You’re engaged. Congratulations!

Your nonprofit is engaged in diligently engaging your supporters.  Congratulations! Or are you? Not all ACTIONS qualify as engagement.  For example, these actions are NOT engagement: – Receiving an email – Receiving a direct mail letter, catalog, etc. – Inviting a supporter to an event – Talking to a supporter face-to-face or on the phone […]

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10 Years and Not Forgotten

On September 11, 2011 we mark the 10-year anniversary of the heartless terrorist attacks on the USA.  By an act of Congress this day is designated Patriot Day – a National Day of Service and Remembrance. I hope you’ll join me and so many others on Sunday and … ◊ Remember ALL those we lost […]

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Why Teddy Bears Give & Give

Donors are a lot like Teddy Bears.  They’ll give and give again if you simply treat them right. If you ever had a Teddy Bear as a child (hmm, and maybe you even collect them as a grown-up), you know how special they are. Special just like your donors.  Always there for you.  Teddy Bears […]

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Do donors and members want to connect with you emotionally?

They’ve demonstrated that they do.  In fact, you could say research proves that donors and members respond more favorably when they have an emotional connection with your nonprofit. A recent post in the Neuromarketing blog titled, “Connect Emotionally to Boost Sales” has interesting data on this topic.  Now don’t discount it because the post talks […]

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Best Time to Ask a Major Donor for that First Gift

If you’re trying to get that first gift from a prospective major donor, what’s the best time of day to meet with them? Based on research outlined in Neuromarketing blog, avoid the times right before lunch or at the end of the day. Why avoid these times of the day to bring a new major […]

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7 Tips for Better Subject Lines & Envelope Teasers

I read an article in Direct Marketing IQ last week that got me smiling. The author is a copywriter (Pat Friesen) and she mentioned how her love of math and creative writing are a good match.  They’re both valuable assets for direct response copywriting. Boy … as an engineer can I ever relate to that.  One of her […]

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Retention is the New Acquisition

You’ve likely read the stats: It cost 5-7 times as much to acquire a new donor or member as it does to retain them.  Not only that, but in recent years it has simply become harder to acquire them. That leads me to say, “Retention is the New Acquisition.” To keep the donors and members […]

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Act Immediately to Shake Up Your Nonprofit Publicity

Update – Aug 29, 2011: Whether it’s an earthquake or something like Hurricane Irene … when you can tie your message to a major news story in a relevant way, you’ll naturally get more publicity.  And that leads to more donations – directly or indirectly. [End of update.] If your nonprofit is located in the […]

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Want more donors or members?

You need to play by THEIR rules if you want more donors or members for your nonprofit. They’re in control.  Not you.  Therefore if you want to acquire AND retain supporters, you need to consider why they wouldn’t support you.  No offense, but there are plenty of good reasons why people DO NOT GIVE or […]

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Partnership of Email and Direct Mail

Email and direct mail work so well together that I believe it can be viewed as a partnership.  Yet like any partnership, to reap maximum benefits (think optimizing response, conversions, and funds raised) … there are procedures, techniques, and strategies to pay attention to. Consider the following when creating an integrated campaign of email and […]

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