Tag Archive for: trends

5 Statistics to guide your direct marketing planning

Maybe a list of direct mail statistics is all you’re looking for. But wouldn’t it help to have the reasoning behind the statistics, too?

First, direct mail marketing is an old school marketing technique that has been around for decades and it is still one of the most effective ways to reach out to your donors.

So why are you still having to defend the use of direct mail to your director or board? Below, we’ve listed the top 5 direct mail statistics that will support your direct marketing strategy for your nonprofit.

Direct Mail Statistics InfographicStatistics That Defend The Need For Direct Mail

1. 42.2% of direct mail recipients either read or scan the mail they get.

The primary goal of direct mail is to get the recipient’s attention and convince them they are the hero of the story – impacting your organization with their gift. This type of communication is simply too powerful to ignore. How you approach the content depends on telling a compelling story through pictures and words.

2. Direct mail requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than email.

As a physical object, direct mail allows the person to interact with the mail in order to read the message. It elicits a 20% motivation to respond. Our attention is far more in tune with direct mail than an email.

3. Donors are 3X more likely to give online in response to a direct mail appeal than an email, according to MobileCause.

While email is a viable communication tactic for nonprofits, it’s the mighty direct mail piece that enables action. Research shows that when you combine direct mail with email communications, the response rate is 25% higher.

4. 73% of American consumers say they prefer being contacted by brands via direct mail because they can read it whenever they want.

The way you communicate with your donors has changed, and so has the way they want to be communicated with. This is because donors have more demands on them and are busy than ever before. A direct mail piece provides a break from the digital world that inundates them.

5. Up to 90% of direct mail gets opened, compared to only 20-30% of emails.

Direct mail is an effective marketing channel that has a higher response rate than email.

A study by the Direct Marketing Association found that the average response rate for direct mail is around 3.35%, whereas email’s average response rate is only 0.1%.

Here To Stay

There are many people in the US who enjoy checking the mailbox. In fact, four in ten Americans of all 20 and over enjoy this activity. Not only do we look forward to receiving a piece of mail, but we hold on to it for a long time. In an average household, we usually discard mail after 17 days.

Therefore, direct mail marketing is alive and well! With so many digital channels competing for attention, direct mail is a smart way to get your message across.  We live in a digital world, but that doesn’t mean there is any less demand for physical products. As the amount of spam mail and junk posts has increased, we have encountered a huge rise in paper mail!

A Greater Sense of Urgency

Donors prefer reading direct mail because it’s more personal and supports the relationship between you and the donor.

Ok, here are some more statistics that support direct mail.

Based on USPS research, 55% of people said they “look forward” to opening their mailbox, and 56% stated that they find receiving and reading mail enjoyable.

People who see print marketing are more likely to trust it than other channels. This is because of print’s high credibility rate: 56% of customers find it to be the most trustworthy type of communication. Trust is important to consider when you ask donors to contribute to your organization or institution.

Direct mail is more cost-effective than other methods, because it enables you to personalize your appeal. Direct mail also drives higher response rates and is a lot more fun!

Could a more creative approach to personalized direct mail improve your organization’s fundraising programs?  Click here to start the conversation about how we might be able to help.

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Informed Delivery and the new USPS Experience

If you ever thought they restricted the USPS only to your mailbox, you’re in for a surprise. Meet Informed Delivery. It’s a free service that uses machine learning to deliver small snippets of actual mail inside your inbox. You get the digital version before the actual version of mail.

What’s even better is that with success from past campaigns, USPS created the 2022 Promotions Calendar for nonprofits, marketers, printers and mailers that includes this digital mailer view.

Introduction: What is Informed Delivery and How Does it Work?

USPS first launched Informed Delivery, a mail tracking service in 2014, to a small contingent of residences. In 2017, the service promoted availability to the entire US. And now this is becoming a niche service as each year goes by because of the unique blend of reaching people through multiple channels.

For example, Informed Delivery provides digital previews of your mail to eligible residential and PO Box holders. The Informed Delivery solution lets nonprofit mailers create mail and digital marketing campaigns that are fully optimized for the recipient.

Besides getting more impressions, interactions, and insights, nonprofits also can deliver timely content. Therefore, it’s used for time-sensitive notifications to donors like fiscal or calendar year end.

Above all, its subscribers continue to grow each year, and are over 44 million strong.

What are the Advantages for Nonprofits?

Our clients include Informed Delivery for their appeals to drive additional interest and a digital touch. We include a full color advertisement (ride-along), as well as a link to their donor landing page. Clients like the price tag as well. It’s free from the USPS.

Babson Informed Delivery through BCG Connect

So, the great thing is that nonprofit mailers can engage their donor base through the interactive features of Informed Delivery in 2022. Moreover, they are eligible for discounted rates.

USPS Informed Delivery Promotion for 2022

Each year, the United States Post Office offers promotions and incentives for nonprofits to use their services. This includes reduced rates and discounts. The USPS has several services that help nonprofits send mail at a reduced cost and make more money for their charity.

This year, they offer a 4% discount for nonprofit organizations that use Informed Delivery. Most importantly, this discount is available to all nonprofit organizations regardless of their purpose. This includes churches and charities, as well as other non-profit groups.

The Informed Delivery promotion runs August 1st – December 31st. Nonprofits can register as early as June 15th, 2022 for the promotion.

Understanding the Informed Delivery Process

Finally, if you’re curious how the Informed Delivery program works, contact us and we’ll help add it to your next mailer you do with us. Let us develop your next appeal creative for you. We’ll create the design and handle the communication with the Post Office to ensure they execute your campaign correctly and timely. Reach out to us today for a free consultation.

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The Top 10 Trends for Direct Mail in 2022

Trends come and go, and this year is no different. We compiled a list of direct mail trends for 2022 that you can add to your next campaign.

Direct Mail Trends for 2022 and How They are Changing the Fundraising Landscape

In this blog post you will recognize some of these trends from 2021, and some may seem the obvious. From anything from saving money to new technologies, we approach these trends on how best they are changing the fundraising landscape.

Let’s talk about Direct Mail

Direct mail is the number one technique that is used to reach out to potential donors. It is a cost-effective way of reaching out to potential donors and personalized by giving history, imagery, and donor name.

Direct mail for fundraising has been around for decades. It was first used by charities in the early 1900s, but it has developed over the years by introducing new technologies.

Our Direct Mail Trends for 2022

Nationally, the use of direct mail has been on the decline for the past few years, however we have seen just the opposite. And it seems like this trend will change in 2022. There are many reasons people are opting back into this marketing tactic.

Let’s get to the heart of this post!

Here are the trends we see that have led to this increase in direct mail usage, as well as what trends we can expect more of in 2022.

Convergence

Digital channels continue to grow and become more popular than traditional channels – however, when working together, social media, email, and direct mail are a more powerful means of reaching your donors than ever before. Fundraisers see a 25% lift when using email and direct mail together.

QR Codes

Now, in 2022, the odd block that once seemed ambiguous is now one of the most mainstream forms of the print world meeting the digital world. Using QR codes in direct mail becomes more prevalent as they provide a way to track conversions and donations. QR Code Usage

Postage Increases

While the USPS continues to reform with postage increases and longer delivery times, direct mail is a hundred percent visible and tracked throughout the entire process. Considering the costs of a direct mail campaign on a larger scale, it is very affordable to send messages at the right time to your constituents.

6 × 9 Postcards

The recent USPS postage hike led to a change in regulations on which types of postcards are eligible for a new rate. Mailers no larger than 6″x9″ can now qualify for a lower rate! Can you imagine the USPS actually reduced the price? Now is the time to take advantage of all the real estate a larger postcard offers and at the same rate as your current smaller postcard.

The Classic letter

Now, even though the postage rate may have changed for the postcard, we’ve seen an increase in nonprofits sending more and more letters. Make your content personal by adding an “Ugly Betty” element into it.

Ugly Betty

If you haven’t tried adding this invoice-style format to your latest appeal, try it in 2022. This visual form of personalization stands out in a letter and allows your donor to visualize their giving history.

Personalization

First, look at the data you have collected. Use it wisely and add personalization wherever you can. Personalizing a letter with your donor data has been growing in popularity over the last year because of its effectiveness.

Planning Ahead

With the likelihood of continued disruptions to the supply of mail marketing materials, fundraisers may need to plan their outreach programs more than ever before. Above all, at BCG Connect, we’re working closely with our clients, determining expected volumes for each campaign.

Informed Delivery

In addition, Informed Delivery campaigns will be a prominent trend for fundraisers by 2022. The significant rise in household informed delivery subscribers and consistently increased adoption in 2021 makes informed delivery all that more attractive. And it’s free!

Reforestation Programs

In May 2021, we introduced our partnership with PrintReleaf. While there are other sustainable options like FSC, we are more focused on building up the global forestry system. Our clients take part in choosing where they want to replant and ultimately make an eco-friendly impact on the environment.

What do these trends mean to you?

In conclusion, these trends provide more and more opportunities for nonprofits and fundraisers to take advantage of all that direct mail offers. From convergence to sustainability, BCG Connect believes the power of direct mail will continue to increase in use.

BCG Connect offers all the above and so much more. So when you work with a team of leaders in the industry who understand the benefits of the trends in direct mail, your campaign will surely make a difference this year. Contact us today to see how BCG Connect can lead you in the right direction.

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8 Trends to Spring Your Annual Fund Marketing Forward

There’s something intricate about annual fund marketing – especially if you want to go beyond the basics of annual giving and create actionable strategies that will help you expand your program for long-term success.

It’s our goal to leverage our industry knowledge when working with clients to provide them with optimal marketing solutions for their fundraising program.

With spring around the corner, it’s time to start comprehensively assessing your annual giving program and determining how to take your program to the next level – how do you relate to these 8 trends?

  1. Implement a Strong Multi-Year and Annual Plan. Developing and maintaining a strong annual fund plan provides the opportunity to comprehensively assess your annual giving program, articulate short and long term objectives, and align all objectives with the plan appropriately. This advanced planning offers the opportunity to revisit initiatives regularly and stay up to speed with expectations. As a key step to long term success, effective annual fund planning is built from strategic development, partnerships, and long-term connections with donors.
  2. Stewardship, Stewardship, Stewardship. Annual giving professionals always need to keep at the front of their minds that stewardship is a key element of annual giving. Great stewardship is crucial to high retention and should be encouraged at all levels of the donor pyramid, including thank you notes all the way to donor impact stories in different types of publications.
  3. Have You Implemented #SocialMedia Into Your Campaign? If you haven’t increased your social media presence yet, now is the time to do so. Having a campaign that shows consistent branding, from the direct marketing all the way to social media, increases the engagement of the potential donors. Donors tend to feel more involved and having numerous touchpoints is important to donor relations.
  4. Mobile is King. At the CASE D1 conference, it was stated that 14% of all online donations are made by a mobile device. It is vital that your donation page, along with any corresponding emails, attachments, or graphics on social media, are mobile enabled. Similar to the importance of mobile with the annual fund, convenience is a significant factor in getting donations through the door.
  5. Big Data and Personalized Analytics. Big data and predictive analytics are evolving annual fund giving. By analyzing donor engagement and giving over their time with the organization/institution, engagement with them improves significantly. When you know about what they are passionate about in association with the organization/institution, you can tailor a personalized approach to them that could increase the chances of a donation.
  6. Storytelling is Not Just for Children. Tapping into your donor’s emotions can engage them, connect with them, really show them exactly what you want them to see and how you want them to feel. By providing better stories, you can raise more money because people are more dedicated and proud to support the fund. Storytelling can be incorporated in appeals, giving days, challenges, stewardship, among others. Take a step back and really tell the donors why their donation is impactful, who it has helped, and why they truly make a difference no matter the amount they donated.
  7. “What Was My Impact?” – Respond to Your Donors. It’s important donors know that their donation goes to a larger cause – that it is truly impacting something. Impact reports, case studies, stories, statistics are all vital elements to provide to your potential donors to show how exactly their donation helped. Did it help fund a new building? Did it provide more resources to the organization/institution? Tell them! They want to know their impact and by providing tangible information of what their donation helped, they will be more inclined to donate again.
  8. Change is Constant. Successful annual giving programs effectively adopt the changes that will work, while still maximizing the old tools that continue to work. The saying typically goes, “Out with the old, in with the new.” However, it is rather a delicate balance between using the old with the new. Learning how to adapt the new with the old can improve the likeliness of a successful annual giving program. For example, doing a direct mail piece highlighting a giving day can be complemented with a social media campaign incorporating the branding of the Giving Day.

These are just a few of the annual fund trends that should be on the forefront of your mind when developing your annual fund program. Do you need any help incorporating any of them into your campaign? We’d love to connect with you to share how we can help strengthen your campaign!

P.S. Attending the CASE District II conference in Baltimore? Let us know if you will be attending – we would love the opportunity to connect with you there!

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