The Walnut Tree

25 Ways to Use Print on Demand: 11-21

In these days of intense competition, ideas on how to do things better, smarter, faster and with greater impact are wonderful career-advancing things. In our most recent ebook, we share 25 ways to use print on demand. Some of these ideas we have tried…some have been tried by others…and some are simply ideas.

While there are specific ideas for fundraisers and for commercial marketers, we suggest you read the whole book or all three blog posts because with a little tweaking, many of the ideas will cross over nicely.

Here are the next eleven:

1. We finally solved the problem of producing customized materials for franchisees and retailers. We set up a web portal that featured relevant marketing materials that allowed the franchisee or retailer to customize their own materials, within limits of course, and to proof and place their order on the spot. Depending on the run, we would produce either on traditional presses or by print on demand. Most orders were for quantities that were most economical for POD. It ended up saving a lot of staff time, space (did you know 78 percent of marketing expenditures is currently sitting on shelves?) and hassle, and reduced the error rate to nearly zero. Accounting loved it because the system initiated the billing process at the same time it placed the order.
2. Print on demand saved the day for us when we were testing a bunch of new products. We had focus groups scheduled in five cities, and we wanted the groups to see several creative approaches for packaging, ads and direct mail pieces. You can do some of this with projected images, but there is no substitution for hands-on, especially when you are dealing with direct mail. We needed 300 examples of each piece. Print on demand was the answer. With it, we were able to get very true color, two-sided printing and paper stocks similar to what we would normally use. We were also able to get it very quickly.
3. You don’t always need to personalize to use print on demand. It saved our bacon when we needed mini-catalogs for a trade show and had only a few days to produce them. We just needed 500 pieces, an easy quantity for POD, even though there were many pages involved. The binding was done inline, which further cut time.
4. We also did the invitations to that trade show on a POD system. Each one was personalized with an entry for a drawing to be held at the booth. The drawing tickets had numbers, but we pre-assigned numbers so we would know, later, who had been at the booth, even without asking visitors to fill something out. We used numbers to eliminate any appearance of favoritism—always a problem when there is a name on the ticket. Another feature on the card (not the ticket): the invitation carried a photo of the salesperson assigned to the company. The sales manager’s picture was on prospect cards (which were a different color). This allowed the personnel in the booth to quickly recognize our customers, even though they didn’t necessarily know them.
5. We have a number of long-tail products. The audiences are very small, but each sale isquite profitable. Print on demand lets us print very high-quality, targeted pieces for customers and prospects in these narrow product markets.
6. One of my friends does marketing for a Fortune 500 bio-research company who has some very large customers who get special pricing. While they can access product information with their special pricing on the web, they also print special catalogs for these premier customers. It’s easy and cost-effective with print on demand.
7. Another friend markets for a large physician practice group. They have found that mailing reminders of time for tests like mammograms, colonoscopies, cholesterol screenings and other preventive measures improves the likelihood that patients will get these tests on time. Simple, personalized self-mailers do the trick (They have a POD partner that maintains data confidentiality standards required by HIPAA).
8. When we start a major marketing initiative, we always put together a comprehensive marketing kit for our distribution channel partners. We tried communicating this information through email and the web, but we found that dimensional kits had a greater impact. By using print on demand, we are able to cut our cost per piece and still convey an impression of great quality.
9. Real estate is a very competitive business these days, where every edge is important. A real estate agent who printed weekly or semi-weekly catalogs of all properties, with high-quality four-color photos would have that edge. With digital printing, updating is easy, and quantities of 500 or so can be printed for reasonable prices.
10. People’s vacation dreams have vivid color. It makes sense for travel providers to stimulate those dreams with four-color brochures based on their travel history or known travel preferences: wine, golf, hiking, shopping. Digital color printing can make this happen.
11. One of our sales friends got inspired to produce a personalized digitally printed calendar for her clients. She got busy and collected personal information (valuable additions to her sales database in any case) and produced calendars with their birthdays, favorite colors and key dates for their favorite sports, etc. One lesson she learned: there is such a thing as too much, and too much information will complicate programming.

25 Ways to Use Print on Demand: 1-10

In these days of intense competition, ideas on how to do things better, smarter, faster and with greater impact are wonderful career-advancing things. In our most recent ebook, we share 25 ways to use print on demand. Some of these ideas we have tried…some have been tried by others…and some are simply ideas.

While there are specific ideas for fundraisers and for commercial marketers, we suggest you read the whole book or all three blog posts because with a little tweaking, many of the ideas will cross over nicely.

Here are the first ten:

1. We built a virtual back office, which centered around print on demand output. Our local chapters and affiliates no longer have to spend time and waste money printing materials for themselves. There is a web portal where they can order everything from customizable cases for support to solicitation letters to letters acknowledging gifts. Chapters were able to divert the time and money they spent producing materials into active fundraising and into advancing the mission itself. While digital imaging equipment handled some of the output, the system was designed to choose production methods from traditional presses for large quantities to desktop printing for very small quantities, with the print on demand niche in the 100–2,500 range.
2. It’s nice to let donors know you care, and an elegant, colorful certificate of appreciation is one way to do that. Digital imaging equipment, which personalizes the certificates as it prints them, is perfect for this kind of project.
3. Print on demand can make production of materials for those popular “walks” and “runs” much easier. It can be handled on a local basis, but it’s easy to set up an online ordering portal on a statewide or even national basis.
4. At least one national fraternity used variable print on demand to prepare brochures for potential major gift donors; using data from the prospect’s chapter made for a very personal and very effective approach.
5. Newsletters are a staple of the nonprofit segment, and print on demand makes customized, localized newsletters an option, using four-color local graphics.
6. Once a year, create a customized and personalized magazine for mid- to upper-level donors. If well done, it will be a keeper that sits out on coffee tables and is picked up and read time and time again. Don’t forget to include the remit envelope or a QR code.
7. Follow the lead of commercial marketers and use things like PURLs and QR codes to make print interactive. Engage donors by taking them directly to any place on the web you want them to go…to a YouTube video that presents a compelling story about your mission or to a PURL that pulls up their donor information and accepts an additional gift.
8. It often makes sense to hybridize—for example, if you print a catalog of donor options, consider printing the inside on a traditional press and stitching a full-color imaged and personalized cover (This could also be used to schedule high school students’ pre-college visits. Customize and personalize the cover only for cost savings).
9. Use four-color imaging to create truly personalized save-the-date cards for your major events.
10. Utilize a multi-channel auto synchronized campaign to gather donor information. Include a postcard mailing with a PURL and auto synch’d email with a PURL based on real-time tracking of the postcard through IMB tracking. Once the donor clicks through to their PURL landing page, capture donor feedback through a survey and link them to your organization’s donation page (while donations are not the main goal, we don’t want to discourage them).

Show Them the Love

Your donors show their love for you by supporting your cause, referring you to others and sharing positive feedback about you either on your website or a donor survey, among other ways. But do you reciprocate?

Show your donors the love by:

• Listening Really Listening: At Gabriel Group, our Director of First Impressions, Christie makes an effort to pay attention to our customers preferences. An example of this is that Doug McDaniel’s, of the Salvation Army, favorite beverage is Diet Coke. Although, he visits just a few times per year, each time he does she makes sure that our mini fridge is stocked with Diet Coke and greets him at the door with his beverage of choice.
• Telling Them: Send a thank you card, an appreciation gift or better yet, drop in with a box of fresh pastries or cookies…food is an international bonding mechanism! Or maybe host an estate planning seminar for a group of your prospects with coffee and continental breakfast included.
  
• Telling Others: Show them your appreciation for their donation by recognizing them. Promoting others has become exceptionally easy because of the internet…so in the spirit of practicing what we preach, we would like to promote SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center’s Valentine’s Day Rally. Click here to order either a Video E-Card or Traditional Printed Valentine Cards. For just a $10 donation, your BIG heart can help the kids’ hearts heal!

Thank you for reading our blog, and happy early Valentine’s Day!

A Gift from Us to You, In the True Spirit of Christmas...

The holiday season means many different things to many different people. But regardless of your personal beliefs, the universal theme is one of good will. It is in this spirit that Gabriel Group associates have chosen to express their appreciation and gratitude to our clients, vendors and friends by supporting two causes this year. Our associates have helped fund an orphanage in Mozambique, Africa and made a donation to aid the Missouri Tornado Victims in Joplin.

Working in partnership with Cross International, we are making a donation to help create an orphanage for the Reencontro village, which will provide two major needs: housing for vulnerable orphans and community-based orphan care. The project will help the children, as well as the grandmothers, aunts and neighbors who are raising them by providing food, health care and education. Specifically, 23 homes will be provided and a vocational training and counseling center will be built. This project will benefit up to 7,000 orphaned children as well as numerous women and men who will be part of the community program.

A little closer to home, we have donated to the tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri through Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross. In the EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin on May 22^nd 7,500 homes were destroyed. Of the homes that were destroyed, 43 percent were uninsured. Our gift to Habitat for Humanity is helping build 10 homes for low-income Joplin families affected by the recent tornado; our donation to the American Red Cross has helped provide temporary shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to the tornado victims.

It’s true that what blesses one blesses all. We know how blessed we are to have clients and friends like you, and we want to express our gratitude and appreciation in a manner that makes a difference.

Best wishes for a joyful holiday season, and a New Year filled with love and prosperity.

Charitable IRA Rollovers Expected to Expire December 31st 2011

We have all been aware that the special Charitable IRA Rollover provision has been set to expire on December 31^st 2011, since the act was reinstated in late 2010. We are hopeful, as you surely are too, that it will be extended again. Since this doesn’t seem likely before the end of the year, we encourage you to review the content on your website and related publications to ensure the provision wording remains accurate.

In addition, because this may be their last chance, it is important to make your eligible donors aware of this opportunity to donate without paying income tax on their gift. The conditions for making a Charitable IRA Rollover, include:

• The donor must be 70 ½ or older
• The donation must be transferred from a traditional or Roth IRA directly to the nonprofit
• The donation amount cannot exceed $100,000 per donor for 2011 (any amount exceeding $100,000 will be taxed by the IRS)
• The donor cannot receive any goods or services in exchange for the gift
• A valid receipt from the nonprofit must be provided to the donor

We will continue to monitor Congress in 2012 and hope to see this tax-advantage way of giving be reinstated soon!

Are QR Codes Just a Fad or Here to Stay?

Just in the past two weeks alone, I have received very contradictory messages about QR codes…all backed by research, of course!

Last week, I attended PODi’s webinar Beyond the Code: How to Generate Revenue by Incorporating Mobile. The presenter discussed how mobile tagging was more than just a QR code. It is the hyperlinking of things or items (think magazine ads, business cards etc.) and connecting them to digital content. They went on to talk about NFC (google “Google Wallet”). With NFC, you would just tap your phone on the NFC tag to connect to the digital content. In this webinar, I was told mobile tagging is the future of the US and that soon everything will be interconnected.

So, I am sure you can imagine how discouraging it was when I read the body copy below from my co-worker after he read Amy Gahran's article Why QR codes aren’t catching on: “This article reiterates that QR codes don’t add value, but marketers are still pushing the technology.”

Not even five minutes after reading Amy’s article, another co-worker gave me the December issue of Deliver Magazine with an article flagged. The article led with “New report says QR codes can enhance marketing efforts.”

So as busy marketers, how are we supposed to filter through all of this information to determine if we should or should not being utilizing QR codes?

According to the webinar, four out of every five Japanese adults access information by scanning a QR code or tapping a NFC tag every day. So, the idea that QR codes and mobile tagging will catch on in the US isn’t so farfetched. In addition, with the number of Smartphone users ever increasing and the constant advances in Smartphone technology it seems that this is the way of the future. Even the “anti” QR code article, "Why QR codes aren’t catching on", links the lack of success of QR codes with a lack of knowledge.

I don’t suggest marketers just jump on board and slap QR codes on marketing pieces merely for the sake of getting on the QR code bandwagon! But, if you do choose to embrace QR codes now or in the future, make sure you remember these important takeaways from the PODi webinar:

• Content is important, but Context is KING…If your company sells automobile parts, don’t have a QR code on an advertisement for windshield wiper blades link to general information about your company instead link them to a landing page on how to install wiper blades).
• Time is crucial...Pay attention to download speed, make the visitors time on the landing page short and provide simple, pertinent information with links to other information they might find valuable.
•  Get people to take action…Offer exclusive content or special offers whenever possible and ask for basic contact information (allow them to opt in to receive future communications).
• One QR code doesn’t fit all. Even if the QR code links to the same place, a different code should be used on each different marketing piece, so that you can track where your visitors came from.

 

Author: Kelsey Ruse

Do You Say "Thanks" Enough?

I wrote this blog post last Thanksgiving, but feel that it is still very applicable:

I just love Thanksgiving! For starters, I love it because of all the home-cooked food – my family and I have been orchestrating the exact details of our Thanksgiving feast for the last month. The anticipation built up as we divvyed up who would make the steaming roast turkey, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, moist stuffing with creamy homemade gravy, scrumptious pecan, pumpkin and apple pies!

I also love it that on Thanksgiving you slow down enough that you can actually fall asleep on the couch after stuffing yourself silly. In our fast-paced, uber-connected world, it is so wonderful (and necessary) to unplug and enjoy real face-to-face conversations.

And of course, I also love it because Thanksgiving is when you gather with family and friends and give “thanks” for all their love and support. Think of those people in your life that make you feel warm and fuzzy with their love, and make sure you hug them and tell them “thanks!”

Now you can take all these things I “love” about Thanksgiving and translate them into your planned giving efforts too…

• Food is an international bonding mechanism!! Consider dropping in with a box of fresh donuts or cookies to a few of your donors. Or maybe host an estate planning seminar for a group of your prospects with coffee and continental breakfast included. 
• Face-to-face communication is still the most effective way to fundraise. Sure, you need to do all the other broad-based mailings, emails, social media, research etc., but talking directly to your donors is your most important activity!
• Say “Thanks!” frequently and often. Your donors will never be offended by a card or call or token of your thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving and “thank you” for reading our blog!

 

Author: Renee Durnin, CFRE

The Cardinals Win, SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center Wins and Most Importantly the Kids at SSM Cardinal Glennon Win!

Back in mid-August when SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center decided to automate their popular “Cards for Kids” holiday fundraising program, using Gabriel Group’s G3 platform, no one could have guessed what a fortuitous decision it was.  The goal at that time was two-fold:

1. Enable the card purchasers to personalize their cards with variable messages, signatures and logos
2. Free up Foundation staff from having to manually imprint, wrap and mail the cards…saving money and time

This looked like a win-win situation for everyone involved. Although unbeknownst to any of us at that time, the St. Louis Cardinals were going to come from 10 ½ games out to clench a wildcard spot in the National League playoffs. Fast forward to Game Four of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. It was at this game that the now famous Rally Squirrel made his inaugural appearance, rallying fans, tormenting the Phillies’ pitcher and helping lead the hometown team to a win over the Phillies in five games. 

Success like that cannot be caged.  The next few weeks saw a whirlwind of baseball activity for the Rally Squirrel, as he was adopted as the unofficial mascot of the Cardinals during the quest for 11 in ‘11. As the games of the 2011 World Series came to a magnificent close Friday night, crowning the St. Louis Cardinals World Champions once again, the Rally Squirrel—his work finished with the team—slipped quietly out of the Busch Stadium.  He put on his philanthropic hat and headed over to SSM Cardinal Glennon where he now resides as the official mascot, which brings us back to our original story.

By noon on Saturday, he had his own Rally Squirrel holiday card—celebrating the World Series and benefiting the brave children at SSM Cardinal Glennon, children who know first hand what it means “to never give up!” The decision last August to automate the “Cards for Kids” program through Gabriel Group’s G3 platform, made it possible for Rally (we’re on a first name basis) to instantly switch gears from baseball to kids in need and add his card to SSM Glennon’s “Cards for Kids” website to help raise money for the children of SSM Cardinal Glennon Medical Center.

Join the Rally Squirrel in celebrating the World Series Champion Cardinals by ordering  your customized Rally Squirrel Card (or chose from several other cards designed by children), and support the terrific kids of SSM Cardinal Glennon.  All proceeds from “Cards for Kids” go to benefit the children at SSM Cardinal Glennon Medical Center. Click here or go to: www.glennon.org and order your cards today!

 

Author: Elsie Listrom, CFRE

The “Silver Bullet” for Generating Planned Giving Leads, Still Hitting the Bull’s-Eye

Ask most planned giving professionals how well their broad-based mailings went and they may say, "Pretty good ... we saw about 0.5 to 1% response rate." Before last November when I posted The “Silver Bullet” for Generating Planned Giving Leads, I would have agreed this was good because response rates in PG are much lower than the 2 to 10% you see in outright gift asks…

But now that we exceeded The Salvation Army Eastern Territory’s results of generating nearly 3% qualified planned giving leads for both World Vision and TSA Central Territory, with 4.5% and 3.15% respectively, I have moved from excited to ecstatic about the results we’ve been seeing from our Planned Giving survey mailings!

These mailings have blown the normal mailings out of the water, and there are a few key factors I originally posted that still prove crucial to the success of these mailings:

1. 2-way communication with the donor – Their voice was heard, and the donors appreciated that.
2. The right audience – We ran Gabriel Group's scoring model on the entire database and then only mailed to select people based on that scoring.
3. Timing was right – We mailed during those hot summer months when people are indoors out of the heat. Also during summer, fewer organizations are mailing so there was less competition.
4. Outer envelope made it clear this was not a request for a donation – just a request for their time. (But I can tell you, we still got a lot of donations too!)

Bottom line, these mailings drove in more PG leads than two or three other mailings combined, and the leads were qualified and genuinely interested in various planned giving vehicles.

In mailings like these, you also capture elusive data like if the donor is "heirless," which is a big key in wills. In addition, you unearth many folks who've already put you in their will so you can thank them.

The survey mailing in combination with targeted analytics is the best planned giving marketing tool I've seen in my 10+ years of fundraising, and it's so fulfilling to do this work for nonprofits like The Salvation Army and World Vision!

 

Author: Renee Durnin, CFRE

 

Recent Study Shows Nonprofits aren’t Raising Enough Money from Donors to Keep up with Attrition

New statistics from a comprehensive study reported on in the Chronicle of Philanthropy by Holly Hall confirm what Gabriel Group has been telling clients all along: you can't afford to lose the new donor you've spent so much time and money acquiring! Aggressive donor retention and relationship-building strategies work. Yet, they're often the first programs nixed when budgets get tight. Think about it...one lost donor costs your organization a lot more than "a gift." It also strips you of the cumulative value of that benefactor's future revenue potential.

Hall says the study of over 2,000 nonprofits shows that organizations aren’t raising enough money from new and repeat donors to keep up with donor attrition. For every $5.35 organizations received in donations, they lost $5.54 from donors who gave less or stopped giving altogether, causing contributions to fall by an average of 1.9 percent.

The good news, according to the study, is that the findings show improvements over the previous two years, where the organizations in the study lost an average of 17.7 percent in contributions during 2009 after flat returns the year before. The organizations also saw an increase in supporters compared to a 2.2-percent loss in 2009.

Hall goes on to say that organizations that raised at least $500,000 last year had an 8 percent gain in donations, and those that raised $100,000 to $499,999 had a 2.3 percent gain. However, groups that raised less than $100,000 reported a loss of 12.2 percent.

Gabriel Group continues its leadership role in creating custom donor retention and upgrade programs that maximize your fundraising dollar. Let us show you how to keep your donors active, engaged and giving! Call or write today for a free consultation.