15 KEY STEPS to increase response rates and unlock... DONOR POTENTIAL with ARC Management’s Adventist mailing list!
1. Make sure you are mailing to the right audience. Have your list profiled to determine the right names to target. (Ready-Aim-Shoot, not Ready-Shoot-Aim!)
2. Use only names that are up-to-date. Don’t use an old list from old sources. Make sure old addresses are being updated or deleted from your database. At ARC Management, we add or make thousands of changes each month to the master SDA database file.
3. When was your address list last checked and standardized using CASS-certified software? Postal regulations require that you verify ZIP information, insert ZIP+4 codes and Delivery Point Barcodes before you can qualify for special rates.
NOTE: In cooperation with the mailing industry, the US Postal service developed the Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) certification process to improve the accuracy of delivery point codes, ZIP+4 Codes, 5-digit ZIP Codes and carrier route codes on mail pieces. When qualifying for bulk mail automation rates, all address lists used to produce mailings must be zip+4 coded with current CASS-certified software. A CASS report states the number of records delivery point coded, the number of records 5-digit coded and the number of records with correct carrier route codes. Any mailing using any type of list, except for walk-sequenced lists, can benefit from increased postage savings through CASS-certified address standardization.
4. Think about this — nearly 15% of the population moves each year. Did you know that if your list is not being updated regularly, your list is shrinking every day?
5. 80% of most organizations’ revenue comes from 20% of their donors. Develop a personal relationship with each donor. Concentrate on moving them up the “donor ladder.”
6. Promote planned giving — educate customers, donors or clients to support your product or program throughout the year at regular periods. Test results must be on valid statistical returns. Responses of less than 100 are not statistically significant. If a 2% response is expected, this would mean that a mailing of 5000 is necessary to get 100 responses.
7. Plan a minimum of 3 test mailings and one larger mailing before making any cost analysis decision. Plan each test using different approaches or selects to determine the best one for you.
8. When asking people for a choice, never ask them to make more than one decision. If you ask them to make two choices most will choose to do neither.
9. To think that one test will be the same as another is wrong. Remember, many factors affect your mailing. Who are you targeting? What are you selling or requesting? When is the mailing scheduled to arrive? (First of month, after 15th etc.), and what time-of-the-year is it? (vacation season, campmeeting, tax time, holidays, etc.).
10. Get more people to open the envelope. Use the word “Free” on the outside of your piece. Insert a small bulky “item” that invites curiosity. Many find that asking a question on the outside of the envelope with a note that the answer will be found inside will double the amount of people who open and read their mailing piece.
11. Check physical size characteristics of each mailing with your printer and mailing house. Small adjustments can mean great differences in postage and printing charges.
12. Are you using proper endorsements, indicia, or FIM (facing identification mark) information? Missing, incorrect, or improper positioned postal information will delay and may even have your mailing rejected.
13. If you use the services of a mailing house, you can probably use the mailing house’s USPS mailing permit. Why pay for a mailing permit when you can use one for free? The mailing house will also handle all the postal paper work for you.
14. Make sure your mail is properly monitored. Every mailing that we do is monitored for your protection free of charge. This will help you track when the post office is delivering your mail and if it’s on time.
15. Try to mail to concentrated areas of the country. When you mail to a specific area such as Loma Linda, California, you will reduce your postage costs as compared to mailing across broad areas.
