How Direct Mail Helps Nonprofits Better Achieve Missions
From cause-based organizations to charities, fraternities, foundations, faith-based organizations, and more, nonprofit marketing and communications is a challenge. Budgets are tight. The purse strings of your donors or members are as well.
The goal sounds simple: Make decisions that bring you closer to achieving your mission. Reach people who can help you do so. And try to keep overhead under control.
Nothing is ever as simple as it sounds. Especially when connecting with an audience both digitally and traditionally is more expensive than ever. But did you know there’s a good way to create lasting, meaningful, and actionable connections with donors, members, and more?
The answer is direct mail—and when done right, it can be an affordable and high-ROI option for nonprofit organizations.
Five Reasons to Consider Direct Mail for Nonprofit Organizations
There are many reasons to consider direct mail. Mostly, because it works. Especially in today’s digital deluge, direct mail can cut through the clutter and drive action for both profit-driven and nonprofit organizations.
The only difference? It can cost a whole lot less for nonprofits. In anticipation of our upcoming September 17 webinar on mailing requirements for nonprofits, here are just some of the reasons to consider a direct mail campaign this or next year.
Less Competition
Though direct mail is going through a rebirth, organizations are yet to embrace it again. In fact, think about how much mail you get—and compare it to the amount of emails in your inbox. Compare it to the number of ads you see on LinkedIn. Heck, compare it to the number of billboards you see everyday.
A lot of companies and nonprofits use direct mail. But compared to the number of organizations using digital communications, the difference is staggering. And that gives you an opportunity. Instead of shelling out thousands on fake views and low recall, aim to be one of the few pieces that end up in a mailbox.
Lower Acquisition Cost
We just mentioned that you see a whole lot less direct mail than you do online advertising. That’s a double-edged sword. It costs more than ever to complete a conversion on social media, Google Ads, or even email.
Since the pandemic locked us all in our homes, digital customer acquisition cost—or in your case donor acquisition costs—has skyrocketed. And those costs haven’t come down.
Though direct mail has become somewhat more expensive—driven mainly by market-dominant price increases—it still remains one of the most cost-effective ways to find an audience.
Plus, when paired with a digital campaign (something called omnichannel communications), the ability to make yourself memorable isn’t just more effective, it’s more affordable.
But it’s not simply the reduced cost, it’s the increased responsiveness.
Higher Response Rate
What’s the open rate on your emails? How about the shelf life, or better yet, the response rate? Even the best email marketers in would swoon if they could achieve just one of the metrics direct mail boasts:
· A good email open rate is 20%. A great email open rate is 30%. An average direct mail open rate ranges from 57.5%-80%, according to the American Marketing Association. In fact, at 42%, more people thoroughly read a mailpiece than even open an email.
· The shelf life of a direct mail piece is measured in weeks. The shelf life of an email in seconds.
· The response rate—defined as people who actually take a positive action—of direct mail averages between 2.7%-4.4%. And some of our clients have seen as much as 17%!
There are many good reasons for this. In addition to the reduced competition, direct mail is considered less spammy and more personal than digital communications.
The Opportunity to Be Memorable
A Venn diagram of ‘people who print an email, banner ad, or social media post’ and ‘people who write out Amazon URLs’ is a circle. And it’s a small one, getting smaller by the day. Excluding a small subset of coupons (more likely to become bookmarks or screenshots), the idea of an individual printing something themselves is a thing of the past.
But in direct mail? A good mailpiece could end up on a fridge, seen every day next to shopping lists and child art projects, just waiting for the right moment to drive action.
It might not be easy, but it’s plausible. And with the right timing, design, and planning, a mailpiece or series can create meaningful, memorable connections that drive action.
Unique Cost Savings Opportunities
Did you know that the USPS provides nonprofit organizations a unique carve-out to send mail for significantly less? A subset of Marketing Mail, Nonprofit Marketing Mail costs roughly half as much as it does for for-profit businesses and a quarter of what it’d cost to send First-Class.
When done right (following extremely specific requirements), nonprofit mailers can drive meaningful connections and get results at scale.
Plus, with some exciting Promotions & Incentives both this year and next, you have the opportunity to save even more. From Informed Delivery to Continuous Contact and Tactile, Sensory, & Interactive, unique mailpiece design and strategy can result in savings alongside results.
It Can Be Great—If Done Correctly.
Direct mail can be an effective, low-cost, and high-return way to communicate and market your nonprofit organization. But it can also be rife with pitfalls.
If you’re looking to get more from your nonprofit mail campaign, it’s important to consider the following:
· Automation is key. Automation refers to the USPS’ ability to process a mailpiece. And meeting automation requirements is the first step in keeping costs low.
· Nonprofits have unique requirements. Marketing Mail is more affordable than First-Class Mail. But Nonprofit Marketing Mail is a unique subset even more affordable than regular Marketing Mail. But meeting the standards and requirements can be a challenge.
· The process to get approved as a Nonprofit can be confusing. From registration to approval to ongoing design decisions, it’s easy for a mailer or mailing to lose Nonprofit status and end up paying a lot more.
Webinar: Mailing Requirements & Savings Opportunities for Nonprofits
If you’re considering a direct mail campaign now or in the near future, we’re thrilled to announce an upcoming webinar specifically tailored to the nonprofit community. Titled Nonprofit Mailing Requirements & Postage Savings Opportunities, this September 17 webinar will explore the challenges, opportunities, and requirements that exist in nonprofit mailing.
Featuring Sepire’s Director of Postal Affairs Leanne Herman, this webinar tackles the nitty-gritty of attaining nonprofit mailer status and meeting the unique requirements when sending Letters and Flats under this unique subclass of Marketing Mail.
Get More from Nonprofit Mail with Sepire
With less clutter and less competition for eyeballs, direct mail has undergone a rebirth in recent years. Customer acquisition costs online have hit an all-time high. Email open rates continue to drop. And direct mail continues to prove its value both for nonprofits and their for-profit counterparts.
So if you’re looking to drive meaningful connections and get results, Sepire can help. As an expert in secure omnichannel communications, direct mail, and more, we understand the nuances nonprofits face and can help you overcome the challenges.
Get to know more about who we are and how we help, sign up for our webinar, and reach out when you’re ready to talk.