What are Non-Profit Organisations?
Non-Profit Organisations, or NPO’s, are legal entities where all money earned, or money acquired from donations, are committed to ensuring the entity can achieve its objectives and keep the business operating. Common examples include charities, schools, religious organisations, and social organisations. They are often tax-exempt and rely on the public and the government for financial backing. They operate with the assumption that NPO’s act in a way that is honest, trustworthy, and are accountable for their actions.
Why direct mail for NPO’s, and what are the benefits?
Primarily, direct mail helps you find donors – by outsourcing your direct mail to a specialist, you not only acquire the ability to send mail campaigns to a vast quantity of people, but you also gain information about your target demographics through mailing lists that the provider owns.
Direct mail campaigns will keep you in touch with current donors whilst keeping them updated with current requests that they may be able to help with.
So, why choose direct mail over other marketing channels? Mail increases brand awareness, it gets into people’s hands because it is a form of tangible acquisition media, which is why it has 30% more dwell time than social media. It also promotes advocacy, because it gets shared and talked about. 16% of people say that they share mail with another individual. Mail is also very memorable due to its tangible nature, which is why 87% of people think that mail is more trustworthy than email.
Top Tips
Understand aims and goals before engaging with your audience
Make sure your aims and goals are clear. By doing so, you can measure the success of your campaigns through metrics, and you will encourage calls to action.
Identify your mailing audience
There are two groups of people you should be included in your mailing list:
- Previous donors to your NPO
- Prospective donors, or people who haven’t donated in a long time
The mail you send to each group should differ, as they require different messages. For example, it is important not to overwhelm previous donors with acquisition mail.
Talk to the reader
Rather than using “them” and “their”, use “you” to address your donors. This makes the messages more personal and will help the donor and the NPO form a connection and relationship. This in turn will lead to more donations.
Create an experience
By telling a story and creating an experience, both previous and prospective donors will form a bond with your NPO and its message. Again, this will create loyalty and dedication from your audience, as they will relate to your stories.
Make direct mail letters easy to skim
When people receive your direct mail campaign in the post, the mail must catch their eye. Additionally, they need to be able to gain key pieces of information when they glance at the mail. This means that even if they don’t focus on the direct mail for an extended period, they will still absorb the campaign messaging.
Use direct mail to drive audience online
Direct mail is an excellent way of driving your donors to your online presence. Ensure that your website and any social media usernames are on all material you send out. Also, use QR codes to make accessing your only presence easy.
Contact us to find out how bakergoodchild can support your direct mail campaign.
