There is a different mindset involved when conducting a high dollar direct mail campaign. Where standard direct mail programs focus on statistics, the focus in a high dollar effort is on individual donors.
High dollar programs focus much more on building relationships with donors through the mail. It's possible to invest more in donor cultivation mailings because the potential for major upgrades is so much higher. Of course, personal attention from the organization's leadership is a key component in converting direct mail donors into major gift donors. But much of the cultivation can be done by mail.
As a result of the increased attention to cultivation and personal contact, high dollar direct mail programs reverse the falloff in contributions that normally occurs in standard direct mail programs. Taken as a group, donors brought in during a particular year will give more in successive years, not less. (Often, total gifts will be less the second year, but will subsequently increase and surpass the amount given in the first year.) The key is that upgrades more than make up for donor attrition.
High dollar direct mail letters are generally longer than standard direct mail and are not "technique-driven." The writing style is less strident than many standard direct mail letters.
The financial risk is less with a high dollar direct mail program because of the lower volume mailed in prospecting and the higher average gift.
High dollar programs generally mail to lists of donors who've given at least $50 or more previously to another cause. Because of this higher dollar select, the universe of names available to mail is smaller. This tends to lessen the exposure of the organization. An aggressive standard direct mail campaign could have hundreds of thousands of pieces of mail out at any one time, which puts a large amount of money at risk if something were to happen to cause the mailing to fail (such as a national emergency, something happening that changes the issue, a scandal that involves the signer, etc.).
Even though high dollar packages cost more per unit, the organization's exposure at any one time is generally much less than with standard direct mail.
Another aspect of high dollar direct mail programs that lowers the level of risk and increases the potential for future gifts is the higher average donation. Donors usually continue to give at the level of their first gift, and upgrade from there. Consider two groups of donors, one with a $10 average contribution and one with a $100 average. A 30% upgrade for each group would have the first group's average donation at $13, while the higher dollar donors would upgrade to $130. That's a substantial difference. And it doesn't take into consideration the likelihood that some donors will eventually become five and six figure givers.
High dollar direct mail programs project a more high quality image for the organization. The mailings generally cost three or more times what a standard direct mail letter would cost. This extra quality and greater personalization sets the mailings -- and thus the organization -- apart from the run-of-the-mill direct mail piling up in donors' mailboxes.
|
