An impactful spring appeal design can be one of the most important drivers of the success of your fundraising efforts, whether you use print or go digital. The fact is, if the visual appeal is not attention grabbing, it will be overlooked and few will ever read your important messaging.
Believe it or not, spring is around the corner and pandemic spring appeals can become a significant source of donations for many organizations. If you haven’t yet thought about the design of your spring appeal, it’s time to do so now. For an early April delivery, the design process should start by mid-late February. Our list below of design considerations will help you think about your options and help you get noticed.
Full-color Envelope Design, including Photographs
At Trillion, our experience with clients proves that an outer envelope with full-color photographs or graphics on both sides is the single most effective way to make your appeal mailings stand out. Impactful and simple imagery works best, especially when combined with a short headline. Trillion has long-standing relationships with printing companies that can produce this economically and with smaller quantities.
Bright Colored Paper/Printed Envelope
Nearly all mail is printed on white paper, so using color is a must. Either a bright colored paper or a bright ink for your outer envelope will work wonders in grabbing attention, especially springtime color palettes. Pre-made envelopes are available in many colors, including fluorescents, but the color of the paper can’t interfere with the legibility of the black ink required for addressing your mailing. If the color is too dark, a label will be required and that’s not practical if mailing thousands of appeals. When printing on an outer envelope, an approximately 4.5-inch wide by 1.75-inch tall clear area is required to accommodate a standard address and postal barcode.
A Different Size Appeal than Usual
We’ve noted that non-profits tend to use common sizes and formats in all their fundraising campaigns. We suggest you modify the size of your appeal, because changing up things can keep your constituents engaged. At the same time, it’s important to carefully size your appeal, because dimensions and weight can impact printing, mail house and postage costs. For example, a letter envelope mailed with non-profit postage is allowed to weigh up to 3.3 ounces before incurring extra postage. First-class envelopes are only allowed up to one ounce before incurring extra postage.
Custom Window Envelope Design
There are several standard window envelopes readily available but utilizing a custom window envelope can provide two benefits:
- You can make sure the placement of personalized information and the addressee from your letter or inserts appear through the envelope window. This saves on mail house costs and also allows for more creative positioning of the mailer’s contents.
- You can give your recipients a glimpse of what’s inside, whether it’s a free gift, membership/donor card, or personalized messaging.
Be aware, though, a custom window envelope costs more and takes longer to produce. It’s most common for mailings with 25,000-piece minimums and upward and can require multiple-week lead times to produce.
Use a Spring Appeal Self-Mailer
A self-mailer can have several advantages over an appeal mailed in an envelope. A self-mailer is a folded piece of paper that gets sealed at the edge with fugitive glue or wafer seals. A self-mailer for your spring appeal can be a folded card with a remittance envelope attached inside (see sample above). They can also create impact with larger sizes and include several panels of imagery and text. One of the biggest benefits of a self-mailer is cost savings of postage, as well as mail house costs associated with inserting a mailing into an envelope.
We have created unique and personalized self-mailers utilizing a full-color pre-printed shell and laser printing content throughout the mailer. It gets folded, sealed and is mailed faster than a traditional appeal mailing.
Create “Useful Information” Content
We’ve used guides, goals, and year-ahead reports as something to highlight on outer envelopes or as headlines for digital campaigns. Headlines like “Hiking Guide to Trails Enclosed” or “Your Homework Handbook Download is Ready” can entice engagement. Donors also love to see where support is most needed and how their gifts will be used. In addition, providing an added value resource to your supporters is yet another touchpoint to creating a win-win spring appeal!
Give a Gift Via Mobile
It’s easier than ever to use a mobile device for giving. Mobile giving continues to become more accepted and the user experience in doing so has become even easier with tools like Apple Pay and PayPal. QR codes, the square pixelated icons we’ve come to recognize, are also trending as a gift-giving option on printed pieces because mobile phones now read QR codes in their native camera app. If you’re offering a mobile gifting option, be sure your web pages are mobile optimized to make donating easy and quick. What’s more, ensure donors receive suitable documentation for tax purposes (most third-party donor platforms have this feature).
Do you want your spring fundraising appeal to be special this year?
Trillion has designed and produced many spring fundraising appeals for our non-profit clients. The unique formats and designs grab attention and inspire constituents to engage. If you need a new perspective for your appeals, please reach out to us at 908.219.4703 or utilize our simple contact form and one of our creative directors will respond promptly.
