December 2005

The long and short of it

An ideal insert

What's up online by Dan Weeks

When it comes to writing a direct mail fundraising letter, one of the most common questions is invariably how long should it be. The stock answer, of course — as we've said time and again in the pages of this newsletter — is however long it takes to tell your story and make your case for giving.

But the reality is that letter length is often dictated by budgetary issues, package format, or strategic approach. Or, in far too many cases, the old refrain: "That's what we always do."

So we were curious about what the pros are doing these days. And once again we asked to take a peek inside the bulging mailbox of our friend, the Phantom Donor — who annually doles out $25 gifts to 20 of America's top nonprofits.

In our search to find the latest trends in letter length, we reviewed three full months of mail. To ensure we were comparing "apples to apples," we narrowed our focus solely to special appeals to current donors.

Seemed simple enough. Until we started to characterize the length of each of the letters in our 62 mailings. We ended up with 15 broadly defined categories — with a few of those groupings containing a multitude of actual lengths.

One size hardly fits all

Okay, so right off the bat we learned that letters come in all sizes and lengths. From a six-page, 8-1/2 x 11" missive by the ACLU — our only letter longer than a four-pager — to this short and sweet jobbie by CARE: "Dear Friend of Care, Just $10 can provide nutritious meals for 35 children. Please, won't you help feed a hungry child? Thank you!"

Perhaps not surprisingly, our most common letter (32% of the total) was a two-page, 8-1/2 x 11" single sheet — though envelope sizes varied widely. The longer, four-page 8-1/2 x 11" version was another popular length (at 21%).

One four-page format in particular stands out. Used in four mailings by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, it features less copy and a heavy dose of photos and graphics. It's also interesting to note that these were the only "booklet-style" letters received (where copy is printed on one double-sized sheet that's folded). Then again, that format was the key element for a dramatic use of photos on pages two and three.

A shorter two-page letter was, overall, the second most common choice (24% of the total) — dominated by the ever-popular Monarch. The two-page Monarch seemed especially popular as a follow-up effort to a previously mailed front-end premium — a technique used twice by both Christian Appalachian Project and The Humane Society of the United States.

Betwixt and between

Ah, the pros and cons of the three-page, two-sheet letter! Is that blank fourth side a wasted opportunity . . . or an environmental waste? Well, the vote is in. Only three of our packages (again, of 62!) ran three sides: on a Monarch from the Republican National Committee and 8-1/2 x 11" from Covenant House and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The preferred approach, it seems, is to somehow find a way to stretch copy onto at least a portion of the fourth side — which was done in a number of the four-pagers we looked at. Or even add some additional, typeset copy to the bottom of the page.

The one-pager

Finally, what about the one-page, one-sided letter? Slim pickings, really, with only seven for us to review. Funny enough, four of these were sent by CARE: the one letter mentioned earlier, a "double-remit," and two 8-1/2 x 11" emergency-style appeals. So for CARE, at least, short letter copy is a strategic choice (with no other CARE letter running longer than two shorter-form sides.)

An ideal insert

Inserts dropped into direct mail fundraising packages vary widely in shape, size, and content. But here's one characteristic every insert should have: It should serve to reinforce some element of the overall Marketing Concept established in the package. (If not, then just don't include it, for heaven's sake!) Of course, even better if the insert is clever, attractive to the eye, and well produced.

That's certainly what drew us to an insert piece in a recent housefile mailing by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (New York NY). The package includes a four-page letter describing PPFA's "Fill My Pills Now" campaign — focusing on the issue of pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions.

The insert — the only other component in the mailing, besides a reply/petition device and a reply envelope — is a stand-alone not referred to in the letter. And it doesn't need to be referenced. This ingenious piece holds its own in terms of substance, design, and emotional punch.

Measuring 3-7/8 x 7" folded — and printed four-color on a glossy, heavier stock — the cover panel simply reads "Imagine . . ." with a picture of a piece of paper crumbled up into a ball. It then opens from the bottom up with a top panel that says, "Imagine going to your pharmacist, and getting this back instead of your medicine?" The bottom panel shows that the paper from the cover, now uncrumbled, is actually a doctor's prescription for "The Pill."

The panel then folds down, opening the piece to its full size, 3-7/8 x 21". Copy on the bottom two panels, signed by PPFA's Interim President, urges the reader to "support our 'Fill My Pills Now' campaign." Finally, the back panel features a broader-based message, expressing key elements of PPFA's mission and vision of the world.

Simple yet imaginative, this well-designed component adds drama and a visual element that complement the package's theme. Indeed, what more can you ask for in an insert?

What's up online
By Dan Weeks

Be sure to visit the Web site of The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) to see a really interesting variation on the "adopt a child" theme. With JGI, you can "Become a Chimpanzee Guardian!," which gives adoptive parents a biography and photograph of the young chimpanzee, a Certificate of Guardianship, a chimpanzee poster, and more

Their Web site also features excellent photos and graphics, a study corner for students and researchers, and loads of interesting anecdotes: read the story of how Frodo the Chimp gained notoriety when he pummeled Gary Larson when the cartoonist visited Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Perhaps Frodo wasn't a fan of The Far Side.

Check it out at www.janegoodall.org.

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