Non-Profits – Direct Mail vs. E-mail

I get lots of questions from non-profits, wanting to know about the viability of direct mail in today’s e-marketing environment. I pulled this from todays’ NY Times section on Fund Raising.

Question:
I am interested to know whether new nonprofits are still using direct mail or if they have moved completely to e-mail and other online ways of raising money. Obviously, the return on investments from e-mail and online is much higher, and, as a new nonprofit, gathering addresses is a time-consuming activity. Any information you have on whether new nonprofits continue to gather names and addresses for direct mail or are bypassing that for e-mail addresses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and knowledge.
Andy
Answer:
Thank you for an excellent question. Most new nonprofits do not have the financial wherewithal to use direct mail, which is expensive, and thus rely on e-mail and other technology-based means of communication.

As most of us know, however, big, established charities continue to use direct mail because it still raises more money than online tools. Although fund-raisers and technology experts once predicted that social media would be the death of direct mail, they now say that having the right mix of direct mail, e-mail and social media is more important.
Stephanie Strom
11/12 Journal on Philanthropy

At Dataman Group, we provide non-profits all over the US with high quality direct mail & telemarketing lists to help them increase their donor base.

For additional information about the lists that Dataman Group provides, please visit the Dataman Group website, e-mail us, or call our office at (800) 771-3282 and Ask DataDale.

Dataman Group New Business Service Running on Monday

New Businesses need many products and services when they open their doors and Dataman Group’s New Business List puts marketers in touch with this high response
market segment.

220,000 new businesses open their doors each month and the Dataman Group New Business Service allows marketers to reach out the New Businesses in their specific territory by zip code, county, or radius.

This list is compiled from Occupational Licenses and DBAs filed at the County Courthouse. Advertisers can select all New Businesses or only those new businesses operating out of commercial locations. Contact names and telephone #s are provided where they are available.

Pricing starts at $60 per month. The next service will run on Monday, November 9.

Marketers who would like to test the New Business Service can order a one-time $75 test of 300 records in their area. Orders must be placed by 6pm on November 9th.

Dataman Group' New Business List, visit the Dataman Group website, e-mail us, or call the Dataman Group office at (800) 771-3282 and Ask DataDale.

Dataman Group's Female Decision Maker List

Dataman Group’s new list of Female Decision Makers let’s marketers reach women with buying power at their home address.

According to Boston Consulting Group, women represent “the biggest emerging market that we’ll see if our lifetime” with a net worth of $5 trillion.

Additional selects on this list include age, estimated household income, current home value, presence of children (or not) and can be overlaid with Smart Targets Plus prospensities or Behavior Bank response data.

Usage: retail & catalog, charities, athletic clubs, plastic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, restaurant, home improvements, health care.

For more information about the options this file offers, visit the Dataman Group website, e-mail us or call the Dataman Group office at (800) 771-3282 and Ask DataDale.

Solar Companies Use Dataman Group's Homeowner Lists

Solar Installation companies across the country are working with Dataman Group to locate the right Homeowners for Solar System installation, selecting Eco-Conscious Homeowners from Dataman's Green Aware database.

Homeowners are finding that the cost of electricty contnues to increase and many cities across the US are offering Solar rebate programs to help homeowners afford solar systems.

Savvy Solar Systems companies in those areas know that this is the time to reach out and market heavily to those Homeowners who are conscious about their environment.

"What's good about solar as an investment is that as the energy market worsens and energy becomes more expensive, your investment pays off better," said Roger Jennings, Texas Solar Power. "A 4 kilowatt system, essentially. That's going to produce about $50 in electricity -- somewhere around $500 to $600 worth of electricity at today's prices," said Jennings.

The City of Austin is working on a program that will front the cost of Solar for Homeowners, so there is no outlay at all.

"The basic structure is this -- the government or the city would loan you money for a solar system or major energy efficiency repairs. Then you would repay that loan in increments in property taxes," said Karl Rabago, vice president of Austin Energy.

Solar Energy companies looking to increase their market share and locate new prospects for their services can visit the Green Aware section of the Dataman Group website, e-mail us, or call the Dataman group office at (800) 771-3282 and Ask DataDale.

Dataman Group's Newest Data Dog - Kaycee Filhaber

Kaycee Filhaber is a 12 week bundle of energy. She romps through the Dataman Group offices eagerly following her big brother Kobe as he shows her the do's and dont's of office protocol.

Kaycee has learned to recognize the distinctive sound of the UPS truck and waits patiently at the door for daily shipments. She enjoys helping empty the trash and walking to the mailbox to help get the mail.

Lunchtime is also a big part of her day.

Kaycee is making great strides in her rigorous training program and we are hopeful that she will be as successful in her canine duties as the many data-dogs who have graced our office.

When you call our offices and hear happy squealing in the background, you’ll know that Kaycee is busy at work!

And remember - if you are looking for a list of Dog Owners, we have the right list for your needs. There are many options, including type of dog food, home ownership, presence of children in the household.

Call our office at (800) 771-3282 and ask for Kaycee and she'll be happy to help you.
Visit Kaycee's webpage for more photos of Kayee hard at work.

Dataman Group’s Birthday Lists Generate Top Response

Are you suggesting birthday mailings to your clients?

---Insurance agents market to turning 65-ers to sell Medicare supplements;
---Driving schools market to Turning 16-ers to sell Drivers Ed;
---Swim schools market to families with children just turning 1;
---Long Term Care companies market to individuals Turning 50
---Restaurants offer special discounts by birthday month
---Chuck E Cheese is mailing to families with kids, by birth month, to promote birthday parties at their locations.

It works! Read this article.

IRVING, Texas (Aug. 24, 2009) CEC Entertainment Inc., parent to the 544-unit Chuck E. Cheese’s chain, is using new store attractions and a first-time direct mail marketing campaign to drive recently stalled sales, according to a report released Monday by Morgan Keegan Equity Research.

Chuck E. Cheese has tested in one Dallas unit a new attraction called “Birthday Star Blast,” a clear, human-sized plastic capsule into which money, tickets and prize vouchers are blown — much like in casinos and television game shows of the past — to be gathered by the child celebrating his or her birthday. The test is to be expanded to 20 more stores.

Birthday parties represent about 24 percent of Chuck E. Cheese’s business, so additions such as the Birthday Star Blast, which cost less than $3,000 per store, are likely to increase sales, according to the securities report from Morgan Keegan analysts Robert Derrington and Destin Tompkins.

Should the Birthday Star Blast become a system wide feature that drives two incremental birthday parties per week, it would boost same-store sales by 1 percent, the analysts noted. The chain’s same-store sales fell 5.4 percent during its latest quarter. In addition, 60 percent of the sales from Birthday Star Blast would flow through to pretax profit, they said.

CEC also will for the first time start using direct-mail marketing this month for 240 of its stores. The analysts said direct mail prices have fallen dramatically, and CEC’s program will cost between $50,000 and $60,000 and is expected to reach 24 million consumers. Newspaper inserts with coupons would promote the birthday party push as well.

For more information about the Birthday lists Dataman Group can provide for your clients, please visit the Dataman Group website, e-mail us, or Call the Dataman Group office at (800) 771-3282 and Ask DataDale.

Herschel Gordon Lewis at the FDMA

In the world of Direct Marketing copywriting, Herschel Gordon Lewis is a rock star and this past Florida Direct Marketing Association program was a 2-hour concert.

I have been delighted and educated by Herschel many times and it never fails to amaze me how he continues to re-invent the top tips of copywriting based on today's media. 10 years ago, we talkes solely about direct mail and last week we discussed 21st century electronic marketing trends, where we write the way we talk, in quick bites, offering fast action and providing validation of our premise.

Herschel always emphasizes clarity; he reminds us that specifics outpull generalizations, and that subtlety doesn't work - our job when writing copy is to tell our target what we want them to do, i.e. Click Here.

Herschel doesn't mince words - he tells us which words to use and which words to avoid. Instead of learn, say discover; instead of submit, say send; instead of required, say necessary.

When I got back to the Dataman Group office after the program, I was inspired to look at some of my copy with a fresh eye, simplifying and streamlining my words (shorter is better), being blunt (don't be afraid to sell) and adding client referrals (validate), trying to make my pitch more relevant to the reader. I even dropped a couple of my ever-present exclamation points (one is good, more than that is silly).

Yup, Herschel really is a DM Rock Star and his famous rendition of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" is one of the golden-oldies that transcends medium and time, continues to delight us and reminds us that words really do count.