Is direct mail past its peak? Important for stable income

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Is direct mail past its peak?

With the increasing popularity of online fundraising, many fundraisers think that direct mail is of little use. But research shows that direct mail is still a great source of income. And that direct mail is still important for recruiting middle and high donors.

Online fundraising has grown enormously in recent years. But the costs for printing and postage have also risen sharply. More and more fundraisers are moving away from direct mail. Nevertheless, direct mail still has the best retention value and it provides long-term revenue growth. It would be a shame to stop.

Stable income in the long term

Direct mail is still important for:

recruiting middle and high donors
retention of donors
long-term revenue growth

The best retention rates of all channels

Analytical Ones is an American research and consulting firm for non-profit organisations. They recently studied more than 20 organisations in the categories of public media, food banks and humanitarian missions. They wanted to know more about the origins of major donors.

And they found that about 4% of the donors who had been recruited through direct mail in the past 5 years gave more than $1,000 in a year!

The assumption over the last ten years has been that direct mail donor recruitment is expensive and dying. But the data do not support this. Of all the recruitment channels, direct mail still has the best retention value. The analysis also shows that many direct mail donors you recruit today will result in long-term revenue growth.

So, if your board of directors and head of fundraising think the cost of donor recruitment through direct mail is too high, or they think it doesn’t bring in enough donors? Then show them these figures!

Adapting to the new reality

Direct mail is becoming more difficult and more expensive. But cutting recruitment through direct mail would be an expensive choice. You will see the revenue drop in a few years.

Direct mail has an added value alongside digital communication. We must adapt to the new reality. Don’t run away from it!

Source: Jeff Brooks & Analytical Ones.
https://www.futurefundraisingnow.com/future-fundraising/2021/11/the-not-so-secret-source-of-nearly-all-high-end-donors.html

Did you know that direct mail is the largest source of major donations and legacies?

Discover the 5 reasons why direct mail is so relevant!

Research shows that direct mail has added value alongside digital communication.

At Mindwize, we love direct mail. Not only because it is still effective in recruiting donations and retaining donors, but also because it is a great medium for conveying emotion and urgency. The facts of our research speak for themselves.

Download this white paper and discover the 5 reasons why direct mail is so relevant!