Category Archives: Envelopes

A group of editors for a national tabloid newspaper held a competition to see who could write the most outrageous headline for a front-page story. The winner: POPE’S DAUGHTER CAUGHT IN COMMIE LOVE NEST. Consumers buy tabloids because of their … Continue reading →

In direct mail fundraising, more people see your mailing envelope than will ever see what is inside. That’s because donors and prospects alike spend only a few seconds examining your envelope before deciding whether to peruse it or pitch it. … Continue reading →

I was handed a challenge last week. If I am brave enough I will accept it. I taught a class at a college in Toronto. The professor invited me to teach his students about direct mail fundraising envelopes. So I … Continue reading →

I have on my desk a direct mail fundraising envelope that I have never opened. And never will. Perhaps you can learn a lesson from its failings. The offending article was mailed by the Canadian Red Cross. It is a … Continue reading →

When the Argentine army surrendered in June of 1982, ending the Falklands War, some Royal Marines discovered that the quickest way to get the attention of stubborn Argentine prisoners, since we did not speak their language, and they did not speak ours, was to hit them on the elbow with the handle of a pickaxe. Prisoners treated in this fashion followed our orders.
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Your readers spend only a few seconds deciding the fate of your direct mail fundraising appeals. Either they open them on the spot, set them aside for later, or chuck them in the waste paper basket. Here are some creative … Continue reading →