IT'S BAAACK + DONOR ABUSE
IT’S BAAAACK
Yes, Direct Marketing Weekly is back. And, except for times when I’m on vacation or out of town on business, there will be a new post every Monday.
My thanks to all of you who wrote and said they missed this blog. Obviously your flattery and pressure worked…plus the fact that my internal rant-o-meter is almost ready to burst and I just have to find some release. So let me vent to you about…
DONOR ABUSE
Last week I received an envelope that totally intrigued me. Not because it was flashier than any other package in that day’s mail, but because it was so non-descript. It looked like it had been made out of a brown paper bag. Naturally, I was curious about it and what its contents might be.
I was a little suspicious about the mailing being from a legitimate source, though, because (a) there was no logo or return address and (b) there was a red teaser reading, “URGENT AND TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL ENCLOSED.”
Such envelopes are usually a dead giveaway that a snake oil sales pitch is about to follow. So I half-expected to learn that my name had been specially pre-selected to possibly be a winner in the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, providing my lucky number is drawn.
I even started imagining Ed McMahon having personally created the envelope from his very own grocery bag.
Still curious and thinking of how much trouble Ed had likely gone to, I proceeded to open the envelope…and was shocked. The mailing wasn’t from Ed. Or even a PCH competitor.
It was from a charity! A well-known one!! One that I support!!!
So what were they doing sending me a stealth envelope? Were they afraid or ashamed to show their logo to this loyal supporter? And what was with that bogus, hyperbolic teaser?
I would have dwelled on those questions but new ones filled my mind as I tried to read the contents: Why was the 6-1/2 X 3-1/2” letter set with eye-straining 9 pt type?
Why was the postscript a repeat of a weak statement featured earlier in the letter: “Again, if this reminder and your recent gift have crossed in the mail, we apologize and thank you for your continued support.”
Why did they even use a PS? (You rarely need them on a 1-page letter, especially if it’s only 3-1/2” long.)
And why did they bold the sentence, “Our February 27th deadline is almost upon us and we must raise $489,500 by this date.” Donors don’t care about an organization’s deadline.
Plus, who’s going to think they can make a difference with a $50 donation when the organization tells you it needs to raise almost half a mil before it will be satisfied?
TIP OF THE WEEK: It’s simple – don’t do what these folks did. Unless, of course, you want to hear an earful from…
Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net
Yes, Direct Marketing Weekly is back. And, except for times when I’m on vacation or out of town on business, there will be a new post every Monday.
My thanks to all of you who wrote and said they missed this blog. Obviously your flattery and pressure worked…plus the fact that my internal rant-o-meter is almost ready to burst and I just have to find some release. So let me vent to you about…
DONOR ABUSE
Last week I received an envelope that totally intrigued me. Not because it was flashier than any other package in that day’s mail, but because it was so non-descript. It looked like it had been made out of a brown paper bag. Naturally, I was curious about it and what its contents might be.
I was a little suspicious about the mailing being from a legitimate source, though, because (a) there was no logo or return address and (b) there was a red teaser reading, “URGENT AND TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL ENCLOSED.”
Such envelopes are usually a dead giveaway that a snake oil sales pitch is about to follow. So I half-expected to learn that my name had been specially pre-selected to possibly be a winner in the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, providing my lucky number is drawn.
I even started imagining Ed McMahon having personally created the envelope from his very own grocery bag.
Still curious and thinking of how much trouble Ed had likely gone to, I proceeded to open the envelope…and was shocked. The mailing wasn’t from Ed. Or even a PCH competitor.
It was from a charity! A well-known one!! One that I support!!!
So what were they doing sending me a stealth envelope? Were they afraid or ashamed to show their logo to this loyal supporter? And what was with that bogus, hyperbolic teaser?
I would have dwelled on those questions but new ones filled my mind as I tried to read the contents: Why was the 6-1/2 X 3-1/2” letter set with eye-straining 9 pt type?
Why was the postscript a repeat of a weak statement featured earlier in the letter: “Again, if this reminder and your recent gift have crossed in the mail, we apologize and thank you for your continued support.”
Why did they even use a PS? (You rarely need them on a 1-page letter, especially if it’s only 3-1/2” long.)
And why did they bold the sentence, “Our February 27th deadline is almost upon us and we must raise $489,500 by this date.” Donors don’t care about an organization’s deadline.
Plus, who’s going to think they can make a difference with a $50 donation when the organization tells you it needs to raise almost half a mil before it will be satisfied?
TIP OF THE WEEK: It’s simple – don’t do what these folks did. Unless, of course, you want to hear an earful from…
Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net
posted by DoctorBob | 5:40 PM
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