‘U.S. News’: Direct-Mail Glut

Americans will spend $244-billion in response to direct-mail solicitations, notes U.S. News & World Report in a cover article called “The Junk-Mail Deluge” (December 8).

A good share of that money will go to charities, and the article explains many of the techniques that direct-mail experts use to make sure that non-profit groups reap big dividends from their appeals. The article features an appeal from Father Flanagan’s Boys Home to drive home some of the messages, such as the way that computer-simulated handwriting attracts donations and the value of using a postscript to restate a plea.

Accompanying the cover story is an article on fraudulent charity solicitations, especially those by organizations that use names that are similar to well-known charities like the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.