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Getting Started with Text Messaging

Everyone seems to be talking about text messaging these days! With 95% of Americans owning a mobile phone, more of us are “meeting people where they are” by using mobile (SMS) as a vital component of an organization or campaign’s communications, fundraising, advocacy and field strategies. More and more nonprofit organizations and campaigns are realizing…

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Mail Plans – Are They Really Just for Direct Mail and Do I Really Need One?

No and Yes, according to Jessica Harrington of the Harrington Agency during her recent DMAW webinar. She is also a planner at heart as the detailed webinar revealed. When you take a trip, a GPS-enabled device is a must, but you might also print or download a map. In other words, you bring tools to…

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How to Prioritize and Maximize Your Testing

Direct marketers love testing. It’s how we establish causality and know with certainty that results can be repeated across campaigns. It’s how we mitigate risk across our programs before rolling out with new ideas. It’s how we gain insights about donor and customer behavior that allow us to build effective communication strategies that yield results.…

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Digital Day 2019: Expecting the Unexpected

Going into DMAW’s Digital Day for the second year in a row, I knew I’d be leaving with a wealth of new knowledge in the digital space, but little did I know that the lessons learned would be both inside and outside of the sessions. Digital Day taught me more than just the latest digital…

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The Carrier’s Curse: Questioning, Testing, and Why Everything Plain Is Exciting Again

Raise your hand if you’ve been here: you’re mailing a package with a heartwarming case for support, copy that hits all your marks in two pages or less, all in a gorgeous, full bleed, four-color carrier. The package is great, the message is strong, and your lists are ready to go. You’re so proud of…

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DM 201: Stop Getting Comfortable and Start Innovating

DM 201 is an intermediate-level course that’s perfect for anyone who already has some direct marketing experience under their belt—whether at an agency, nonprofit, list broker, production company, or analytics firm—and wants to go beyond the basics. Somewhere between being a total newbie and seasoned vet things start to fall into place. We get comfortable…

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Middle donors and the White House

Are your middle donors suffering from middle child syndrome? Do they feel excluded, ignored, overshadowed by the over-indulged major donors and the high volume, attention-stealing low dollar donors?  Organizations are starting to shine the spotlight on middle donors, and rightly so.  The reality is middle donors account for less than 2% of all donors in…

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Reaching donors when you don’t have an “Aunt Bertha”

I had the pleasure of attending the DMAW Annual Meeting and hearing from keynote speaker Nancy Harhut about how to hack the brains of donors, members, and other humans. It was fascinating! Nancy shared a story about where her interest in fundraising began – at age eight when, incentivized by a banana-seat bike prize, she…

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A mail donor and a digital donor walked into a bar…

If your first reaction to the title above is, “I don’t get it, is that a joke?”, then you likely were not among fortunate, dedicated marketers, who braved the region’s first snow dusting of the season to attend this month’s DMAW Lunch and Learn, “Digital First: Why Translating DM Content Just Won’t Cut It!” While…

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Key Takeaways – National Association of Charitable Gift Planners 2018 Conference

Last month, I attended the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners Conference in Las Vegas. This is the premier national gift planning conference, with three days packed with presentations on all aspects of planned giving. I’ve been happy to see an increasing number of panels and discussions focused on marketing – the main driver for…

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