At the risk of sounding completely "ranty", let me announce my frustration at the state of direct mail here in Canada.
I think Ken Burnett says it best. In an alert from plazapublishing.co.uk he says, “Sadly, most fundraising today is look-alike, stereotyped, aimed at the lowest common denominator, the victim of formulae and formats designed by marketing people for easy mass reproduction."
Amen brother.
As someone who designs a lot of direct mail, it gets tiring to see people doing the same things the same way they always have.
Yes - I know. You need to get your 8% response (or whatever your mathematically determined response is).
Yes - I know it worked last year and the year before that.. but have you noticed how the response rate has been dropping?
Yes - I know you have targets you need to meet - and you don't want to mess with a winning formula...
But - as fundraisers working in a industry that is rapidly evolving, we also need to evolve. Find, beg or steal extra money to try next things, new ways of communicating... get outside your comfort zone... For the sake of your organization. For the sake of the medium. For the sake of fundraising.
Burnett has launched a site that anyone who is in direct response or fundraising should join and be a part of. Check it out at: http://www.sofii.org/.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Your opinion!
Happy New Year to all!
I wanted to start 2008 off right by getting a better sense of the sort of content you would like to read more about. It's one thing for me to write about whatever I want, but how about writing about what you want to read?
Please leave your comments here or email me directly at jlepp@ideadesign.ca.
I really appreciate your input.
Coming soon! I am really excited to have my first guest blogger on deck. Sandy Rees, CFRE from the Get Fully Funded Blog has submitted a great article about basic tips to keep in mind when designing a communication piece for your donors.
If you or someone you know would like to be featured as a guest blogger, please let me know! Thanks.
I wanted to start 2008 off right by getting a better sense of the sort of content you would like to read more about. It's one thing for me to write about whatever I want, but how about writing about what you want to read?
Please leave your comments here or email me directly at jlepp@ideadesign.ca.
I really appreciate your input.
Coming soon! I am really excited to have my first guest blogger on deck. Sandy Rees, CFRE from the Get Fully Funded Blog has submitted a great article about basic tips to keep in mind when designing a communication piece for your donors.
If you or someone you know would like to be featured as a guest blogger, please let me know! Thanks.
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