4 Must-Read Gems from Recent Direct Marketing Conferences and Articles

If you’ve been too busy to soak up all of the great content making the rounds at the recent direct marketing conferences and in the industry’s blogosphere, don’t worry! Production Solutions (PS) has been rounding up the must-reads for you so you don’t miss a beat. Here’s a look at some killer presentations; a few insightful articles so you can skip wading through the flood of information out there and get right to the good stuff:

1. Attribution 101 – PowerPoint slides from the March DMAW Lunch & Learn presentation by Angela Struebing of CDR Fundraising Group
   In this compelling and colorful PowerPoint presentation, Angela Struebing, Agency Director at CDR Fundraising Group, shows us what attribution is, explores various methods of attribution and reveals best practices for multi-channel campaigns. With overlapping donor touchpoints understanding which channels to attribute your successes to may be more complicated than you think and Struebing points out that organizations need to make investment decisions based on the right combination of touchpoints. Don’t miss her insights and case studies covering the importance of accurate attribution!
2. How Should We Segment Our Files in 2014 and Beyond – PowerPoint slides from DMA Nonprofit Conference presentation by Cheryl Keedy of Production SolutionThis information-packed presentation talks about the importance of segmentation, how it’s changing as donors change, recommends successful package formats and techniques for different audience segments and uses key case studies to illustrate a variety of segmentation strategies. Most importantly, this presentation uncovers how to select the right segmentation strategy for your organization. This presentation is peppered with impressive visuals and invaluable insights!
3. 1 Simple Way to Improve Donor Retention – Article by Debbie Barber of Grizzard Communications Group featured on FundraisingSuccessMag.com
   This short, but powerful article by Grizzard Communications Group president Debbi Barber reveals a simple key to easily increasing return on donor satisfaction and long-term value: an acknowledgement program. A prompt thank you for a gift – within 24-72 hours – can address the issue of declining retention and much more! Barber reveals a great list of action items to immediately improve your organization’s approach to acknowledgement.
4. Nonprofit Writing Dos and Don’ts – Bloomerang Video featuring Mazarine Treyz of Wild Woman Fundraising
   In this short online interview, popular non-profit writing blogger Mazarine Treyz shares invaluable insights into how to make your non-profit writing stronger, where to find to the best examples of successful non-profit writing to emulate, and some interesting format strategies. Her passion for great non-profit writing really comes through in this video and will inspire you to pen your next appeal with passion.