TLC Pulse / 05.17.12

• The USPS announced plans today to move ahead with a modified plan to consolidate its network of 461 mail processing locations in phases, the first of which will consolidate 140 locations in February 2013.
• Bloomberg Businessweek wrote this week about how integrating all marketing channels can help brands combat the common problem of a fragmented message. We couldn’t agree more!
• Facebook might be big topic of conversation on Wall Street these days, but their effectiveness as a digital marketing vehicle is inefficient compared to Google, according to a study by search marketing management company, WordStream. The average click-through rate for a Facebook ad is 0.051 percent, compared to Google 0.4 CTR. 

TLC Pulse / 05.09.12

• The latest Federal Register confirms that beginning January 28, 2013, an Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) will be required on automated letters and flats and doe Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM). That means your organization should be sure to use up any old reply envelopes with the old POSTNET barcodes!
• Blackbaud’s Netwits Think Tank urges arts and cultural organizations in particular to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon, not only due to the rapidly growing trend, but also because arts organizations have images readably available, their supporters are likely Pinterest users and the search categories easily suit their mission.
• KissMetrics created a list of tips to increase conversion on your website. Some you might recognize from our recent Whitepaper “Turning Clicks into Conversions” (for example, use short forms and test everything!), but one new one we liked is so simple – make your call to action crystal clear.
• As we anxiously await the opening of The Barnes Foundation’s new location on May 19, Vogue offers an exclusive first look inside! Follow all the latest news of the opening on The Barnes’ Facebook page.

TLC Pulse / 05.02.12

• The Washington Post reports that the Senate approved U.S. Postal Service reforms last week. The bipartisan measure would permit the end of Saturday mail delivery in two years and it also modifies mail service standards to preserve overnight mail delivery to nearby communities, but at the same time allows the USPS to slow mail delivery to further destinations.
• Of course junk mail and nonprofit direct mail campaigns are completely different, but nonetheless, as direct marketers, we found The Atlantic’s list of cities that really hate junk mail interesting. Topping the list? Seattle.
• Consumersearch.com released a list of the top 20 most expensive museums. We love their tip for getting in the door cheaper – annual membership brings admission down dramatically! 

TLC Pulse / 04.19.12

• Chronicle of Philanthropy wrote recently about nonprofits going mobile and the first recommendation was to use the website http://www.mobilephoneemulator.com/ to determine how your organization’s website appears in different mobile formats. From there, your organization’s first priority should be making your website mobile-friendly – not necessarily creating an app.
• To further illustrate the importance of a mobile-friendly presence, internetretailer.com shared a report from mobile marketer, Knotice, which reveals 27% of marketing emails are opened on mobile devices.
• Google proposed a new metric that it hopes will become the online advertising industry standard. “Active View” would count a viewed impression that “is at least 50% viewable on the screen for at least one second”. Would a new standard convince your organization to invest more in online advertising?

TLC Pulse / 04.10.12

• NTEN released its 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study last week (abridged version in infographic form here). One notable finding is the online giving grew 20% from 2010 to 2011 – how does your organization stack up?
• Target Marketing wrote about the bright side of impending USPS changes, including our favorite bit of advice – take advantage of the free second ounce for First Class mail.
• The Google Art Project added 134 museums to its site last week including a handful of TLC clients – the Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The virtual gallery of 30,000 pieces of artwork allows visitors to get closer than ever to some of the world’s most famed pieces. A similar venture, WikiPaintings, is now in Beta.

TLC Pulse / 03.14.12

• Forbes.com wrote a great article last week about how direct mail is “alive and kicking”. Among the reasons listed is that consumer surveys show that physical media – pieces that the consumer can physically interact with – leaves a deeper imprint on the brain, thereby increasing ROI.
• The USPS revised its restructuring plan recently so that $20 billion in annual costs will be cut by 2015 and another $2 billion the following year. Among the cuts proposed that Congress will need to approve is an increase in First-Class stamps to 50 cents.
• Tickets to see the new home of the Barnes Foundation go on sale tomorrow, amid news that membership has increased from 390 in March 2009 to 15,000 today.
• The 340 ton rock destined to be turned into artwork, “Levitated Mass”, arrived at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday!

TLC Pulse / 02.16.12

• The USPS will run another summer promotional campaign this year offering discounts for pieces that include a two-dimensional “QR” barcode, but the restrictions will be more refined to ensure that QR codes link to a mobile-optimized website offering information relevant to the mail component. The discount will likely be only 2% compared to last year’s discount of 3%.
• Target Marketing reports that while stronger than expected holiday shipping activity brought in $2.8 billion in first quarter USPS revenue, continued declines in First-Class mail contributed to the overall net loss of $3.3 billion for the start of their fiscal year (October 1 – December 31).
• Direct Marketing IQ shared some landing page best practices, the first being our favorite – don’t make your visitors think! Keep the design and copy of your landing page super simple so that there are zero distractions between your user and your main goal.
• Social Media Examiner shares an important reminder in this article about using Facebook as an engagement tool by posting a call to action in your organization’s status updates rather than just news items. Get a conversation going by posing a question to fans, asking them to like or share something or inviting fans to sign up for updates or enter a contest.

TLC Pulse / 01.17.12

• On Mashable’s list of online data predications for 2012, point number one about predictive data caught our attention. While it’s now commonplace to use real-time technology to follow what’s trending with your campaign, for example, technology is now moving toward more accurate predictive use (for example, check out Decide.com).
• The New York Time Bits blog shared a study on mobile giving last week that shows while half of survey participants used their phones to make a contribution for Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, only two in five donors said they texted a donation to support relief after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year. Furthermore, 60% of donors interviewed said they had paid little or no attention to Haiti relief efforts after giving, which supports the argument that text donations are made on impulse.
• On the flip side, however, Direct Marketing News reports that Winterbury Group, a marketing consulting company, predicts that mobile marketing will increase by 50% in 2012!
• Direct Marketing News also reports that political marketers will utilize interactive direct mail tools, like QR codes, increasingly in the 2012 season.
• Is your museum using Instagram, the photo sharing App for iPhone? Brooklyn Museum just started and after posting only 111 photos, they have 6595 followers. Learn how to implement the App in your engagement plan with these easy steps outlined by Museum Next. 

TLC Pulse / 01.09.12

• Direct Marketing IQ shared 12 tests for lifting direct mail responses fast. One that might sound surprising? Remove your brochure (or other insert). It’s true; sometimes you can overwhelm your constituents with too much information and you’ll get better results by scaling back.
• Chronicle of Philanthropy wrote a growing trend in engaging donors and telling your organization’s story – infographics! Has your organization tried sharing data in this format?
• Nonprofit Quarterly commented last week on perhaps the most talked about end-of-year campaign in 2011 – Wikipedia’s distinctive banner ads helped the nonprofit raise $20 million from one millions donors. The banner ads were simple with just a personal appeal and photo of the appeal author. 

How USPS Changes Will Affect Your Program

Headlines on the USPS’s debt and impending changes in service are downright gloomy. We know that many clients are trying to sort out fact from fiction while also determining how their organization’s programs will be affected by the changes, so we hope the memo below will help inform you.

Rate Increases for 2012

It’s no surprise that postal rates will increase in 2012. First-class mail rates will increase by one cent to 45 cents beginning January 22 and postcards will jump from 29 cents to 32 cents. The good news is that nonprofit rates will largely decrease by about 1.3% for mailers who utilize advanced presorting options. Another silver lining? First-class presort is now available for mail weighing up to 1.9 ounces (as opposed to only one ounce). This allows for additional inserts to your package at no additional cost!

Changes in Delivery

The big news last week was that next-day delivery for first-class mail will be eliminated beginning in January. Due to the closure of more than 250 processing centers, the USPS says that mail delivery will increase by two or three days. Although changes in nonprofit mail delivery time were not mentioned specifically, one would assume that the usual delivery time will likely slow down as a result, potentially inching closer to the three week delivery guarantee.

Thankfully, the USPS has yet to announce a move to a five-day delivery schedule, although this could be a potential next step for the USPS, which needs to cut $20 billion from the budget before 2015 in order to remain profitable. The day most likely to be cut would be Saturday.

The Bottom Line

• Your plan of action should not be to mail less, but rather to mail smarter!
• Rate increases mean that more than ever your mailing lists must be updated and clean. We have a number of data hygiene programs that can be run in addition to our normal data processing.
• Due to new delays in delivery time, you should plan further ahead for mailings – your account manager will help meet your target in-home date.
• Utilize the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) to carefully track your mail through the USPS. This will allow you to time email or phone follow-ups appropriately.
• And of course a true integrated multi-channel approach is critical to the success of your direct mail program. We’ve had a lot of success in reaching new audiences online and have found that our clients who advertise online garner a better response in direct mail when coordinated.

For further questions or concerns about the potential impact USPS changes will have on your program, please contact your account manager or Angela Struebing, VP Clients Services at angela@thelukenscompany.com.