Wait?! What does a digital marketing agency have to say about direct mail fundraising? Well, quite a lot. We hear time and time again that mail is dead, or dying, or at least isn’t the future. That last one might be true, but it's not the WHOLE truth.

I check my email at least 20 times a day (probably a lot more, if I am being honest), and I only check the mail about once a week. I do not give through the mail, and as my generation gets older it will be true that direct mail will suffer the result. BUT I also recognize that many of my clients do the majority of their fundraising through the mail, and if they turned away from direct mail fundraising they probably would have to shut down.

This creates a predicament.

Organizations cannot give up direct mail fundraising, but they also cannot ignore a future where the majority of fundraising will be online. In fact, one of the most frequent problems brought to us by potential clients is this: We know we need to be digital, but we just don’t know how or what to do about it. So, they try to build an online presence by investing in Facebook Likes and social content. That’s OK, but that is hardly a strategy. We will give you an outline of how to build a strategy that recognizes the present value of both direct mail and digital marketing.

‍Recognize the value of each marketing technique. You don’t have to separate the two, in fact, you shouldn’t. We have found 43% increase in giving when you send mail and then target those same people online.

‍Start your digital fundraising now. Digital marketing is NOT magic. Once you get an email from someone it takes time to develop the relationship necessary to solicit donations. Start that effort now. You should be asking every week, communicating value proposition, and connecting with potential donors as often as possible. Him + Her Digital Co. would love to help you with this, so reach out and set a meeting! ‍

Invest in growing your email list. Don’t wait until it is too late to start growing your list. Start now, because it is going to take testing and optimization to get it right.‍

Direct mail doesn’t translate to email marketing. We don’t do direct mail. It isn’t our gig, and we understand that. Sadly, we see nearly every direct mail agency now trying to do digital. If you want to pay them a ton of money before you realize the sciences do not translate, then go for it. Or you can save that money and put it into building your audience by hiring a digital agency to work in conjunction with your direct mail agency. 

Take our advice, and save your organization some time and money.