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Funding Development Services
FAQ Series: Starting a Mail Program
- What is a mail program?
- How can we start from scratch?
- What are the privacy issues around using the patron database for a direct mail program?
- What are the components of a mail package?
- What makes an effective request letter?
- What makes an effective mail package?
- Who should we mail request letters to?
What is a mail program?
A mail program is one of the mail activities of the annual giving program. As the name implies, it is basically sending letters of request to current and prospective donors, asking them to donate to the library. It is more commonly referred to as ‘direct mail’, but this has a negative connotation associated with ‘junk’ or unwanted mail. Mail can be a great fundraising method for libraries and one that is simple enough for any group including those just starting out in annual fundraising. Mail programs allow you to craft your own message, get it directly into the hands of a prospective donor, track their response – all for relatively little expense. It is much easier and more cost-effective to keep a donor giving through a mail program, than it is by almost any other method of fundraising. Once you have donors giving to you by mail, it is essentially just the cost of postage to develop them into a loyal donor.
How can we start from scratch?
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of getting a mail program started is assembling a mailing list. Starting a mail program pre-supposes that you’ve already got a list of donors. Some libraries start with information from their patron database. This is a decision unique to each library. Another way libraries have started mail campaigns is piggy-backing with another mailing such as a utility bill sent out by the Municipality. St Thomas Public Library and Cobourg Public Library have used this method with good results. If you can get permission to include a flyer for the library you can get information out to almost everyone in your community. Once a donor has responded to your request for a donation they have given you the green light to continue mailing to them. You will have to manage your expectations as to the kind of response rate you will get when you are first starting out. The standard rate of response for a cold solicitation is around 1%. So if you mail 1,000 letters, you can expect to get about 10 replies – and that is considered doing well. Despite these numbers there is still value in maintaining a mail program for the library as it is still the best way to acquire new donors for your fundraising program.
What are the privacy issues around using the patron database for a direct mail program?
There has been a lot of discussion about the appropriateness of libraries using information taken from patron records for a mail program. It’s difficult to provide a simple answer here that will apply to every library situation. Some libraries that are using direct mail collect permission at registration for library cards. Other libraries assume permission since patrons are being mailed information about the library. This is a valid assumption and very few patrons have ever complained. The heightened sensitivity regarding privacy and transparency has made many organizations apprehensive about using mail programs to solicit donations. Much of that discussion was provoked by private sector practice of trading names and buying lists of names. The nonprofit and charitable sectors were not held under the same scrutiny as the practice was not for commercial gain. Libraries can take information provided by patrons at registration and use it for direct mail programs and be well within privacy guidelines.
What are the components of a mail package?
There are four basic components to a mail package: the outer envelope, the appeal letter, the donor coupon, and the reply envelope. Each of these elements is very important in encouraging a response from the recipient, but the outside envelope has the most important role. If the outer envelope doesn’t grab the recipient’s attention in the first 3 seconds, the whole package will likely end up in the garbage. All the time and effort spent on writing the letter and assembling the package will be for naught if the envelope doesn’t get opened.
What makes an effective request letter?
An appeal letter usually adheres to a particular style and is considered ‘technical’ writing. For organizations attempting a mail campaign for the first time this is often a difficult lesson. The writing in request letters should be conversational and not too heavy. The letter should tell a good story, make the donation request up front, and use simple language and short sentences. The common pitfalls for many are: to use lots of jargon; to downplay the request for a donation; to make the letter sound very formal and business-like; to make it too short and general. These are all unfortunate mistakes. The best strategy is to have one person write the letter and make it sound like he or she is writing to one person. It is recommended that the writer think of themselves sitting down with an elderly aunt and writing the way you would talk with her. In this way you would be cautious not to use jargon, and you would likely use the right tone for the appeal letter.
What makes an effective mail package?
An effective mail package is one that gets read. The most important piece of that process is having a package that stands out – it doesn’t look like a bill, and it doesn’t look like junk mail. Some charities try to create packages that are different in size and colour from normal business mail. Some ways to personalize the outer envelope include: using a live stamp rather than a metre, and hand-writing the address rather than using labels or windows. Once the package is open, you can personalize the letter by using a live signature, writing a personal note across the top or bottom of the stationery, personalizing the salutation, referring to a past gift amount, and making the text reader-friendly – short paragraphs, spacing to make it look less dense and intimidating, and using bold and underlining to effect. These tips will help increase the response rate of a mailing. You can use the document entitled Copy Rater to assist you in assessing the effectiveness of your request letter.
Who should we mail request letters to?
It is well known in the fundraising business that the best respondents to mail solicitations are women over the age of 50. So if you have limited resources to start a mail program, you should focus your attention on engaging this demographic first. It may be possible to segment this age group in the patron database and send a mailing specifically to them.