Posts by growthzone
Don’t Test This … Test That!
by Stephen Godbout Just as last week’s torrential rains gave way to brilliant sunshine, Tiffany Neill of Lautman Maska Neill & Company broke through the morning clouds with none other than Tom Gaffny, copywriter and consultant extraordinaire for DMAW’s first Wake Up and Learn of the year. It was a who’s who of direct marketing…
Read MoreGovernor exceeds authority by promulgating executive order placing salary caps on nonprofit organizations
New York State Justice Thomas Feinman has rejected New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive regulation issued by the New York Department of Health on use of funds and executive salary caps in certain nonprofit organizations. The judge stated that Gov. Cuomo exceeded his authority when he enacted the executive order that launched the regulations. The…
Read MorePostal Reform takes a step backwards!
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee of the U.S. Senate approved an version of the Postal Reform Act of 2013 (S. 1486) and recommended it to the full Senate. It contains a number of features that are problematic for nonprofit mailers. Foremost amongst concerns are that the proposed legislation: makes the recent 4.3% “temporary”…
Read MoreThe P&L of DM Fundraising
About P&L While traditionally P&L refers to profit and loss, for this NEW monthly e-newsletter, the P&L will represent Postal and Legal issues. Postal and Legal issues can be boring (we all know that!), BUT, let’s face it, they do impact every direct marketer’s and fundraiser’s bottom-line. So this e-newsletter is just going to shed…
Read MoreDM201: Take the Next Step in Your Professional Development
by John Spencer When modeling analytics met Big Data it was a heaven match. The marriage of the two has led to incredible advances in direct marketing technologies and efficiencies. And, while marketers rejoice in the smarter use of their ever-tightening budgets, the real winners are consumers. Let’s take a big step back in time. In…
Read MoreMultichannel Attribution
by Brenna Holmes Conversion, whether through purchases, donations, or email sign-ups, is the ultimate goal of every direct marketing campaign, and our ability to increase conversion rates is predicated on our capacity to understand the factors leading to successful conversions. Last-click attribution once was the measure of choice online. However, giving sole credit to the…
Read MoreSo Many Tests, So Little Time…Energy…Money
by Tiffany Neill As direct marketing fundraisers we’re always asking, “is there a better way to do this?” And so we test. Everything. All the time. We test the color of the outer envelope, the teaser on the direct mail package, the subject line of the email, the content of the letter, the color of…
Read MoreAcknowledgments: Your Gift to a Donor
By Jason Lucas on behalf of Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey Saying “thank you” is common courtesy. During DMAW’s March 20th Lunch and Learn event, Robin Riggs, Chief Creative Officer at LW Robbins, stressed the importance of conveying sincere gratitude in acknowledgment mailings. In the direct marketing industry, two “R’s” — recruiting and retention —…
Read MoreYour Mail Piece has a “License Plate” Now! Be careful you don’t get a ticket…
Submitted by Dave Lewis, Vice President, ProList, Inc. When the US Postal Service implemented the new Intelligent Mail barcode in 2006, they introduced enough digits to put a unique number on every piece of mail. This is a wonderful thing if you want to track when your mail gets delivered. The only downside is that…
Read MoreDM Professionals vs Regulators
Score: 1 Potential Win to 1 Potential Loss Submitted by Geoff Peters, CEO, CDR Fundraising Group First the Win … As reported in the inaugural edition of P&L news – the Florida Legislature with the encouragement of the states’ top charity regulator, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Adam Putnam, introduced “reform” legislation (Senate…
Read More