JANUARY 2014
VOLUME 10 ISSUE 1
DirectForumisafreeemailnewslettercontainingusefuldirectmarketingtips,newsupdatesand
how-toinformation.It’sconvenient,informativeandIamnottryingtosellyouanything!
1. Howtonudge your current
donors to give a bit more
2. Letyourinsertsdomore: 8 great
ways use themtoinvolveyour
readersandboostresponse
3. Scientific proof that the brain
reacts to paper better than
digital devices. So,shouldyou
reallybeabandoningdirectmail
infavourofonlinemarketing?
Howtonudge your current
donors to give a bit more
Most charities use ‘gift ladders’ to
prompt donors to give amounts
based on their previous giving
history with the hope that they
will give a bit more.
For example if a donor gave
$20 the last time, then they
start the gift ladder at $20 and
go up. So a typical letter would
say: Please donate $20, $30 or
$60 or whatever you can afford
right now.
But did you know that you
could improve your odds of
a higher gift by using one or
more of these methods?
1. GO ONE STEP FURTHER
I tested this by including little
details like telling the donors
exactly how much they gave and
when they gave the last time.
It boosted the response by 2%
compared to previous mailings to
the same group and the average gift
size grew to $109.75 from $75.25
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JaNUaRY 2014
2 USE THE GLASS
BOWL EFFECT
When it was mentioned, We
had another member Mary,
who has contributed $300 last
year... women give more.
Besides suggesting a gift ladder amount, tell
your donors what someone else has donated.
For example say: We had another member
Mary, who has contributed $300 last year.
But, when the name was changed
to Tom, men gave more.
Why does this work?
4. ADD A BIT OF FLATTERY
A U.S. study looked at how much people
donated to an art gallery when all
contributions were visible in a large glass
bowl. When a prospective donor saw more
$20 bills they tended to match that amount.
A test revealed that adding
emotionally descriptive words before
“member,” improved response when
two randomly selected words from
the following list were added:
• Moral
• Caring
• Compassionate
• Friendly
• Kind
• Helpful
One example is when Seattle’s Lakeside Upper
School called on their alumnus Bill Gates.
Rumor has it Gates asked: How much is
everyone else giving? About $75 he was told.
“So put me down for $75,” said Gates.
So by adding two extra words
from the list the sentence became:
Thank you for being a caring,
compassionate member.
It turns out that adding two
flattering words, it did have an
impact on response—but mainly
on women—they gave a bit more.
The difference cited above as to how
the sexes responded was revealed in a
test conducted by Dr. Adrian Sargeant,
Professor of Fundraising at the Center
on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
He conducted a test for (NPR) National
Public Radio that measured the
impact of “social information” – as to
how people behave when giving.
3. MAKE IT GENDER SPECIFIC
Incredibly enough the gender of the
person mentioned who gave has a
profound effect on who responds as well.
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JaNUaRY 2014
5. SHOW WHAT EACH
AMOUNT WILL
ACCOMPLISH ON THE
SIDE OF THE LETTER
6. SHOW WHAT EACH
AMOUNT WILL
ACCOMPLISH ON YOUR
DONATION FORM.
By showing what each amount
can accomplish, you help your
donors visualize exactly what
their gifts will achieve.
Show what different amounts can
accomplish in the donor form.
Make-A-Wish (Wishbucks)2:Layout 1
3/30/09
March 30, 2009
Mrs. Jane Sample
1234 Main Street Apt 431
Toronto, ON M1M 1M1
Page 1
wishbucks
Mr. Sample’s $25 WISHBUCK
Helps grant wishes like Lauren’s to be the voice of a cartoon character
❑ YES! I want to help grant the wish of a sick child with my gift of $25
provide hope for children who are
seriously ill . . .
❑ Enclosed is my cheque payable to Make-A-Wish® Canada
❑ Please charge my gift to my credit Card (complete reverse side)
Mrs. Jane Sample
1234 Main Street Apt 431
Toronto, Ontario
M1M 1M1
XX1234
Dear Mr. Sample,
Thanks to generous donors like you, each and every day we are able to grant wishes to children with
life-threatening medical conditions — children, very much like Shanisse, whose life-long wish was to meet
Cinderella in the castle.
Shanisse’s wish is just one of the thousands of magical wishes that Make-A-Wish has made come true
over the past twenty-five years, filling Shanisse and her family with hope, strength and joy. Here are some of
the heartfelt words of thanks from Shanisse’s mother:
To this day my husband and I will never truly understand exactly
what took place in that castle, although we were standing at the door
watching our daughter engage with the ‘princess’.
What I do know, for sure, is at that very moment; I had no
recollection of what our daughter had endured over the last 10 years.
I did not think about the 29 brain surgeries, the countless needles, or all
of the ambulance rides. I did not think about the hunger she endured
while being starved before surgery, or the tears that she shed because she
was so scared. I didn’t think about the seizures and the tube feedings.
Mr. Sample’s $50 WISHBUCK
Helps grant wishes like Baden’s wish to go on cruise line trip
❑ YES! I want to help grant the wish of a sick child with my gift of $50
❑ Enclosed is my cheque payable to Make-A-Wish® Canada
❑ Please charge my gift to my credit Card (complete reverse side)
Mrs. Jane Sample
1234 Main Street Apt 431
Toronto, Ontario
M1M 1M1
Mr. Sample’s $75 WISHBUCK
Helps grant wishes like Carolyn’s to swim with the dolphins
❑ YES! I want to help grant the wish of a sick child with my gift of $75
I did not reflect on how scared we were of losing our precious baby
girl. Instead, overcome with emotion, I cried. I cried tears, but they
were good tears: tears of joy and tears of happiness and for emotions
that I simply cannot explain..
❑ Enclosed is my cheque payable to Make-A-Wish® Canada
❑ Please charge my gift to my credit Card (complete reverse side)
Mrs. Jane Sample
1234 Main Street Apt 431
Toronto, Ontario
M1M 1M1
I truly pray that you realize what you did for our family. You
granted not only one wish for our family, you granted many.
Please know that we are forever grateful to you, and of course, the
Make-A-Wish Foundation and we will never, ever forget.
Sincerely, from the bottom of our hearts,
Erin, Lanette, Sean and Shanisse Brown
Shanisse and her family have been touched by the generosity and kindness of supporters like you.
Your past donations have made a remarkable difference in the lives of so many wish children and their families.
We urgently need your renewed support now, more than ever before, as we continue to receive requests
for wishes at an unprecedented rate.
Each and every wish is a precious and humble request from a critically ill child longing for a reason to
forget about their pain and their fears — if only for a little while. The new found strength, and the continued
Client: Canadian Crossroads International
Concept, Copy and Art Direction: Billy Sharma
Mr. Sample’s $__________ WISHBUCK
Helps grant wishes like Andy’s to own a piano
❑ YES! I want to help grant the wish of a sick child with my gift of $______
❑ Enclosed is my cheque payable to Make-A-Wish® Canada
❑ Please charge my gift to my credit Card (complete reverse side)
Mrs. Jane Sample
1234 Main Street Apt 431
Toronto, Ontario
M1M 1M1
wishbuck wishbuck wishbuck wishbuck
Make-A-Wish Canada
4211 Yonge Street, Suite 521,
Toronto, ON M2P 2A9
Tel: 416-224-9474
Toll Free: 1-888-822-9474
www.makeawish.ca
3:11 PM
Client: MAKE A WISH
Concept, Copy and Art Direction: Billy Sharma
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7. CONVERT YOUR
YEARLY DONORS TO
MONTHLY DONORS
I know this is easier said than done.
But the best way is to analyse your
donor list and select only those
loyal ones who give multiple times
each year—they are more likely
to convert to monthly giving.
Make this a special holiday for all your canine friends.
Our Save the Animals Team could use your help!
Sadly, animals arrive at the Toronto Humane Society
every single day. The need for loving care, nourishing
food and emergency medical attention is on-going.
And so is the need for your friendship and support!
By joining our Save the Animals Team, you can provide
the loyal and continuous support our animals count
on. For just $18 a month, you’ll play a daily role in
everything we do to care for unwanted animals —
from vaccinating a litter of kittens to performing
surgery on an injured dog to finding the perfect home
for an animal with special needs.
Don’t bother with
one-time donors they are
harder to switch
Then
and besides you don’t
I gave birth to six perfectly adorable a
want to push
is that all my pups and I got adopted — w
too hard or
You played
alienate them.
You see, without your support the Tor
knowledgeable vets, caring technicians, ca
Many sick and abandoned animals li
They to
I know that you care about us animals
to help us out. And he wants you to know h
of dog lovers like you.
Monthly giving also has benefits for you...
It’s affordable. Many of our monthly supporters tell us they find it more manageable to give
12 small donations as opposed to one or two larger gifts throughout the year.
I also know that food, heating and med
nothing from the provincial or federal gov
kindness of people like you who don’t want
animals the second chance that they deserv
It’s easy and convenient.
convenient Each month, we’ll securely withdraw your monthly gift from your credit card
or bank account. We’ll do it automatically so you won’t have to remember to renew your support for the
animals each year. You can change or even cancel your support at any time with a simple phone call.
It’s rewarding. You’ll feel proud of the daily difference you’re making in the lives of abandoned animals — helping to
mend their broken bones, heal their battered hearts and give them the new beginning they deserve.
Please join right now with a gift of $18 a month — that’s just 60 cents a day — and give the best gift
our animals could get this holiday season!
Join the Save the Animals Team today!
$30 per month ($1 per day)
Payment:
1st or
Please start deducting on the
15th of each month.
Please charge my credit card.
CARD #
DATE
PHONE #
My voided cheque is enclosed.
Deductions to start
SIGNATURE
per month
$60 per month ($2 per day)
15th or
EMAIL
I hereby authorize the Toronto Humane Society to arrange automatic withdrawals from my
bank account or credit card on an ongoing monthly basis. I understand that I may change
or cancel my contribution at any time with five days notice.
Thank you so much!
27th of each month.
Please take a moment now to help ou
during this time of year. I’m hoping you’ll c
monthly giving program). It’s the most effe
steady funding that lasts all year long.
With your assistance, the The Human
sick animals, like I was, shelter, care, comf
YES, you can count on my monthly donation of:
$18 per month (60¢ per day)
This holiday season giv
help my friends Ace &
Occasionally we make our donor list available to reputable charitable organizations
whose mission may be of interest to you. This is also a very cost-effective way to
attract new donors to support the Toronto Humane Society. If you would not wish us
to make your name available please check here.
Remember, it’s because of your gener
before the holidays! They will give back to
love that works both ways.
Your gift means small miracles, lik
Client: Toronto Humane
Yours truly, Society
Agency: TCP Integrated
Candy (woof-woof)
Art Direction: Mark Johnston
Copy Billy Sharma
P.S. Another thing I overheard Dr. Jacques
of generous supporters. The contribut
because it helps so many of our anim
EXPIRY DATE
Thank you for making every day a holiday for all our furry friends.
The Toronto Humane Society • 11 River Street • Toronto • Ontario • M5A 4C2 • Tel: 416-392-2273
www.torontohumanesociety.com
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The Toronto Humane
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Letyourinsertsdomore:
8 Great ways to use them
toinvolveyourreadersand
boostyourresponse.
Inserts have always been a great way
of adding information or stressing
why your mailing is important, but
did you know that they are also
great as involvement devices too?
ask the recipient to affix one to the
order form. If you have a simple offer
you want to highlight, you can print
it on a sticker that must be lifted and
transferred to the order form. Stamps
and stickers are highly involving and
indicate that some action is needed.
Here’s how:
1. Promote involvement with a quiz,
checklist or questionnaire.
For example ask a question: Do you
qualify for our 50% discount? Take
this quiz and find out.
Or use a checklist that reader’s can
keep. Behavioural psychologists
call this ‘gamification techniques’
because they encourage use
and increase engagement. Even
a questionnaire helps. It almost
invariably will increase response.
4. Demonstrate a point with a lift note.
The lift letter is the “king of all inserts”.
It presents a second point of view,
meets objections, adds credibility,
highlights benefits, etc. Here’s
how I use it to involve the reader.
TAKE THIS CHALLENGE
1. With your ring finger extended (as shown),
rest your hand on a flat surface
2. Press down lightly.
3. Now try and lift your ring finger.
CanÕ t do it? Well, that gives you a tiny idea of the
frustration and helplessness people feel who are disabled and
confined to wheelchairs because of spinal cord injuries.
2. Use a card to boost response.
Getting donors to mail back a get-well
card or message is a good way that
charities have found to involve them
personally. This has often been done
by Hospitals and by Easter Seals.
Each year about 600 new spinal cord injuries occur in
OntarioÑ thatÕ s more than one a day. Current estimates indicate that there are
approximately 33,140 Ontarians living with spinal cord injury. That does not include the
thousands born with spinal cord injuries.
Now:
4. Go to the donation form.
5.
Pledge any amount you can currently afford.
6. And see how wonderful it feels to help someone in need.
!
3. Highlight your offer with stamps or
stickers.
If you have several offers or options,
you can print each on a stamp and
Client: Canadian Paraplegic Association
Agency: TCP Integrated
Copy Billy Sharma
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JaNUaRY 2014
5. Prove your product
superiority with a sample.
Getting a sample of your product
in your prospect’s hand is a great
way for your prospect to experience
firsthand for themselves that your
product is everything you say it is.
8. Finally, I use inserts as a
device to tell a story.
I have used a piece of
cardboard to talk
about Refugees
that deserved a
better shelter
than that.
6. Promote exclusivity with a
membership card.
People like to belong to an exclusive
club, organization or association.
Encourage them to do so by sending
them a membership card printed on
plastic or heavy paper. You can even
personalize it, provide contact
information and list benefits. This
makes it more beneficial, relevant and
valuable to prospects.
Client: UNHCR (United
Nations High Commissionar
of Refugees
Agency: Hjc New Media
Concept, Copy &
Art Direction: Billy Sharma
I have used a toothbrush, visible
through a two-window envelope,
to talk about the fact that when an
abused woman is fleeing for her life
she has no time to pack even the
most basic necessity like a
toothbrush.
7. Emphasize your guarantee
with a return label.
Don’t just guarantee your
product—prove it with by enclosing
a prepaid return label. It shows that
you are confident of your product.
Combine a label with a lift note that
explains your risk free return policy.
This adds another level of
reinforcement.
Enclosing an unusual object works when
you plan to follow up your package with a
phone call.
Client: Interval House
Agency: Hjc New Media
Concept, Copy & Art Direction: Billy Sharma
For example: A contractor once sent his
business card silk-screened on a small
brick. When he called to follow up, he
told prospects: “I’m the guy who sent
you the brick.” He always got through.
I have inserted a bandage in a direct
mail piece for a abused women’s
charity to talk about why bandages
are not enough to cover physical
scars or hide our shame as a society.
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Andthistimeformyyear-end mailing
tomyclientsandfriendsIusedthis
cardand lettertotellthestoryofwhat
inspiredmetobeanArtDirector.
Hereitis:
And here are just a few of
the great responses to it:
Designers Inc.
1407 - 99 Harbour Square, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2H2
T:(416) 203-9787 • E-MAIL: [email protected] • Web: www.designersinc.ca
Hi Billy,
I just received your card
today. I love the letters
and stories that you
send along every year
with your cards! They
are as unique as the
cards themselves.
Karen
Dear Billy:
I have received your
Christmas card and
could not let it go by
without saying how truly
beautiful it is, and how
very special I feel in
receiving this exquisitely
created piece.
I can certainly see how
this would have inspired
and encouraged you to
become so creative. It
really moved me.
Thank you.
Have a wonderful
Christmas and all the
best for 2014.
Bridget
Dear Claude,
Dear Maura,
is time I want to share with you something that inspired me to
become an Art Director.
is time I wan
become an Art Dir
When I was a boy I was fascinated by artists who had the patience and
dexterity to paint pictures on leaves, in particular on a leaf of an Indian tree
called peepal tree or bo tree (from the Sanskrit word Bodhi meaning: wisdom
or enlightenment—the same tree under which Buddha meditated until he
attained nirvana).
When I was a b
dexterity to paint p
called peepal tree or
or enlightenment—
attained nirvana).
is Indian Art of painting dates back to the 2nd century BC, before
paper was invented.
is Indian Ar
paper was invented
I would watch these artists immerse the leaf in water as they began
to slowly dislodge the outer layer—a thin ﬁlm—by gently brushing and
rinsing it for the next two weeks—leaving behind a beautiful bony oﬀ-white
structure.
I would watch
to slowly dislodge t
rinsing it for the ne
structure.
e leaf is then left to dry in the sun before the ﬁnal painting is
painstakingly done with a delicate brush in oil paints ensuring that the
fragile skeleton of the leaf won’t rupture. Each image is handcrafted so
no two are alike.
e leaf is then
painstakingly done
fragile skeleton of t
no two are alike.
Only a few artists now practice this art so in November I spoke to
my brother, who is still in India, and asked him to search for these
pieces before this ﬁne art becomes extinct. ey arrived just in time.
Only a few art
my brother, who i
pieces before this
Hope you appreciate them too.
Hope you appr
Regards,
Regards,
Billy
Billy
P.S. It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I see this as a drawing
of a mother and child but ohers may see it as a tad too religious. If so, feel
free to pass it on to a friend who would appreciate the religious undertone
or keep it yourself as a souvenir of a dying art form.
Hi Billy,
I just wanted to thank
you for the lovely card
I received today. It is
truly beautiful! May you
be inspired in love & joy
this coming New Year,
Kelly
Thanks… the leaf
painting is beautiful.
Merry, merry to you &
yours Billy.
Cheers
Al
Dear Billy,
I absolutely loved your
end-of-year mailing!
Please know that I have
already placed the card
in a lovely frame to be
enjoyed and cherished.
When something
touches you, I feel that it
is not really the eye that
does the seeing, it’s ‘the
soul.’
Regards,
Fran
I also got many
personal calls.
Here’s one:
Remember the
children’s book
“One Thousand and
One Nights” where
Scheherazade tells the
king a tale which goes
on for 1,001 nights?
Well just like her you too
have the ability to tell a
great story with every
one of your mailings.
AS YOU CAN SEE I GET MORE THAN I GIVE.
And I do have 3 more cards to give so if you want one, just email me your mailing address.
First come first served.
page 7
140
T:(416) 203-9787
P.S. It is said that b
of a mother and ch
free to pass it on to
or keep it yourself
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JaNUaRY 2014
Scientific proof
thatthebrainreactstopaperbetterthandigitaldevices.
So,shouldyoureallybeabandoningdirectmail
infavourofonlinemarketing?
Here’s are some extracts from that
November 2013 issue of Scientific
American’s article entitled: The Reading
Brain in the Digital Age: Why Paper Still
Beats Screens
paper, the absence of which some find
unsettling.
“There is physicality in reading,” says
cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf of Tufts
University, “maybe even more than we want
to think about as we lurch into digital
reading—as we move forward perhaps with
too little reflection. I would like to preserve
the absolute best of older forms but know
when to use the new.”
Since at least the 1980s, researchers in
psychology, computer engineering, and
library and information science have
published more than 100 studies exploring
differences in how people read on paper
and on screens.
Textual Landscapes
Despite all the increasingly user-friendly and
popular technology, most studies published
since the early 1990s confirm earlier conclusions that: paper still has advantages
over screens as a reading medium.
Understanding how reading on paper
differs from reading on screens requires
some explanation of how the human brain
interprets written language. Although letters
and words are symbols representing sounds
and ideas, the brain also regards them as
physical objects.
Together laboratory experiments, polls and
consumer reports indicate that digital devices prevent people from efficiently navigating
long texts, which may subtly inhibit reading
comprehension.
Beyond treating individual letters as physical
objects, the human brain may also perceive
a text in its entirety as a kind of physical
landscape. When we read, we construct a
mental representation of the text.
Compared with paper, screens may also
drain more of our mental resources while
we are reading and make it a little harder
to remember what we read when we are
done.
The exact nature of such representations
remains unclear, but some researchers
think they are similar to the mental maps we
create of terrain—such as mountains and
trails—and of indoor physical spaces, such
as apartments and offices.
Whether they realize it or not, people
often approach computers and tablets
with a state of mind less conducive to
learning than the one they bring to paper.
And e-readers or emails fail to re-create
certain tactile experiences of reading on
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JaNUaRY 2014
Both anecdotally and in published
studies, people report that when trying to
locate a particular passage in a book, they
often remember where in the text it appeared.
Much as we might recall that we passed the
red farmhouse near the start of a hiking trail
before we started climbing uphill through the
forest, we remember that we read about
Mr. Darcy rebuffing Elizabeth Bennett at
a dance on the bottom left corner of the
left-hand page in one of the earlier
chapters of Jane Austen’s Pride and
Prejudice.
A recent survey of 100 at the
University of Toronto students
conducted on the St. George
campus revealed that:
81%
of students prefer paper textbooks.
Their reasons included:
easier to scribble notes, bookmark
and highlight important sections.
19%
“The implicit feel of where you are in a
physical book turns out to be more
important than we realized,” says Abigail
J. Sellen of Microsoft Research
Cambridge in England, who co-authored
the 2001 book The Myth of the Paperless
Office.
prefer Electronic textbooks.
Their reasons included:
Portability, environmental issues
and economics—cheaper
than textbooks.
10%
Exhaustive Reading
Other researchers agree that
screen-based reading can dull
comprehension because it is more
mentally taxing and even physically tiring
than reading on paper.
switched from digital to paper versions
during the course of the year.
Source:UofTMagazine(Winterissue)
In an experiment by Erik Wästlund, then at
Karlstad University in Sweden, people who
took a reading comprehension test on a
computer scored lower and reported higher
levels of stress and tiredness than people
who completed it on paper.
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JaNUaRY 2014
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To subscribe email me at:
[email protected]
To download back issues of my newsletters go to
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To unsubscribe, send me an e-mail simply
saying, “Please, remove.” To participate,
send me an email with your suggestions.
To post a comment, please include your
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Let me remind you again that your name and/
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circulated, or passed along to anyone else.
Designers Inc.
1407-99 Harbour Square,
Toronto, ON
M5J 2H2
© Designers Inc.
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