Spe­cial direct mail clin­ic – The one with Ken Burnett

In this first spe­cial direct mail clin­ic, John Lepp wel­comes Ken Bur­nett for a chat. Ken talks to you about his new­ly revised and third edi­tion of Rela­tion­ship Fundrais­ing – and explains why the book is increas­ing­ly rel­e­vant to fundrais­ers today. This clin­ic real­ly could help shape the future of your fundrais­ing, enjoy!

Written by
Carolina Herrera
Added
March 24, 2024

Now that you have watched all of the original direct mail clinics, with loads of top tips from John, it’s time to pick up some more hints and tricks from his fundraising friends. In these special clinics, John invites some highly experienced fundraisers to give you a quick masterclass. 

First up is SOFII co-founder and writer of many great fundraising books, Ken Burnett. 

In this 17 minute video, Ken chats to you (and John!) about why he decided to update his highly-regarded book, Relationship Fundraising with a new, third edition. 

Back in 1992, the original book encouraged fundraisers to move away from a transactional based approach that led them to get the first gift, then chase the next one – and so on and so forth. It laid out how things could be done differently, how fundraisers could spend more time focusing on their donors and ensure that each one was comfortable and inspired by their giving.  

Today, Ken talks you through some of the recent updates to the book and how they can help you in your day to day fundraising. 

He shares five ‘post it notes’ with top tips, as well as the five F’s of fundraising. These represent just a small portion of the inspiration inside the book, which will no doubt become a staple of your fundraiser’s bookshelf. 

Go on, watch, learn and be inspired!

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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Direct mail clinic #1 – All about marketing

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Direct mail clinic #2 – Envelopes

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Direct mail clinic #3 – How do humans make decisions?

Why are so many fundraisers talking about decision science? In this clinic, John Lepp explains that understanding what drives donor decisions is key to improving your direct mail appeals. It is a great place to start on your decision science journey, so watch this clinic and get to know how you can apply these techniques to your next campaign.

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Direct mail clinic #4 – What goes in the box?

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Direct mail clinic #5 – A letter autopsy

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Direct mail clinic #6 – Tis the season

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Direct mail clinic #7 – What is mezzo fundraising?

In this next instalment of the AOG direct mail clinic series, John Lepp wants to talk to you about your middle or mid value donors. These donors are so important to your organisation, and fundraisers shouldn’t fall into the trap of sending them a standard appeal. 

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Direct mail clinic #8 – It’s called a ‘reply’ form for a reason

In this session, John looks at the anatomy of a great, well performing, reply form and the things that need to be on it to make it work.

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Direct mail clin­ic #9 – How deep is your nerdiness?

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Direct mail clin­ic #10 – The direct response super-hack

If you’re tired of telling stories from your chief executive or director’s point of view, then you need to watch this video. Because too often, the voices we use (and their tendency to speak professionally) can get in the way of our storytelling AND our fundraising. 

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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.

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