Surprise!!!

This weekend I was reading a Q&A with Andy Nulman from Airborne Entertainment (Montreal) who writes about "Pow!" marketing moments in his blog. The Q&A was published in the Sept 24th issue of Marketing  - for those who are inclined to see the whole article.

The question is "What is surprise marketing?"

The answer is "People are basically bored and immune to most marketing. There's so much sameness. So surprise marketing really is "How do we cut through that clutter?" It is that event, the effect, the moment that basically just shocks the system... It hits you to that point where your eyes widen, your mouth turns into an "O" and you say "Wow, I never expected this." And what happens, first of all, is it cuts through all the clutter and number two, it generates word of mouth: "God, you've got to see this, it's incredible, you're not going to believe what these guys did."

I'm saying "Of course!"

You could change his answer by inserting 'donors' instead of 'people'. I have recently talked with a number of colleagues on the agency side and on the charity side and we all realize - donors are getting bored. We are not surprising anyone. We've become complacent with the norm. We just to need to make our realistic target which is the same as last year and the year before.

We need to snap out of it. The first charities that have the cahones to forget about achieving the usual - and try doing something that will snap their donors heads in attention will be rewarded. No doubt. But I'm afraid it will take a lot of convincing and a lot of people willing to take a risk for that reward for it to happen.

Thoughts?

7 surprising facts about direct-response fundraising: Thank you Donor Power Blog

This falls into the "Passing along great information" category.

From the September 5th, Donor Power Blog posting:

7 surprising facts about direct-response fundraising:

1. Blank carrier envelopes usually out-perform envelopes with teasers.
2. Longer letters perform better. Usually. There are exceptions.
3. The most-read part of a fundraising letter is the P.S.
4. Typos improve response. I can't prove this, but it seems to be true.
5. Mail recipients spend more time looking at the back of the envelope than the front.
6. Religious people give more to non-religious causes than non-religious people. Religious people give more to everything.
7. The most powerful predictor that a donor will give is the recency of her previous gift.

Here's my two cents on these 7:
1. I think I've stated before how far too often, adding a teaser does absolutely nothing to entice the donor to open the envelope. If you can come up with a tagline that is appropriate and tells the donor that there is something inside that they really need to see/read - go for it.
2. Longer letters often do better - it's true. Most often if it is a prospect piece. You need space to do more selling to that new donor, keep it focused on your mission. I've seen it tested - and again in prospecting tends to beat short letters. But I would bet if you were mailing a Renewal 3 mailing and it was 6 pages - a short one, 1 pager, would beat the pants off it.
3. The P.S. is your first/last chance to make that donor give - so reiterate the importance of the mailing and why you need their support.
4. Typo's: I've never heard of this... would love to know if anyone has ever had the guts to test this. I, for one, can't imagine trying to convince a charity that typos in their letter is ok...
5. I have always thought - if you have 2 sides to an envelope then you have 2 sides to convince the donor to open it. But back to point 1 - sometimes an "official" looking envelope with just a logo and return address or just a return address can do better for the mailing.
6. Sounds like common sense this one.
7. There are people in our sector who can tell you if there is such a thing as mailing someone too much or too often. But I think, if you have a need and you can express that need for a gift, then mail your donors. Do not mail for the sake of mailing. And I hate to say it - there are far too many charities mailing for the sake of mailing.

BACK TO YOU: I need your feedback. What are some topics you would like to see addressed here? Please send any comments you may have to jlepp@ideadesign.ca or post them here! Thanks.

This one's for YOU

Yes - you.
Can I remind you of something?
It's not all about you.
You need to make it about them - the donor.
Yes, you do good things and yes, you may have worked very hard to do those good things - but you would be nothing with them.
I mention this because as obvious as it seems, it is often forgotten.
Looking through a stack of mail I see:
"Newsletter enclosed."
"Camp is good medicine!" (Camp Trillium)
"Special gift enclosed!"
"Providing friendship, understanding and support"

It's an easy fix. Involve the donor.
"Your important newsletter is inside"
"You can let kids be kids again." (Camp Trillium)
"A special gift for you is enclosed."
And so on.

And this goes for the whole of the package. Keep your donor involved. Always.
Without them, there would be no "you".
_______
From a recent Letters to the Editor
"I am a senior and would like to tell people in charge of collecting donations that I don't want to receive any more free gifts.
I have hundreds of labels with my name and address on them, and won't be able to use them all.
I have sent in my donations with the message, "Do not send me any more free gifts," but they keep on coming, and I don't want my donations spent on postage, etc.
Please, just send me my receipt and I'll donate again next year. I live in a seniors' building and I'm not the only one complaining about wasting our donations."

You donor has spoken.
I know what you are saying - 'address labels work' - but you need to find ways to not alienate those they don't work for.

Teasers vs no Teasers

Last week, I got my daily e-news from Donor Power blog. The subject was "To tease or not to tease". I won't totally re-iterate the findings (based on Mal Warwick's own research) but the bottom line is - test it. OR if you don't want to test it - ask your self this: Is it appropriate?

From my side of the desk, too often, I see teasers added for the sake of adding a teaser. There have been many packages where I have been asked to add a teaser and I would be willing to bet it hindered the response - made it seem to (excuse the expression) junk-maily...

Of course, I asked to test it - but as we know - often there isn't the budget to do so.

Get out of the habit of adding a teaser for the sake of doing it. Trust your gut - if you have a great line that you know will make people want to tear open the package - use it, but if not - don't.

Do you wonder if your donors ever feel this way?