Lumpy mail improves response
File under: Our next direct mail appeal ~ What can we possibly do that's intriguing AND improves opening rates?
Lumpy mail
"In this envelope? I feel something!"
The article below is reposted with kind permission from Christine Gilliland, Way Up Strategic Solutions. She started this rampaging LinkedIn post in Sept. 2023.
Christine's original post kicked off a landslide of expert responses. If you're not yet on LinkedIn (social media for focused fundraising professionals), well ...
… below is a sample post ... from Christine!
Lumpy?
The text that follows is almost verbatim Christine, from LinkedIn. Any typos are my contribution.
[Lumpy] is a term used to describe direct-mail appeal packs that stand out from the common flat envelope or postcards. There's an additional object included to make them ‘lumpy.'
Why does this matter? Because the sense of touch is engaged ... as well as sight and reading.
Your additional object could be anything: a feel-able paperclip, feel-able limp balloon, feel-able magnet, feel-able biz card...
One creative fundraiser I know [Cristine G. writes] added a tea bag (it accompanied the cutest warm cup-of-tea-themed letter).
The idea behind lumpy mail is simple: it gets attention. It arouses curiosity and interest. It creates a sense of anticipation and excitement. It can make your recipient feel special and valued.
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙.
Christine G. then said....
I know from my personal experience, any piece of lumpy mail that makes its way to my mailbox gets opened 100% of the time! Who can resist?
And folks in the direct mail industry confirm that the return on investment (ROI) for lumpy mail is considerably better than with traditional letters. (Yes, the cost is higher, too, but the gain far outweighs the pain.)
According to the Direct Marketing Association’s Response Rate Report, 3D dimensional (𝘈𝘒𝘈 𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺) mailings outperform standard direct mail formats by 250%, but only increase the cost per lead by 50%.
So [Christine finished], I'm curious... 🤔
💌 Have you tried lumpy mail before?
📩 What did you use and how did it work?
Would you share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below....
------
And expert floodgates opened
Carol Weisman, President at Board Builders: Mal Warwick wrote a book about his research on lumpy mail about 30 or 35 years ago. I don’t have his books anymore, but he found that folks were much more likely to open a lumpy letter than a smooth one.
Denisa Casement, Principal and Strategist, The Casement Group:Can confirm!! We created a blockbuster of an Acquisition DM in 2013 using a tea bag. We used it continuously for over 7yrs. It was lumpy and it related directly to our services. An unbeatable combo! Lumpy mail rules!! ¶ Just a quick “nuts & bolts” detail: If you’re going to use something lumpy in large mailings, you need to make sure the lump doesn’t exceed the limits of thickness for machine-sorted bulk mail. These parameters can vary a bit by country.
Quentin Fincaryk, Specializing in the intersection of fundraising and faith: In the past I’ve tried [lumpy] DM letters with:
- African “tree angel” Christmas tree decorations
- Old-timey wax seals on the back stamped with the org logo
- USBs with personalized impact videos
- an old school Polaroid taken by a student on campus who received a scholarship
- and a few others
It made for great conversations when we called a week or two later to follow up!
Vicky Jaggard, Remote Senior Fund Development Specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Halifax: I love this and it confirms what I suspected. That if I put something in the envelope that feels interesting ... and it's handwritten, there's less chance it ends up tossed aside. I have some really uniquely shaped paperclips which suit this purpose without driving up mail costs.
Bruce Clark, Individual Giving Manager & Direct Marketing Consultant; non-executive director @Uplift. Hill-walker: I’ve done fridge magnets, tote bags, stationery packs, socks and gloves in ascending order of response rates - including over 10% on one very lapsed segment.
Jessica Harrington, President at The Harrington Agency: Wonderful post and great ideas! I remember using seed packets in the ‘90s — lumpy and noisy!
Meghan Walsh, Founder, Roots Ethiopia: I was wondering about this -- the work I support is in Ethiopia where tea is really lovely .... oh so many unique teas. I'd have to think really hard about how to connect it to our mission, however. How strong does the connection need to be? I don't know if I could get tea, but it would be worth a try IF I could make a connection to our mission (education and job creation).
I'm also remembering when I taught HS and I made like 300 pages of paper stained with tea for students to write 'old timey' letters. They loved it.
Denisa Casement replied to Meghan: "Don’t get hung up on the tea angle. It’s really about bringing a touch of something from the heart of your mission."
Liz Harrison, M.A., Director of Development at Helena Area Habitat for Humanity, also asked Denisa: So you're saying lumpy appeals bring in 250% more revenue than regular old letters? Really? ... and this is for acquisition mailings or current, non-major donor appeals (i.e., our house list?)
Denisa then generously responded to Liz:
Both. Our most successful ACQ mailings are upcycles of our most successful mailings to Current donors. This tea bag pack went to the house list and outperformed previous campaigns. We then tweaked it for a Cold audience.
We also sent this to Major Donors but in a bigger envelope with much more hand personalization.
And then Denisa added even more commentary to Liz:
My eyes flew open at 5am this morning with the thought… “Oh no, I’ve given misleading information!”.
Let me clarify. A small lump ... has increased our [response to] ACQ DM packs by about 250% (under 1% to over 2%).
But a 250% increase in Warm/Current donor packs probably isn’t realistic unless you’re also adding paper-clipped, handwritten notes and a few other touches to a well-written DM pack. It’s more likely to produce a 30-50% increase in your house-file response rate.
Those massive packs with huge amounts of stuff in them will increase response rates even more ... but you retain far fewer of those donors.
Then Denisa brewed coffee. Let the dog out to eyeball the lizards. Enjoyed sunrise over Tucson, AZ.
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