I find it interesting that when we are asked to look at someone’s direct mail, all they tend to send us is the letter.
“Where’s the envelope? ” I ask.
Silence.
There are two different types of envelopes.
Those made in-house at charities, I can tell you without looking at yours, is a #10 white envelope. It likely has your logo on it and a tagline that reads like a statement. Or maybe a small photo of something that you can’t quite make out. Or maybe nothing.
Those made by agencies likely are also white #10 envelopes. It likely has your logo on it and a tagline that reads like a statement. Or a new logo for some program that no one has heard of, created by your branding folk. Possibly it is more clever. “Delivery Information.” “A Special Invitation…” “I couldn’t do it without you…” Maybe it has a large image on it.
The envelope matters so much!
Even if your appeal letter was written by God himself, or even better, Tom Ahern!, if the envelope is rubbish then into the bin it goes.
So what’s a better envelope?
The more it looks like a personal piece of communication from YOU to ME (the donor) the better it will do.
In testing, almost anything will do better than a #10 envelope.
In testing, 75% of the time, a blank envelope will beat almost anything else.
A good tagline needs to pique the interest of the viewer. “What does this mean?” “I need to find out more about this right now!” “What’s this about?” “I need to do something about this!”
Taglines do work in testing if they are the right kind of tagline.
Photo’s do work in testing – the best are emotional images with lots of eye contact.
The envelope matters. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I still lie awake at night thinking about the outer envelope. Do you?
If you want to chat more about direct response and direct mail, we will be hosting some upcoming Facebook Live audits and sessions – just join our Facebook page to learn more. Send in yours if you want us to look at it during one of the sessions or if you want some help crafting better appeals!
John, do you know of any research on what size of envelope works best? Obviously not #10.
Only by what I’ve seen tested Jessica! #10’s CAN work… but in testing, like I mentioned, more often than not anything other than a #10 will work. Bigger or smaller!
My “favorite” (so much not) has a tagline that says “Your annual fund enclosed!”
Really? Cool! Didn’t even know I had an annual fund!
(And as if any organization’s annual fund is of any interest to a donor… sheesh.)
We always ask your advice on the envelope and almost NEVER send a #10. 🙂
The envelope that keeps me up at night is IN that picture.
We can’t beat it in testing. Drives me nuts.
There’s actually two of mine in there… 🙂
I could not agree more, John. It’s all for naught if the first impression you make isn’t one that inspires and piques curiosity.
The most important thing is knowing it’s as much a part of your campaign’s success as what’s inside. And sometimes it’s more successful with a #10. Done right, a #10 can feel more urgent and can certainly drive a better ROI.
You’ve gotta think about strategy holistically.
Loved this post!
I’ve been obsessed with envelopes for well over 40 years!
I know you have Steve. Where else do you think I learned so much of my obsession?
Apologies if this is an obvious question – does that 75% stat mean that, on average, you’re best to go with a plain envelope, unless you have some kind of killer tagline or photo? Thinking of putting a quote on our envelope for the first time…
Hey Julie! Thanks for asking! The stat tells us that 3 out of 4 times – having nothing aside from your logo on the outer envelope beats anything else. That is correct. Why? Because it tells your donor nothing. Anything could be inside and the only way they can discover what that is – is by opening it. MOST taglines do absolutely nothing to further intrigue your donor into the pack. They also give away too much – and therefore allow a donor to make the decision to toss it aside instead of opening it. Hope that helps! If you want to run your tagline idea by me – just shoot me an email or give me a call.