What is Omni-Channel Marketing?

Omni-Channel Marketing

What is Omni-Channel Marketing?

Omni-Channel Marketing

Omni-Channel marketing, simply stated, is a marketing method that uses multiple marketing channels to communicate a customer-focused integrated marketing experience with coordinated messaging across multiple marketing channels.

The goal is to connect with the consumer, whether they receive a direct mailer, are online, or visit a brick and mortar retail store location with a consistent message or promotion.  Everything should compliment each other.
However, it goes even deeper – to your products and services, your staff, and how you present your business to the market. A true omni-channel marketing campaign has the consumer’s entire experience in consideration, delivering a cohesive journey from initial search to post-purchase.
An example of a omni-channel campaign would be launching an promotional event or a sale that features a consistent message on a direct mail piece, signage, online advertising channels and even other media. You would then staff your event appropriately to prepare for the influx of additional traffic and train them appropriately. You’ll want to ensure everyone in the organization that deals with the customer’s buying journey is on the same page. That’s omni-channel marketing.

Getting started with omni-channel marketing

How do customers find your products and services? Do you they purchase online or go to your store? If they purchase online, do they purchase on mobile or desktop? These are just some of the factors to be considered when putting together an omni-channel marketing campaign. Organization-wide, everyone should be on the same page regarding the consumer’s buying experience.  An omni-channel marketing experience comes by putting the consumer first and examining the entire journey of the customer.
However, the key to successful omni-channel marketing is using good data and understanding your custom audience- their wants, their needs and how they want to do business.  The deeper you can understand your customer and prospects, the more likely they are to interact with your brand. Collecting data about your customers is only one small part of omni-channel marketing – you must also analyze the data and use it to connect with your customers in a meaningful and effective way. Using the data you’ve collected, you can reach them across multiple devices and platforms with a cohesive message that they will almost certain respond to.
Additionally, as omni-channel marketing uses multiple marketing channels, you’ll want to make sure that all of them are integrated and that the customer experience is seamless when the user switches devices or platforms. According to Instapage, 90% of multiple device owners switch between an average of three per day to complete a task. Consistency in the messaging improves awareness and engagement. Landing pages and websites must be responsive and load quickly to accommodate the growing mobile device trend, especially when users leave their desktop.

What’s the difference between omni-channel marketing and multi-channel marketing?

Multi-channel marketing is the ability to market toward consumers through multiple marketing channels: printed media, digital and social media, word-of-mouth and more. The biggest difference between the multi-channel and omni-channel is that omni-channel marketing provides a seamless, integrated experience throughout multiple channels while multi-channel marketing distributes to as many channels as possible, usually with a message specific to that marketing channel.
Multi-channel marketing, which most businesses currently use, is not as effective as omni-channel marketing, largely due to the fact that the customer isn’t the focus, the channel is. With consumers spanning multiple devices when making purchases these days, it pays to be customer focused with an integrated shopping experience.
Finally, it takes more effort and is more time consuming to manage multi-channel marketing as opposed to omni-channel marketing. Why? Think about it – with multi-channel marketing, you’re actually managing the campaigns on all the different channels your business utilizes – print, web, social, brick-and-mortar – that’s a lot. With omni-channel, you’re managing one campaign over the different channels your business uses, ultimately occupying less of your time and communicating a unified message.
multichannel marketing vs omnichannel marketing

How can an omni-channel marketing strategy benefit your business?

The answer is increased campaign control, personalization, impressions, and ROI!

It’s actually pretty clear – omni-channel marketing offers a more personalized marketing experience for your customers with less effort, less waste and more ROI. This is particularly powerful when launching a time-sensitive promotion, sale, or weekend event.  You’re able to boost the marketing effort while specifically targeting your audience across multiple channels without interfering with your typical marketing programs.
If you’re currently using a multi-channel approach, however, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. In fact, utilizing all of your marketing channels is better than shorting yourself and your business by only using some of them. It takes an average of seven touches before a consumer will make a purchase or try a new product. Hitting them with the same marketing message, multiple times can only increase the likelihood that that consumer will purchase your product or service.
So now you know that there’s a better, smarter way to market across all of your marketing channels and it all begins with a deep understanding of your customers.

Looking for an effective omni-channel marketing program?

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Boost your next marketing campaign or promotion with Spectrum Mail Plus!

Spectrum now offers Spectrum Mail Plus – an omni-channel marketing program that combines direct mail, the USPS service Informed Delivery, online follow-up through the Google Display Network, social media follow-up and SocialMatch – a social media marketing service that matches physical addresses to Facebook and Instagram accounts. Additionally, Spectrum Mail Plus can tell you who visited your website from your mailing as well as visitors who were not on your mailing list and add them to a “lead” list. Spectrum Mail Plus is the only name you need know to when it comes to omni-channel marketing. Contact us today to start your first campaign and enjoy 23-46% increase RESULTS!
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What is Direct Marketing?

What is Direct Marketing

What is Direct Marketing?

What is Direct Marketing
The definition of direct marketing (direct response marketing) is the business of selling products or services directly to consumers through a variety of different media rather than through a retailer on order to get a specific response. There are several methods of direct marketing: direct mail marketing, telemarketing, email marketing, online marketing and traditional door-to-door marketing, to name a few.
Almost all direct marketing campaigns are offer-driven and most include coupons or discounts off of products or services. These campaigns are sent directly to consumers, expecting a direct response from them. Typically, it takes a consumer seeing your message at least 7 times before making a purchase.

Is It A New Thing?

Direct marketing has existed since the 15th century in England and Europe when publishers would print catalogues for distribution to the general public. These catalogues spread to colonial America, which gave rise to books and other literature utilizing the same distribution format. As time went on and technology got better, more and more people began using direct marketing as a means to distribute their message. In 1928, bulk mail postage rates were first established by the Direct Mail Advertising Association. Finally, in 1967, Lester Wunderman coined the phrase “direct marketing” and is considered to be the father of contemporary direct marketing.

How Does Direct Marketing Work?

Typically, direct marketing involves a direct sales consultant or expert whose job it is to sell products or services to consumers. In some cases, there may be no sales consultant, but a business owner instead, directly selling to consumers. Ultimately, anyone can be a direct marketer if you’ve got something to sell and someone to sell it to.
Because of its nature, direct marketing effectiveness is easy to measure due to its tendency to elicit a direct response. It is extremely attractive to marketers for this reason. For example, if a direct marketer sends out 1000 solicitations and 100 people respond to the solicitation, that’s a 10% conversion.
However, rarely is it that easy to achieve such results by a single solicitation. Cross-channel marketing has been proven to lift a campaign’s results. In fact, when combined with a one or more digital advertising media, direct mail campaigns experienced more than a 118% lift in response rate since 2017.

Is Direct Mail Marketing Effective?

Yes! Direct mail marketing is still amongst the most effective forms of direct marketing available to businesses today. Direct mail marketing is tied with social media marketing at 57% as the most used medium (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018).
Spectrum Marketing believes that successful direct mail marketing campaigns are made up of three major components: a great offer, an accurate list and an attractive creative design, or the 40/40/20 strategy.

How To Setup A Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

Spectrum 40 Percent

First, Start With A Great Offer

The first step is creating an attractive offer – how do you know what kind of offer will get the best response? Listen to your customers. Research their buying habits – what’s the most popular amongst your clientele? What kind of offer would they jump at? Having an irresistible offer that your customers can’t help but take advantage of is the first step in any marketing campaign.
Coupons are a great way to entice your customers to take advantage of your campaign – whether printed or digital, a coupon gives your customer a tangible reminder of your offer and has a higher ROI overall.
Spectrum 40 Percent

Next, Build A Quality List

Whether your marketing efforts include direct mail marketing, email marketing or digital marketing, you want to make sure that you have an accurate list that you can target your intended market.
If you’re using direct mail marketing, you’re going to want to check out this post on EDDM vs. Smart Targeting. Eliminating waste by factoring out people who you know won’t be interested in your products or service is extremely important and makes your campaign more effective.
Spectrum 20 Percent

Finally, Combine The Offer With The Creative

Once you’ve established your offer, and you’ve built an accurate, quality list, it’s time to design the piece that will help drive your offer – to communicate supporting details that will substantiate your business and your offer. The piece itself should bring everything together – your brand, your offer and your products or services – and should communicate your message clearly to your customers.

Finally, Combine The Offer With The Creative

What is Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is not just limited to direct mail – however, direct mail response rates rose significantly in 2018 when compared to email, paid search, online display and social media advertising. When combined with direct mail, email, online display and social media, retargeting of your audience can help lift a campaign’s RESULTS. Learn about how to leverage an omni-channel campaign with Spectrum Mail Plus – to increase RESULTS by 23-46%!
Email marketing has become widely popular as a method of direct marketing largely due to its low cost to design, test and deploy, as well as being able to accurately measure its results.
Paid search and online display marketing help reinforce your campaign’s message by targeting users searching for a particular product or service. Through Google’s Display Network, your ad can be seen on a number of sites across the internet based on that user’s search.
Social media marketing, like online display marketing, helps reinforce your campaign’s message or could serve as a stand-alone advertisement to users of various platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The advantage to these platforms is that users are more likely to interact with an ad on those sites than anywhere else on the internet.
Telemarketing used to be a more common form of direct marketing, however, with industry results varying widely, it’s becoming less reliable as a marketing method. In fact, a mere 1% of cold calls actually converts according to a study by Keller Research Center at Baylor University. However, some marketers swear by telemarketing as a foundational cornerstone of their business. To stay relevant, telemarketers have had to adapt to changing consumer behaviors.

Which Direct Marketing Method Should You Use?

In short, all of them, together. Direct marketing is constantly changing – as technology gets better, newer ways to market to consumers emerges. However, even with all of the new digital marketing methods available, traditional methods such as direct mail and telemarketing still have their place in the marketing mix.
As stated before, direct mail campaign results can be lifted by adding in online display retargeting, social media advertising, and email marketing. Digital marketing alone is difficult to reach every demographic successfully. Since it takes 7 touches before a consumer is ready to make a purchase, it’s best to take your campaign on multiple channels and reach them wherever they may be.
By using creating a great offer to entice your customers, an accurate list to reach them, and an attractive piece to bring it all together, your next campaign will be nothing but successful and yield excellent RESULTS!
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Top 7 Reasons Direct Mail Wins More Customers

Top 7 Reasons direct mail ins more customers

Top 7 Reasons Direct Mail Wins More Customers

Going into 2018 the DMA stated the following in their Statistical Fact Book.

“For those of you who are already on the direct mail bandwagon – because you really should be in this day and age – here’s what you should know about 2018: It’s going to be irresistibly amazing!”

This prediction has certainly proven to be the case.
Top 7 Reasons direct mail ins more customers

1) Better Response Than Other Channels

The 2018 ANA/DMA Response Rate book defined direct mail as having the best response rate among all other marketing channels. Direct mail crushes the other channels with a 9% response rate for house lists and a 5% rate for prospect lists. Combined, the other channels only manage 3.3% across both house and prospect lists.
With email and social media marketing on the rise, consumers have become exposed to hundreds of advertisements on a daily basis, some more intrusive than others. In doing so, consumers have become numb to digital media advertising and have even taken measures to remove the ads from their reach. Coincidentally, even as email continues to be the most used tool for advertising, it is hardly the most effective with a 1% response rate by prospect list (a 0.8% increase from 2017).
Response Rate by Selected Media

2) Effective Targeting

Direct mail, when implemented properly into a marketing campaign, has the ability to target very specific demographics. When you tailor your campaign to appeal to your ideal audience, you increase the potential for response by cutting out the customers who are less likely to respond to your marketing efforts.

3) More Trusted By Consumers

There’s something about a tangible piece of collateral that tells consumers that you’re trustworthy. Consumers are more likely to trust your business if you send them a physical piece of mail rather than send digital communication.

4) It’s More Persuasive

Direct mail has a similar effect over consumers in persuasion as it does trustworthiness. Sensory stimulation is a proven tactic in retail; a consumer’s likelihood to purchase is in fact correlated with the number of items they touch.

5) Direct Mail Is More Memorable

When you receive a direct mail piece, it touches more of your senses than digital marketing does. When you allow consumers to touch, see, and smell your direct mail piece, they’re more likely to remember your business. Direct mail, when saved, also serves as a constant reminder more so than digital channels.

6) Creative Options Allows For Unique Engagement

Direct mail can create a better response by engaging with consumers in a more memorable way. Use custom folds and die-cuts to create an interactive piece that is a more engaging experience for customers.

7) Able To Reach All Demographic Groups

If there’s a demographic group that is part of your ideal audience, direct mail can target it. Our team can segment your mailing list with many demographic and geographic filters including age, housing, financial interests, hobbies, geography, and more.

81%

of survey respondents plan to maintain or increase usage of direct mail in the next 12 months.

Direct Mail Response Rate Continued From Blog

Response Rate by Selected Media
2018 Direct Mail Response Rates
Direct Mail Response Rates
Direct Mail’s Explosive Growth
*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s 2018 Direct Marketing Association response rate report, publishing important data regarding direct mail relative to digital channels. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
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Direct Mail Has Explosive Response

Direct Mail Explosive Growth

Direct Mail Records the Highest Response Since Being Tracked!

Direct mail’s performance is the highest it’s been since the DMA / ANA (Data & Marketing Association / Association of National Advertisers) has been tracking it and here’s why so many marketers are finding a historic level of success.
Direct Mail Response Rates
The increased level of direct mail response in the last 3 years represents a remarkable reversal of the previous trend and underlines the fact that something truly amazing is happening in this traditional channel. Based on the DMA’s “Direct Mail Response Rates 2003-2018”, House List (customer) response rose 125% from its 2015 levels and Prospect Lists (acquisition) rose 400% for the same period.

The contributing factors to Direct Mail’s recent success:

It's More Trusted

Print-based media including publications, catalogs and promotional materials received in the mail are the MOST TRUSTED by consumers when making a purchasing decision (based on surveys conducted by MarketingSherpa*). This comes at a time when other major channels like digital are being viewed with increased skepticism due to data breaches, spam, questionable content and elevated privacy concerns.

Better Data & Lists

Companies have made it a priority to maintain their customer data to a higher standard than in previous years. They are now using this data more effectively than ever to influence the purchase behaviors of their existing customers (higher frequency of purchase / increased level of purchase) and model prospect data to more effectively find “look-alike” customers to acquire.
Direct Mail Explosive Growth

Better Pieces & Offers

With the implementation of improved testing methodologies, marketers are able to optimize their efforts by testing mail formats, offers and a range of other variables to achieve the best overall approach. With POS systems supporting features like scannable coupon codes and other tracking, marketers are able to use data captured by previous campaigns to improve results in the future.

84%

of Millennials take the time to look through their mail and 64% would rather scan for useful information in the mail than e-mail. In addition, this generation even believes paper mail is a more reliable and viable source of communication (USPS Mail Moments Review).

Mobile Shift

The shift to a “mobile first” mindset and consumers interacting on mobile devices at a higher rate than desktops has changed the impact various digital advertising formats have. What was previously viewed on large desktop screens is now either much smaller on a mobile device, limited in its “rich media nature” or requires drilling down further to see any of the content in the case of email.

Direct Mail Response Rate Continued From Blog

Response Rate by Selected Media
2018 Direct Mail Response Rates
Top 7 Reasons direct mail ins more customers
Top 7 Reasons Why Direct Mail Wins More Customers
*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s 2018 Direct Marketing Association response rate report, publishing important data regarding direct mail relative to digital channels. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
*Reference to survey on “Which advertising channels consumers trust most and least when making purchases” (Source: Marketing Sherpa)
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Direct Mail Response Rates for 2018

Response Rate by Selected Media

Direct Mail Response Rates Rose Significantly In 2018!

Direct mail still remains one of the most effective ways to market to your consumers due to its ability to create a lasting impression on consumers and return a high value for businesses.

There was significant growth in direct mail response rates from 2017 to 2018! House rates rose to 9% (3.9% increase) while prospect response rates rose to 5% (2.1% increase). This is the highest number for house lists since the report started.

With email and social media marketing on the rise, consumers have become exposed to hundreds of advertisements on a daily basis, some more intrusive than others. In doing so, consumers have become numb to digital media advertising and have even taken measures to remove the ads from their reach. Coincidentally, even as email continues to be the most used tool for advertising, it is hardly the most effective with a 1% response rate by prospect list (a 0.8% increase from 2017).
The difference we’re seeing in email marketing compared to direct mail marketing is that the ROI numbers for email marketing are high, but, that’s only due to its incredibly low cost.
Quantitatively email marketing is great, however, quality engagements and customer acquisitions come from direct mail.
Response Rate by Selected Media

Ignoring direct mail is more difficult than ignoring email.

Direct mail shines among consumers as your physical mailbox now harbors unique and effective pieces that catch the eye. It is much easier to breeze through your email account, or ignore large numbers of emails in your cluttered inbox.  There is something special about holding a eye-catching creative mail piece in your hand and experiencing the special offer as it was meant to be.

Direct mail response rates are growing faster than other media.

Online display, email, and social media response rates have all rose as well though not as much, which, stands to reason that direct mail still has strong pulling power for business in attracting new customers while also keeping long-term customers coming back.

Looking to increase response rates for your company?

If your company is interested in increasing your campaign response rates, Spectrum has the proven strategies and solutions to get you there.  If you are interested in increased ROI, deliverable brand awareness, and most importantly better marketing RESULTS; consider direct mail from Spectrum as your one-way ticket to more successful advertising campaigns.
INCREASE YOUR RESPONSE!

Direct Mail Response Rate Continued From Blog

Direct Mail Response Rates
Direct Mail’s Explosive Growth
Top 7 Reasons direct mail ins more customers
Top 7 Reasons Why Direct Mail Wins More Customers
*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s 2018 Direct Marketing Association response rate report, publishing important data regarding direct mail relative to digital channels. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
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Recurring Donations are Key to Growing Your Non-Profit

Recurring Monthly Donation blog post

Recurring Donations are Key to Growing Your Non-Profit

Recurring Monthly Donation blog post

Build Donor Lists to Increase Recurring Revenue

When you are building your donor list it’s important to ask them to become monthly donors instead of just making a one-time donation. Writing your letters to speak to your donors in a way that gets these results is paramount. Monthly donations may be smaller than one-time donations, but, they add up to be three to four times more during a single year.
A major part of any campaign is making sure the data you’re using is accurate. According to the US Post Office, 40% of the success of any direct mail campaign is directly related to the quality and accuracy of the mail list used. Spectrum can work with you to append the list you’re currently using or acquire a new list based on demographics and geographic information. We provide full-service mailing list processing using a combination of industry-standard software applications and a unique proprietary system to ensure that every customer list is optimized for effective delivery.
Spectrum Can Help
  • Append your data list resulting in new donors
  • Locate new potential donors in your geographic area
  • Mailing list acquisition
  • Merge / Purge / Dedupe
  • Learn more

Monthly Donations Add Up

Donating less money more times during one year is better than large one-time donations

As a non-profit, having a source of reliable income is essential when you’re trying to budget and plan events. The most reliable source for non-profits is arguably recurring monthly donations.[1] When donors give once they give as much as $120 on average, while a monthly donation on average is about $38. Though that may sound small, when you extrapolate that amount over 12 months, it adds up significantly.

Focus on converting one-time donors to monthly ones

Over one year a monthly donor could give up to $456 or more depending on the amount they promised when signing up. That’s almost 4 times as much as a one-time donation. Now, not all donors give for an entire year, though, 75% of donors will keep their plan in place for the first 6 months and many continue to give for years.[1] At the low end, that’s still 2 times more than a one-time donation.
Center for the Blind Brochure
Casa Return card with magnifying glass
I will become a sustaining donor with a recurring gift of $_____ deducted rom my credit card. I understand I can cancel this auto-deduction at any time.

Focus on converting one-time donors to monthly ones

While recurring monthly donations are invaluable to your organization one-time donations are still valuable. The best thing to do is to offer all of your one-time donors the option to turn their one-time donations into recurring monthly ones. That being said, in the first year of signing up, recurring monthly donors make additional one-time gifts 75% more often than one-time donors.[1] Spectrum has years of industry insights that can help you build an effective marketing campaign.
Spectrum Can Help
  • Leverage our industry specialists’ years of experience
  • Design eye-catching graphics for your marketing campaigns
  • Develop a direct marketing strategy for mail drops to maximize results
  • Learn more

Have a reliable source of income to budget for the year with monthly recurring donations.

Individuals Donate the Most

Foundations donate large amounts to non-profits but it pales in comparison to individuals

Individuals make up the majority of all donations to non-profits. Individuals account for two-thirds of all donations. Adding in gifts from wills, individuals account for almost 80% of all giving. The donating public, not big foundations or corporations, is responsible for the majority of annual donations.[2] In 2017 foundations, which include grants, gave $66.9 billion or just 16% of all donations.[2] Focus on delivering heartwarming content to individuals if you want to start gaining more recurring donors. Talk to one of our industry specialists about crafting the perfect fundraising letter.
Fundraising brochure

Foundations only give 16% of all donations. The majority comes from individuals.

Brand Your Material

Branded pages garner more recurring donations

Branded marketing materials across the board help initiate a recurring gift. Donors are 31% more likely to initiate a recurring gift on a branded donation page versus a generic one.[3] Making the most of your direct mail plan by designing your material to match your donation page and vice versa is paramount to increasing recurring gifts. Spectrum is adept at creating multi-channel marketing programs that have consistency across direct mail, social media, email, and online web banner retargeting.
Easterseals Maine thanks you bifold direct mail
Spectrum Can Help
  • Create web banner ads that match your branding and audience
  • Create stunning direct mail pieces that utilize your branded image
  • Create social media ads and email campaigns to maximize results
  • Learn more

Don’t make your donors think

On average, recurring gift installments are 43% larger on a branded page that includes suggested donation amounts.[3] Include multiple amount of suggested donation amounts as well as a custom amount. Suggesting an amount will help point your monthly donations remain consistent on the low-end especially where some people will default to the lowest amount.

Donors are 31% more likely to initiate a recurring gift on a branded donation page versus a generic one.

Share Success Stories

Most donors want to know where their money is going and who they’re helping

Sharing your success stories can help connect your audience to your efforts. Showing the emotion behind your organization will help connect your donors to your cause. 60% of people want to receive success stories and impact.[4] Implement a strategy to collect and share beneficiary stories with donors. Let Spectrum Marketing help you create your newsletters (or other marketing materials) to include those beneficiary stories. The preferred method of outreach is personalized letters by 46%.[4] The least preferred method is phone calls by 8%.

Share your stories both sides recurring monthly donations
Spectrum Can Help
  • Implement strategies to collect stories to share with your donors
  • Create personalized newsletters that use your donors information to connect with them on an emotional level
  • Create your mailing lists to utilize variable data fields for your direct mail campaigns
  • Learn more

The preferred method of outreach is personalized letters by 46%.

Recurring Monthly Donations Are Cost Effective

A recurring monthly donor will donate forever (until they cancel)

Recurring monthly programs are cost effective because you need to do a lot less to maintain that relationship. Once someone becomes a monthly donor they already consider you a trusted organization and it’s so much easier to ask them to continue donating than to convert them to a new donor.[5] Historically, this is true with any kind of retail store, restaurant, etc. and the same is true for non-profits. Occasionally send your current monthly donors updates on your work or share new success stories with them. Invite them “behind the scenes” to show how their ongoing contributions are making a difference to ensure that they keep donating.
Spring Appeal Rivier fundraising direct mail marketing

Improve message relevancy with personalization

Adding personalized fields to your letters can also help you connect with individuals in a way a generically written letter can not. Include the person’s name and anything else you know about them. If they donated in the past, mention that in your letter and tailor it to fit each person. Spectrum Marketing can help you build a personalized campaign with variable data fields in your direct mail to really improve your relationship with your donors.
Spectrum Can Help
  • Segment your targeted mailing list to send the appropriate information to the right donors
  • Strategize with our marketing specialists to speak directly to each type of donor
  • Learn more

Once you’ve built trust with a donor they’re more likely to continue to donate and marketing to them is much more cost effective than converting new donors.

Recurring monthly donations make up the majority of giving and are arguably the most reliable form of giving for non-profits. Spectrum has a large array of direct mail marketing programs that your company or organization can customize to incorporate ways to get one-time donors to sign up for recurring donations. Let us design omni-channel campaigns to improve the campaigns effectiveness with email marketing, web targeting, and event signs and banners. Learn more about our non-profit program!
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[1] – https://www.classy.org/blog/recurring-donations-infographic/
[2] – https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/cpid/42#.VS6rufnF-So
[3] – https://nonprofithub.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/recurring-gift_infographic.jpg
[4] – https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-to-create-repeat-donors/
[5] – https://www.classy.org/blog/top-5-reasons-to-invest-in-monthly-recurring-donations/

Writing an Effective Fundraising Letter

Fueled By Kids fundraising letter and check

How Do I Write an Effective Fundraising Letter?

Fueled By Kids fundraising letter and check

Increase your donor list and subsequently your donations

Much like writing effective sales copy, writing an effective fundraising letter isn’t easy. It’s no secret that non-profit organizations need the help of donors to make a difference. Reaching out to new potential donors and past donors is important to your cause and should be treated as such.

Grab their attention

Make an impression upon first glance

Writing effective copy is difficult enough on its own. If no one reads your copy then does it even matter if it’s effective? Consider using an interesting design to intrigue potential donors while they’re sorting the mail.
Fueled By Kids long fundraising letter

Don’t end up in the trash before you have the opportunity to make your pitch.

Oversized mail is proven to capture the attention of your readers. Utilize the size alongside eye-catching graphics and colors to increase the read-time of your mail piece.

Speak to your donor directly

Personalize! Adding the ability to personalize your direct mail helps increase the effectiveness of your copy and builds trust in what you’re saying. This is especially true when you’re writing to past donors who know you already have certain information. Never start a letter with, “Dear friend”. Unless it’s unavoidable from missing information always use the donors name, spelled correctly.
Make sure your list is segmented to include who donated and who didn’t. If someone on your list previously donated to your organization you might come off poorly if you don’t lead with an acknowledgment of that. Also, write conversationally. Write like your talking to to a good friend or a close relative. There’s no need for big words, which, can be bewildering in their nature.

Explain the need

Your potential donors need to know what they’re supporting

Convey exactly what their money supports. If you’re asking for different levels of donations then show what each amount will accomplish. i.e. $200 will feed a child for a year or $400 will feed two children for a year.  Try telling a heartwarming story of someone your organization helped. Hard facts don’t always attract new donors, but, appealing to their emotions might. Your donors are the real heroes, so make them feel like it. Describe how your donors are helping your organization.
Convey exactly what their money supports. If you’re asking for different levels of donations then show what each amount will accomplish. i.e. $200 will feed a child for a year or $400 will feed two children for a year.  Try telling a heartwarming story of someone your organization helped. Hard facts don’t always attract new donors, but, appealing to their emotions might. Your donors are the real heroes, so make them feel like it. Describe how your donors are helping your organization.
Letter Mail

Make it easy for your potential donors to support your cause.

Include a reply card and a return envelope with your letter. List all of the ways they can donate. Include other options to donate like, visiting a link to a landing page to donate online or the ability to volunteer time, food, or clothing or whatever makes sense for your organization.

Don’t make it a hassle to donate

Every donation is vital, but, your donors might not know that

You need to explain that every little bit helps. No matter what your donors can give, let them know that it helps and how it helps. Give examples from past years if applicable. The CASA piece below states how your donation helps right on the front, “Today, your gift may help us reunite siblings with their family, provide a youth aging out of foster care with an advocate as she transitions into adulthood, or lead to the adoption of a foster child into a loving home. Thank you for making a difference.”
The mail piece below also includes several ways that you can donate. You can make a donation on their website, send a check, or give them a debit or credit card in the reply card. Including options to let the recipient renew their donation annually without sending more mail is another bonus that you may also consider adding. Anything you can do to make it easier for your potential donors the better.
Casa fundraising return card

Prove the difference that your donors make to remove any skepticism.

Ask

The worst thing they can do is say, “No” and that’s okay.

People don’t typically do anything they haven’t already planned on doing unless you ask them. Make sure that you’re direct and specific in what you’re asking from your donor. If you want them to donate $50 then ask them to donate $50. Maybe you’re looking for new volunteers. If you are then, ask people to volunteer their time and tell them where to sign up, where to go, and what to do.
Granite United Way

Whether your potential donors are willing to give or not is unclear unless you ask.

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Direct Mail Response Rates for 2017

2017 Direct Mail Response rates

Direct Mail Response Rates Held Strong In 2017

Direct mail still remains one of the most effective ways to market to your consumers due to its ability to create a lasting impression on consumers and return a high value for businesses.
With email and social media marketing on the rise, consumers have become exposed to hundreds of advertisements on a daily basis, some more intrusive than others. In doing so, consumers have become numb to digital media advertising and have even taken measures to remove the ads from their reach. Coincidentally, even as email continues to be the most used tool for advertising, it is hardly the most effective with only a 0.2% response rate by prospect list (a 0.1% drop from 2016). The difference we’re seeing in email marketing to direct mail marketing is that the numbers in ROI for email marketing are high, but, that’s only due to its incredibly low cost. Quantitatively email marketing is great, however, quality acquisitions come from direct mail.
2017 Direct Mail Response rates
Effectively, email has given direct mail a chance to shine among consumers as your physical mailbox now harbors unique and effective pieces that catch the eye. It is easy to breeze through your email inbox, but there is something special about holding a mail piece in your hand and experiencing the offer as it was meant to be.
While there hasn’t been significant growth in direct mail stats from 2016 we see that the response rate barely budged. House rates dropped only 0.2% while prospect response rates stayed right where they were, at 2.9%.
Online display, email, and social media response rates have all dropped since last year, which, stands to reason that direct mail still has strong pulling power for business in attracting new customers while also keeping long-term customers coming back.
If your company is interested in increased ROI, deliverable brand awareness and most importantly RESULTS; consider direct mail marketing as your one-way ticket to a successful advertising campaign.
Check out the response rates for 2018!
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*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s 2017 Direct Marketing Association response rate report, publishing important data regarding direct mail relative to digital channels.

Direct Mail Marketing Strategies for Black Friday Promotions

Are you ready? Black Friday is coming.

Direct Mail Marketing Strategies for Black Friday Promotions

Are you ready? Black Friday is coming.

One of the Biggest Shopping Days of the Year

The day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday, kicks off one of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season. In 2017, from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, more than 174 million Americans went shopping. The average person spends $335.47 with 75% of that going towards gifts. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 2017’s Holiday retail sales increased 5.5% to $691.9 billion!*
In 2018, the expected Holiday sales projections are set to increase by another 3.8%. November and December make up 20% to 40% of annual sales for small to medium-sized businesses so make sure you are optimizing your ad spend. If you choose not to run a cohesive Black Friday direct mail marketing campaign, you could miss a large percentage of annual sales.
Holiday 2017 sales stats thanksgiving through cyber monday

One of the Biggest Shopping Days of the Year

Create Even More Impact with One of Spectrum’s Eye-Catching Black Friday Direct Mail Solutions!

Deliver your Black Friday direct mail campaign before the competition so it stands out from the crowd.  Leverage one of Spectrum’s unique direct mail formats that include multiple sizes, folds, die-cuts and more to capture your audience’s attention. Of people who received a direct mail campaign, 87% were influenced to make a purchase.**

Black Friday promotional direct mail marketing
Holiday 2017 sales stats thanksgiving through cyber monday

Leverage Spectrum’s Cross-Media Direct Marketing Solutions to Lift Your Campaign’s Response!

While consumers are opening their direct mail this November, make sure you’re integrating your Black Friday direct mail campaign with digital strategies. Extending your campaign to email, social media and/or IP targeted web banner ads has potential for increased response, engagement, and ultimately more sales.  Some companies think they can rely on only digital or email advertising.
Consumers start to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of emails they receive on Black Friday. As a result, a little over half of the emails (51%) were deleted within two seconds. The other half are viewed and certainly can be effective – and Spectrum offers the following solutions for extending your direct mail campaigns to digital. It’s important to try and make multiple impressions across all channels for your campaign. After all, multiple touches yield greater RESULTS.
  • Email Marketing: Our designers will convert your Black Friday direct mail piece to a responsive email that will capture the attention it deserves.
  • IP Targeting/Banner Ads: Target Black Friday customers and prospects before, during, and even after your Black Friday direct mail campaign drops. Direct them to your website or landing page and present your offer(s).
  • Social Media Advertising: Gain even more traction by engaging with your target audience on Facebook and Twitter.

Start Planning Your Black Friday Promotion Today

Don’t hesitate! Let’s plan your direct mail campaign now to ensure your campaign hits at just the right time this November. Contact Spectrum to learn more about our award-winning creative services and proven direct mail products so your campaign stands out from the crowd.

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* National Retail Federation
** ROMAX