Latest / The Nonprofit Podcast / Ep 180| Your Year-End Edge: Direct Mail Fundraising That Delivers

Transcript

Ep 180| Your Year-End Edge: Direct Mail Fundraising That Delivers · The Nonprofit Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Do you want to know what almost every great fundraising campaign has in common?
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's direct mail.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: And even in a digital world, it's often the piece that moves someone from interest to action.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: And it just works.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: There's something about it.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: Studies show that mail still builds trust and it sticks with donors longer than digital alone.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: But here's the thing: the best results don't come from sending just another letter.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: They come from strategy, timing, and the systems behind the scenes that make it all click.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: The Nonprofit Podcast, powered by DonorBucks.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Kara Ogsperker, Executive Director of Grace Care Center Foundation, and I'm your on the ground correspondent here on the podcast.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_02: Each week we share practical information, clear insights, and inspiration to help you raise more, reach further, and drive real results to take your nonprofit to the next level.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: This episode feels like a full circle moment.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: Jenna and I first met today's guest, Joe Leach, at AFP Icon, which is a large international fundraising conference back in 2022.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: We were just chatting at his booth, and before long, we were deep into a conversation about the future of direct mail, how nonprofits can do it better.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: I left that conversation completely energized.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: And since then, I've used Appeal Maker in my own work, and it really does deliver.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's why I'm extra excited to welcome Appeal Maker as the official sponsor of the Nonprofit Podcast.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: And Joe, it's so great to have you here.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Carol, one of my favorite people.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's absolutely a pleasure for me to be here too.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very excited.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: Aw, thanks, Joe.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: It's great to have you.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Let's talk a little bit about direct mail.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Joe, I shared a little bit about my own experience with Appealmaker.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: So for years, I had this amazing volunteer who helped design all of our mailings.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: She was so, so generous with her time.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: But every time I needed a tweak or I caught a typo, I would have to go back to her with my big, sorry eyes and ask for another change.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: And honestly, managing the data and the lists felt like felt like a whole separate job.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so when I started using Appeal Maker, it felt like such a relief.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: And suddenly the process was kind of more streamlined.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: The creative part of it, the data, the workflow, it was all in one place.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it let me focus on basically creating the story, finding the road, the right donors, and not all those behind-the-scenes logistics.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: So that's from my perspective.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: So I'd rather have you explain it, Joe.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: You've been helping nonprofits rethink how they do direct mail.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: And for those who haven't met you yet, I would love for you just to share what Appeal Maker does and how you've seen it help organizations simplify and maybe even strengthen their direct mail.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would be happy to.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate the opportunity to do this.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Just have to say it really has been a pleasure working with you in terms of things about people that I find the most interesting, uh, authenticity and genuineness uh are two of the top characteristics for me.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And Kara has them like nobody else I've ever met.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: I know everybody thinks I'm just buttering you up so you ask me easy questions.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: So AppealMaker, it's uh the easiest way to explain it.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's a it's a complete online direct mail tool.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: You could think of like constant contact or MailChimp for direct mail.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: So there's 30 templates already built in that you can start with.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's live online proofing, and I mean live, meaning you can pick the name in your list, look at the proof of that particular person.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: You see their outer envelope, you see the letter, you see whichever components are personalized in one uh proof.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's come it can be either completely self-service or it can be full service.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then I would have to say that the vast majority of our customers use Appeal Maker completely without our assistance.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: We have we have actually had customers come in, set up their account, never communicate with us once, complete a direct mail campaign, and and it's over.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And uh the other benefit uh to this type of a system is we can get your mail out very, very quickly.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: So mailings of 7,500 pieces or less uh will generally go out three days after you prove them.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: We add a little bit during this time of year, the the year end, because we need a little more time, but um four or five days and it's in the mail.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's very, very, very efficient.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: That is a speedy turnaround.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_02: And that's a great overview, Joe.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: I like the comparison between MailChimp or some systems that we've already used in paralleling that to direct mail.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: I want to add more thing as you say that.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, once you do a campaign, you can clone it and resend it.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's probably our customer's favorite feature.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so if you do a campaign or you do an appeal and you want to repeat it again next year, you just clone it, make your changes, and mail.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: Agreed.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: And it's so easy to do.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_02: So let's talk a little bit about why direct mail is important and especially in fundraising right now.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: So I saw a stat recently that caught my attention.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: There's been some recent consumer insight studies, and there's one called the State of Direct Mail Report.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure everyone has it, um, but it showed that only about 21% of nonprofits, and I'm really surprised by that number, that only 21% of nonprofits used behavior triggered or some sort of automated mail.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so that seems like a really big missed opportunity to me.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: So, how could a team start adding some automation in a realistic way that's not going to burden the team or overwhelm the supporter?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, what do you think works best?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I was actually kind of surprised that it was that high, particularly since the the survey was about direct mail.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the only thing most other like digital appeals are quite easy to automate.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: But direct mail, there's still some technology challenges there.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's not that it isn't available.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in AppealMaker, as a matter of fact, we're kind of in the final stages of our beta testing of um doing auto-triggered mailings.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, for example, thank yous.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: We can actually go into your CRM, uh, pull all of the gifts that have been marked that day, or every other day you can set the timing for whatever you want.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and uh it goes in, grabs the names, creates a mailing, sends it out a day later.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: And that automation makes it so simple that you should be doing it more frequently, right?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: So it just helps that overall donor experience.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: We talk a lot about creating a really great donor experience.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of donors give online, but in my experience, direct mail is what often inspires them to give.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's like inspires that conversion.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: So, how do you see direct mail working best within a multi-channel campaign alongside email, some social media, QR codes, whatever it is?
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_02: Where does direct mail fit in?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, in your intro, you spoke of some of the things that make direct mail one of the more successful ways to uh to fundraise.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And there there are some scientific reasons for it.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's some anecdotal ones as well.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Before I answer your question, I'll set the stage.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Deliverability is the highest of any campaign you can send with direct mail, meaning they're pretty much all gonna land in somebody's mailbox.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: So the chances of them seeing it are extremely high.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, as opposed to most digital campaigns are somewhat hit and missed.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not to say anything bad about digital campaigns.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: We feel strongly that they're uh that they're very necessary.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: And as a matter of fact, they may be the one channel that somebody prefers.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: So you certainly wouldn't want to cut off any uh any of those opportunities.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: But there's an integrity to direct mail.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not only is it tactile, you can feel it.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um direct mail, there's a subconscious sense that direct mail is more, let me say, significant.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: People know that you've spent money to send a piece of mail.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: They might not know that consciously, but there is this sense that when you're doing digital advertising, the donor's probably going to think, well, you sent this to everybody, because um, in everybody's mind they think that email is is free or um digital is is cheap.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: We know it's not, but everybody thinks that.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: When they get the piece of mail, there is this subconscious feeling like I was worth spending the money to actually send a letter.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel that there's just things of that nature make it far more successful.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: It has added costs, there's there's no doubt about it.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: So to answer your question, uh, because of the fact that direct mail gives you the opportunity to set the stage and tell the story, we recommend that you send your mail first.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some people like to send a postcard or something to set the stage, but I would say get the story in front of them with direct mail.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then your and emails and and digital campaigns should follow very quickly after it.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then I would also uh do a follow-up, particularly if the mailing is going to previous donor.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: I love that strategy of getting a mailpiece out first because people often see it.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: I send email all the time at work and I cannot even put into words how many times it's overlooked and not opened, and somebody's unaware of something because they just chose not to open it in their inbox.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: But you're right, as I'm walking from the mailbox into my house, I'm looking at the pile of my hand.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so even if I see it for a few seconds, it catches my attention.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: So as we talk about time and timing, fundraisers never have enough time.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't know a single fundraiser who really isn't stretched thin right now.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: So if someone only has time to fix something small or maybe one thing in their direct mail processes this year, what's the thing that would make the biggest difference?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, anybody that reads my blogs or has talked to me before is gonna know that I'm kind of a uh I'm kind of a one-hit wonder on this question.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, the lowest hanging fruit is sending a follow-up letter, particularly, particularly to people who have uh donated before.
• 10:28
  unknown: Okay.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: It is, I have 20 years of experience, and I can say to you so confidently that a follow-up mailing, and I and I mean a letter that specifically references the previous letter.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I sent a letter three weeks ago, a true follow-up.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: I have tons of data that show that a follow-up mailing will get a half to as many responses as the original mailing.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say there were so few aberrations over the course of time.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: We would tell our clients to make sure that was part of their strategy.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the other really valuable thing in this is that you're gonna retain more donors.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: You have to understand that when donors don't respond to, well, any appeal for that matter, but let's just stick with direct mail.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: When they don't respond to a direct mail campaign, it doesn't mean that they said no.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many reasons they don't respond that have nothing to do uh with the fact that they didn't want to.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: They may have very much wanted to, but it got lost, it got stuck in the bottom of a stack of paper, it was just one of those things they put off until um you know a a a future time.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: That follow-up triggers them to send it in.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so from a number standpoint, uh even I don't think this will happen, but even if you only broke even on the follow-up, so you whatever you spent on the follow-up, you got that in gifts, you would have retained all of those donors, whereas you probably would have lost them unless you're mailing quarterly or something like that.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: So for people that mail only once or twice a year, I am imploring you to add that into your annual campaign because it will make the biggest difference ever.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I would also say I'm surprised at how few people do it.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: So from a competitive standpoint of like if you're competing for the charitable dollars that are out there, by doing it, you will get ahead of the curve.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and there's a lot of advice I would be careful to be too sure about.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's not one of them.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: That's okay.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: Because I currently don't have a follow-up scheduled in my year-end strategy.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: So um as of now, I do.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you for that perspective.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: And and the other thing I'll say is that the the beauty of a peelmaker, you kind of threw me a softball there, by the way.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um the beauty of appeal maker is that you can you can clone your original campaign, add a just literally add a paragraph at the beginning saying, you know, three weeks ago I sent a letter on this is what I was saying, and and it you can approve it in minutes, and it's off your plate.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: And you're capturing donors almost in real time.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_02: I know there's just a few day lag in that mail time.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: So you touched on this.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: The cost of direct mail is really intimidating, especially for small organizations.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: You've worked with organizations of every size, and I know larger organizations have bigger budgets, can easily do these things.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_02: But do smaller teams have any advantages when it comes to direct mail that you've seen?
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh absolutely.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: There's one thing that comes to mind, and I might be making up a new word, but it would be called nimbleness.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's just they can turn quick, they can pivot, something changes.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's just so much easier uh for them to do that.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's the greatest advantage that they that they have.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I run a small nonprofit and I use the analogy of sometimes I feel like I'm steering a speedboat as opposed to an aircraft carrier.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes larger organizations are like trying to navigate that aircraft carrier.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: And if you have to make a quick turn, it doesn't happen.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a hopeful takeaway, Joe.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for that.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: We see that we see that all the time.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And with Appealmaker, we deal with lots and lots of very small uh clients, people at mail, two, three hundred pieces.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's a very common thing.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and for the thank yous, I mean, there may be there may be some days when the client sends two pieces or three pieces.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: I love that there's no minimum.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: That that's been very helpful to me before too.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like it's economical.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: People can go to the website and see the pricing.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's and I've done in-house mailings too.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I like the ease and the fact that I know it's gonna look much better when it comes out of your shop than it out of my desktop printer.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_02: So, okay, so it is October.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: I'm in the middle of year-end prep.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: I know a lot of us are in the same spot right now, the list, prepping the letters, thinking about the deadlines that are coming.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: So if someone is listening and thinking, okay, where do I even start?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: What's one practical thing that you would tell them to do this week?
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm assuming that most people are at least pretty far in the planning.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: If if if if not, then this the step is to um today just write down what your plan is.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: So you gotta get so you gotta get started.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're into it, I would say this uh make a decision that any direct mail related task, particularly if you are dealing with outside vendors, uh, make sure that you, your team, and I mean anybody that's helping you and anybody that's advising you, you know, if if it's a director or board members or whatever, get them, get everybody on board to say if there's a direct mail task, it goes to the top of the list.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason I say that is because even with the case of Appeal Maker, if you miss something, you can't make it up like you can with a lot of other things.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: There's just too many pieces and schedules that that that go into it.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Those are exactly the kind of actionable tips I know I need, and I'm sure others will enjoy as well.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: So, Joe, thank you so much for joining me today.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: This was such a helpful conversation, and I know that something here is really going to click for a lot of fundraisers as they head into year end.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: And for those listening, be sure to check out the state of the direct mail report in the show notes.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_02: And we've also included a link to Appeal Makers so you can learn more about how their platform can support your direct mail strategy.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: You can sign up for a free account, no credit card needed.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: Get in there and explore.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: You will be blown away.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: I know I was.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, do a demo a chat with our team.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And just to make it easy for those who don't have the show notes in front of them, uh, we did set up a link uh to get to the 2025 State of Direct Mail uh report by going to appealmaker forward slash donor box.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, awesome.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, great that'll redirect right, that'll redirect right to the report.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: Terrific.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: And your team is so fabulous.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's always great to chat with them, even in the chat box or on the phone.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I pinch myself every day.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: I am very grateful for everybody on the team.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you, Joe.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: And for all those who are listening, I just want to say thank you for being part of the nonprofit podcast community.
• 17:38
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• 17:42
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• 17:47
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