Don't mention the economy...

You may recall some debate as to whether you should mention the economy in your appeal letters... I asked if anyone tests it to tell me the results.

Mark from bluefrog did - the idea was that maybe average donation would increase if they talked about the economic woes.

Mentioning the economy in a carefully controlled test they found that it harmed average gift considerably. I don't know the response rate but presum no significant difference or he would have said.

See the whole article here.

So, be careful about mentioning it!

Sean

PTF says don't mention recession in your copy

Jane Cunningham of UK charity phone agency PTF tells me a client tested mentioning the economic downturn in a direct mail shot and the appeal with the mention harmed response. I haven't seen the copy, or the actual data but just a warning to be careful - definitely test it.

I will try and get more information.