leads the eye to the address block gets their envelopes opened -- and boosts response

As with the first myth, the key to busting Myth #2 is to test, test, test.

Check in next week for more Myth-busting. And until then, leave comments below!

5 Direct Mail Myths

I've written before about the direct mail "rules" people like to toss about. The truth is, every one of these "rules" will fail to garner the response you expect at some point along the way. And accompanying these "rules" are some persistent myths about direct mail.

I often hear versions of these myths when I'm working with a client for the first time. And like most myths, these are stories that have been passed down through the organization so long that people don't even question them anymore.

5 Direct Mail Myths I Hear Again and Again

1. People don't have time to read long letters, so we should keep it to one page.

2. A closed-face Outer Envelope always beats a Window Envelope with a teaser.

3. Direct Mail is too old-fashioned looking/sounding for our donors.

4. Direct Mail only generates "small-time" donors.

5. A Premium always boosts response.

Let's Bust that First Myth

A lot of organizations, especially those starting out in Direct Mail, will listen to board members, staff, or their own guts when it comes to letter length. And that is exactly the wrong approach. Because most of us would say that we'd prefer a short letter that gets straight to the point, but when it comes time to respond to direct mail, we rarely act as we say we will.

That's why most Direct Mail consultants will recommend trying a 4-page letter for most direct mail. It's a pretty standard recommendation, and it comes with a mountain of data behind it. The fact is, even though we say we want shorter letters, for most organizations, longer proves better.

But not all organizations...and maybe not yours.

Direct Mail Fundraising expert Mal Warwick says that a Direct Mail letter should be "as long as it needs to be to make your case for giving." That means that you have to look at why you're writing the letter -- is it an acquisition? A special appeal? A renewal? -- and jot down a list of what you're trying to accomplish with that letter.

Need to squeeze in a story, a couple of asks, a strategy and your history of success on the issue? Then you're probably going to need four pages.

But if you just want to remind your donors why the gave in the first place and  of the importance of giving every year to support your work, one or two pages will probably suffice.

But even with those guidelines, you still don't really know how long your letter should be until you test.

Your letters should be exactly as long as your donors tell you they want them. And they tell you not with their words, but with their actions. When you get the most donors to respond to your letters, you'll know your letters are the right length, whether their two, four, six or some other number of pages.

Questions about letter length? Post them in the comment section. And be sure to check in next week as I bust Myth #2!

The Two U's of Fundraising

One of the things I love about my job is the chance to be creative. People often complain that direct mail letters are formulaic, and yes, there is certainly a well-tested format for them that can easily make them feel stale. But like a sonnet, within that strict formula, your letter can range as far and wide as your imagination will take you.

But there are two things you must have in your fundraising copy -- the two "U"s of fundraising.

YOU

I've talked about this before, but a direct mail letter is a personal letter from one person at your organization to one donor. Ideally, it's the opening (acquisition) or continuation (renewal or special appeal) of a critical conversation about your organization and your cause.

And when you're having a conversation with someone, you use "you" a lot.

In fact, it's the most important word in your letter (unless you're personalizing, and then the most important word is the donor's name)! It tells your donors that you know who they are, that you're talking directly to them and that you care about their thoughts and opinions. It makes them feel important.

Use your "YOU"s!

Urgency

Life is busy. This week, in fact, two of my children start soccer practice, all three children have piano lessons, my husband starts a new job, and I have five conference calls, two playdates, school supplies and soccer cleats to buy, and a kid's bedroom to finish painting. And all that is on top of working, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, exercising and spending quality time with my family.

Your donors have full lives, so you need to give them a reason not to set that fundraising piece down on the "I'll get to this later" pile.

Make your asks urgent. Tell your donors you need their help NOW. Better yet, give them a deadline by which to act. And make it sooner rather than later. Plaster that deadline on the outer envelope, on the reply form, in the letter and on the reply envelope. Explain to them why it's so important that they act fast.

If they're anything like me, your donors' "I'll get to this later" piles probably morph pretty quickly into the "Let's just recycle all of this" piles. Use urgency to get them to act immediately, and you'll receive more gifts.

Use your "U"s!

Using you and urgency will give you better results in your fundraising letters -- and make your creativity in the rest of the letter pay bigger dividends.

Three Key Statistics for Fundraising

A fundraising consultant I know asked me the other day what data I felt was the most important to pay attention to when running a membership program. The question caught me a bit off-guard because I am so intensely focused on the creative end of things for my clients that it becomes very easy for me to gloss over the numbers side of things. But my colleague's question reminded me that I do, in fact, pay close attention to a few key metrics. After all, how do you know what really works for your donors if you can't measure your results?

Here are 3 key measurements I look at when developing a creative strategy:

Percent Response

This is a big one because it tells you what portion of your membership is responding to your fundraising efforts. If you're keeping a close eye on this number, you can learn which subjects your donors are most interested in funding, or which renewal effort is not pulling its weight.

That said, if you don't know what other organizations in your sector are getting percentage-wise and you don't have years of data about your own organization, then the number can be a little meaningless. Is a 4% response on an appeal good or bad?

That's why it's critical to track this number over many mailings and a long period of time. It's a great starting point for knowing how your creative efforts are performing.

Average Gift

A high average gift could show you what your donors feel most strongly about. Say you sent one appeal asking for money for a physical project, and one asking for program support and both received the same percent response from your donors. If one of those asks garnered a $50 average gift while the other only reached $35, then you have a good indication of what your donors think is important.

Of course, you often get a higher average gift when you're sending to your most loyal donors, so don't get too excited until you compare your populations. And remember to toss out any unusually high gifts before you calculate this number. One $1,000 donation can skew your data.

Lifetime Value

Since I'm most decidedly not a data expert, I turned to this post on the Donor Perfect blog to explain this stat and how to calculate it.

Knowing your donors' lifetime value is a key part of a good long-term strategy. From deciding when to mail and how much to spend, to developing donor cultivation and retention plans, this number will help you refine your fundraising efforts.

Find your data experts

I am the first to admit that I am not a data pro. But I know that these statistics can help me hone a creative strategy, so I listen to the data experts in my life.

Data folks: what did I miss? Are there other numbers I need to start paying attention to? Help me and my fellow creative types create the best fundraising packages we can by sharing the numbers we need to know!

Yoda, Direct Mail, and How to Follow Fundraising Advice

Last week, John Lepp at Agents of Good and FundraiserGrrl Rory Green, inspired by FundraisingYoda, got together and posted a Direct Mail 101, walking readers through some of their go-to suggestions for creating a great direct mail fundraising package -- all with a funny Star Wars theme. Awesome. The piece was so fun and charming and terrifically clever that I feel terrible objecting to any of it...but in my experience, some of their advice came from the dark side of the Force.

Let me repeat the key part of that last sentence: in my experience.

You see, all direct mail advice should be taken with one of those giant blocks of Himalayan pink salt. What works for your donors may be like sending the Death Star to visit mine. The only way you'll know if you've found the fundraising Force for your donors is to test.

That means, of course, that you have to have data you can read -- more on that next week! -- and a big enough pool of people (or a few months worth of mailing the test). It means you might have to do twice as much work on a few mailings. But that will be worth it when you discover what really works for YOUR donors...not just what works according to experts like me.

So, what was the Direct Mail 101 advice you'd never catch me giving?

On the Outer Envelope

- Should be almost anything other than a white, #10 envelope with a window (or whatever the standard size that 99% of charities are using in your country). This is a 9″ x 6″.

Not in my experience. Several of my clients have tested 9x6 envelopes...all have failed spectacularly. Nearly all of my clients have tested colored outers...which performed no better or worse than a standard white envelope. I've had far bigger boosts from testing various teasers and design treatments than stock colors.

Now, to be totally honest, a 9x12 envelope did routinely beat a #10 for one of my clients, but the cost became so prohibitive that it negated the improved results.

Standing out in the mail is a noble goal and could possibly bump up your revenue and response. But it might not.

Bottom line: if 99% of charities are doing something...it's probably working for a lot of them.

- No window usually beats having a window on your envelope. Windows subconsciously say “bill”.

Again, a couple of my clients have tested this over and over again, convinced that the conventional wisdom that says a closed OE will out-perform a window must be true for them, too. And while a few of those tests have fallen in favor of the closed OE, the tepid results simply couldn't compensate for the increased costs. And most of the tests were decided in the window OE's favor.

There are some nuances here, and my two biggest clients continue to test variations on this, hoping to discover when it's worth the added expense of a closed outer, and when a window with a screaming teaser is the best option. I'll let you know if we discover anything definitive.

One last thought: what's so bad about looking like a bill? I don't know about you, but I don't open all of my mail...but I do open all of my bills.

On the Letter

- Font: courier. As big as possible – 13 point here. Courier is likely one of the most – if not THE most effective font in direct mail. It works! I can practically hear the letter writer sitting in the dark quickly hammering this out on her typewriter. 

Again, been there, tested that. Courier and Times New Roman performed equally well every single time, over multiple tests. (We just couldn't believe the results, so this test was repeated several times!) I will say that font size did make a difference for one of my clients whose list runs older than most. But even though we thought Courier would be a hit with those older folks, it didn't make a lick of difference.

Elsewhere in the Package

No mention of the reply envelope.

UPDATED: the reply envelope was added in after I read the post with spot-on fantastic advice!

This was one component they left off their tutorial completely -- and although it's tempting to treat the reply envelope as an afterthought, I'd urge you not to. Whenever I can, I try to include a message on the RE -- usually in the upper lefthand corner, depending on postal regs -- that reiterates both the urgency and the contents of the ask. (RUSH: Petitions Enclosed is a favorite with my activist clients.)

If you can, address the RE to a person at the organization. If you're using a BRE that won't be possible, but with an RE you can include your letter signer's name above the address, which makes your donor feel more like they're communicating with a person and not an institution.

When you're using a BRE, a "Your stamp saves us money" message really can save you money on postage costs -- and just might up response, as well.

NOTE: John tells me that there's been substantial testing refuting this, and I trust that. I have a client who has had success with it, but I prefer to use the space for a more ask-oriented message anyway. 

Trust the Force.

I'm being nit-picky here. Most of the advice John and Rory compiled was stellar and matches my experience. And delivered in a fun, friendly, fantastic way. Plus, YODA! Honestly, I loved it.

And while my experience might have diverged from theirs in those few specific areas that I cited, that doesn't mean that yours will. In fact, I urge you to try all of their suggestions -- and you can bet that I'll be recommending that a few of my clients revisit these ideas down the road. As lists, tastes and fashions evolve, it's important to keep evaluating what works best.

No matter what advice you're getting, the most important thing is to make sure that it works for YOUR unique set of donors. Test, test, test. Even with a tight budget, pay attention to what YOUR donors want, and keep the rest of the advice in your back pocket. Then you will truly be using the Fundraising Force.

The 20-year-old Thank You

This week, I sent a thank you note that I should have written 20+ years ago.

When I was applying to colleges, I asked one of my English teachers for a letter of recommendation. He wrote it, I'm certain I at least said "Thank you" when he handed it to me, and I included it in my applications.

A few months later, I blew out of that suburb and didn't look back.

Now...fast-forward a couple of decades. Picture me in my sweats, sitting on the living room floor surrounded by dusty boxes from the attic. I pulled out a file and found the original letter of recommendation from my English teacher.

It was quite a letter -- one tight-margined page filled with praise for me as a student and as a person. It was clear as I read it that Mr. Lewis hadn't relied on boilerplate recommendation language, replacing another student's name with mine. He'd put thought and effort into that letter. And I am sure I was one of dozens of kids who had asked for his recommendation. 

As I read the letter, I knew I hadn't fully appreciated what he'd done for me back when I was in high school, and my verbal "thank you" felt entirely inadequate.

I wanted to thank him properly. But what were the chances he'd remember me out of thousands of kids he's taught over the years? What difference would a heartfelt thank you note mean now?

I decided it didn't matter if he remembered me or not. (To be perfectly honest, I probably wouldn't be able to pick him out of a line-up either!) I knew from years of working with nonprofits that sending a thank you is always the right thing to do.

So I did it. And he responded with a kind note of his own. I don't think he does remember me, but that doesn't matter.

The important thing to me is that I was able to acknowledge his generosity.

Now, clearly, I should have written that note many years ago. I blew it then...just like so many nonprofits blow it each and every day when they fail to acknowledge their donors' generosity.

But it really is better late than never. So if you are still sitting on a stack of thank you notes from your year-end giving drive, for pete's sake, send them out! Better yet, take a few minutes out of each day to telephone those donors and thank them profusely for their support.

They don't have to give to you. They don't owe you anything, just like Mr. Lewis didn't owe me such a stellar recommendation letter.

But you do owe them something: a sincere and timely thank you.

Asking Well

The other day, one of my neighbors sent around an email asking to borrow a large duffle bag. The family was heading to Hawaii for 9 days, and they really wanted to take their boogie boards with them but didn’t own a bag large enough to pack them in for the plane trip. They didn’t want to have to buy or rent boogie boards when they got to Hawaii.

Full disclaimer in case said neighbor reads this: I totally would have leant you the bag if I had one like that, and I’m sorry for using your well deserved family vacation as an object lesson for how not to ask for things if you’re a nonprofit. I hope you had an amazing time.

Now, for my nonprofit readers: you can perhaps imagine what my initial, gut-level reaction was upon reading my neighbor’s request. If not, it went something like this: The only way I would be digging around my attic to find a giant duffle bag is if I was going to Hawaii. Buy your own damn bag.

Of course, my rational, altruistic self then kicked in, and I realized that I would love to help, but I don’t own a bag like they needed. And probably someone else did, so really, I didn’t need to go digging around in the attic to make sure.

And then another email came in from a friend looking for childcare so she could go to a party with her husband – their first date in the two years since their son was born.

My gut-level reaction to that request? YES, I would LOVE to help you out.

When you’re asking your donors for money, are you making the right pitch?

Both my neighbors and my friend were asking for something that wasn’t completely necessary. There were no lives at stake, just convenience and fun.

My neighbors made a practical, extremely logical pitch: It would be a waste of money to have to buy new boogie boards when we could just take ours with us if we had a bag. That logic got my brain working, but it didn’t exactly make me feel like being generous.

But my friend made an emotional pitch: We haven’t been out alone together in two years! That heartfelt request moved me to immediate action, and I thought, “I can make that happen for her.”

When you’re asking your donors for support – or your friends for a favor -- remember: emotion wins the day.

Where Space Exploration and Fundraising Collide

Like many people the world over, I was thrilled to see that the Curiosity Rover landed successfully on Mars this week. I showed my kids the first pictures and answered their questions about space exploration. (I think my 5-year-old's mind was officially blown by the news that a ROBOT took that picture!) But even as my kids were getting more and more excited about space exploration, I saw the tweets racing by lamenting the money spent on sending a rover to Mars when there are so many problems here on Earth we need to solve.

I'm not going to write a comprehensive defense of space exploration. If you wonder what the value is, check out this interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, or read his newest book. But I will say that many of the things you and I use every day -- everything from our cell phones and computers, to athletic wear and tennis shoes -- were originally developed for NASA.

Imagine what might be achievable if NASA had reliable funding and the freedom to aim for truly audacious goals. What alternative fuels or advances in solar power technology might be made? What cool new fabric might make sweaty summer runs like the one I took this morning even more comfortable?

A lot of fundraising departments I work with are just as starved for funding as NASA. In an effort to be efficient and streamlined -- to put as many of those dollars they raise toward programs as possible -- too many nonprofits are denying themselves a chance to innovate, evolve and, ultimately, do even more to further their missions.

Instead of aiming for the big and complex mission to Mars, they're content to run the same near-Earth orbit mission over and over again.

It's easy to play it safe. After all, nobody wants to be the one who bets big and loses. But your donors can tell the difference between an organization that's hanging on to the status quo and one that's charting a bold and energetic course for the future. Guess which one most of them prefer?

Investing in your fundraising efforts -- whether it's in increased time, money, energy or vision -- can pay huge dividends.

Test boldly in your direct mail, and you can find out what appeals to your donors and target your fundraising more effectively. No more incremental nudges. Let's find out what happens when you take an entirely different creative approach, or aim for a new universe, or aggressively go after lapsed donors.

Take the time to coordinate communications and fundraising department efforts, and you can pool talents and develop strong messaging that helps inform and enlighten people about your efforts. (Bonus: unless you have to bribe them with donuts to sit in a room together, this won't cost you a cent!)

Spend a little more on personalization -- in the mail, on the Web and in your face-to-face efforts -- and you can foster better relationships with your donors...and reap the benefit of increased giving.

And another bonus of investing in your fundraising is that in doing so, you might just find other ways to cut costs that don't stymie innovation.

I'm excited to see the pictures and read about the discoveries that Curiosity sends back to Earth. It's a remarkable achievement.

But I also get really excited when I work with an organization that is committed to exploring all the ways they can improve their fundraising. Be bold. Be daring. Dream big. Show your donors how much passion you have for your mission, and watch as they reward you with their loyal support.

The Simple Truth About Direct Mail Rules

Fundraisers new to direct mail often ask me about "the rules". Do we always need to write 4-page letters?

I've heard you should always include a P.S.

What do you think about premiums? Should we make a tote bag?

We have this great program that people love, so I know it will make a good appeal theme, right?

And they are invariably surprised when, instead of the one- or two-word answer they expect, I send them a 300-word mini-essay answer to their simple questions.

Because the simple truth about Direct Mail "rules" is that until you test them on your donors, they're not "rules" at all.

Yes, I -- and any other consultant with a few dozen campaigns under their belt -- can make recommendations based on what we've learned to be true through mountains of experience. I would say, for example, that for most Acquisition and special appeal mailings, a 4-page letter will probably do better, you should include a P.S., and let's have some longer conversations about premiums, programs and what you hope to accomplish.

But those of us who have worked with multiple organizations over the years can also probably point to that one client whose campaign results consistently forced us to toss all our hard-won direct mail wisdom out the window.

You have to start somewhere. So start with the generally accepted rules of direct mail creative. But make sure you test them. Test everything. Test tote bags against t-shirts. Test four-page letters against two-pagers. Test photo-filled packages vs. plain-jane packages. Test different themes. Test, test, test!

Find out what YOUR donors respond to, and you'll have your own set of rules for direct mail.

Mind Your Manners

Everybody talks about how important acknowledgements are. It seems to be generally understood that if someone is generous enough to give you a donation, the least you can do is thank them.

So why are so many organizations so bad at it?

I can't tell you how many times a client has said to me, "But it's so expensive to send a thank you letter for every gift!" Or even better, "But it's so much work!"

I'm sorry, but I don't accept that excuse from my 7-year-old, so I'm certainly not going to accept it from an organization I give money to.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that you can't afford NOT to send acknowledgements.

An old boss of mine used to preach to all of her clients about the importance of including a reply envelope in acknowledgements, saying, "There's no better time to get another gift from a donor than when they're in the 'rosy glow' of having just given."

But even if they don't give again right away, your thank you letter is a critical tool for future giving.

Done correctly, an acknowledgement does three things:

1. It thanks a donor for their support.
2. It tells the donor what that support has accomplished so far.
3. It tells the donor what their continued support can accomplish in the future.

Many of my current clients also put information about planned giving and sustainer programs into their acknowledgement packages, too. They're great vehicles for getting the word out about other ways to give to the organization. (Remember the 'rosy glow'!)

But however you thank them, make sure you do thank your donors. As Mal Warwick says, "If you run a responsive donor-acknowledgement program, you'll gain a competitive advantage that will pay off in higher renewal rates and greater loyalty."

And who doesn't want higher renewal rates and greater loyalty?

Passionate Persuasion

"Passionate people are the only advocates which always persuade. The simplest man with passion will be more persuasive than the most eloquent without."

~Francois de La Rochefoucauld

When I interviewed the executive director of an environmental organization recently, he was extremely eager to give me statistics about Congressional budgeting as it relates to the environment and to talk about specific legislation winding its way through Congress – down to the subcommittees and staffers involved. I think we can all agree that only the most wonky among us have that level of interest in environmental legislation.

So I asked him why he cared so much. There must be a reason he was willing to delve so deeply into the minutiae of the legislative process on this one issue, right? It took him a few minutes to shift gears, but once he did, he talked about what prompted him to become an environmentalist, his outrage at what he sees as the immoral way government is spending taxpayer money, and his fears for the future of humanity if we ignore Global Warming.

In just a few minutes, we went from a dry fact piece about Congressional spending on the environment, to a Control-tying acquisition letter based on an impassioned plea for moral and humane fiscal decisions.

It’s easy to get caught up in the facts about what you’re doing – and for a lot of people working in nonprofits, people who face desperate circumstances every day as a part of their job, it’s an important method of self-preservation. But when you’re trying to get people to support your mission, you have to be able to recreate that initial surge of passion. Because all the facts in the world won’t get you as much support as one good, emotion-driven story.

This is where that old writing rule “Show, Don’t Tell” comes in.

Need an Example?

It’s easy to tell your story like this: “Every week we see more than 50 homeless, often ill, dogs come into our shelter. And tragically, fewer than 20% of those are adopted. As our canine population grows, our needs grow, too, and today, we’re facing a crisis situation. We urgently need an infusion of $XX to house, feed and care for the dogs we currently have and those we expect in the next few weeks.”

You’ve got the numbers, it’s pretty emotional, and your core group of donors will probably respond.

But consider this approach: “Zoe cowered in the back of her dog carrier, shaking. I looked at her check-in sheet: She’d been abused in her previous home, and she suffered from malnutrition and a bad case of fleas. I got down on the floor, my eyes fixed on her big brown beauties, and coaxed her forward. It took a while, but eventually, she scooted out of her carrier, calmed her shaking, and placed her head trustingly in my lap. One small triumph…that will be replayed more than 50 times this week. You can help Zoe – and all the dogs of XX shelter – make this challenging transition…”

Who can resist a pitch like that? By painting the picture of one dog the shelter has helped, you give your donor the chance to feel like they are there with you. What’s more, this approach breaks down an overwhelming problem – 50 dogs a week that need homes – into a small, do-able task. They may not be able to help every dog that needs them, but they can help this ONE dog.

Very few people dive into the nonprofit world without having some passion. So don't forget why you chose nonprofit work in the first place. Communicate that in your fundraising, and you'll find others flocking to your organization as well.

Fighting the Formula

The other day, one of my Twitter pals -- Kevin Monroe from X Factor Consulting -- asked me what copywriting tips I like to share with fellow consultants. It wasn't something I'd actually considered much before he asked, since a) I work in my kitchen and b) I'm usually on the receiving end of writing advice. But his question did touch on something that I have been thinking about off and on over the last couple of years. During the course of my 14-year copywriting career, I've dabbled in other kinds of writing, including publishing several feature articles and neighborhood profiles in The Oregonian and having a short story appear in VoiceCatcher.

During times when multiple deadlines were looming, I wondered if that moonlighting was hurting my main money-making endeavor, and I have downplayed my extracurricular writing in my professional life.  But I now think all that second-guessing was a mistake.

In fact, I think one of the reasons I have been so successful in my copywriting is because I have a richer web of writing experience to pull from.

Fight the formula

I have written hundreds of direct mail letters, and there is definitely a formula for the successful ones. But in following a formula you should never become formulaic. The minute you do, the letters you pen become stale, lacking the passion and verve that are absolutely necessary to convince people to give their money to your cause.

When I feel myself treading an all-too-familiar path in my copywriting, I know it's time to fight the formula. So I take another look with my fiction-writer's glasses on. Are there themes I can weave through this letter more effectively? Is there a character begging to leap off the page?

Then I put on my features-writer glasses. How can I make my descriptions more vivid? Are there sights, sounds, tastes and smells that would make the issues in this letter come alive for the reader? Perhaps I'm rambling and need to tighten everything up with a journalist's editing eye.

Let's face it, there is a LOT of writing advice out there, and good writing is good writing, whether you're penning a direct mail letter, a slick advertisement, or the Great American Novel. Sure, there are degrees, but the rules are the same: use action verbs, aim for clarity, be as specific as you can, tickle all the senses...

But knowing the rules and using them well are two different things.

Tap into a different part of your brain!

Try writing poetry to hone your ability to use imagery to make a point. Write a short story to put yourself in a different person's shoes and sharpen your storytelling. Become a blogger to learn how to encapsulate big ideas and personal feelings in 500 words. Try your hand at literary criticism or movie reviews to learn how to identify weak spots in your writing and in others'.

Above all, love writing, all writing. Play with language, revel in how words get put together, rejoice in how they can connect, inspire, educate, and move.

And don't just write. Read! Starting with this article about the business benefits -- it's scientific, people! -- of reading fiction.

The STOP List

I'm a sucker for New Year's Resolutions lists, even though I rarely make them myself. There's something so hopeful about them, as if by simply writing down the things we hope to do, we can make our lives better.

I often wonder, though, if the things we wish we were doing really are the most important to focus on. Perhaps it would be more helpful to make a list of things we're doing that we should strive to STOP doing. So with that in mind, here's my list of bad fundraising habits that you should banish in 2012.

STOP promising the moon.

When the pressure's on, it's hard not to make any promise you can in the hopes that you'll be able to come through. But aiming for the stars when you're traveling in an old jalopy is an exercise in futility.

Make your goals realistic and achievable for where you are right now. Small successes lead to bigger successes. And if you can build on those successes, you'll be able to promise the moon when you can actually deliver it.

STOP playing it safe.

This might seem like the opposite of the above, but I think the two go hand-in-hand. When you're promising more than you can deliver on one project, you're forced to play it safe in other areas to compensate.

The best way to have a successful year is to try new things, reach out to new people, engage new experts, and test, test, test.

STOP wallowing in your mistakes.

We all make mistakes. But dwelling on them doesn't make you better, it makes you more paranoid. Embrace your mistakes, and find the nuggets of wisdom that come from them.

STOP downplaying your successes

Normally, I'm not a fan of those who toot their own horns, since far too often, those who talk about how hard they're working are just that: all talk.

But if you have a successful fundraising event, help craft a winning direct mail package, or convince a donor to give more than she's given in the past, make sure you share those successes with your board, your volunteers and your staff. Hold those triumphs up as examples of what can be done...and challenge your people to beat them.

I'm going to work on these things this year, and I challenge you to develop your own Stop List for 2012.

Testing in a Tight Market

One of the joys of working with a large nonprofit is the ability to test -- from how you visually present your message, to who you choose to mail to, and what special offers you make, when you're mailing for the big guys, you have the chance to really hone in on what works best for your audience. But what if you're a small shop with a small list and a smaller pool of resources to devote to direct mail? How can you test and refine your mailings until you know you're getting the most bang for your buck?

You may not be able to do a split test on any one mailing, but if you're clever and creative, there are still ways you can tell what's working and what's not in your direct mail.

Use Your Swipes

Those of us who work in direct mail are obsessive about checking our own mailboxes because that is one of the best places you can go to get ideas about what's working in today's direct mail.

And I'm not just talking about keeping an eye on the nonprofit organizations you give to. For profit companies -- from banks and financial institutions, to magazines and catalogs -- mail millions of pieces of direct mail each year and have budgets for testing that most nonprofits only dream about. And sure, you might not be able to include a handful of inserts, but can you crib a few ideas about what works from them and apply them to your own packages?

Bonus tip: if you're not on the lists of other organizations in your sector, sign up! A small donation gets you a fine sample of renewals, special appeals and cultivation mailings that can give you a really great picture of what's hot in your niche.

Cheap and Easy Tests

If you can divide your list but don't have a lot of money to spend, there are a few things you can test with little-to-no up front investment.

• Try a lasered upgrade message test on the reply form. You're already lasering donors' names and addresses (and if you're a very small shop, you might be printing everything on your desktop printer!) so it shouldn't cost you much, if anything, to test two different lasered messages.
• Play with color. Too many organizations get stuck in a color rut, which can be great for sending a strong branding message...but might get you ignored in direct mail. Try substituting a different color for black -- dark blue or dark green, maybe. If you absolutely have to limit yourself to approved logo colors, try using them in unique ways -- a graphic band at the top of a page, highlight specific words in the text with color, or use screens to create a layered look.
• Along those same lines, use graphic elements to call attention to your pieces. Give your designer freer reign within the same cost parameters. Bands of color (or black), reversed out headlines, handwriting and other specialty fonts, and color screens don't generally cost any more than more straightforward design, as long as you're not bleeding off the edges or adding colors.

The Long Haul

If you've got a small list but a little money for testing, try testing the same thing over several mailings. That way you can get a more statistically significant pool of results than you can on one small mailing that might include a surprisingly large gift, or have its results impacted by things outside your control.

Bonus tip: if you're testing something on a component that doesn't need to change from one mailing to the next -- say, a colored stock reply envelope -- you can print ahead for the second mailing, which will save you money due to economies of scale.

Bottom line: money's tight for everyone. Even the big organizations are cutting back. But you can still find ways to be innovative and creative and continue testing, even on the most constrained budget.

Calls to Action...And How to Use Them

When you send out your Direct Mail package, you've got one goal in mind. A gift, right?

Nope. Your one and only goal is to get your donor to take action.

That action may include a gift. And most fundraisers are hyper-focused on that outcome, since it's measurable and -- let's face it -- the reason they're there. But donors don't want to be treated like ATMs. They want to feel like partners in your mission, the invisible force that's making all of your crucial work happen.

Instead of looking for the gift, look at the action the people on your list take. In time, you'll see that the most engaged donors also have the busiest wallets. Try these calls to action for better donor engagement:

Join!

Most philanthropically minded people would love to count themselves among the enlightened and compassionate people who support your cause. Most of us like to feel like we're part of something bigger than ourselves, a coalition or broader movement that will make things happen or solve problems or just make a difference.

Of course, by itself, asking someone to "join" your organization or your cause isn't especially compelling. Some of us see that word and think about how we "joined" the PTA in September and by February were spending 20 hours a week making photocopies and attending meetings about school uniform policies.

So make your "join" message irresistible by linking it to a campaign or an action-plan that has specific goals in mind. Consider the difference between "Join This Great Organization!" and "Join our 3-step Campaign to Solve This Very Important Problem!" One's vague and only moderately interesting, while the other promises results.

Subscribe!

This works well on a website or for an organization with a high-quality publication as part of its benefits. If you can get someone to subscribe to your e-newsletter or your magazine, you know that person is a willing ear. They may need a little more convincing before they fork over the dough...but if you're writing your publications correctly, it won't be long before that reader turns into a donor.

Of course, all the subscribers in the world are no good unless you are sending out publications that include fundraising asks and describe the various fundraising needs your organization has. So make sure the publications and fundraising teams are working together!

Sign!

I write for a lot of activist organizations, so this is one of my favorites. Anytime you send out a package (or put up a web page) with a petition in it, you'll get a lot of people -- usually around 30-50% of responders for mail -- who will ONLY sign the petition without sending a gift. But guess who your best responders are the next time you go out? That's right, those who signed the petition. Petitions are a fantastic way to get people involved in your mission and an easy way for donors to feel like they're making a difference in your cause.

You need to have a petition-worthy issue to make this work, though. If you're sending a petition to one of 18 city councillors or the undersecretary of some department no one knew existed, it's not going to be very compelling. Save this for when you have a big, well known target in mind...and an issue that gets people excited enough to sign.

Tell us Your Opinion!

Everyone loves to spout off their opinions, and when you give your donors a quick, easy-to-follow survey to fill out, few can resist. Keep it short -- 3-5 questions -- and make sure the last question leads them to donating. (Try something like, "If you knew that This Great Organization was a leader in solving This Terrible Problem, would you be willing to support us with a financial gift?")

All of these are great ways to get donors involved in what you're doing. And an involved donor is a donor who gives again and again. Which gets you to the one action that most fundraisers -- and board members -- are most interested in: Donating.

Chasing that Silver Lining

When I picked up my 8-year-old from school a few weeks ago and asked her how her day went, she heaved a huge sigh and said, "Terrible." Of course, I asked what had happened. In a voice heavy with anger, she told me that her teacher had asked her to write her personal narrative more neatly. "That's it?" I asked.

"You don't understand!" she howled. "I want to write fast! It made me so mad that I had to slow down!"

"So," I said, "your teacher did one thing that made you mad, and that ruined your whole entire day?"

"Yes!"

It's human nature to focus on the bad stuff. Listen to the morning news any day of the week, and stories about horrors happening in the world outnumber stories of joy by a wide margin. The mistakes we make in life stay with us in a way that our successes rarely do. We remember the bad days, remember exactly where we were the moment tragedy struck.  But those days of ordinary sweetness -- of tasty dinners and laughs with friends -- are harder to recall with the same clarity.

And the same is true at nonprofits. It's so much easier for the Board, the staff, the volunteers -- for everyone -- to zero in on the one mailing that didn't go right instead of celebrating the dozens that did. That mistake that resulted in a deluge of angry donor calls? Everyone remembers that. The fundraising event that exceeded projections? All anyone can recall is the snafu that meant there was one bathroom for 500 people.

And there is tremendous value in reflecting upon our mistakes.

But I've found -- in life and in fundraising -- that if I want to have more success and more joy, I have to chase down the success and joy I've already had.

Chip and Dan Heath, in their amazing book SWITCH: How to Change When Change is Hard, call this "finding the bright spots." See where your fundraising program is working and try to replicate that success in your weaker areas.

A few years ago, I had a client that was very enthusiastic about trying new techniques in the mail, but they didn't want to spend the money to test. The result was a series of mailings that were wildly divergent in their results. A blockbuster appeal was followed by a bomb, one renewal performed well, while the next effort tanked. They wailed over every disappointment and bemoaned the lack of consistency in their direct mail program.

I desperately wanted them to test, but they refused. So instead of fighting a pointless battle, I started honing in on what was going right in their program. I came up with a list of appeal themes that I knew had worked. The designer and I started using graphics that were still bold and exciting, but that we knew from past successes would work. We were able to create a more consistently effective program, while I continued to impress upon them the importance of testing.

The great Tom Ahern says that a fundraiser's primary mission is to "Deliver Joy."

But how can we deliver joy if we're only focused on the bad stuff?

That day with my daughter, I asked her to spend the walk home from school listing three good things that had happened that day. She was sure she would never be able to think of three good things about that horrible day, but by the time we walked through our front door, we had a list of five great things about the day. (Which may not have softened the blow when I made her work on her handwriting for homework.)

Embrace your mistakes. But don't forget to chase your successes, find the bright spots, and deliver joy.