AN APOLOGYPost #44
January 16, 2024
Upon re-reading last week’s blog post, I see I transposed some of the numbers in a paragraph.
Here’s the incorrect paragraph: You certainly want to focus on getting the 80%, but it would be a serious mistake to ignore the 20%. The additional 20% of gross may make the difference between a successful mailing and a failure.
Here’s the correct paragraph—sorry about my mistake. You certainly want to focus on getting the 20%, but it would be a serious mistake to ignore the 80%. The additional 20% of gross may make the difference between a successful mailing and a failure.
In last week’s blog post, I introduced the subject of most conservative nonprofit organizations hurting financially.
However, if it’s any comfort it’s true of most all nonprofits not only on the right, but also those on the left, charitable, health and welfare, etc.
So, today let’s focus on the 20% that’s responsible for producing 80% of your gross. I’ll continue discussing what makes up the 20% and 80% in the coming weeks.
These ideas/suggestions apply to your house, prospect, and newsletters.
- List
- Brand
- Project
- Techniques
There are other things that belong in the 20% category, but these are the big four. Get these four right, and you seldom, if ever, will have a mailing that’s a failure.
The first of the big four is always the List. If you get the List completely wrong, it will be impossible to have a successful mailing.
For example, if you are raising money for a conservative nonprofit and you have a worldclass copywriter writing the package, you have the Four Horsemen of Marketing®perfect, plus you have a strong project/need for the money, as well as a strong attention getting technique—but you mail the list to donors to a liberal cause who live in Washington, DC—there’s zero chance of returning even your postage investment, much less the rest of the mailing cost.
However, if you have a grassroots conservative activist who’s never written a fundraising mailing before write a letter to your organization’s $25+ last six-month donors, you will probably net a decent amount of money.
To quote my mentor Dick Benson from his book, Secrets of Successful Direct Mail, “Lists, which are more important than copy or offers are the most overlooked area of direct mail. List selection is vital, be it by zip code, demographic, or type of buyer within the list.”
When Dick wrote about “buyer,” for those in fundraising just substitute donor for buyer.
By the way, keep in mind the purpose of the mailing.
Not every mailing needs to be or should be to raise money.
Sometimes, the purpose of the mailing is to:
- Pass legislation
- Defeat legislation
- Educate
- Get votes
- Get potential voters registered
- Brand your opponent(s)
- Etc., etc.
Get the List wrong, and nothing else you do can make the mailing a success.
