30 Techniques Tips & Tricks

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THANK YOU!
F O R H O S T I N G U S
F O R P R O V I D I N G
L U N C H

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TODAY’S TOPIC:
[30 DIRECT RESPONSE TECHNIQUES,
TIPS AND TESTS YOU SHOULD TRY!]
M O D E R A T O R
Amy Sukol, CFRE, Executive VP,
Lautman Maska Neill & Company
P R E S E N T E R S
Marie Dullea-Prentice, Senior VP, ABD
Direct
Tiffany Reed, Account Director,
Mal Warwick DonorDigital
Jamie Natelson, Senior VP, IDM
Lynn Waller, VP Client Services, CCAH

5. HOW TO TEST? (TECHNIQUES 1-5)
• Define your goal BEFORE you test
• Test one thing at a time
• Split data proportionally and randomly
• Ensure there is enough quantity (and gifts)
• Wait long enough for a conclusion
L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C 5

6. WHY TEST?
• To Move the needle based on program goals
• To Build on what’s working, change what isn’t
• To Stay one step ahead of your peers
• Because Testing is FUN-damental!
6L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C

7. PLUS!
• WHEN to test?
As often as possible!
• WHERE to test?
Try and test at least one variable in every campaign
• WHAT to test?
Tests aren’t limited to just Package A vs. Package B
• Creative/Design elements
• Ask Strings
• Timing
• Segmentation
• Lists (80/20 rule)
7L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C

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PROS & CONS OF DIGITAL TESTING
P R O S
Digital testing let’s
you implement
winning strategies
right away so you
can maximize your
results!
• Just make sure you are
using the right metric to
determine a winner
C O N S
Digital donors are
fickle!
• Tests often have short shelf
life online, so test, test and
retest!
• Pay attention to your inbox
and spot trends
8L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C

10. TARGET LAPSED DONORS IN YOUR
ACQUISITION WITH A FOLLOW UP EMAIL
Personalize the message to their current status as lapsed
and ask them to rejoin with the mailing they recently
received or immediately via this email.
A B D D I R E C T. C O M @ A B F U N 10

11. AUDIT YOUR MERGE INSTRUCTIONS
Check your omits and suppression files and make sure
that you’re not leaving names on the table.
Your merge should be a living, breathing beast that
reflects your file at the moment the mailing goes out.
Don’t reuse old instructions without carefully vetting
them first.
A B D D I R E C T. C O M @ A B F U N 11

12. RECOGNIZE LOYALTY
Use a Johnson Box, Post It
or handwritten margin note
to call out your donors’
commitment, citing their
years of membership or
prior support to a particular
fund or program.
A B D D I R E C T. C O M @ A B F U N 12

13. MAKE IT PERSONAL
Personalizing teasers on your carrier or extra call-outs on
the letter can lift response and pay for the extra expense,
and then some.
A B D D I R E C T. C O M @ A B F U N 13

14. BEWARE THE FRANKENCOPY
Years of minor updates can create major holes in your copy.
Take time to read your control letters with the fresh eye, and
give them the holistic, well thought out refresh your workhorse
deserves.
A B D D I R E C T. C O M @ A B F U N 14

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LIGHTBOX ASK STRING TEST
C O N T R O L T E S T [ W I N N E R ]
-93.42% Click Rate
+985.15% Form Completion Rate
+47.96% Avg. Gift Size
+19.5% Total Revenue
M A LW A RW I C K . C O M @ M A LW A RW I C K A S S O C

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SAD V. HAPPY CHILDREN
T E S T [ W I N N E R ]C O N T R O L
• 725% revenue increase
• 67% higher average gift
• 392% increase in conversions
M A LW A RW I C K . C O M @ M A LW A RW I C K A S S O C

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DOUBLE HONOREE CARDS
C O N T R O L 1 C A R D T E S T 2 C A R D S
Response Rate stayed exactly the same
but average gift increased by 23% and net
revenue increased by 35%.
M A LW A RW I C K . C O M @ M A LW A RW I C K A S S O C

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LOWER ASK STRING IN ACQUISITION
C O N T R O L
$25, $35, $50,
my best gift
T E S T
$18, $25, $35,
my best gift
Tested to over a million prospects over 3 acquisition efforts across 8
months
Results stayed consistent – seasonality had no affect
Overall AG went down $5, but stayed well above $20 (large enough to
qualify new donors for appeals) Boosted response rate by 20%!
M A LW A RW I C K . C O M @ M A LW A RW I C K A S S O C

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STAMP ON SRE THAT REFLECTS MESSAGE
C O N T R O L : N O N -
S T A M P E D R A E
RR increased by 23% & Net revenue increased by 18%
T E S T : C U S T O M
M O N K E Y S T A M P S
M A LW A RW I C K . C O M @ M A LW A RW I C K A S S O C

22. VARY CONTROL PACKAGE CARRIERS IN ACQUISITION
I D M - D C . C O M @ I D M _ D C

23. FRONT BACK
BOTH
TEST TEASER PLACEMENT
I D M - D C . C O M @ I D M _ D C 23

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WATCH TEST WINNER PERFORMANCE
M U L T I – R E N E W A L
V E R I S O N
M U L T I – T R A D I T I O N A L
V E R I S O N
I D M - D C . C O M @ I D M _ D C

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WORK WITH MORE THAN ONE TM FIRM
I D M - D C . C O M @ I D M _ D C

26.  Maryland Food Bank raises
over 10% of its direct mail
budget.
 League of Women increased direct
mail revenue by 4% with just four
mailings a year.
MAIL PEOPLE WHO GIVE $1,000-$9,999.99
26I D M - D C . C O M @ I D M _ D C

28. THINK OUTSIDE THE RFM BOX
• 34% of all New Sustainer Revenue
• Broke even in less than 9 months
• Significant impact on bottom line - upgrades
28C C A H . C O M @ C C H A D i r e c t

29. DONOR ENGAGEMENT
• Adding an engagement opportunity into
direct response effort TM, DM, Online can
significantly increase response.
• In one test the addition of a petition
increased response in the R1 by 13% the
control without an engagement.
• We have seen the addition of a survey to
the R1 increase response between 15%-
20%.
C C A H . C O M @ C C H A D i r e c t 29

30. AUTO CALL
• For one client an auto call from the President of
the organization boosted response in the R5
(member card remail) by 52% and average gift
by $4.
• Another client saw a 30% lift in response on their
R1.
• Deep lapsed donors can also benefit from a pre-
call – one client saw a 30% increase in lapsed re-
engagement with the addition of an auto call.
C C A H . C O M @ C C H A D i r e c t 30

31. MULTI-CHANNEL CONVERSION VIA TM
• Multi-Channel donors bring in 65% more gifts
and 85% more revenue
• New Member Retention 15% Higher
• Current Donor Retention 33% Higher
• Average Gifts are 30% Higher
• Response Rates 50% Higher
Online Only Donors:
• 7.2% response / $77 Avg Gift
• $25.92 Net/donor
TM + Online Donors:
• 17% Response Rate / $71 Avg
Gift
• $44 Net/donor
C C A H . C O M @ C C H A D i r e c t 31

32. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP
Date of
Last Gift
Survey
Responder
Election
Year
Donor
Interest
Codes
Petition
Signer
• Noting in letter copy the last
time the donor gave, and the
amount, boosted response for
one client by 25-30%.
• Specifically for those that had
not given in 7 months.
C C A H . C O M @ C C H A D i r e c t 32

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REMIND THEM TO RENEW
C O N T R O L T E S T
L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C 34
Saying “renew” to donors who hadn’t made
a gift yet resulted in 341 more gifts (32%)
and nearly $12,000 more revenue (37%)

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TEST SENDERS
O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L V S . P E R S O N A L
L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C 35
“Personal” sender name had a 12%
higher open rate!

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BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU ASK …
C O N T R O L T E S T
L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C 36
Simply moving the email ask to the
front resulted in 12% less revenue!

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NO PHOTO VS. PHOTO
C O N T R O L T E S T
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No photo more than doubled
response and tripled revenue
L A U T M A N D C . C O M @ L A U T M A N D C

38. THANK YOU!
Questions, comments?
Amy Sukol, CFRE, Executive VP, Lautman Maska Neill & Company
Marie Dullea-Prentice, Senior VP, ABD Direct
Tiffany Reed, Account Director, Mal Warwick | Donordigital
Jamie Natelson, Senior VP, IDM
Lynn Waller, VP Client Services, CCAH