How to Run a Successful Direct Mail Fundraising Program

Learn the proven, step-by-step process for raising funds and friends cost effectively, year after year, in this six-part course taught by telephone. You'll learn . . .

• How to acquire new donors each year
• Where to find lists of potential donors
• How to save money on acquisition mailings through testing
• Why you must mail a welcome kit (and what happens if you don't)
• When you must mail your thank-you letters to avoid losing donors
• How to get that vital second gift from new donors
• How to upgrade donors to higher gift levels
• Easy ways to reduce your donor attrition rates 

• Date: Six Saturdays in a row during the Fall of 2011
     September 3, 10, 17, 24
     October 1, 8
• Time: 10 am Eastern Time
• Length: Each session is 90 minutes and includes time for questions
• Location: Anywhere you are that has a phone
• Presenter: Alan Sharpe, direct mail fundraising copywriter, consultant and coach
• Early Bird Price: $179 before midnight, August 27, 2011—a $50 saving
• Regular Price: $229 after midnight, August 27, 2011
• Note: The dial-in number for this course is not a toll-free number. You will pay the regular long-distance charges levied by your phone company or long distance carrier. This extra cost has been factored into the price charged for this course.
• Register: Click here.

Learn the Insider Secrets of Running a Profitable Direct Mail Fundraising Letter Program.

Running a successful annual fundraising letter program is getting harder by the week. There are more non-profit organizations today than there were a week ago. And competition for your donor’s dollar is increasing—along with costs of printing and postage.

And yet direct mail fundraising remains one of the most cost-effective ways to raise funds. Many non-profit organizations depend on the mail for over 50% of their contributed income each year.

Over the years, successful direct mail fundraisers have discovered that the route to results lies in following some time-tested principles. You'll learn them during this six-part course taught by telephone.

• how direct mail fundraising works
• why you should plan to lose money on your acquisition mailings (and why your board shouldn't mind)
• four goals of every renewal fundraising letter
• response rates, net profit, cost to raise a dollar and other vital signs of your success
• key steps you must follow every year to retain donors
• why donors give—and what makes them stop

Course materials

Each of the six sessions includes a comprehensive handout that you download and print. You get step-by-step, practical guidelines for using the vital skills you've just learned.

A special message from your trainer . . .

Dear fundraising professional,

How can you raise money with direct mail when you never seem to have enough hours in your day—or money in your budget—to do the job properly? You need a plan. A step-by-step plan that helps you save time, reduce costs and still meet your fundraising goals.

During this eye-opening six-part  course, taught by telephone, you'll learn the tested methods that leading charities use to raise money through the mail.

You'll learn the mistakes to avoid, the best practices to implement today, and the tips, techniques and shortcuts that you can use for years to come.

Yours sincerely,

Alan Sharpe
Direct mail fundraising copywriter, consultant and coach

Remember: If you're tired of never having enough time or budget to run a professional direct mail fundraising program, or if you simply want to take your program to the next level, this is the course for you. You'll go back to work with the tools you need to raise funds and friends cost-effectively, year after year.

Course Outline

Session 1, September 3:
Why direct mail fundraising is so powerful (when done properly)

• how direct mail should integrate with your annual campaign
• the three goals of your direct mail program
• why you need to plan one program, not many campaigns
• why direct mail fundraising is different from other methods
• why professional direct mail fundraisers know 12 months ahead of time what they are going to mail
• the hazards of mailing a number of unrelated packages each year (and how to avoid them)

Session 2, September 10:
How to acquire new donors

• why you likely lose more than 15% of your donors each year
• why you need an annual plan for attracting new supporters and members
• where to look for new donors
• how to rent or borrow mailing lists to acquire supporters
• how to avoid disaster (and the wrath of your board) by testing a list
• how and when to thank new donors so they stay with you

Session 3, September 17:
Anatomy of a successful acquisition package

• tips, insider secrets and proven tactics from a national charity
• seven tips for creating a compelling mailing envelope
• observations, recommendations and criticisms of an acquisition letter to help you produce winning acquisition letters
• premiums, and why you should use them (maybe)
• five tips about writing effective buckslips
• how to write and design an effective reply device

Session 4, September 24:
How to renew your donors

• what donors say they need from you before they'll mail you another donation
• why newsletters are so effective at renewing donors
• four goals of every renewal letter
• first-time donors need a reason to repeat their generosity—learn what that reason is
• how to involve your donors so they'll give again
• the vital role that thank-you letters play in donor renewal
• how to recover lapsed donors

Session 5, October 1:
Testing, tracking and analyzing with confidence

• discover the most important number to track in direct mail fundraising
• what to code in each mailing so you capitalize on your successes—and don't repeat your mistakes
• how to segment your database so that you encourage larger gifts
• eight vital ways to measure your direct mail fundraising success
• how to budget for a typical mailing

Session 6, October 8:
Planning your year

• the best times to mail during the year
• how often you should mail
• what you should mail, minimum
• what a typical year's worth of mailings looks like

What others are saying about your instructor

• "Alan was awesome. Very engaging and clearly knowledgeable about the subject (and made me excited to get started) thank you."
• "Appreciated the concrete examples."
• "Great presentation. Liked the way I need to think about my letters. Engaging, kept my attention through the whole session."
• "This was a great session. Interesting and interactive. Please thank Alan for doing a great job!"

Comments from participants at Alan's 2004 direct mail fundraising workshop in Winnipeg, on direct mail fundraising letter writing, quoted verbatim from their Workshop Feedback Forms:

• "Most helpful seminar of the session" (anonymous).
• "Great tips for creative and effective communication" (anonymous).
• "Thanks for the great tips. Very applicable, practical" (Jessica B.).
• "Just what I needed" (Brian T.).
• "Terrific! Very beneficial" (anonymous).
• "Very practical and useful. Thanks" (anonymous).
• "Well done. Most informative" (anonymous).
• "Very helpful" (Len S.).
• "Very good! Well worth repeating! Very practical and user-friendly" (Graham G.).

Comments from participants at Alan's 2005 direct mail fundraising workshop in Mississauga, quoted verbatim from their Workshop Feedback Forms:

• "Excellent! A lot of food for thought + application. Very energizing!" (Diane P.).
• "The workshop was great. The room was inadequate to accommodate the audience. Choose a better room for this speaker." (anonymous).
• "Very useful information." (anonymous).
• "Very much enjoyed the high energy, interactive, informative session." (Keren K.).
• "Excellent session. Very useful." (anonymous).
• "Excellent practical tips! I was jotting down opening sentences all session long." Avril H.).

Another reason to attend How to Run a Successful Direct Mail Fundraising Program.

Your trainer, Alan Sharpe

Alan Sharpe helps non-profit organizations worldwide to raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using cost-effective, compelling, creative fundraising letters.

• He has written direct mail fundraising packages for the world's top non-profits, including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity and Greenpeace.
• Non-profit organizations have retained Alan's services to audit their direct mail fundraising programs and recommend improvements.
• Non-profit organizations have retained Alan's services to review their fundraising letters and thank-you letters and suggest improvements.
• Alan publishes the only weekly newsletter on direct mail fundraising, Sharpe Tips.
• Alan's advice is followed by over 7,500 fundraisers from dozens of countries on every continent except Antarctica.
• Alan has taught direct mail copywriting at the university level.
• Alan has written multiple books on direct mail fundraising, including Mail Superiority: How to Run a Profitable Annual Direct Mail Fundraising Program.
• Alan has written over 121 articles about raising money with the mail.
• Alan has written 25 handbooks on direct response fundraising.
• Associations (the Association of Fundraising Professionals, for example) and industry suppliers (Blackbaud, makers of The Raiser's Edge, for example), invite Alan to speak at their conventions and deliver workshops.

Details

Materials
For each of the six sessions, you will receive a comprehensive handout that includes my speaking notes, sample direct mail fundraising packages, tip sheets and more. The handout for each session is around 30 pages.

Cancellations
You may cancel at any time for any reason up to the day of the first session and receive a refund minus a $25 service fee. We have to pay someone else a fee to register you and to process your credit card payment. The $25 service fee that we levy covers these expenses that we must incur on your behalf.

Missed sessions
If you are unable to attend one of the sessions, you can still hear it. A recording of each session will be available online to course registrants, for a limited time. You can also download the handouts for each session.

Lifetime guarantee
Apply the techniques and skills you learn in this course. If you're not 100% satisfied with your results, tell Alan Sharpe in writing and he will refund your entire fee immediately.

Questions
Phone Alan Sharpe's workshop hotline at 1 519 500-9746.

Recording
This course is fully copyrighted. What you see and hear is the property of Alan Sharpe. No audio recordings are allowed.

Register now.