Tip #3: Better Together – Email and Direct Mail

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

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

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

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

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

Consider the following statistics:

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

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

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

Pingree Spring Appeal Letter

Email

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

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

Sources:

^{1 & 2} = Mann & Co.

³ = Inc.