April 6, 2011

Is Direct Mail Dead? (Or the Case for Integration)

Direct mail was once a stand-alone program often separated from other development and communications activities. Today, it is an integral part of a well executed multi-channel strategy.

Several recent studies underscore the benefits of integration. Consider the numbers …

Only 7.6% of total fundraising comes from online giving. That means 92.4% of all donations come from somewhere else (chiefly direct mail). 1

65% of donors visit a charity’s website before giving. 2

37% of donors who give online say that when they receive a direct mail appeal from a charity they use the charity’s website to give their donation. Of those:

50% of generation X/Y donors say they give online in response to a direct mail appeal.

26% of boomers respond to direct mail via the web.

More than twice as many online donors say they were prompted to give an online gift in response to a direct mail appeal compared to when they received an e-appeal. 3

Think direct mail appeals only to older donors? Check out these charts from Campbell Rinker …

 

Direct mail isn’t dead, but a lack of channel integration may be killing your program.

1. Blackbaud 2010 Online Giving Report, February 2011

2. Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research: The Wired Wealthy, 2008

3. Campbell Rinker, January 2011