Direct Mail vs. New Media???

During the past month or two I’ve been asked by a half dozen people from different nonprofits whether they should invest in acquiring new donors through direct mail or new media (by new media I mean Internet, social networks, viral marketing, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

There are several parts to the answer.

First, we have to recognize that while online fundraising is growing rapidly, most people are still not giving online.    I know that acquiring donors using email is attractive because it’s relatively inexpensive.  However,  it is difficult to build a donor file only using online strategies because the number of responses is so low.

Second, the best “trigger” for getting prospects and donors to respond is still direct mail.  I know that direct mail is less effective than it used to be.  But, it’s still working for both acquiring and cultivating donors if you have a strong offer and appropriately targeted rental lists.

The evolving approach to new donor acquisition is integrated multi-channel.  See our other blog posts about why that is the current reality.  I’ll have more to say about that in future posts.