Tag Archive for: strategic planning

5 Tips to planning your next appeal around budget limitations

Designing a direct mail appeal is a tricky process. It’s easy to get lost in the sea of design options and end up with something that doesn’t quite fit your needs. So how do you decide what to include? In this article, we’ll walk you through all the different appeal design components that go into designing your direct mail appeal.

The Direct Mail Piece Is a Piece of Art

First, a direct mail piece appeal is an investment in your nonprofit or school. It’s designed to convert inquiry into action and spark first impressions. The success of your appeal depends on the design as much as it does on the content and copywriting.

Designers use color, imagery, fonts, and graphics to create an emotional response. When you send a direct mail piece, there are a few important appeal design options to consider:

  • The purpose of the mailing is clear through the images and headings. Draw the eye throughout the piece to tell the story even if skimmed through.

  • The design should create an emotional response that resonates with the potential donor. This is true for direct mail pieces because they have such a long life.

  • The genetic make-up of what’s included in your direct mail piece can influence or turn away your donors. Are you sending a letter with a buck slip and reply card? Are you including a premium in your mailer?

How to Fit All that Information

Designing a direct mail appeal is not just about creating an aesthetically pleasing piece. It is about creating an information heavy piece that requires careful attention from the designer. It is important to have a balance of images, icons, and headings to create a clean and organized design.

With the rise in popularity of infographics as marketing tools, nonprofits are using them more often in their appeals. Creative designers see an opportunity to use these graphic visuals. These add value and help readers understand complex topics or information.

Icons provide a significant amount of instant recognition for appeal design options. Icons are often used to represent various data points in different ways. For example, in the image, you can visualize the point that the appeal is trying to make. The next time you see an icon, take a moment and think about what it might mean.

Hopkins School Infographics

Choosing the Right Appeal Format

All the appeal design options now lead you to determine the format. The type of format that you choose for your direct mailer should depend on:

  • your budget,
  • the message you are trying to convey,
  • and the desired reach.

For a more personal message, the letter format is best. However, it can be an expensive option. This makes postcard or self-mailers formats more suitable for a less expensive choice.

In addition, when considering a letter format, it offers a personalized message that is printed on high-quality paper with an envelope. A letter provides a more personalized piece to the donor. It is best used when you have time to write an engaging letter.

Self-mailers are a great way for nonprofits to create interaction between recipients and their mission. We typically use these mailers as an extension of a campaign, providing information about the overall goal. Including a donation form perforated on the bottom makes it easier for the donor to return.

Postcards are a less expensive alternative to a self-mailer because it requires less copy. However, the postcard needs to show impact through a firm base of imagery. Our clients use the postcard for alumni events, fiscal year-end reminders, and save the date for giving days.

Incorporating White Space in Your Design

Now that you’ve chosen your format, content, graphics, imagery, reply card, etc., it’s important not to crowd your appeal. White space is the empty area between the distinct elements of your design.

This design element is the empty area between the distinct elements of your design. It’s an artful way to use design to create a visual separation of your content. The lack of overcrowding in content allows for readers to focus on what you’re trying to say.

Using white space is crucial for sending out a postcard or other type of direct mail. Cutting back on clutter and having some blank space gives the reader a chance to consume what they’re reading. Including a minimal amount of white space will make it easy for your target audience to navigate through the message and head straight to your ask. Keep it simple!

What to Do with All These Appeal Design Options

A strategically and creatively designed appeal will give you the best chance of standing out in the mail. Separate yourself from the dozens of other companies who are also vying for the attention of your constituents. Being able to rise above the crowd with high-quality and intentional direct mail designs, stellar copy, and personalization throughout your mailers will position you and your nonprofit for success.

Need help with the design of your next appeal? We have graphic designers on staff who specialize in delivering a well-designed appeal. Designing nonprofit mail is just one of the many services we offer. Let us know if we can help you with any of your marketing needs.

by

7 Ways to Integrate Digital Marketing with Direct Mail

Digital media plays a key role for fundraisers in targeting their donors. For example, integrating social posts along with email, they can hit donors multiple times on different platforms. But don’t stop your direct mail campaign!

Direct mail also continues to evolve with emerging technologies. In this post, we share the importance of integrating your digital media with direct mail, and we highlight 7 ways you can actually add digital media to your direct mail.

The Importance of Digital Media in your Direct Mail Marketing Strategy

Using digital media in direct mail marketing has increased drastically over the past few years. Today, the online world and offline world are converging. You can see the effect it has had on fundraising, for example, where donors are using online from offline sources to donate.

Direct mail marketing is a type of advertising that includes directly delivering your appeals to your constituents via postal service. To be effective, it must include some element of personalization and relevancy to the donor or else it is ineffective. People enjoy feeling important. 70% of consumers say that direct mail makes them feel more valued.

The Convergence of Direct Mail and Digital Media

The key is to combine your digital marketing and direct mail efforts to boost your overall results. The two are powerful ingredients for marketing as individual efforts, but together — you get incredible results. Research shows that combining digital and direct mail efforts can increase response rates. A study mentioned by Philanthropy Today found:

  1. If someone’s getting both mail and email from you, they’re more likely to open your letters! Donors who received mail-plus-email show a 60.5% lift in response rates over those who just got mailed.

  2. Donors who received only an email had a 90.6% lower response rate to the mail than donors who only received the mail itself. The email-only group had just a 1.4% response rate.

  3. People who received both direct mail and digital media were also more likely to give online too. Clearly, the worst option was to send people only email.

  4. Another study shows that those who receive emails along with direct mail give 25% more annually.

Our 4 P’s of Direct Mail Marketing

There are four “P’s” in marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. However, in the fundraising world, we created these 4 P’s of direct mail marketing:

  • Personalization – Personalized appeals to constituents are more likely to be remembered and acted upon.

  • Photos – Adding photos and imagery creates an emotional connection for the donor.

  • Planning – Placing your digital ads ahead of your direct mail will help bridge the two channels.

  • Presentation – Your direct mail piece needs to reflect the ask. From postcards to letters to self-mailers, your appeal should include your story, your call to action, and your goal.

Developing a successful direct mail appeal, along with digital media, should embody the same design, so it is clearly part of an overall campaign.

Including the same design and creative elements on direct mail, email, social media, digital ads, and the landing page provides the donor a connection to the overall campaign.

The Role of Digital Media in Modern Direct Mail Strategies

Most fundraisers know about the importance of engaging constituents through their digital channels – whether it’s through social media, email, or mobile applications. The digital landscape has changed how we communicate with people and how people communicate with us. Digital media has evolved how we do fundraising campaigns, specifically direct mail.

Here are seven ways to integrate digital media with direct mail.

  1. QR Codes – Placing a branded QR code as a call to action on your appeal allows the donor to go from the physical to the digital world in a couple of clicks.

  2. Video – Sounds crazy, but when you add either a URL or a QR Code to your mailer, you direct your donors to a video and continue to tell the story of your nonprofit in a more visually compelling way.

  3. Landing Pages – Include the landing page URL in the main body of your letter. Don’t be afraid to include the URL in multiple locations on your appeal. From the letter to a buck slip to the reply card, guide the donor to your landing page.

  4. VACTA – Voice Activated Call to Action is the latest technology to hit the consumer market. Now it’s fundraisers turn to take advantage of this platform. Add a call to action in your appeal that uses Alexa’s Donate to Charity feature or Google’s simple phrase “Hey Google, donate to a charity” to accept donations.

  5. Informed Delivery – Over 44 million people have signed up for Informed Delivery. This is the USPS digital mail and package delivery online preview. Nonprofits can include a free ad to ride along with the digitized mail.

  6. Social Media – Remember to add your social media icons to your direct mail when you’re creating a multichannel approach.

  7. Text – Text to give is a convenient method for donors to send their contributions via text. The process is seamless and takes a few minutes. Adding your text number to your direct mail gives your donors another way of donating to your cause.

The increasing developments in digital media are changing direct mail marketing as we know it. Direct mail once meant appeals delivered through “snail-mail” but now includes targeted messages to your donor base while they are browsing their social channels on their computer or phone.

Conclusion: How to adjust your strategy for your next campaign

Assess your current direct mail marketing strategy. Identify and apply modern digital strategies, as mentioned above. Employ our 4Ps model of direct mail marketing as the base of your appeals. Fundraising efforts should consider all channels, as every channel has the potential for success when used in tandem with one another.

In conclusion:

Fundraisers have been using digital media for a long time. With the continuous advances in technology and new communication channels, direct mail is also adapting to these changes. We believe that the convergence of traditional and modern marketing strategies is what will make you more successful in this fast-paced world.

If you’re ready for a direct marketing partner who provides marketing solutions for your next fundraising campaign, contact us today.

by