Tagged as ‘fundraising mistakes’
As predictive analysts and veteran direct marketers will tell you, there’s no crystal ball for really knowing whether your next direct response effort will be stellar or just so-so. But there is a remarkably accurate trick for telling whether your copy is any good before you hit send and, in turn, predicting where you might […]
Like “make it bigger” in graphic design, good direct response fundraisers are well served by a refrain of our own: “Make it plainer.” It’s counterintuitive like so much of direct response fundraising, but it couldn’t be truer. In head-to-head tests, the simplest, least “fancy” email/direct mail/web campaigns almost always win. Like this envelope, for example […]
Having a relevant mission that people want to support is the #1 prerequisite for direct response fundraising success. But it’s not the only one. In fact, it’s not even the most important one when it comes to dollars raised. So why do some nonprofits sail to success in their direct response fundraising efforts when others […]
If you’re on track with your year end calendar, it probably feels like November at your office – which means you are BUSY! Here’s a quick list of common fundraising pitfalls to avoid in order to create stellar year end campaigns. Don’t focus an appeal on your organization’s anniversary, or your founder’s birthday. Talk about […]
When have bullet points ever made you think “Wow!”? Or made you stand up and say “I need to do something about this!”? When have they ever made you cry? Never. Bullet points are the blah blah blah of communication. They convey information to our donors but they don’t connect.
One of the best national conferences on integrated direct response fundraising is right around the corner. If you haven’t yet registered for the Bridge Conference, taking place July 21-22 in Washington DC, I hope you will. It’s chock-full of valuable sessions representing best practices and breakthroughs in multichannel direct marketing. And with early bird rates […]
“What if we just got 100,000 people to each give us a couple of bucks?” “One percent response in new donor prospecting is terrible! We should accept nothing less than 99%.” “Our donors are too old. We need to get younger donors.” “What we really need to do is focus on major donor acquisition. […]
I often get asked when the best time is for an organization to send its year end appeal. The problem with this question, and the problem with year end appeals, is that they’re all too often viewed as single events that take place at a single moment in time. November 1, November 15, the Monday after […]
The author who wrote love means never having to say you’re sorry obviously didn’t know the first thing about direct response fundraising. Direct response is complicated, involving dozens of elements – data, production, content management systems, the post office, and the perfection of mere mortals to name a just few. And so it’s inevitable: occasionally […]
Because it’s time to. Powerful fundraising is the intersection of strategy, passion and relevance. Of course we have communication calendars. And we most certainly have fundraising goals. But if you find yourself starting your next development/membership department meeting with “What are we gonna write about this month?” then take a step back. Instead, ask yourself […]
