Direct mail clin­ic #11 – Thank you

Con­grat­u­la­tions, you’ve made it to clin­ic #11. That means you have learned a lot about direct response. But as John says him­self… this clin­ic is the most impor­tant one.

Written by
Carolina Herrera
Added
March 23, 2025

Clinic #11 is all about gratitude. 

And in the simplest terms, there are three steps to gratitude: 

  1. You ask.
  2. You thank.
  3. You report back. (If you promise to do it, you actually have to do it.)

Yes, that last step is crucial, especially for your donor. Because gratitude isn’t just about saying thank you, it’s about saying what you did with their money. Your donor wants to know!

Fortunately, to help you be the best when it comes to thanking, John has packed this clinic with examples of great gratitude: 

  • thanking via the post
  • thanking via email
  • thanking via the phone
  • thanking via video
  • handmade thank you notes
  • thanking in a newsletter
  • and more!

No matter how you decide to thank your donors, please do it with sincerity. Your efforts will make a big difference and, best of all, you can have fun with it. You really are only limited by your imagination.

So please, take some time to watch clinic #11 and pick up all the tips and tricks that will make your gratitude stand out from the rest.

P.S. John says, if you love thanking and want to get better at it…. Go buy Lisa Sargent’s new book, Thankology. It has even more tips to help you!

Watch AOG direct mail clinic #11 – Thank you

John Lepp (he/him) is a fundraiser, designer and donor champion with more than 20 years of experience working with charities across Canada and around the world. As partner at Agents of Good, he helps charities tell stories that inspire donors to give, both online and offline. John is a respected and coveted international speaker who has travelled the world encouraging fundraisers be more human and vulnerable with those other amazing humans we call donors. 

His latest book, Creative Deviations offers plenty of tips for how fundraisers can infuse their storytelling, fundraising and direct response with more creativity.

About the author: Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera is SOFII's project manager

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