When it comes to business newsletters, there is a great debate: “Which is better, an e-newsletter or a snail mail newsletter? The answer depends on the results you want to achieve.
Non-profit organizations often send out fundraising requests via email and newsletters. It makes sense that this medium of communication would be used, because it’s virtually free to do so. However, there is the old saying, “you get what you pay for.”
Transform Consulting Group conducts extensive research and program evaluations for non-profit organizations and has determined that, for fundraising efforts, a printed newsletter from a non-profit organization is the most effective way to raise funds. Here are three reasons why:
1. Print Newsletter: Higher Response Rate
E-newsletters are a great way to get news out regularly. When you are looking for “action”, i.e., raising money, you want your readers to respond. When a reader takes the time to hold a piece of paper, read through the fascinating stories, and determine how they can make a difference, they are then having an envelope to send money in. It just works. A good direct-mail newsletter can achieve, on average, a 3-5% response rate, whereas an email version would likely yield a 0.5% response rate.
2. Deliverability: USPS is a Reliable Delivery Method
According to MailerMailer, an email marketing metrics report from 2012, non-profit organizations had a 16.1% open rate for e-marketing efforts by industry. Even if that has doubled over the last year, can your organization afford to only have 32% of email recipients read your fundraising newsletter?
3. Too Easy To Delete: It’s Just a Click Away
Email readers often click delete before they even get beyond the subject line. According to the Mail Moment Study by the USPS, 55% of participants “look forward” to discovering the mail that they receive. Even more interesting is that 67% of participants feel that mail is more personal than the Internet.
The best practice for a fundraising newsletter is to focus on the reader’s needs and interests. It’s making your donor realize that they make a difference. Imagine the impact that a printed, USPS-delivered newsletter with great content could have on your non-profit organization and mission. When it comes to fundraising campaigns, the value of a printed newsletter with a return envelope included will pay for itself in the funds received.
Transform Consulting Group is not suggesting that you stop sending out electronic communication to your donors and clients. It is, after all, the Information Age. Transform Consulting Group sees the value in both – an email and a snail mail newsletter/campaign. A regularly delivered, monthly or even more frequent newsletter via email keeps your donors, clients, and potential donors “in the know.” Using a reliable email newsletter delivery service that allows customization and provides measuring tools for open rates, click rates, and deliverability is helpful. When it comes to fundraising campaigns, the value of a printed newsletter with a return envelope included will pay for itself in the funds received.
To see how your fundraising efforts make a difference for your donors, contact Transform Consulting Group about our fund development services. Our services go well beyond click rates and open rates. Transform Consulting Group helps you make a bigger impact for your cause.
