Category Archives: Lists
Five Indisputable Laws of Direct Mail Donor Acquisition
I am not a prophet, I am not the son of a prophet, but I do serve on the board of a non-profit. And I’ve discovered through the years that charities who succeed at acquiring donors through the mail obey … Continue reading
In Direct Mail Donor Acquisition, Ignore Your Initial Results
The secret to success at acquiring donors through the mail is to ignore your initial results. The results you generate in the first few months of your direct mail acquisition campaign might delight you or they might distress you, but … Continue reading
FAQs About Trading Mailing Lists with Other Charities in Donor Acquisition
Q1. What is list trading? A. List trading, or swapping, is the practice of exchanging mailing lists with another charity. They mail a fundraising letter to your list and you mail a fundraising letter to their list. —————————————————————- Receive a … Continue reading
Eight Direct Mail Fundraising List Segmentation Tips
1. Make a distinction between individuals, foundations and businesses Do not mail one appeal letter to everyone without distinction. Instead, segment your database into individuals, foundations and businesses, and speak to each audience in a unique way. —————————————————————- Receive a … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What is “list cleansing” in direct mail fundraising?
List cleansing is the process of keeping a mailing list accurate and up to date. The process involves, among other things, removing duplicate records, formatting addresses to postal standards, and updating addresses of those who move. See more definitions at … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What are “cells” in direct mail fundraising?
In list terminology, a cell is a statistical unit or units, a group of individuals selected from a file on a common basis and isolated as a group. See more definitions at the Glossary of Direct Mail Fundraising —————————————————————- Receive … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What is a Carrier Route in direct mail fundraising?
A Carrier Route is a group of addresses that a mail carrier can deliver to in a single day. Carrier Routes “roll up” into ZIP Codes. There are roughly 15 ZIP Codes per Carrier Route. See more definitions at the … Continue reading
Dear Alan, What is a “Back Test” in direct mail fundraising?
A Back Test is a mailing designed to reproduce, and therefore confirm, the results of a recent direct mail test. Also called a retest or confirming test. Usually run when the results of a test fall within an acceptable range … Continue reading
Is Your Returned Mail Costing You $481 a Piece?
You have a costly problem with returned mail. All non-profit organizations do. You mail perfectly nice letters to donors who have supported your cause for years, and then, one day, without so much as a by-your-leave their mail comes back … Continue reading
How to Help Your Lettershop Bungle Your Fundraising Campaign
I know from reliable sources that the Mr. Murphy who coined Murphy’s Law (“If something can go wrong, it will”) worked as an account manager at a lettershop. After leaving his position of direct mail fundraising manager at a national … Continue reading
Reduce Undeliverable Fundraising Appeals by Acquiring Phone Numbers and Email Addresses Before Donors Move
Stephen Hitchcock makes a wise recommendation on how to keep your mailing list clean. In his article, Keeping Your Donor File Clean, in Contributions Magazine, Stephen recommends the following step: —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week … Continue reading
Direct Mail Fundraising Tests: Follow these Eight Rules for Success
The best way to improve your direct mail fundraising program is through testing. Don’t follow fads, board whims, or a gut feeling that turns out to be indigestion. Instead, test. And, to save money and time (and further indigestion), follow … Continue reading
Will Direct Mail Fundraising Work for You? Ask and Find Out
Back in 1997, as I sat in the departures lounge at Ottawa International Airport, I didn’t know if Ruth would accept my proposal of marriage. I fidgeted. I procrastinated. Finally, as they announced the final call for her flight back … Continue reading
Build Your Direct Mail Fundraising Mailing List in Three Ways
Your success as a direct mail fundraiser depends on the quality of your list. A mediocre letter mailed to the right list will outperform a terrific letter mailed to the wrong list. How you build that list is up to … Continue reading
Prevent Costly Direct Mail Donor Acquisition Blunders with Test Mailings
I know a non-profit that mailed a direct mail donor acquisition package to thousands of potential donors and generated a response rate of exactly zero. That’s not a typo. Not a single person responded to the mailing. —————————————————————- Receive a … Continue reading
A List of Direct Mail Fundraising List Brokers and Managers for Your Acquisition or Prospect Mailings.
Nothing is more important in direct mail fundraising than who you mail to. A terrific letter mailed to the wrong list of people will flop. I have a client who mailed a donor acquisition package to people who had not … Continue reading
Increase Average Fundraising Gift By Segmenting Your Donor List.
How many of your current donors would give you a larger gift if you only knew how to ask them? Quite a few, quite likely. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for … Continue reading
Fundraising Mailing Lists: How List Brokers Can Help Your Appeal.
Last time I checked, there were 25,000 response lists and 50,000 compiled lists currently on the market. Among all of these lists, you’ll find hundreds that work for fundraising appeals. Actually, you likely won’t find them. Locating the best names … Continue reading
