For some, it’s a blanket in a box. For others, it’s a sheet of name labels, or a personalized greeting card. And for many charities, it’s the old-fashioned letter in a closed-face envelope.

The plain truth is, there is no ‘one-sizefits- all’ silver bullet format approach that works for any charity, or to any audience. And because every strategic challenge is different, your format choices also must be flexible.

Here are five key questions you should consider next time you choose a format approach for a direct appeal:

Question 1:
Does this format speak to the recipient ... on the person’s own terms?

Before you even think about what kind of format to mail you need to put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. Ask the questions the person will be asking at that moment your piece is picked out of the mailbox.

Do I know this organisation? And, do I like them? Are they one of my favourite charities, or someone I’m casually interested in? Do I have what I would consider a personal relationship with them?

Passion
The answers to these questions should drive any format decision, because the recipients’ degree of passion about you should drive your degree of investment in them. It should determine how much you spend, how ‘personal’ the format appears, how detailed the contents become.

Consider two contrasting examples of two very successful appeals. The first format was a closed-face envelope, with a seven-page, personalised letter inside. The second was a small window envelope enclosing a typewritten index card, showing the donor’s giving history. The difference? One appeal was sent to a highly segmented list of major, long-term donors, announcing a once-in-a-lifetime project to expand a children’s shelter. The second was directed to a group of one-time, low-value donors to a national health charity.

Each was a classic case of more is more, and less is more. If just a three- or four-page letter had been sent in the first example, results would have been OK, but would not have produced the record amount raised. And, what would have happened if a letter was in the second example? Well, that actually was tested and results plummeted.

In each instance, the winning format fit the donor’s interest level – a high-touch, highly-personal approach scored with high-interest audiences, and a low-touch, sparse approach did best to a peripherally interested constituency. In this instance, audience meant everything.

Question 2:
Does this format speak to the moment ... in a compelling way? Before choosing any format, it’s critical to consider the context of that moment. Is the charity in the throes of an emergency, or is this just another slot in the mail schedule?

Out of place
If your format seems out of place for that moment of time – if it includes a ton of bells and whistles, but it somehow doesn’t ‘ring true’ to the donor – then your approach is going to fall flat. And, your results might fall flat on your face.

Question 3:
Does the format dramatize the offer ... does it make it real? There’s nothing more important in fundraising than presenting people with a great offer. But is your fundraising format helping you dramatise it as strongly as it could? Does the format ‘show’ the offer in exciting ways? Can the donor visualise their impact? Does it make the vision real, something the donor can touch and feel?

The people at Covenant House have been very successful reaching out to donors with a special appeal called ‘A Bed for Every Kid’s Head’. A few years ago, it tested a very different and visual approach to major donors. This new test format included a portfolio, with a diecut window at the top. Showing through the window were the words etched on a simulated plaque: This Bed has Been Lovingly Provided by John D. Sample.

When the recipient opened the portfolio, the image was the plaque affixed to a bed, and a letter that told the donor that $3.000 would provide a bed to a kid in need. Right away, the donor could see exactly how his help would be recognised. It showed the donor’s deeds in action. Does this kind of dramatic.

Does this kind of dramatic visualisation work? Last time Covenant House mailed this appeal, it received almost 20 five-figure donations, making this one of its most successful ‘big dollar’ offers in history.

Think of the big offers you send to your donors: Does the format give you the chance for the donor to see and feel and touchhow the gift will make a difference?

Question 4:
Does the format get you noticed ... get you into the ‘A’ pile?

When all is said and done, there are ultimately three objects for every format mailed. They are, in no particular order:

1. Get Opened.
2. Get Opened.
3. And, oh yes,

Get Opened. The first place to start, is to again place yourself at the mailbox, and visualise your target recipient as your piece is received. While donors can come in all shapes, ages, demographics, and sizes, each tends to open mail the same way.

The pile is sifted through and immediately categorised by level of importance, placing pieces in the ‘A’ pile, the ‘B’ pile, or the ‘C’ pile.

‘A’ pile mail:
Stuff that demands attention, and that must be looked at right away ... personal letters, a friendly registered letter from the IRS.

‘B’ pile mail:
Stuff that’s glanced at and put off to the side, knowing that it will be gotten to later. This includes bills, mailings from organisations we like, magazines we like to read, fliers that peak our interest, etc.

‘C’ pile mail:
Things that are glanced at and immediately discarded.

Success
Your likelihood of success improves dramatically if you can get your mail in the ‘A’ pile. Even if you can get it in the ‘B’ pile, you’ve given yourself a chance to win.

How do you do it? The surest way to get into the ‘A’ pile is to send a closed-face envelope, with a ‘real’ handwritten address block, and multiple postage stamps on the outside. If it’s being directed toward a major donor, including your identification on the outside helps. If it’s going to someone who’s less passionate about your cause, then a ‘blind’ outer envelope helps increase openability. After all, you have to open an envelope like that, don’t you?

Of course, closed face-envelopes can be expensive. Many charities have had huge success mailing simple window envelopes with no teaser or no identification on the outside. And if you have what looks like real handwriting showing through the address block, your chances of being opened increases yet again. Other techniques? A boxed envelope often helps, too.

While it’s counterintuitive, very often the plainest envelopes are the ones most likely to get attention and get opened.

Inspire action Question 5:
Does my format inspire action ... and generate results? One of the most fascinating trends in direct marketing today centres around the fact that the old has become new again. Some old ideas are more in vogue than they were originally. Have you noticed how many coin packages you see nowadays, after not seeing any for a decade?

Packages like the coin package work because they talk to people at a subliminal level that is powerful and timeless. ‘I wonder what this coin is all about,’ you can almost hear a prospect asking when they pick up the package.

Someone must have taken some time to affix this coin to this package for a reason,’ you can almost hear them saying.

Years ago (and older donors will remember this), it was common for charities to mail out coin packages, which were actually hand-affixed by workers at many charities. Even though machines do the hard work now, many older donors still believe the coin package was lovingly and painstakingly produced by someone at the charity. And that’s part of their magic.

Of course, if you can then tie the coin into a story, your chances of succeeding improve. Tom Gaffny is principal of Tom Gaffny Consulting in the United States. Email tomgaffny@hotmail.com

These days, fundraisers have a dizzying array of direct mail formats available. But what kind of format to use – and to whom, and when – is not always an easy decision. Tom Gaffny investigates.