Write your mother. - ANA Nonprofit Federation · Our conferences deliver case studies of new...

C ollege kids will soon be heading off to school, and it won’t be long before they send a letter, text message, or email to

mom asking for money. How do you think most of those kids will compose their letter?

No! No! No! You would never write to your mom that way and expect her to give you anything, much less money for the formal. Then, why do so many nonprofits take this same approach with their do-nors and expect to get a gift?

Volume 10: Issue 3 | September 2007

Also in this Issue

3 Letter from the Chair and Vice Chair 5 Public Policy Scorecard 8 Public Service Awards 10 2007 Member Needs Survey Results 17 10 Common Nonprofit Newsletter Mistakes and How to Fix Them 21 Privacy Guidelines Refersher …and MORE

cont. on page 14

Write your mother. Scott Swedenburg, CEO, Mail Enterprises

“You would never write to your mom that way

and expect her to give you anything.”

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ChAIrMs. Jo SullivanASPCA

VICe ChAIrMr. Kevin WhortonWhorton Marketing & Research

MeMbersMs. Mary ArnoldChristian Children’s Fund

Mr. Vinay BhagatConvio

Ms. Jennifer BielatEaster Seals

Mr. Phil ClaiborneElks Magazine

Mr. Brian CowartALSAC - St. Jude

Ms. Diana EstremeraMay Development Services

Mr. Barry GiaquintoWomen’s Sports Foundation

Ms. Jeanne HarrisSCA Direct

Ms. Beth IsikoffTarget Software

Ms. Susan LothDisabled American Veterans

Mr. Joel MacCollamWorld Emergency Relief

Mr. Steve MaggioDaVinci Direct

Ms. Kristin McCurryMINDset Direct

Mr. Matthew PanosFood for the Hungry

Mr. Chris ParadyszParadyszMatera

Mr. Geoffrey PetersCreative Direct Response, Inc.

Ms. Chris RagusaEstee Marketing Group, Inc.

Ms. Jean SimmonsCatholic Relief Services

Mr. David StraussNational Wildlife Federation

Ms. Kathryn L. WardAmerican Institute for Cancer

Research

Ms. Joan WheatleySpecial Olympics, Inc.

sTAFFSenny Boone, Esq.Executive Director

Helen LeeDirector, Member Programs and Education

Jill MurphySenior Manager, Member Services

Alicia OsgoodCoordinator, Member Programs

2007-2008 LeadershipFollowing are the members of the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s Advisory Council with leadership responsibilities:

www.nonprofitIntegrator.org

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new BLOG!The Power of Direct. Integrated and Blogged.

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This is our first message to you from our new positions as chair and vice chair. Beginning this month, we assume the leadership of the Nonprofit Federation from Angie Moore and Chris Paradysz. The Nonprofit Federation exists, pure and simple, to support your ability to raise money, and build awareness and support among donors and members, through direct marketing channels. This is our core mission, and everything else must stem from this. Our conferences deliver case studies of new packages with their results, reviews of new technologies, and opportunities to speak with the right people in the hallways, sitting next to you in sessions, or at receptions. Sometimes inspiration comes tied with a bow in a neat package; other times it comes from seemingly nowhere. One of our goals over the coming two years is to make more coincidences happen for you, to facilitate learning and get you the right information in the right place at the right time. Becauseyougetoutofmembershipwhatyouputin,weencourageyoutodothefollowing:

1) Contact us and pursue volunteer opportunities. We and our colleagues on the Advisory Council are eager to welcome you to become involved in committees that help plan and execute our conferences; advise us on postal issues, regulations, and other policy matters; and to help increase our visibility and effectiveness within the overall community of nonprofit fundraising and marketing.

2) Visit the Web site, including the content posted in the Members-Only login. Register today to participate in our listserves/online community.

For all of us, challenges come daily, and they do so with their own timing. These resources are meant to provide you with 24/7 access to peers and fellow experts willing to share their insights with you.

3) Register for and attend one or more of our conferences. Many of our members attend many events; it is critical to get out of the office to see and hear top-notch creative talent, and learn what you need to learn.

We work in a rapidly changing landscape. Most immediately, we’re facing serious threats in the form of rapidly rising postal rates. Often we can conclude that it’s not our jobs to worry about this

-- but associations exist to defeat this argument. Collectively we ARE stronger than we realize. We represent organizations that account for over $295B in charitable giving. Without us, the critical missions of so many organizations in human services, emergency relief, animal welfare, food security, and many other areas, would be undersubscribed and underfunded, and their work would go undone. The nonprofit sector is critical to our economy, and we are the backbone of those operations. Perhaps your role is underappreciated, underfunded -- even limited by the perceptions of those around you. Nothing is more frustrating than when we are thought of as the “junk mail” program. For that reason, we can never forget the internal marketing aspect of what we do. Our role in the Nonprofit Federation is to remind our members of this essential fact -- and to help you do so within your organization. We, as fundraisers, are the largest part of marketing, and we are the face of the

Letter from the Chair & Vice Chair Jo Sullivan, SVP, ASPCA, and Chair, Nonprofit FederationKevin Whorton, Principal, Whorton Marketing & Research, and Vice Chair, Nonprofit Federation

Dear Nonprofit Federation Members & Friends,

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Save the Date!

STAND& DELIVER:Fundraising in a Changing World

2008 annual WashingtonNonprofit Conference

January 24 – 25, 2008 | JW Marriott | Washington, DCSpecial Pre-Conference Workshop on January 23

www.nonprofitfederation.org

organization. There is so much more than mail to what we do today. Direct response now includes text messaging, social marketing sites, people raising money for you from blogs and personal Web sites. Grassroots fundraising is no longer just bake sales. It’s empowering your donor, providing links to your Web site, and finding ways to creatively measure their impact outside our traditional direct response models. What are the metrics we can use? What are the ethics of simple things such as email list management? What are the tax implications of gifts from these new activities as the

“digital future” arrives today? The Nonprofit Federation works diligently to help you find the answers to these and the many other questions facing today’s fundraisers. We want to be a partner in your organization as we move into this new marketing era. Please let us know the developments you see on the

horizon that may challenge you and change the way you fundraise, as well as the traditional impediments that you face daily. We need to be as effective a resource as possible between the Nonprofit Federation and the Direct Marketing Association in New York. Our vision is to help you “see around the corner” in mail, online, grassroots, and all areas of fundraising. The transparency of the Nonprofit Federation’s operations matters a great deal to us. We want to reach out and hear your thoughts and concerns, and we will be proactive in sharing what we learn and what we’re thinking. We are looking forward to the next two years serving you!

Jo Sullivan Kevin WhortonChair Vice Chair

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PosTAL reForMThe Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) is focused on developing a new rate-setting process and procedures under the new reform legislation to implement the price-cap system that should keep rates reasonable (based on the annual Consumer Price Index) for nonprofit mailers. The PRC is also focusing on the establishment of measurements for postal delivery -- the first time an outside regulator has been tasked with this set of problems. DMA and the Nonprofit Federation are active in both matters.

PosTAL rATes & reguLATIonsThe USPS’s Board of Governors (BOG) denied the Nonprofit Federation’s request for a delay in the implementation date for the new Not Flat Machinable rate (the new rate for mailings that are uneven, rigid -- primarily premium mailings that raised rates by 200% and more). The BOG also denied requests by the Standard mailers (including DMA) for a delay in the effective date for Standard flats. All rates went into effect on May 14, 2007. Our work is focused on delaying another rate hike under the existing rules without caps, and switching to the price-cap system.

sTATe Do-noT-MAIL LegIsLATIonIn 2007, 15 states introduced do-not-mail legislation (offering constituents a do-not-mail registry to get taken off of company mailing lists), and the drive is expected to continue next year due to a well-funded push by various groups. Most bills exempt nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations. The groups are using the national “Do Not Call” leg-islation and grassroots approach as a model for this effort. The groups do not recog-nize that the USPS counts on advertising to fund its system, and without it, the USPS cannot survive. The Nonprofit Federation is opposed to “Do Not Mail” legislation as a threat to the postal system that charities count on for support. We are part of a broad-based coalition led by DMA to oppose such measures.

IrsThe Internal Revenue Service is redrafting the Form 990 that is filed by nonprofit or-ganizations annually to report on their tax-exempt status. Such reports have become a critical source of information for consumers and charity watchdogs. The new draft seeks comments by September 14, 2007. The form has some improvements for re-

Public Policy scorecard Senny Boone, Esq., Executive Director, Nonprofit Federation

From the USPS’s Household Diary Study: The use of mail as an advertising medium is extremely important to businesses. In 2004, mailers spent about $52.2 billion on direct mail advertising. These expenditures comprised almost 20% of total u.s. advertising expenditures.

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porting purposes, but also some hurdles for charities. For exam-ple, the form seeks information on fundraising expenses. The Nonprofit Federation will sub-mit comments after a task force reviews the implications of the changes.

eMAILThe DMA participated in the Fed-eral Trade Commission’s “SPAM

Summit: the next Generation of Threats and Solutions” that brought together experts for a se-ries of roundtables on how these various sectors can work together to combat spam. Email authenti-cation, a requirement for mem-bers since 2006 (members need to authenticate their outbound emails, see http://www.the-dma.org/antispam/E-MailAuthenti-cationComplianceFINAL.pdf for

the steps you need to take) was praised as a needed step. Without self-regulation, email marketing faces harsh new regulations that can spill into the e-fundraising space.

To ask a question, or to get involved in policy matters impacting nonprof-its, contact Executive Director Senny Boone at 202.861.2498, or [email protected].

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Our goal is your success.

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This award was granted by the Nonprofit Federation’s Advisory Council to honor the work that Representatives Waxman (D-CA) and Davis (R-VA) undertook together to secure passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2007. The Nonprofit Federation is grateful for their leadership in this very important new law that helps nonprofits that count on the viability of the United States Postal Service to ensure they will continue to raise funds for their causes and communicate their important missions through the mail.

DMA’s 2007 Public service AwardAwarded to representatives henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (r-VA)

Left to right: Craig Floyd, Awards Committee Chair, Representative Tom Davis, Representative Henry Waxman, Executive Director, Senny Boone

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The Nonprofit Federation of the Direct Marketing Association announced that the US division of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is its 2007 Nonprofit Organization of the Year. This annual award recognizes outstanding achievement by a nonprofit organization using direct-response marketing to advance its mission.

“MSF not only serves as a shining example to organizations that strive for excellence in mission delivery, but it has developed a stellar fundraising and marketing program to help support its humanitarian efforts,” said Awards Committee Chairman Craig Floyd, chief executive officer of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “We were most impressed with its successful use of direct marketing techniques to build support and awareness.” During their examination, the Nonprofit Federation’s Awards Committee particularly noted the following accomplishments:

· Built its donor base to more than 500,000 active donors in a relatively short period of time, beginning its direct marketing efforts in the 1990’s.

· Grew its donor base by more than 85 percent since 2001, and increased its revenue by more than 100 percent.

· Maintained 50 percent retention of new donors year over year· Operated with integrity as demonstrated by announcing that it would not accept

any more Tsunami donations in 2005.· Increased its budget in the US from just under $15 million in 1997 to over $140

million in 2007.

2007 nonprofit organization of the YearAwarded to Doctors Without borders

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needs Assessment survey results2007 nonprofit Members

Top Five biggest Challenges • Human Resources - retaining great staff/finding the right people/

staff management• Getting support from management/Communicating value to

management and finance• Time Management• Finding resources/Raising revenue while managing expenses• IT/Technology/Databases

Please indicate the top three issues for your organization:Postal matters (rates and regulations) ........................... 70.7%Nonprofit Governance & Transparency ......................... 38.8%State Charitable Solicitation Laws ................................ 36.2%Information Security & Privacy (list usage) ................... 34.5%Do Not Mail ................................................................ 30.2%Internet Policy ............................................................ 26.7%Telemarketing/Do Not Call .......................................... 17.2%User Provided No Response .......................................... 5.2%First Amendment/Advocacy Rights (protection of free speech for nonprofits) ...................... 5.2%

Future Products & services - Please tell us which 3 would interest/benefit you most.Benchmarking Studies on Fundraising Practices ........... 69.0%Nonprofit Specific Webinars ......................................... 58.6%“Ask the Expert” brown bag lunches ............................. 44.0%Online Member Directory ............................................ 35.3%Human Resources Toolkits (position descriptions, sample job postings etc.) ............ 28.4%Podcasts on various nonprofit topics ............................. 26.7%

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survey Demographics

Years at organization organization revenue generations

have you ever attended a nonprofit Federation conference?

No ..........................................50.9%Yes ..........................................46.6%User Provided No Response ......2.6%

Would you value CFre credits for attending the nonprofit Federation’s Washington and/or new York conferences?

No ..........................................48.3%Yes ..........................................44.0%User Provided No Response ......7.8%

The nonprofit Federation provides representation on issues that are important to my organization.

Yes ..........................................68.1%Do not know ............................25.9%No ..........................................5.2%User Provided No Response ......0.9%

The nonprofit Federation is proactive in legislative and policy issues of concern to nonprofits

5 - Very proactive .....................34.5%4 - Somewhat proactive ............26.7%3 - Neutral ...............................16.4%2 - Rarely proactive ..................2.6%1 - Not at all .............................0.0%Do not know ............................17.2%

The nonprofit Federation provides high-quality policy and regulatory representation.

5 - Strongly Agree ....................21.6%4 - Agree .................................35.3%3 - Neutral ...............................17.2%2 - Somewhat Disagree .............2.6%1 - Disagree .............................0.0%N/A - Do not know ...................22.4%

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needs Assessment survey results2007 Corporate Partners

Top Five biggest Challenges • Human Resources - retaining great staff/finding the right

people/staff management and motivation• Time Management • Educating nonprofit clients on the value of integration/direct

mail/internet• Customer/client acquisition• Staying on top of trends/changes in the industry

Please indicate the top three issues for your company:Postal matters (rates and regulations) ........................... 68.5%State Charitable Solicitation Laws ................................ 50.7%Information Security & Privacy (list usage) ................... 41.1%Do Not Mail ................................................................ 34.2%Internet Policy ............................................................ 26.0%Nonprofit Governance & Transparency ......................... 23.3%Telemarketing/Do Not Call .......................................... 21.9%First Amendment/Advocacy Rights (protection of free speech for nonprofits) ...................... 5.5%User Provided No Response .......................................... 4.1%

Future Products & services - Please tell us which 3 would interest/benefit you most.Benchmarking Studies on Fundraising Practices ........... 67.1%Nonprofit Specific Webinars ......................................... 64.4%Online Member Directory ............................................ 49.3%“Ask the Expert” brown bag lunches ............................. 46.6%Human Resources Toolkits (position descriptions, sample job postings etc.) ............ 27.4%Podcasts on various nonprofit topics ............................. 12.3%

1� 1�

have you ever attended a nonprofit Federation conference?

Yes ..........................................72.6%No ..........................................26.0%User Provided No Response ......1.4%

Would you value CFre credits for attending the nonprofit Federation’s Washington and/or new York conferences?

Yes ..........................................56.2%No ..........................................34.2%User Provided No Response ......9.6%

The nonprofit Federation provides representation on issues that are important to my business.

Yes ..........................................83.6%Do not know ............................13.7%No ..........................................1.4%User Provided No Response ......1.4%

The nonprofit Federation is proactive in legislative and policy issues of concern to nonprofits and their partners

5 - Very proactive .....................39.7%4 - Somewhat proactive ............46.6%3 - Neutral ...............................8.2%2 - Rarely proactive ..................1.4%1 - Not at all .............................0.0%Do not know ............................2.7%

The nonprofit Federation provides high-quality policy and regulatory representation.

5 - Strongly Agree ....................26.0%4 - Agree .................................46.6%3 - Neutral ...............................16.4%2 - Somewhat Disagree .............0.0%1 - Disagree .............................0.0%N/A - Do not know ...................9.6%

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“Dear Donor, Here’s what I want, and send the money today.” Is that how your donor feels when reading one of your letters? Donors want to feel a part of your organization, not like an ATM. Instead, you should be writing to your donors the same way you would write to your mom.

The ‘DeAr MoM’ Donor LeTTerDear Mom,

I think I might have met the girl of my dreams. She reminds me so much of you, and I hope you can meet her soon. She has invited me to her fall formal, A Night Under the Stars. I know you want me to look good and represent our family well. I’ve checked into the price of renting a tux and limo, taking her somewhere nice to eat, and get-ting her a pretty corsage. The cost for all these things is over $2000 -- mainly due to higher gas prices. I knew that was too much to ask you and Dad, so I’ve found a friend to share the limo and cut back on a few things. I think I can still take her for only $1050. I really appreciate you helping me, and I promise to send pictures of the for-mal. Also, the deposit on the limo and the tux are due this week. Thank you for being such a great Mom.

Love you,Son

P.S. I am already missing you and Dad, and think of you a lot while at school.

I guarantee you, Mom’s check is in the mail. And so will your donor’s, if you just follow a few simple steps.

sTePs To ConsTruCTIng A ‘DeAr MoM’ LeTTer

1. In The sALuTATIon, neVer use A CoLon When WrITIng To Your Donors or ProsPeCTs.

Always use a comma. If you use a generic salutation, keep it singular, as in Dear Friend, not Dear Friends. You want your donor to know you are writing just to them, not all your friends.

2. unDersTAnD The sequenCe oF A gooD Donor LeTTer:• Attention – You first have to get the attention of your donor, and this has to

be done in the first sentence or paragraph of your letter. After writing your letter, it’s a good practice to read what you’ve written several paragraphs into the letter. Many times, that’s where the really good stuff is hiding. You may want to make this your opening paragraph.

• Problem – Once you’ve gotten your donor’s attention, you can then state the problem. Be sure the problem is real, and can be solved with the donor’s help.

• Solution – Next, you need to show your donor how they can help solve the problem. Donors want to see themselves as part of the solution. That solution can be sending a gift, volunteering, completing a survey, attending an event,

Write your mother.continued from cover

“You want your donor to know you are writing

just to them, not all your

friends.”

1� 1�

or recruiting others to help. • Proof – Offer proof of results in a way that your donor knows their gift will

make a difference and solve the problem. For example, if you’re a children’s hospital, include a testimonial letter from a parent whose child was cured because of the donor’s support. A rescue mission could show how many men and women were served a meal at Thanksgiving.

• Action – Now you tell your donor the action you want them to take. Be very specific. Tell your donor how much to give, to whom to write the check, to put the check in the enclosed envelope and mail it today. Include a deadline as to when you would like this action to take place.

3. MAke Your LeTTers More reADAbLe:• Usesimplerlanguage. The easier your words are to understand, the better

your response. No one wants to have to look up words in the dictionary while reading a letter. One of the best-selling versions of the Bible is written at a 5th grade reading level -- and it’s adults who are buying it.

• Be short.Use shorter sentences and paragraphs. We all have a tendency to go on and on in a sentence. Try using two short sentences instead of one long sentence. Do the same with your paragraphs. There is nothing wrong with a three-word paragraph.

• Besureyouarecallingyourdonortoaction. Replace adjectives and non-action verbs like “is,” “are,” and “was” in your letter with action verbs like “send,” “visit,” “mail,” and “call.”

• Bepersonal. Use “you” and “your” -- not “I,” “we,” and “us” -- when writing to your donors. Talk about the benefits to the donor, not about you and your organization. Donors really don’t care how long you’ve been in business or the size of your organization. They care about how your organization can meet a need in their life. Helping people, being philanthropic, etc.

4. TeLL A sTorY. You grew up listening to stories and loving every minute of it. You could sit for

hours while a parent or teacher read you a story. Donors are like everyone else, and enjoy reading a good story. Your letter’s unique person-to-person feel is the ideal setting to tell a story. In doing so, you can move your donor to take an action. Use a story in your next letter.

TAke sToCk, AnD Choose MoM! Go back and review some of your past letters. Were you writing to your mom, a business associate, or your 10th grade English teacher? The Mom approach is always better. Try incorporating these ideas into your next letter, and let me know how much your results increase. Now, be a good son or daughter, and write your real Mom a letter. It will make her day. Just don’t ask for money.

Scott Swedenburg is the CEO of Mail Enterprises. You can reach him at [email protected] or www.mailnet.com.

“Donors are like everyone

else, and enjoy reading a good

story.”

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DEAD ENDMrs. Simmons prefers to be contacted by e-mail only. You sent her 12 appeal letters, 4 newsletters and half a dozen e-mails last year. She didn’t read any of them.

DEAD ENDJohn H. is a tax accountant. Your database identifies his career as taxidermy. The subtlety is not loston him. His donation is lost to you.

DEAD ENDMrs. K Rosenfield is segmented into your 0-12 month active, $100+ group. In reality, her behavior indicates you’ll lose her within the next six months. You just don’t know it yet.

START

END(Actually, a new beginning)

Does your data intelligence provide clear direction?

Knowing more about your constituents will put you on the path to greater success. For a free consultation on how to unlock the intelligence that’s already in your database, contact us today.

Michael Rogers, CEO

[email protected]

StrategicOne.com

StrategicOneMazeAd5 7/19/07 4:35 PM Page 1

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iN his best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren starts the first chapter with this profound thought: “It’s not about you.” Good advice -- in life, and for nonprofit newsletters.

However, most nonprofits fall short of the “not about you” ideal in their newsletters. Instead, they break the cardinal rule of writing newsletters -- they talk about themselves. They tell you about their new computer system. Their dynamic new president. How they just received a huge gift from a major donor. Lots of things the average donor cares nothing about. No wonder so many orga-nizations have trouble holding on to their donors!

Let’s face it: Most donors only care about two things:• “What did you do with my money?”

(Did you accomplish something worthwhile?)• “What would you do if I gave you more?”

(Can I accomplish even more if I give again?)

A good newsletter answers these questions in a way that is so compelling that donors want to give again. And again. And again. Newsletters need to do more than just pass along news about your organization. They give you the op-portunity to bond with your donors, helping them feel good about their giving. Here are 10 common mistakes nonprofits make with their newsletters

-- and how to fix them so yours will stand head-and-shoulders above the rest.

Where did we go wrong? 10 common mistakes nonprofits make — and how to make your newsletters stand head-and-shoulders above the rest

Joey Scanapico, Associate Creative Director, Merkle|Domain

10 Common Nonprofit Newsletter Mistakes & How to Fix Them1. They Talk About Themselves.

(See above.) In short, don’t talk about how wonderful you are; tell your donors what their money has accomplished, and how their next donation will do even more.

2. They don’t tell ‘People Stories.’ Next to talking about themselves, the most frequent mistake nonprofit newsletters make is they don’t tell enough “people stories.” They’ll talk about their programs, their successes, even their finances, but they never get around to talking about the people whose lives they have dramatically changed. Too bad. In his book, “The Better Letter,” Roscoe Barnes calls people stories “the silver bullet of fundraising copy.” He reasons, “In order to get attention and effectively inform readers, you need a story that compels them to act.” Because people make decisions emotionally, tell a story. Put a face on the problem.

“People,” he says, “are the one subject that everybody cares about. Therefore, writers should put humanity into everything they write.” A simple rule of thumb: use people stories to tell your story, and ALWAYS tie it back to the donor.

3. They’re B-O-R-I-N-G! Look carefully at the next newsletter that comes to your mailbox. What’s the first thing that jumps out at you? Probably nothing! The headlines are boring. The writing is boring. The pictures are boring. Consider shaking things up a bit -- and don’t be afraid to think “outside the box.” People think I’m crazy when I suggest this, but if you want to know what good writing is, read The National Enquirer. That’s right, the trashy tabloid at the supermarket checkout line that most people wouldn’t be caught dead reading. But millions do. Every week. I know, I know. The stories are cheesy. The headlines sensational. Yet they draw you in and grab you, practically daring you to try not to read them! That’s how you want readers to respond to your newsletter.

4. There’s No Ask. Many nonprofits don’t put an ask in their newsletter. They think it violates the “purity” of its purpose. Would you be surprised if I told you donors love to donate? Giving away money is pleasurable to them. And they love YOU for helping them make a difference. It makes them feel wanted.

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“Because people make decisions emotionally, tell a story. Put a face on the problem.”

Want to take their giving up a notch? Print a second reply device somewhere in the newsletter. The theory behind this is that an on-page reply device is a “visual cliché” that stimulates the reader and triggers a response

-- even if they actually send their gift with the standard reply device. When we tested this theory at Merkle|Domain, the newsletter with the printed coupon within the text saw a 13% higher response and a 22% higher gift. Try it with your next newsletter. You’ll be amazed at the results.

5. The Offer is Weak. Offers in newsletters are just as important as offers in appeal letters -- maybe more, since the ask in a newsletter is often low-key. My colleague, Bob Ball, Senior Creative Director at Merkle|Domain says that learning to write a good offer is like learning to be a better spouse. The successful husband, he says, figures out what his wife likes to talk about. He knows better than to try and change her, instead choosing to talk about what she’s interested in. Successful newsletters do the same thing. They don’t write about what the organization cares about; they write about what the donor cares about, using language donors understand. Rather than try to change the donor’s thinking, they aim right for the heart, so donors can feel good about their giving.

For example, here are some tantalizing offers:

• “Your gift of $28 transforms the life of a child in a poor village.”• “Your gift of $200 cures one child of leprosy.”• “Your gift of $1.56 provides a hot, nutritious Thanksgiving meal for a

homeless person.”

6. The Teaser is Lifeless. The average adult in America receives 41 pounds of bulk mail a year. That translates into almost 50 pieces of “junk mail” every month -- almost half of which ends up in the trash without ever being opened. The teaser’s job is to get the donor inside the envelope. So, put something on the carrier that will get them to open it. Something compelling. Something that raises their blood pressure. Something that piques their curiosity. One of the most effective teasers we have found with newsletters is a simple

“Newsletter Enclosed.” Those two words tell donors they’re about to read how their money is being used. And that’s something they care about!

7. There’s No Synergy. Some organizations would try and convince you that a newsletter’s job is to inform readers. Don’t believe it! The primary purpose of every newsletter is to build relationships with donors. Done right, newsletters can generate strong revenue, sometimes even more than your appeals. But more than that, they can connect with donors on a level deeper than just asking for money. They tell the donor they are valued, appreciated, even wanted. So much from a single publication!

1�

“Offers in newsletters are just as important

as offers in appeal letters -- maybe more,

since the ask in a newsletter is often low-key.”

�0 �1

8. They’re Hard to Read. An eight-page newsletter with a dozen articles and two tiny pictures is probably going to get thrown away faster than last night’s coffee grounds. The well-designed newsletter is easy on the eye. The stories are short, and tightly written. There is good use of white space. And lots of entry points into a story: a large photo, a pull-quote, a caption, related graphics. (Think USA TODAY.) Studies show that donors on average spend less than three minutes (and sometimes less than one minute!) opening bulk mail to decide whether it’s worth keeping. If yours looks like it’ll take as long to read as War and Peace, then you’ve already lost the battle.

9. They Send Mixed Messages. If you are trying to send a message to your donors that you are fiscally responsible, don’t produce an eight-page, full-color newsletter on coated stock. It tells the donor you’ve got money to burn -- their money! In most cases, a two-color newsletter works just as well. More importantly, it gets readers to focus on what you really want to tell them: that their gifts are accomplishing great things!

10. They Confuse Newsletters with Newspapers.. There’s a huge difference. Newspapers are impersonal, written for the masses, and meant solely to inform. Newsletters, on the other hand, are written in narrative style, are aimed at just one person (the donor), and are meant to persuade. Your job is to persuade the reader that what you’re doing is important. Life-changing. And it won’t happen without their participation.

Go for the Extraordinary! And one final note: Don’t ever -- ever! -- settle for the mundane (the ordi-nary lead story, the dreary report, the line-‘em-up-against-the-wall-and-shoot-

‘em front-page picture, etc.). Too many extraordinary things are happening in organizations just like yours. Let your donors feel the excitement as they hear about lives that are being changed because of their donations. They’ll even thank you for making them feel good about their giving. That’s when you know you’ve hit the mark!

Joey Scanapico is associate creative director for Merkle|Domain in Seattle, Wash-ington. He has more than 35 years of writing experience in newspaper journalism, public relations, and nonprofit marketing. Joey can be reached at [email protected].

“Don’t ever -- ever! --

settle for the mundane… Too many

extraordinary things are

happening in organizations

just like yours.”

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DMA’s ethics: DMA’s Privacy Guidelines Refresher: Use of the Preference ServicesMarsha Goldberger, Director Corporate Responsibility, DMA

In previous issues of the Journal, we wrote about the importance of providing no-tice to donors that information about them would be transferred to other organiza-tions, and of honoring consumer requests not to receive further mail. This issue covers DMA’s requirements to use its Preference Services, and reminds you about our De-ceased Do Not Contact file and Do Not Contact Service for Caretakers.

usIng DMA’s PreFerenCe serVICe suPPressIon FILes Is essenTIAL In ProMoTIng ConsuMer TrusT

DMA has operated its Mail Preference Service (MPS) since 1971, long recognizing the importance of honoring consumers’ wishes not to receive unsolicited mailings from both commercial marketers and nonprofit organizations. This name-removal service is as important as ever in demonstrating the effectiveness of self-regulation, in view of pending state legislative bills that would require government-run Do Not Mail lists. Adhering to DMA’s self-regulatory principles and making sure consumers have more choice in what they receive – or don’t receive – is crucial. DMA’s ethics guidelines state that for each prospecting list that is rented, sold, or exchanged, the applicable Preference Service name-removal list should be employed prior to use. These include MPS, the E-Mail Preference Service, and the newer De-ceased Do Not Contact list. [As you may be aware, DMA is gradually phasing out the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). We stopped taking consumer registrations in November 2006 (except for consumers who live in the states of ME, PA, or WY), but marketers and nonprofits must continue to suppress prospective customers and do-nors listed on TPS through the end of 2011, so that TPS registrant requests are hon-ored for the promised five years.]

our neWesT oFFerIngs: DeCeAseD Do noT ConTACT AnD Do noT ConTACT For CAreTAkers serVICes

The Deceased Do Not Contact list was instituted early last year so that our industry could be responsive to consumers dealing with the difficult situation of receiving of-fers and requests addressed to deceased individuals. Consumers expressed to DMA staff their distress and irritation, especially when receiving mail for family members who died many years earlier. The information provided by friends or family members is flagged on the other Preference Services as well as being available on the separate

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Deceased Do Not Contact list. DMA’s De-ceased Do Not Contact list is composed only of information provided by friends or fam-ily members. Since DMA does not receive information from government agencies like the Social Security Administration or other sources about deceased consumers, the file is not a complete listing of deceased individu-als’ names. DMA started its Do Not Contact for Care-takers service in order to help family mem-bers, friends, or caretakers seeking to re-move the names of individuals in their care from marketing and nonprofit lists. Caretak-ers register individuals who are not able to take care of registration themselves, and the information is placed on DMA’s Preference Services.

use MPs eVerY MonTh For besT resuLTs!

Registration information for marketers and nonprofits is available at http://prefer-ence.the-dma.org/products. As noted, the Mail Preference Service is available for your use on either a quarterly or monthly basis. Name-removal effects will be much faster for consumers if used on a monthly basis – thus helping to build consumer trust in our indus-try. DMA, therefore, recommends, as a best practice, that MPS be used monthly.

hoW ConsuMers regIsTer For DMA’s nAMe-reMoVAL serVICes

DMA encourages consumers to register on-line for the Mail Preference Service by going to www.the-dma.org and clicking on the “Re-move My Name From Mailing Lists” button in the upper right. It costs consumers $1 for each MPS registration. The “Information for Consumers” button takes consumers to our general Consumer Assistance page, which includes registration for the other Preference Services (E-MPS, TPS, the Deceased Do Not

Contact Service, and the Do Not Contact Ser-vice for Caretakers), as well as consumer edu-cation on various other topics. Reminder: referring consumers to DMA when what they want is removal from your donor or prospect list is not helpful to anyone and definitely not the right thing to do. Con-sumers may think DMA is your list source and that we can remove them from your files – certainly an inaccurate impression. Make sure your customer service representatives understand what it is consumers are really requesting, and that Preference Service re-ferrals should be made to DMA only when consumers want an overall reduction in un-solicited offers and charitable requests. In our efforts to further respond to con-sumers’ desires for choices about the mail they want to receive and don’t want to re-ceive, DMA recently began piloting another twist on its name-removal services. We now also assist consumers who want to have their names removed from a specific company’s or nonprofit’s mailing list. As we advise con-sumers, if they don’t want to receive mailings from a particular nonprofit organization, the quickest and most effective solution is to contact that organization directly and ask to be removed from its mailing list. But, if that request does not produce the desired result, DMA can help by contacting the organization on the consumer’s behalf to request name re-moval.

ADDITIonAL resourCes

For more information about the use of DMA’s Preference Services, please consult DMA’s Privacy Promise Member Compliance Guide at www.the-dma.org/privacy/privacy-promise.shtml and the Do the Right Thing guide, available at www.the-dma.org/guide-lines/dotherightthing.pdf. Questions can be directed to DMA at: [email protected].

Marsha Goldberger is director, corporate re-sponsibility, for the Direct Marketing Association. She can be reached at 202.861.2409 or [email protected]

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Mark Your Calendar for these upcoming eventsOctober 13-18, 2007DMA07 Conference & ExhibitionMcCormick Place West, Chicago, IL

November 19, 2007Database Marketing for the Nonprofit Professional SeminarVenable, LLP - Washington, DC

Jan 24-25, 20082008 Washington Nonprofit ConferenceJ.W. Marriott - Washington, DC

April 9, 2008Critical Issues Facing Nonprofits Venable, LLP - Washington, DC

June 3-5, 20082008 Leadership SummitRitz Carlton - Palm Beach, FL

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