Relying solely on the web for donor interactions can seem like a tempting idea. Social media allows you to reach a potentially worldwide audience, and requires no more than a hashtag or cat GIF to guarantee a response, while email blasts are cheap and easy to send out to thousands.

So in a world where “#donate2us :)” might seem to the inexperienced marketer to be just as effective as an ink-’n-paper direct mail strategy, this couldn’t be more far from the truth. Statistics have proven over and over again that direct mail is far from over and has a high success rate. While mass communication through the web is convenient, it can also seem impersonal at times. There’s just something so innately human about the act of sending and receiving a physical letter, with knowing that someone personally took the time to design, create, and put it in an envelope just for that donor.

But pulling off a truly successful direct mail campaign is not without its hurdles! You could have the most brilliantly crafted content or incredibly well-intentioned motives, but if even one little aspect isn’t properly executed, the entire approach will be for naught.

Fortunately, Faircom is here to help with some super helpful tips for non-profits to reach their full direct mail potential. Check out this bit of direct mail direct-ion and be sure to check back for another hot tip next week!

Let’s say you’re given two packages: one is a brightly colored box with bows and ribbons, and the other is simply constructed from plain cardboard. Both boxes are labeled “CANDY,” and you only have enough patience to open one. Which do you pick? According to (unsurprising) statistics, if we pretend those boxes were actually envelopes, the brighter one is far more likely to be opened over the plain one when rifling through the mail.

So even if the candy/content inside that bland box/envelope is a thousand times more delicious/creative than the other option, all of that awesomeness most likely won’t even be experienced by the donor. However, it’s wise to test different options when it comes to different colors or specially sized plastic windows for envelopes. While it’s safe to assume in a heap of mail that virtually anything is more appealing than a plain white envelope, you don’t want to waste all of your efforts on a gamble of blue envelopes when a simple test batch to a limited number of recipients would have proven red to be the magic color.