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How can you use direct mail for your nonprofit?
How can you use direct mail for your nonprofit?
Outreach and fundraising are critical to the success of any nonprofit organization. And that’s especially true now more than ever. Due to the global pandemic, a lot of nonprofits are struggling to raise enough funds. Without those funds, they aren’t able to continue providing the service their clients need. While traditional forms of fundraising—such as events and campaigns—aren’t able to happen right now, other forms—such as marketing—are having their moment to shine. One of those is direct mail marketing.
Direct mail is one of the most successful marketing tools, although it often gets overlooked for being outdated or ineffective. On the contrary—direct mail is 7 times more effective than all digital channels combined. Datafication and personalization take direct mail to the next level, allowing companies to reach their target audience with messaging that’s relevant and meaningful.
Ready to give direct mail a try? Here are 4 tips on using direct mail for your nonprofit:
1. Identify your audience
The first step in creating a direct mail marketing campaign is to identify your target audience. Are you trying to connect with donors, new members or volunteers? Defining your audience is important because it affects the messaging you use in your campaign.
In order to help you segment your audience even further, you can use targeted lists. Direct mail targeted lists can be based on existing lists, such as past event attendees, or a variety of demographics, including geographic regions. Segmenting your audience this way ensures that you reach the right target with the right message, which makes direct mail that much more effective.
2. Craft a compelling story
One benefit of direct mail is that it allows you to appeal to your audience’s emotions. The best way to do this is to tell a story about your nonprofit. Think about your direct mail sitting in someone’s mailbox. What image would grab their attention? What headline would cause them to read the rest of the copy? You want to create a compelling story that catches their eye from the beginning.
You can also use this opportunity to tweak your messaging based on the different audiences you identified earlier. For example, your donors might be more interested in the logistics of your nonprofit and how those have been impacted by COVID while volunteers are more interested in hearing the story and background behind your nonprofit. Either way, use both imagery and messaging to support your narrative.
3. Make it personal
There’s a good chance you’ll be sending direct mail to donors or volunteers that have supported your nonprofit before. Without their generosity, it’s possible that your organization might not exist. That’s why personalization is even more critical in a fundraising campaign for nonprofits.
When addressing your direct mail, use the names of your donors or volunteers instead of a blanket introduction. If you know they’ve supported you in the past, call it out and thank them for their continued support. You could even include an old picture of them attending an event (during pre-COVID times) to take the personalization to the next level. All of these efforts will make your recipients feel special and lead to stronger, better relationships.
4. Mix direct mail with digital
One of the best ways to maximize your direct mail efforts is to mix it with your digital marketing campaign. For example, you can run a social media ad targeting the prospective donors or volunteers from your earlier segmented lists. You could also send an email following your direct mail campaign to provide more details to donors and volunteers about your organization. Combining both digital and direct mail helps reinforce your messaging and further guarantee that you are reaching your target audience.
Direct mail is an easy choice for nonprofits, but the success of your campaign depends on your overall strategy. Early Express offers multiple direct mail services — including targeted lists, data processing and daily mail management—to ensure your marketing campaign is effective and efficient.
What is Automated Direct Mail Marketing?
Programmatic Direct Mail is a targeted way to take prospects familiar with a brand and turn them into qualified leads and customers. Learn about this great way to get highly targeted customers to convert.
Direct Mail in 2023 allows for new ways to approach and track successful campaigns. Read the guide to direct mail marketing in 2023 from Early Express here.
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