Station grows membership through direct mail

Public television stations depend on their on-air pledge drives to generate most of their members. Many of these members are brought in with premiums and less than 50% of them renew their membership the second year. Using direct mail to acquire members with renewal rates of 60% or higher, generates long-term members for the organization.

One public television station on the east coast had not done direct mail acquisition in a few years due to limited staff. Its membership base had decreased. Many members had lapsed.

We were called in to prepare a plan to raise $100,000 in net revenue from 12,000 members AND grow the base. We reviewed the station's coverage area and identified lists that might generate new members. We mailed a package that had been successfully tested in other markets with copy variations, to accommodate existing members and lapsed members.

The results were there. This initial appeal generated $80,000 alone with a response rate close to 2% from new members and 14% from existing members (compared to customary 6%). A win-win all around.