Nonprofit Letters Raise More Money Than Fundraising Self-mailers
In the past year, a few of our clients have tried using a self-mailer instead of a letter as an annual fund solicitation. The results? No better – and mostly worse! I’ve even heard words like disaster and worst result ever. Not good.
Here are the results from one client who mailed to lapsed donors going back 12 years, and to patients from the previous nine months. Using A/B testing and mailing a fundraising letter to some and a nonprofit self-mailer to others, they saw the following:
This is just an example. It’s not that letters always work better, but there is a clear trend in favor of letters based on our clients’ results.
Here are five reasons that might make the difference. Some are suggestions our clients have offered to explain why the self-mailer they spent so much time designing underperformed. They ring true, don’t they?
People Give To People
Letters are personal. Send a self-mailer and you’ve become an organization, a corporation—not a person. Letters are from a person to a person. Letters feel more intimate and engage emotions in a way a self-mailer can’t. Letters offer a salutation. Don’t underestimate the positive effect of addressing your potential donor as Dear Jane or Dear Mr. Jones! Letters have a chatty, informal style. Or at least they should if they were written to raise money! In a letter it’s easier to use the five key words you must use to raise more money.
Retail Marketers Use Self-Mailers; Fundraisers Use Letters
Self-mailers are used to sell a product, announce an event, promote a candidate. Letters are associated with personal messages and are a means to express thoughts and emotions. The donor who cares about your cause is giving, not buying. Letters also historically invite a response from the reader. So, use a letter. And, to avoid looking like a bill, use a closed-face envelope—no windows.
A Nonprofit Letter Is a Better Format For Story Telling
Letters are a better format for telling a story. Stories tap into the donor’s emotions, bringing home the value of your organization’s work. A picture in a fundraising letter can enhance the message. This provides the visual communication designers are reaching for when choosing a self-mailer design.
Nonprofit Fundraising Letters Are Less Busy
Readers scan. The format of a letter works to move the eye quickly from the salutation to the PS, with brief stops at highlighted key phrases. As opposed to busily designed self-mailers, the letter produces more engagement in less time.
A Nonprofit Self-mailer Looks Expensive, Whether It Is Or Not
Some donors will ask: Why are they spending my money on this slick piece? If they believe you aren’t prioritizing your spending on the cause over writing about your cause, they may find you untrustworthy and become less apt to give you their money.
Of course, it helps to know how to write a good fundraising letter. Want some pointers on how to do it? Read some of my blog posts on this subject, or download my letter-writing check list.
Need help with strategy?
At Five Maples, we have tested what works in nonprofit fundraising and what doesn’t! Let us take the guess work out of raising money for your organization with our Strategy and Planning and Copywriting services, all in one place.
Contact us today at garyh@fivemaples.com for a free consultation.
