Lisa Maher
Lisa Maher has been sharing guest posts with us this year about the kinds of direct mail communications she received after donating to several nonprofits last year. This is her third and final post (you can also read part one and part two.)
Guest Post by Lisa Maher
We are coming to a close on this in this year-long experiment on the types of direct mail solicitations received and I’m back again to share even more of my findings with you. I hope all of you enjoyed my first post about the importance of a personal, visual, heartfelt message and my second post with updates on all of the exciting, or not so exciting, direct mail that I have received.
Since I’ve been tracking all of my direct mail since January, I have amassed quite a collection. While most pieces have been eye-catching and informative, there have been a few missteps along the way. An organization that I think does great work said I could save time and paper by donating online…and the link provided in the letter did not work! Needless to say, I let them know right away!
An organization that did provide an effective alternative to sending in a check was the National Parks Conservation Association. In their last direct mail solicitation letter, they asked me to renew my membership and provided a handy insert that listed the other ways I could donate: online or directly through my bank.
They also sent me a calendar and a follow-up e-mail a week later asking me if I’ve received my calendar. I found this to be quite effective and was a great way to remind their members to donate.
And, I now have a calendar that will remind me of this fun and thought-provoking experiment. I hope that you’ve enjoyed this experiment as much as I have. If Kivi decides to run this experiment again, I encourage all of you to do so! This has been a great learning experience for me…and I hope for all of you as well! Thank you to Kivi and all of her readers.
