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.
   

Technorati Tags: donor psychology, direct marketing

Comments

[Brooke Rae Hunter]

Typos improve response? Wow. I'd love to know the psychology behind that one. Is the world full of former spelling bee participants who want to give in addition to correcting typos? Does it increase sympathy? Better than the puppy dog is the nonprofit that can't afford spellcheck. Or is it just something that sticks in people's minds--an annoyance that they can't stop thinking about?

I would like to know where or how you discovered this fact. Can you give more details on your research?

[Jeff Brooks]

I've never tested the typo hypothesis; who'd let me? But I've noticed over the years that direct mail pieces that have horrible, prominent typos tend to do better than you'd expect (than you'd expect without typos, that is). I'll guess that typos grab people's attention. They look for more. And while doing so, they take in your message.

[Mary]

Re: Typos - Do you think it could be a subconscious indicator that a real person is writing the letter? Do typos makes it more "human"??

[John Lepp]

Thanks Jeff for this... I did a follow up addition to your post at http://thenakedidea.blogspot.com/2007/09/7-surprising-facts-about-direct.html

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who is surprised by point 4! Thanks as always.
John

[atteloMut]

The shortest distance between two points is under construction.
-- Noelie Alito

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://everettericksonkt.easyjournal.com