Introducing the 2021 Canadian Direct Mail Benchmarks Report
The wait is over! For those of you looking for up-to-date, pandemic-proof, all-Canadian direct mail benchmarks, look no further. The 2021 Canadian Direct Mail Benchmarks Report is here—and you can download it (for free!) right now. Early, non-biased reviews are already pouring in, and they’re electric: […]
When Things Go Off The Rails – and they surely will, at some point!
We’ve all had it happen. Things are humming along and all the ducks are waddling along in their rows when BAM! Printing errors happen. Like, the lettershop calls and the postal indicia on the envelope is too small. Meaning it might not be accepted for induction by Canada Post. Or BAM! – a Neighbourhood Mail […]
Don’t Go Breaking My (Direct Mail Loving) Heart
How to Write Direct Mail for Donors Who Don’t Read Direct Mail 💌 Here at Good Works, we’re passionate about sharing emotional stories with your donors. But we also know a little secret about direct mail donors… Lots of them decide to give without even reading the letter! (If you love writing stories for donors […]
Your Guide to the Recent Canada Post Service Changes
In case you missed it, Canada Post made some changes earlier this year that may affect your direct mail program. If you’re feeling a bit lost trying to figure out what’s new, we’re here to help! Below is our annual summary of the service changes that are most likely to impact your program. (Note that […]
3 Metrics to Help Drive Your Fundraising Performance
If you don’t know the destination, how will you know when you get there? It seems we spend a lot of time during the month of January taking stock of where we’ve been the past year and setting ourselves up for success in the year ahead. This is a great time to consider which investments […]
How Aging Changes The Way We Read Mail
Just last week, I read this tweet showed up in my newsfeed. Now admittedly, this is pretty old, but it did offer up a Groundhog Day moment for me. I was both transfixed and blown away by this image: Astigmatism is when the cornea is slightly curved rather than completely round.. With astigmatism, light focuses […]
Direct Mail In Canada: Where It’s Been, And Where It’s Going
All things COVID aside, there’s never been a better time to be Canadian – amiright? Nice, friendly people, free healthcare, gorgeous scenery, timbits and all-dressed chips. The bottom line is – Canada is awesome. And the charitable donors in this country? Even awesomer. But like so many things, fundraising benchmarks, data and research is mostly […]
A Smart Way Forward
The COVID-19 pandemic has sent a lot of charity leaders into a tailspin. In this unknown environment, many of us have felt that it’s somehow inappropriate to be ‘pushy’ about asking for money when so many are suffering. Wrong! Canadian donors have told us that they’re still generous – and that they still intend to […]
The Hectic Fall Season – Pandemic Style
For those of you that are savvy veterans of the direct mail fundraising game, you know that we are heading into the busiest and most important time of year, pandemic or not. For the vast majority of direct mail fundraisers, the September to December stretch is the biggest in terms of revenue coming in and […]
December 31 is 133 Days Away: How To Plan Your Year-End Direct Mail Campaign
It’s August. For some, that means sweltering days spent in the pool, in the lake, or in the air conditioning. But for fundraisers like us, it means it’s time to start planning our year-end appeals! Year-end, or ‘holiday’, appeals are often the most successful direct mail campaigns of the year for charities, big and small. […]