April 17, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3: Raise More Money With Direct Mail Tests
by Mal Warwick
Small changes in the text and design of an appeal letter can make a big difference in the results of a mass mailing, writes Mal Warwick, a direct-marketing consultant. However, he cautions, charities rarely discover what changes work best unless they do extensive testing of different approaches.
The book begins with a discussion of which things are worth testing. Although results vary from charity to charity, Mr. Warwick says that some elements of a solicitation rarely do anything to increase the number of people who donate. For example, changing who signs the letter or switching from stamped to metered envelopes does not usually make a difference, he says.
Mr. Warwick guides fund raisers through the process of selecting control and test groups, sending out sample appeals, and compiling the results.
The final section of the book contains the results of 286 tests that Mr. Warwick and his colleagues have conducted for charities. Among the approaches they tested: including teasers on the outer envelope and inserts, changing the amounts that the appeals suggest donors contribute, and allowing people to pay using credit cards.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (415) 433-1740 or (800) 956-7739; fax (415) 433-0499 or (800) 605-2665; http://www.josseybass.com; 250 pages; $26; I.S.B.N. 0-7879-6712-2.
