What’s the Big Deal?
Donors are more likely to remember one bad impression than all the jazzy details you tout in your direct-mail campaigns.
April 2008 By Kimberly Seville
|
I’ve been tracking an unusual renewal series as it unfolds — a purely postal mail campaign reminiscent of coordinated multichannel campaigns.
Today, savvy nonprofits are exploiting all the multichannel possibilities and using e-mail to bookend renewal and special-appeal campaigns sent by postal mail, for example — alerting the donor that an important mailing is coming and following up after its projected arrival with another e-mail inquiring about its receipt and calling for action.
The renewal series I’ve been monitoring is using this same strategy with a sequence of physical pre- and post-mailings around a Big Deal package.
Building the anticipation
The pre-package before the Big Deal arrived on Jan. 2 — a No. 10 with a color photograph on the outer and a teaser announcing, “Your Official 2008 Membership Kit is Coming!” On the back of the outer, an image of a membership card is accompanied by a list of what the kit will include. Inside, a letter alerts me that, “I am sending you a very special gift next week for being such a loyal, steadfast friend … The Members Only 2008 Member Kit!”
Lasered on the front with the reply on the top panel, the letter is personalized with my name in both the salutation and later in the body copy. I believe it could have been improved with a personalized ask string based on my giving history rather than the static array printed on the back of the letter, especially for donors for whom the ask amounts are less than what they’ve given in the past. With the exception of the four-color printing on the carrier envelope, this looks to be an inexpensive package — a key component to the sequencing strategy.
Voila! The Big Deal!
On Jan. 26, the promised Membership Kit full of goodies arrived in a new, ultra-slim box roughly the size of a No. 10 envelope, allowing the organization to benefit from U.S. Postal Service automation discounts even with a dimensional premium enclosed.
The Big Deal box is printed to look nearly identical to the previous effort, with the same photograph, graphics and fonts used for the teaser and membership-card image on the back.
There are two differences, however. In the pre-mailing, there is no graphic depicting the key chain like the one on the Big Deal box. And oddly, while the pre-mailing membership card indicates that I am a “2008 Platinum Member,” the card graphic on the Big Deal box has downgraded me to a mere “2008 Member.” It’s not something your average donor would likely notice, but my bet is the “Platinum Member” status is an extra motivator best used consistently throughout the series for maximum impact.
Today, savvy nonprofits are exploiting all the multichannel possibilities and using e-mail to bookend renewal and special-appeal campaigns sent by postal mail, for example — alerting the donor that an important mailing is coming and following up after its projected arrival with another e-mail inquiring about its receipt and calling for action.
The renewal series I’ve been monitoring is using this same strategy with a sequence of physical pre- and post-mailings around a Big Deal package.
Building the anticipation
The pre-package before the Big Deal arrived on Jan. 2 — a No. 10 with a color photograph on the outer and a teaser announcing, “Your Official 2008 Membership Kit is Coming!” On the back of the outer, an image of a membership card is accompanied by a list of what the kit will include. Inside, a letter alerts me that, “I am sending you a very special gift next week for being such a loyal, steadfast friend … The Members Only 2008 Member Kit!”
Lasered on the front with the reply on the top panel, the letter is personalized with my name in both the salutation and later in the body copy. I believe it could have been improved with a personalized ask string based on my giving history rather than the static array printed on the back of the letter, especially for donors for whom the ask amounts are less than what they’ve given in the past. With the exception of the four-color printing on the carrier envelope, this looks to be an inexpensive package — a key component to the sequencing strategy.
Voila! The Big Deal!
On Jan. 26, the promised Membership Kit full of goodies arrived in a new, ultra-slim box roughly the size of a No. 10 envelope, allowing the organization to benefit from U.S. Postal Service automation discounts even with a dimensional premium enclosed.
The Big Deal box is printed to look nearly identical to the previous effort, with the same photograph, graphics and fonts used for the teaser and membership-card image on the back.
There are two differences, however. In the pre-mailing, there is no graphic depicting the key chain like the one on the Big Deal box. And oddly, while the pre-mailing membership card indicates that I am a “2008 Platinum Member,” the card graphic on the Big Deal box has downgraded me to a mere “2008 Member.” It’s not something your average donor would likely notice, but my bet is the “Platinum Member” status is an extra motivator best used consistently throughout the series for maximum impact.
|
Social Media ROI
Email Marketing that Works (2nd Edition)
Insurance Marketing: The Competitive Intelligence Report
Secrets of Direct Marketing Testing
