Millennials and Direct Mail Campaigns: A Crash Course

Grant Cobb • Jun 02, 2021

While stereotypes and presumptions about millennials continue to persist, research has proven that generational lines haven’t stopped millennials from being exceedingly active in movements for change. For nonprofits, this means millennials are a key demographic to craft fundraising campaigns around.

 

However, growing up with technology and the internet has also led millennials to have certain expectations about marketing, especially in online spaces. At first glance, it’s easy to assume that traditional tactics such as direct mail campaigns are no longer effective because of the digital revolution. But in reality, when done correctly, they can be just as effective as digital marketing.

 

Changing marketing tactics to keep up with shifting trends and attitudes can be a full-time job, which is where crash courses like this article can help. This guide will explore the benefits of direct mail and how direct mail and digital marketing can work together to create more effective campaigns than either can alone.

 

As you consider direct mail’s place in your marketing, remember that millennials are a diverse group, and other characteristics such as income, location, and giving history can also impact the results of your marketing campaigns. Many millennials share little in common other than a familiarity with the internet, but, thankfully, your direct mail campaigns can also address and make the most of each supporters’ unique relationship with your nonprofit.


Benefits of Direct Mail

Digital marketing has long since become the new normal for nonprofits of all sizes, but the rise of online outreach doesn’t negate the inherent benefits of direct mail. In fact, digital marketing’s prominence has actually caused direct mail to feel more distinct to donors of all ages.

 

While it can’t compete with virtual marketing’s speed and efficiency, direct mail’s personalization, tangibility, and ability to create multiple touchpoints continue to be valuable benefits.


Personalization

Traditional mail is a form of direct marketing—each message is addressed to an individual and can be customized to speak to them specifically. Emails are also direct marketing, but the sheer number of emails received throughout the day can make them feel less meaningful in comparison to a few personalized letters.

 

Tech-savvy audiences like millennials are also familiar with automated emails and tell the difference between a generic email sent to a thousand people and one written personally for them.

 

Another aspect of personalization is segmentation. Both of these strategies can be effective, especially when used in combination with each other. Here’s a more thorough breakdown of both concepts:

 

●    Personalization. Personalization includes adding details to your messages that are relevant to individuals. In addition to your supporters’ names, you can also reference their event attendance, previous donations, and other involvement with your organization. Guides like this one explain how your CRM can be used to track and populate your letters with details that give each letter a personal touch.

 

●    Segmentation. Segmentation refers to dividing supporters into groups based on shared characteristics. For instance, you might group supporters based on their age, creating a different outreach campaign for millennials than for your other demographics. 




It’s important to remember that these strategies are only useful if you reference details that matter to their engagement. For example, you could segment supporters along gender lines, but it’s unlikely that would be as effective as dividing them by the campaigns they’ve previously given to.

 

Remember, you can divide your supporters as many ways as you want, but your letters will only feel personal if what is written in them is meaningful.


Tangibility

Direct mail can obviously be interacted with physically in ways digital materials can’t. Going through the motions of receiving an envelope, picking it up, and reading the address on the front creates an extra step in your marketing process where supporters more fully consider what to do with your letter.

 

Nonprofits can take advantage of mail’s tangibility by using high-quality materials that supporters might want to keep. Some organizations use mail as an opportunity to get creative and send out a variety of documents in addition to their fundraising letters, including:

 

●    Postcards. Postcards are short snapshots of your nonprofit, and your marketing team can decorate them with photos of your constituents, volunteers, events, or graphical elements. Postcards don’t take up much space, and an attention-grabbing photo can convince supporters to hold onto it and keep your nonprofit in the back of their minds.

 

    Thank you cards. No matter how much technology advances, handwritten thank you cards are unlikely to go out of fashion. Even if your nonprofit is still experimenting with direct mail campaigns, you should consider sending out physical thank you cards to recurring donors, moderate donors, and event attendees anyway as a show of appreciation.

 

●    Calendars. Calendars have a unique advantage over other mailable deliverables—if your supporters use them, they’ll end up staring at a reminder of your nonprofit every day. Some nonprofits even send annual calendars as a way to remind annual supporters to make their year-end donations.

 

Research also supports the impact of physical documents as our brains comprehend text better when it’s printed than when it’s on a screen. This means your direct mail materials are both memorable and easier for your supporters to understand on a first read.

 

You can also send other items to supporters through direct mail, such as stickers, t-shirts, and other branded merchandise. Giving out items like these provides supporters with another opportunity to interact with your nonprofit, and they’ll spread your nonprofit’s name every time they show their merchandise off in public.


Contact

Repeat contact is essential to donor stewardship, and reaching out through multiple mediums creates a more comprehensive approach that gives supporters options for how they interact with your nonprofit.

 

According to CharityEngine’s guide to multi-channel fundraising, 14% of nonprofit emails are sent to spam folders and posts on social media websites like Facebook only reach 4% of supporters. This doesn’t mean your nonprofit should abandon email and social media, but rather extend your outreach to include additional channels. Doing so increases the likelihood that someone who missed your messages on one platform might see them on another.

 

Creating multiple touchpoints helps to recruit new donors, but it also builds relationships with your current base. As you expand your communication to more communication channels, ask your supporters how they prefer to be reached, so your nonprofit can adhere to their preferences. Some may want to go paperless, while others might get excited by finding a letter for them in their mailbox, no matter their age.


Direct Mail and Digital Marketing

Your direct mail and digital marketing campaigns are most effective when they work together to build momentum. It’s a common mistake to approach digital marketing through low investment channels such as social media without a dedicated schedule or plan. Instead, strategically coordinating your online posts with your mailed fundraising appeals can keep your marketing team on track and create a sense of progression for your supporters.

 

GivingMail’s guide to digital campaigns articulates why a multi-channel approach using both traditional and digital marketing is so effective for marketing across generational lines: “One must realize that different generations, with varying levels of technological ability, will have different ways of using technology and consuming media.”

 

GivingMail additionally advocates for integrating your direct mail and digital marketing campaigns to cut through the digital clutter and help build brand recognition. In other words, receiving a letter in the mail with your nonprofit’s logo can cause supporters to pick out your messages on digital platforms more easily because they’ve seen the imagery in a different setting. This means that your direct mail can actively increase your digital marketing’s effectiveness.

 

Connecting with supporters through both traditional and digital platforms also allows your nonprofit to collect a wealth of data. As you begin to receive responses to both your direct mail and digital marketing campaigns, track who is responding to which materials.

 

For example, you might find your millennial audience still prefers online communication, but you may notice that those who received a letter had higher engagement rates, even if they didn’t respond by mail. These are the kind of trends you should look for as you refine your marketing approach to get in touch with supporters of all ages both off and online.


The internet has unquestionably changed how nonprofits market to supporters, especially those who grew up alongside new technology. But that doesn’t mean it’s necessary to leave traditional approaches such as direct mail behind. Direct mails’ unique benefits and power when used in combination with digital outreach can assist your nonprofit in broadening your audience by connecting with supporters across generational lines. 


About the Author

Grant Cobb


Grant Cobb is a fundraising specialist with over 6 years of experience in the nonprofit space. Currently the head of marketing and analytics at GivingMail, he is a huge proponent of data-driven decision-making and the push to bring high-level analytics and fundraising to all.


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