how to make money with direct mail - amazon s32017/using...how to make money with direct mail tom...
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 1
How to Make Money with Direct Mail
Tom AhernNovember 10, 2017 ~ NP Storytelling Conference
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Major donors often start as “minor” donors. “When Harvard did a study after their last campaign, of their 254 million-dollar donors, 2 out of 3 started with first-time gifts of $100 or less.” ~ Jerry Panas, 2017
© 2017 Tom Ahern 2
Jeff Schreifels and Richard PerryThe Critical Role of Storytelling in Major Gift Success
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“Online Giving Reaches Record High in 2016 [at 7.2% of all giving across US]”
~ Blackbaud, Feb 22, 2017
3© 2017 Tom Ahern
John Haydon Go Tell It on the Mountain -Storytelling Across Different Social Media Channels
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 4
10. What’s the best length for a fundraising letter?
[ ] 1 page[ ] 2 pages[ ] 4 pages
Free, downloadable PDF e-book, 20 Questions: www.AHERNCOMM.com
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5© 2017 Tom Ahern
Free, downloadable PDF e-book, 20 Questions: www.AHERNCOMM.com
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 6
The following 1-page letter was written by a volunteer with zero experience. It raised $55,926 for
a small-town library.
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 7
SPOT THE STORIES!
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8© 2017 Tom Ahern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 9
Why us?What are we doing that’s so uniquely wonderful that the
world should want more of it and support our new plans?1
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10© 2017 Tom Ahern
Why us?
Why us?
Why us?
Story #1
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11© 2017 Tom Ahern
Why us?
Why us?
Why us?
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 12
Why now?What’s the big hurry?
What changed? Why is this URGENT?2
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13© 2017 Tom Ahern
Why now?
Why now?
Why now?
Story #2
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14© 2017 Tom Ahern
Why now?
Why now?
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 15
Why you,the donor, might care?3
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16© 2017 Tom Ahern
Why donor cares? “I’m needed.”
Why donor cares? “I’m needed.”
Story #3
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17© 2017 Tom Ahern
Why donor cares? “I’m needed.”
Why donor cares? “I’m needed.”
Why donor cares? “It’s mine.”
Why donor cares? “I can honor someone.” Greed.
Offer
Offer
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18© 2017 Tom Ahern
Offer
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“Donors are staggeringly ignorant of the causes they support.”--Richard Radcliffe
© 2017 Tom Ahern 19
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DONORS MAY BE IGNORANT, but what they
DO have in abundance are their own
personal values, interests, beliefs,
connections, experiences, upbringing, lost
loves, secret passions, regrets, fears,
angers, hopes, and built-in empathy
[except for psychopaths]...
© 2017 Tom Ahern 20
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Connect with what’s already in
their heads!
© 2017 Tom Ahern 21
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Inside this envelope ...one of our town’s darkest secrets
22© 2017 Tom Ahern
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Sales in a nutshell
23© 2017 Tom Ahern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 24
Source: Jeff Brooks, 2014
The writing part
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25
The Golden Mantra of marketing
The right offerin front of the right personat the right time...
© 2017 Tom Ahern
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“Humans are driven by a will to establish meaning in their lives. They need purpose.”
That’s your real job, in donor communications:to bestow purpose in exchange for support.
26
Source: Neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, via the For Impact blog
© 2017 Tom Ahern
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Realization
“...the key motivator for giving is not need, but opportunity.” AKA an “offer” or “proposition.”
27TomAhern|©2013 ©2017TomAhern
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“Makeablindmansee.£100”
28
HaroldSumption,quotedin101fundraisingbyGilesPegram,2/17
©2017TomAhern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 29
Offer
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 30
GIVE me a big job!
Offer
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 31
A membership offer
Corny on purpose
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 32
[on the bottom of page 4...]
Offer #2
Offer #1
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33© 2017 Tom Ahern
Your reply device is an offer: Does it re-inspire?
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 34SUBSCRIBE Source: Network for Good
WARM
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©2017TomAhern 35
Do you really need my help?
Where’d the cute kid go?
Is monthly giving preferred? (Should
be!)
This looks like a form...yuck.
COLD
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 36
What it takes to raise $45,000 in gifts in just 3 weeks ... from an untried pool of a few thousand.
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 37
SPOT THE STORIES!
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 38
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
XYZ Organization123 Sweeping StreetYour town, CT 01234
Ms. Jane Smith567 Main StreetYour town, CT 01234
STAND OUT
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 39
CHALLENGE ME
Story #1
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 40
Oh, and by the way...
Inertia is the real enemy. Tell people exactly what
you want them to do.
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 41
Clear instructions
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 42
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 43
Personalization
Emotional trigger
Not coy: Asks up front
Clear rationale: i.e., why do we need your help?
“...survives...”? Emotional trigger: “Loss aversion”
Connects 2 dots: gifts & existence
Story #2
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 44
The underlines get read 1st
The underlines get read 1st
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 45
The underlines get read 1st
The underlines get read 1st
The underlines get read 1st
Story #3
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 46
The theme never quits
Story #4
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 47
Why did this letter exceed?
The offer.Great offer.
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 48
The donor kept a beloved place open for a day.
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4 elements of a good offerThe problem is easy to understand.The solution is easy to understand.The cost is a good deal.There’s urgency to solve the problem now.
The story is not the offer. The story supports the offer.
Steven Screen, Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, November 2015
© 2017 Tom Ahern 49
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The (magical) Tangible story
formula
50© 2017 Tom Ahern
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visionenemyhero
servedSource: Stephen Pidgeon and Tangible
51
“Me?”
© 2017 Tom Ahern
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52© 2017 Tom Ahern
Enemy
Hero
Served
Vision
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 53
“Membership jumped by more than 20% with just one mailing. We added almost 300 new members.”
Minnesota nature lover’s group
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 54
[a successful appeal...]
It originates as a humble stream at a small woodland lake in our state. And it gets its first full taste of what humans can do to abuse a waterway when it hits the Twin Cities, where, for well over a century it served as an industrial sewer, made utterly devoid of life.
With your help, we can heal that abuse.
As a new Friend, you join a family of conservationists, anglers, kayakers, hikers, environmental worry-warts and futurists who share one big dream ...
... to restore the river to its original state, including its prairie and floodplain habitats. And to make it safe and accessible for recreation.
Enemy
Hero
Served
Vision
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“Find a common enemy.”
“[This was] some of the first feedback I received as a newbie copywriter, and I never forgot it.” Lisa Sargent, Feb 2017
© 2017 Tom Ahern 55
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©2017TomAhern 56
Source: Pareto, 2015
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Writing tips
57© 2017 Tom Ahern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 58
11. Which message attracted more gifts from Americans with a yearly income of $90,000+?
[ ] “Let’s Save a Life Together.”[ ] “You = Life-Saver.”
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 59
11. Which message attracted more gifts from Americans with a yearly income of $90,000+?
[ ] “Let’s Save a Life Together.”[X] “You = Life-Saver.”
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Sometimes it’s simple: for schools, “Annual Fund” on envelope works
Source: Jeff Brooks/Steven Screen, Fundraising is Beautiful podcast, March 2017
© 2017 Tom Ahern
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YOUR SMIT?Single Most Important Thing I have to
say to you today
61© 2017 Tom Ahern
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DEFAULT DM OPENING:
I’m writing to you today because...
62©2017TomAhern
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Indirect ask
Direct ask
Direct ask
Indirect ask
Indirect ask
Indirect ask
Indirect ask
Indirect ask63© 2017 Tom Ahern
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Indirect ask
Direct ask
Indirect ask
Indirect ask
Direct ask
Indirect ask
Indirect ask
Direct ask
16 asks in 2 pages ... NOT a record64© 2017 Tom Ahern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 65
“All fundraising copy should sound like someone talking.”
-- George Smith
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66© 2017 Tom Ahern
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“Now if the first sentence is so important, what can you do to make it so compelling to read, so simple, and so interesting that your readers—every one of them—will read it in its entirety? The answer:
“Make it short.”~ Joseph Sugarman
© 2017 Tom Ahern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 68
Dear Jane Doe,
Welcome ... I hope.
I’m writing today to request the pleasure of your acquaintance.
There’s a place reserved for you on The Rhode Island Foundation’s mailing list ... but only if you agree and check, “Yes, I’m interested” on the enclosed reply card.
You’ll be in good company, that I can promise.
[etc.]
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Throw out the first few paragraphs. They’re
usually warm up.
© 2017 Tom Ahern 69
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70© 2017 Tom Ahern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 71
AngerDutyExclusivityFearFlatteryGreedGuiltHopeSalvation
Common emotional triggers
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72© 2017 Tom Ahern
Sue the bastards.
Writer: Roger Craver
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 73
Neuroscience says…
“Coming across new information triggers a chemical reaction that makes us feel good, which in turns causes us to seek out even more of it.”Source: Wall Street Journal article by Lee Gomes, on USC neuroscientist, Dr. Irving Biederman; published March 12, 2008
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Direct Mail | © 2017 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 74
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Dear Jane Sample,
Our doctors call it “Day Zero.”
It’s the day you come back from the dead.
75© 2017 Tom Ahern
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“Mom was wrong. Research shows that even when people perceive that flattery is insincere, that flattery can still leave a lasting and positive impression of the flatterer.”
© 2017 Tom Ahern 76
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St. Jude’s language
• “I can never thank you enough”• “Because of you”• “Thanks to your support”• “Thanks to friends like you”• “The support of friends like you”
Source: Pam Grow
© 2017 Tom Ahern 77
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Donor-NEGLIGENT:“We did this. We did that. We were amazing. Oh, by the way, thanks.”
©2017TomAhern
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Donor-CENTRIC:“With your help, all these amazing things happened. And without your help, they won’t.”
©2017TomAhern
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© 2017 Tom Ahern 80
“YOU” IS GLUE.It sticks people to the page.
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81© 2017 Tom Ahern
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The story’s about the donor...every time someone donates to a good cause, they're buying a story, a story that's worth more than the amount they donated.
It might be the story of doing the right thing, or fitting in, or pleasing a friend or honoring a memory, but the story has value.
For many, it's the story of what it means to be part of a community.
Source: Seth Godin
82© 2017 Tom Ahern
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Give me a story to tellI sent thousandsof dollars worth of medicine to sick people!
I save a polar bear every
month!
I’m a decent person. I’m following the
Scriptures.
Source: Jeff Brooks and Mark Phillips©2017TomAhern 83
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Direct Mail | © 2016 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 84
FREE FOR YOUsofii.org
Jerry Huntsinger Tutorial #56:“Direct Mail Strategy for the Small Organization”
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85
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© 2017 Tom Ahern
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