Top 4 Tips For Direct Mail Lists

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June 13, 2017 |

By: Judy Antisdel, AT Direct 

Many non-profit organizations rely on direct mail as one of their fundraising elements. Chances are, yours does too. Along with ensuring that your direct mail’s content is telling your story in an impactful way, it’s also important to assure that you expand your list while reaching the right people. Judy Antisdel of AT Direct shares her top 4 tips for direct mail success below:

  1. Know your own audience well before prospecting for new lists. The average list cost for a test of 5,000 records is about $500.00. Your budget should allow you to use at least 2 lists in order to test which one is the best. The fewer test records you have, the less likely you are to find any significant information.
  2. Look for prospects in your own house file.  Renewing someone that already knows who you are and at one time found value in your organization is less costly than converting a brand new prospect.
  3. It’s good to segment your message according to how often one donates, the amount they donate and why they donate. However, over-segmenting your message to your audience can skew results and give you erroneous information. Start with a simple segmentation plan and don’t try to do too much at one time.
  4. Try testing to half of your audience by using the same message, but add an enclosure and code for response. You will most likely discover that mailers with an enclosure return a larger ROI. Ensure that what you put inside has some branding or something else of value to the recipient.

As you begin the process of creating your direct mail appeal, take a look at many of the free resources Redstart Creative offers on our blog. Redstart Creative is happy to help with any of your direct mail needs! Contact us  today to see how we can work together.