| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Dear Friend: Dont Start Your Non-For-Profit Fundraising Letters As A Stranger
Dear Friend: Don't do it. Don't start your fundraising letters with "Dear Friend." After all, when was the last time you received a letter from someone dear to you, addressing you as "Dear Friend?" Never, right? The days of the Dear Friend letter are dead. So let's bury the Dear Friend letter together. I heard recently of a chairman of the board of a national charity who has given his charity millions of dollars and hundreds of hours of his time, yet he still receives their fundraising appeals addressing him as "Dear Friend." Ouch. Your fundraising letters are intended to make friends as well as solicit funds. So don't send form letters to make friends. Friends write personal letters. Letters addressed to their friends by name. My wife never sends me a letter that begins, "Dear Friend." Neither do my friends. And neither should you when writing to your donors. I realize that personalization costs more. I know that you save money if you send everyone the same Dear Friend letter. You don't have to insert custom fields into your letter. You don't have to perform a time-consuming mail-merge. You don't have to match the addresses on your letters with the addresses on your reply cards and mailing envelopes (assuming you are using closed-face envelopes). You can compare your costs for mailing a personalized letter versus mailing a Dear Friend letter, and you'll also find that the Dear Friend letter is cheaper. But I'd like to suggest, and so I will, that you are measuring the wrong thing. Return on investment shouldn't be your only criteria for measuring the success of your fundraising letters. What about donor loyalty? What about donor attrition? What about the lifetime value of each donor? What about plain old courtesy? Donors stop giving for any number of reasons, but at the top of the list is feeling unappreciated. Think of that chairman of the board that I mentioned a minute ago. Can't you just hear him saying to himself, as he receives yet another Dear Friend appeal, "I have given this charity millions of dollars and hundreds of hours of my time, and they treat me as though they don't even know my name"? Yes, Dear Friend letters are expedient. But expedience is not your only aim in running a successful fundraising letter program. Robbing banks is also expedient, but it's not right. Using guilt as a motivator in your letters is also expedient. It raises funds in the short term. But it's not right. And starting every letter with Dear Friend is more expedient than customizing each letter, but it's not the right thing to do. You should bury the Dear Friend letter because it is impersonal and rude. It alienates perfectly nice donors, people who will continue to support your organization with their treasure, time and talents if you will only treat them as partners and not as automated bank machines. Addressing your donors by name makes them feel special and appreciated. At the Business Depot where I buy my office supplies, there is a store clerk who always remembers my name. She serves hundreds of customers. Yet when I approach the cash, she makes me feel like I'm a special customer. I feel a little flattered every time. Her name, by the way, is Allyson. Specialists in customer service have long known that remembering a customer's name-and using it-is one of the most effective ways (and free ways) to encourage repeat business, customer loyalty and free word-of-mouth advertising. The same is just as true in fundraising, although I have no empirical studies to back that up. Please don't start your letters with Dear Friend. Donors take it personally. About the author © 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Market Research - How Good is the Data? "Make money for taking surveys"," Cash for your opinion", "Make easy money at home".Everywhere you look there is a company willing to pay people to participate in their surveys. Time for A Marketing Tune-up If you have been in business any length of time, I can assure you that habits, not conscious thought, are guiding your marketing actions. Many business people are great optimists, or they probably wouldn't have gotten into the game to begin with. Tradeshow Booth Cures - Ancient Cures for Modern Day Problems At first glance, nothing seems more chaotic than a trade show floor. Jaded buyers rush by, hell bent on seeing the people on "their list", while the newcomers seem a little bewildered by it all. A Different Perspective On The No-Call List The other day I received an e-mail from an internet marketer who was bemoaning the fact that calling people on the no-call list is now illegal and that puts such limits on marketing. He is far and away not the only one with that viewpoint; I find it almost everywhere I look. Are You Ready To Research Your Market? Picture this. You develop some product or service, spend countless hours making sure everything is just right, set up a beautiful web site, make sure the ecommerce end is secure, and then release what you know will be of utmost benefit to others. What Does Your Business Card Say About You? - Making A Great First Impression! Interesting article in USA Today that I read this week that I've also read about on Scott Ginsberg's blog. Think about this: What does your business card say about you? If you work in a company that requires you to conform to the corporate standard, obviously you don't have much choice. A Perfect Partnership for Business Too often we small business owners get caught up in our day-to-day bottom line, and miss the needs of the community outside our door. By doing this, we miss an opportunity to include "socially responsible marketing" -or sponsorship- in our yearly promotional plan. Postcard Marketing Done Right Say it with a post card. A well designed, colorful, high impact postcard in the mail box of your prospect is your best ticket to a new customer. The Importance of a Marketing Plan There aren't many things in life that you would get into with out a plan. Marketing is no different. To All Internet Marketers - How To Get My Business? More and more people are realizing that the Internet offers great potential to set up a healthy business for pennies on the dollar. This is good news for internet marketers - but it also means that they need to lift their game. Direct Mail Still Works! Direct Mail CampaignsDespite the proliferation of communication facilitators--mobile phones, faxes, emails, PDAs--the mail still plays a vital role in successful marketing. Direct mail marketing continues to be one of the leading methods for effectively reaching prospective customers because it can be focused, predictable and economical. Spring Cleaning: How To Do It In Your Business To Make More Room For Success With the arrival of Spring, I decided to get outside and into my garden. I had neglected to do some basic maintenance during the previous months and wondered if my plants suffered any permanent damage as a result. Creating Great Charts for Persuasive Trade Show Presentations A well-designed chart can be one of the most persuasive elements of your trade show booth display and literature. It illustrates to your customers why your product is the obvious solution to one of their specific needs. Guerilla Marketing Lesson 2: Why Do People Call Me? Before we begin, I want you to think about how many times you actually sought out an advertisement. How did you know where to look for it? Why did you choose that one? Whether you know it or not, the number of times you were exposed to the message has a huge impact on you. Marketers VS Consumers Predators VS Prey The distance between marketing consultants and the real world can truly be mind boggling. When a marketing consultant tells someone to send out 10,000 postcards in order to get a 3% response rate and that the actual sales will be something less than that . Marketing Strategies: What Choices Do You Have? Most business people want to see improvements in sales and profits. But how do you get there? What choices do you have?To build your business there are four strategic options that must be considered:1) Sell existing products to existing customers. The Mighty Marketing Brochure "Brochure" is French, and it comes from brocher, meaning to stitch. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, a brochure is "a small booklet or pamphlet, often containing promotional material or product information. T.E.A.M Profit As you network and meet other business owners, keep this philosophy in mind: "Together Everyone Achieves More Profit"Remember this when you meet someone with a business that serves your target market. Think about how each of you can work together to achieve more and grow your businesses. Niche Marketing: The Affiliate Angle If you're just dipping your toes into the waters of Niche Marketing for the first time then Affiliate marketing is the ultimate low risk choice to get you started.Affiliate programmes cost nothing to join and present an almost infinite choice of products and services from which to build a niche business. Marketings Nuclear Weapon Three seconds. That's what you have to convey your message.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
