For better results on your next mailing, tune in to what the numbers from your last mailing are telling you.Â
by Aryeh Zev Narrow
Guest blogger Aryeh Zev Narrow (Spring Valley, NY) helps non-profits make more money by communicating better with their donors. Aryeh Zev works with small-to-mid-sized charities that want world-class marketing communications, but might not be able to afford (or prefer not to work with) big-dollar marketing agencies. Learn more about non-profit marketing and fundraising messages on Aryeh Zevs blog: The Spark*. You can contact him at az at aznarrow dot com.
Numbers drive our business.
Those of us in the direct mail (or email) business obsess over ROI’s, RFD’s and costs per thousand.
Marketers test, measure, re-focus, repeat. Results are measured and compared to the fraction of a percent. Every direct marketing campaign is guided by past results and industry best practices rules of thumb for design, format, content, etc.
But because numbers drive our business, our business will never be any better than the numbers we use. Need better results? Get better numbers.
Those of us who try to raise money by mail (or email) must understand what our results are telling us. In the 10 years I’ve been helping non-profits communicate better, I’ve seen that some important numbers are not so well understood… or not so easily calculated.
About a year ago, I created a spreadsheet to help an organization understand its direct mail results.
· Response rate
· Average donation
· Net revenue per list
· ROI per list
· The cost to raise $1
· The cost to acquire each new donor.
Be clear: know where results are up and where they’re down. See at a glance which list performed, and which one didn’t. Have clear answers and detailed data at your fingertips when discussing your fundraising programs with the board or with supporters.
The numbers from your last campaign have a story to tell. Use he Direct Mail Fundraising ROI Calculator to hear them loud and clear.