Greater Public’s Direct Mail Services

Greater Public's Direct Mail Program

Leave the mailing to us

We make direct mail easy and affordable.

A well-run direct mail program is essential to the success of your station’s membership program. A successful mail program will deliver:

  1. Positive net revenue and acquisition of new donors
  2. More donors who donate year after year through direct mail (year-over-year retention from direct-mail donors is typically more than twice as high as on-air, non-sustainer donors)
  3. Targeted audience that still responds to direct mail

Why Outsource Direct Mail to Us?

Running a successful direct mail program in-house can be very hard to do. Here are the barriers organizations tell us they face:

  • It’s too expensive for many organizations to rent acquisition lists due to list minimums and surcharges.

    Our unique, nonprofit co-op model lets you join group buys with other stations. This eliminates the minimum quantity requirements used by most direct mail agencies and providers. Our unique co-op model also divides all surcharges among all the stations participating in the acquisition campaign, which lowers the costs for each station.

    We can serve the mail needs of stations of all sizes, including small stations with limited budgets.

  • It’s difficult for a single organization to test for effective letter copy at scale.

    Our copy is tested nationwide at more than 100 public media stations.

  • Mail date coordination for bulk mail is anything but straightforward.

    We’ve verified the delivery of every single mailing we’ve ever sent in the past 15 years by checking the postal certificate with accurate counts (sometimes by going to extreme measures). We also make sure your mail is sorted properly so you can receive the lower postage rates available.

  • It’s burdensome and time-consuming to make sure mailings are free of duplicate addresses while complying with federal do-not-mail lists for acquisition.

    We deliver duplicate-free mailing lists that are compliant with the National Change of Address (NCOA) database and the National Do Not Mail List registry.

These barriers mean many stations don’t or cannot effectively fundraise through direct mail.

Current co-op participants range from KXCI in Tucson to WBUR in Boston. You’ll see positive net revenue from the gifts that come in from each mail campaign and the staff time freed up for other essential tasks.

Find Your Plan

Acquisition List Rental

Full Service Acquisition

Annual Partner

List Rental and Targeting Strategy
Affordable, curated acquisition mailing lists built on performance data from thousands of successful public media mailings. Cooperative buys free you from list minimums.

Printing and Mailing
High quality, personalized laser printing. No more endless lettershop changes. No more trips to the post office. You receive confirmation of on-time delivery while we handle the burdensome bulk-mail-date coordination.

Copy and Creative
Use our proven, continuously-optimized copy packages, personalized for your station.

Data Processing
No more hours spent juggling databases to check for duplicate or do-not-mail names. Make your direct mail dollar go further with a duplicate-free, compliant, highly deliverable file.

Complete Program Management and Strategy
Augment your team! We create budgets, schedules, and strategy for your program including add-gift, acquisition, and renewals.

Or Work With Us to Customize Any Single Mailing

We work with more than 100 stations on customized mail plans that meet individual needs. Ask us about creating a single add-gift, sustainer upgrade, or lapsed campaign. We’ll work with your needs to create a mail solution for any campaign of any size.

Pricing

With our co-op model, mailing with Greater Public is as affordable as it gets. We work with our lettershop vendors to secure the most economical rates so you can retain more revenue for your station.

  • Pricing for full service acquisition starts at $650 per 1,000 pieces mailed which includes printing, postage, and list rental fees.

  • Single campaign mailings (i.e. lapsed, add gift) start at $485 per 1,000 mailed, including postage.

How Do I Sign Up?

For the acquisition list rental co-op, please read the co-op requirements and specifications, which provide background, definitions, expectations, and responsibilities.

To sign up to participate in the upcoming acquisition list co-op buy, fill out the online form. By submitting the form, you are agreeing to the terms outlined in the form and on this page.

To sign up for other services or if you have questions, please contact Donna Han at dhan@greaterpublic.org or (703) 850-0541.

Current and Future Acquisition Co-op List Dates

Spring 2025
  • November 1, 2024: Absolutely last day to register for acquisition co-op names for use
  • December 10, 2024:  Greater Public sends list counts/list plans to stations (last day to withdraw from co-op without penalty)
  • December 17, 2024: Absolute last day to place order with Greater Public
  • March 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025: Approved mail date range
Fall 2025
  • April 8, 2025: Absolutely last day to register for acquisition co-op names for use
  • May 13, 2025:  Greater Public sends list counts/list plans to stations (last day to withdraw from co-op without penalty)
  • May 20, 2025: Absolute last day to place order with Greater Public
  • August 1, 2025 – November 30, 2025: Approved mail date range

Frequently Asked Questions

What can direct mail do?

Direct mail delivers positive net revenue and donors who stick with your station longer at an efficient cost. Year-over-year retention from direct-mail donors is typically more than twice as high as on-air, non-sustainer donors. Mailing reaches a prime demographic that still reads and responds to mail, benefiting from nationwide testing at more than 100 public media stations.

Who can participate?

Stations of all sizes and formats are welcome to participate.

How much mailing should my station be doing?

Direct-mail-acquired donors are valuable donors to have on file, with retention rates often more than double that of on-air-acquired donors. To maintain and grow a healthy, prosperous donor file, you should be mailing your file multiple times a year, especially around pledge drives, calendar-year-end, fiscal-year-end, and, if possible, sending renewal mailings every month. These mailings should include acquisition, add gift, lapsed, and sustainer audiences.

Can I change the letter copy?

Our team will work with you to ensure the letter copy fits the tone of your station while preserving the time-tested elements of our proven copy and following direct mail best practices.

How many names should I order for acquisition mail?

Remember that you’ll be suppressing your current members, and that some names will appear on more than one list, so plan to order 35-45% more names than you want to mail.

Why is it more expensive to order fewer names?

Fixed costs remain the same regardless of the quantity ordered. With smaller orders, those costs are spread over fewer names.

Why do I have to register for list rental so early?

Everyone registers three months prior to the first allowable mail date so we can make sure your names are delivered on schedule.

Donna Han

Greater Public Direct Mail Services

(703) 850-0541 (Eastern Time Zone)
dhan@greaterpublic.org
Main contact for acquisition list questions