Everything is digital these days. We’ve become very accustomed to this. There are e-cards, e-notes, e-thank you’s, e-checks and e-meetings. It seems like everything is viewed through a screen of some sort. Rarely do we ever actually hold something in our hand anymore.
Now, this post isn’t going to go into a musing of how the world has become so disconnected (or maybe too connected) from reality and that we are worse off for it. Nope. We are going to talk about how we can leverage this to create lifelong donors.
Your mailbox routine might be similar to mine. If I don’t have something coming from Amazon that day, I rarely even acknowledge I have a mailbox, or that mail exists at all. Regardless, I walk to that little box of surprises and hope something good is in there. Usually there isn’t and usually it’s full of things asking me for something. Whether it’s my business or my credit card number, they are always asking for something. I usually take a cursory glance of the stack of paper and 90% of them get thrown away.
So how does this help you?
I’m going to say something that we all know, but we rarely ever do. It helps you because what would happen if through the stack of ask mailing, your organization had a telling letter. And not just any letter, a handwritten letter telling them “Thank You”?! It would absolutely cause a pause. And that pause is important. It solidifies to your donor that they were heard, acknowledged and valued. In a world of constant movement a pause is a powerful thing.
There is a charity that I regularly give to, and they are amazing at this. After every gift I always get a Thank You email, and then I can count on later that week getting a card in the mail that is handwritten and has a quick note of thanks. This can sound a little daunting. I get it. But lets leverage the current expectations of your donors (which is usually not getting a handwritten letter) and start small. Send out a few a week and see what happens. I think you might be surprised at the results.
Comments