Jeff Brooks at the Donor Powered Blog, lists these 7 surprising facts about direct-response fundraising.
I use these factoids all the time in my thinking about mailings so I thought I’d list Jeff’s 7 here:
- Blank carrier envelopes usually out-perform envelopes with teasers.
- Longer letters perform better. Usually. There are exceptions.
- The most-read part of a fundraising letter is the P.S.
- Typos improve response. I can’t prove this, but it seems to be true.
- Mail recipients spend more time looking at the back of the envelope than the front.
- Religious people give more to non-religious causes than non-religious people. Religious people give more to everything.
- The most powerful predictor that a donor will give is the recency of her previous gift.
If you’re not reading Jeff’s blog, you’re missing out. Check it out: Donor Powered Blog.
