Looking for Donations? Listen to an Expert
Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 November 2009 06:20 Written by Kevin Tuesday, 17 November 2009 04:52
Jules Brown is a local copywriter with many years 
experience working with major charities and non-profits. Here’s his candid views on email vs direct mail and what works for those seeking donations.
“[With email], Relevancy and News seem to be the keys. If the recipient thinks they’re going to learn something, they open. If they think you’re trying to sell them something - they pass…
Our experience of e-mail giving, vs direct mail isn’t actually for people who have switched from mail to e-mail, it’s for donors who when they gave for the first time (mostly via the internet, but also through face-to-face, events, leaflets, fun-runs, marathons etc) specified that they would prefer to be contacted by e-mail, rather than mail.
So it’s really a case of ‘people who prefer to give via direct mail, on average, give more than people who prefer to give in response to e-mail appeals.’ Unfortunately I don’t have the figures to hand, but from memory I think one client was getting an average gift rate of about 50% less for e-mail responders compared to direct mail responders.
I’m not sure how much this has to do with the medium itself, though. I think the profile of the people concerned is probably more significant. People over the age of 50 simply give more than younger people, I think this has always been the case. And they prefer mail. Younger donors prefer e-mail, and don’t give as much.
It’s possible that the transitory/virtual nature of the internet vs the emotional involvement of actually holding a letter from the CEO of a charity in your hands is relevant too”
Actually Jules’ comment about 50+ segment giving more rings true. An Actionmail client promotion last year, with proceeds to a large non-profit, gave a huge 35% response rate within an ‘older’ audience. Here we used traditional direct mail with a simple reply post envelope. Very old fashioned, but it worked a treat…