Advantages of Direct Mail

• Direct mail allows you to target your messages by geography, age and myriad other socioeconomic factors.
• Beyond a personal conversation, direct mail offers the most convenient way to reach your hospice constituencies with a personal message targeted only to them.
• When used regularly, direct mail is effective in building and reinforcing existing relationships with hospice supporters.
• Direct mail is highly measurable. With a little effort, you can pinpoint your costs and track the response to each mailing. This fairly quick feedback allows you to tweak and adjust your efforts quickly.

Direct Mail Usage Tips:

• Pay the most attention to your list – it’s the most important element affecting direct mail success. Whittle your list to only the best prospects for your direct mail message to keep costs low.
• Try purchased lists. Some of the target audiences for hospices may be available from your state for a limited amount of money. Direct mail list brokerages and list rental businesses can offer you lists for other targets.
• Keep at it. Long-term, consistent messages through direct mail have a cumulative effect on donors and stakeholders over time. Hospices need consistent frequency.
• Be aware of an intrinsic characteristic of this medium: the response rate can be lower than some might expect. On average, well below five percent of those receiving a direct mail piece will take direct action— depending on the offer, the list and other variable factors.
• Use a mixture of simple postcards and small brochures with tear-off return cards. They are simpler and more cost-effective than more elaborate mailings sent less frequently. And always refer readers to your Web site in each mailing.
• Test, test, test and learn. Monitor and record the responses to each of your mailings religiously. Do some simple testing to check the number of hits to your web site or the number of return cards received for a Free Hospice Informational Kit.