The secrets of using postage in fundraising

Postage can be a pretty boring topic, unless you’re a direct-mail nerd (like me). Either way, if you're doing direct mail, you should take a look at this article in Inside Direct Mail: The Great Postage Debate: Can it Really Pack a Punch?

There's more on the topic of direct-response postage than you'll find most places. To which I have only a few observations to add, based on years of testing:

• Stamp, meter, and indicia all work about the same.
  
• You'll often see a small lift in response if you use first class postage (rather than nonprofit bulk rate). It's not always enough of a lift to justify the added expense -- though it's worth it with your higher-end donors.
  
• The one use of postage that makes the most difference: A first class stamp on the return envelope. It gives you meaningful jumps in response and often average gift too. But it also is less cost effective at the lower end of your file. The cut-off point (where the ROI of using postage this way stops paying for itself) is somewhere in the neighborhood of the $100 (cumulative in a year) donors.
  

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