Did you know direct mail has higher open rates than email? Mail recipients have around 57.5 to 85 odds of opening a letter, brochure, or postcard. The open rate of emails is around 34.2 to 40.55%. People receive fewer catalogs and newsletters. For that reason, they are twice as likely to open a direct mail than an email.
In recent years, people have massively adopted direct mail for nonprofit fundraising, but fewer handlers have managed to reap exciting benefits. Direct mail handlers that create compelling direct mail reap many benefits. Below are six tips to help you create a value-adding direct mail appeal.
1. Personalize Your Direct Mail Appeal
Using the same old-model approach to direct mail marketing will never work. The modern direct mail recipient has unique predilections, and addressing their exclusive necessities works wonders. Professional direct mail services help nonprofit fundraising campaigners to customize letters, postcards, flyers, and newsletters to suit the recipient’s needs. Professional recommendations offer guidance to make envelopes more personal and charming.
You can leverage market intelligence to know what your recipients want to customize the message to their preferences. Reference specific interests and past engagements to determine what motivated donors to respond to your campaigns. Proofread your letters and edit any errors to avoid discrepancies that can push recipients away.
2. Create a Persuasive Headline
The mail’s envelope is the first thing donors see when they access your fundraising appeal letter. It should be dazzling and impressive enough to captivate the reader and trigger positive responses. The message in the headline should capture the recipient’s attention, arouse inquisitiveness, and inspire empathy.
The message should speak to the recipient’s principles and philosophies. You can customize the headline to address seasonal themes or current events. Personalization adds relevance and addresses the aspect of time. Create a clear headline that echoes your fundraising campaign’s core message and mission. The message should spark interest and inspire donors to explore the content.
Are you looking for an effective and creative way to trigger donations? You can mention or include tangible puzzlers within your appeal letter’s envelope. These puzzlers can trigger engagement by raising the recipient’s curiosity. The teaser can be an illustrative brochure, small token, personalized sticker, or a thank you note. Choose a teaser that embodies the cause your campaign represents.
Tangible visual elements on your envelope connect the donor to your mission in a personalized and direct way. They create a tactile experience by aligning your campaign goals and values with the donor’s principles. It also summarizes the essence of the fundraising appeal and pushes people to take action.
4. Induce Emotions with Color Psychology
Color conveys information nonverbally, inducing specific moods and influencing people’s decisions. Psychological color effects impact most snap judgments, meaning the colors on your direct mail appeal letters can trigger a positive or negative impact. Many nonprofits leverage color psychology in their direct mail campaigns to impact the recipient’s perceptions and emotions.
Writing the headlines and texts in blue evokes calmness and trust. Personalize your message in red to instigate passion and urgency, ensuring donors respond confidently. Consider colors aligning with the emotions you intend to invoke. Maintaining a consistent color scheme can resonate with your nonprofit’s campaign theme and create that emotional and visual appeal resonant with the recipient’s expectations.
5. Request for Donations
A captivating letter invokes emotions and responses. The question is in which direction? What do you expect the recipients to do after receiving your appeal letter? How should they do it, and for what reason? Your core intention is to convince donors to give towards your cause. However, donors may never know your intentions until you say it out loud.
You should emphasize giving throughout the letter. However, never make it boring. Tell your potential donors why and how much to donate. Convince your audience how the specified amount can change a life.
6. Tell Donors What is there for Them?
You want the donor to spare their hard-earned money for your cause. The requested amount may never be a big deal, but they wouldn’t just give it. Donors have a mission and vision, too. They have specific philanthropy goals to achieve. Therefore, they mostly give when those asking for donations meet their criteria.
You must define what is there for the donor and why they should contribute. Tell your potential donors how they will benefit after donating. How can giving a specific amount improve the lives of disadvantaged people? How can donations improve the target society, family, or situation? Address the recipient directly and never focus so much on your organization.
Wrapping Up
Is your nonprofit running short of finances and wants to ask for more donations? The time is ripe to write that appeal letter. Ensure the letter is captivating and irresistible to those who receive it. Focus on the recipient, telling them how they will benefit from your cause and why they must give. Use color psychology and teasers to encourage donors to give. Your headline should be compelling to compel donations.
