Why use direct mail as part of your multi-channel charity fundraising strategy?
We’re all hearing about how people have been turning more to digital, accelerated by need during the Coronavirus pandemic. And yes, this has certainly been a time for increased digital media usage.
The PBE Covid Charity Tracker stated that 77% of charities made better use of digital and tech during this time. However, we must also be mindful that digital does not replace but complement direct mail as a medium to engage our supporters.
In our webinar The Impact of COVID-19 on Individual Giving: Planning for the Future, we heard from leading UK fundraisers each vindicating direct mail fundraising as the most successful income generator in individual giving. And we certainly saw that both emergency and business-as-usual cash appeals outperformed expectations during this period, too.
Data from our annual Individual Giving Surveys also support this with 81% of responders in 2023 saying they use Direct Mail for one-off giving campaigns and increase of 24 percentage points since 2021 and 57% of responders saying they use it for regular giving campaigns, 11 percentage points higher than the two years prior.
Multichannel strategies work!
Royal Mail found that multi-channel strategies actually help maximise conversions. In a world where consumer trust in advertising is declining, 87% of people surveyed by Royal Mail rate messages delivered by mail as believable.
Plus, when an ad is seen online after a mailing has been received, people spend 30% longer reading those ads. Incredible when attention spans are getting shorter and shorter (hopefully you’re still with us though!)
Direct mail engages all ages
Myths about mail usage being old fashioned and irrelevant to digital natives simply aren’t true.
In fact, Royal Mail highlighted in their report that frequency of exposure is consistent across all life stages, with Millennials on average interacting 3.83 times with direct mail – a channel which has an impressive engagement rate of 94%.
Mail frequency is high amongst heavy digital consumers generally. In fact, on average the heaviest Mobile consumers interact 4.26 times with Addressed Mail and 2.80 times with Door Drops. This shows, once again, that it is the combination of media which builds impact.
3 ways to make direct mail work for you
That’s all fine and interesting, I hear you say, but what does that mean for me? Here are a few suggestions to help put this into practice so you can get the most out of your direct mail fundraising campaigns:
1. Enhance your supporter direct mail experience
You can do this by offering digital donation methods as well as postal. A campaign landing page would work well here, offering more information about your cause, the DM story and an easy way to support online.
2. Create a multi-channel campaign
Introduce a multi-media approach to your campaign including direct mail, social media, online (website), SMS and email – and if budget allows, DRTV – all with the same story and ask creating heightened awareness and driving action across a range of response mechanisms: online, text, telephone, and postal.
3. Build your stewardship around multiple channels as well
Don’t stop at donations! Using analysis, you will soon see which media donors respond to and you can therefore start to target them more accurately in the ways they prefer.
A final note…
You know your supporters better than anyone. It’s not the channel alone that drives response and engagement but relevant messages targeted at what your supporters find most compelling. The more we can find out about what makes them tick, the more sticky your communications become.
For top tips on how to better get to know your supporters and enhance the supporter journey, don’t miss this helpful blog.
Want to learn more?
If you’d like to chat about how Woods Valldata can support your individual giving programmes, such as with direct mail fundraising and other response handling services, please drop us a line.
Here at Woods Valldata, we will work together with you and act as an extension of your team to provide expert advice on how to harness the power of print to deliver unforgettable fundraising campaigns.
To find out more about how we can help with your direct mail fundraising and more, arrange a free consultation with a member of our team, or take a look at what we have to offer here.
