A colleague who does work for a nonprofit organization contacted me asking if I could do research on the success rate of personalized direct mail letters (Dear Joe) versus generically addressed letters (Dear Friend). Surprisingly, I didn't find as many statistics as expected, but I found information stating that personalized letters outperform generic letters.

The Digital Printing Council conducted a survey and the results showed "tailored direct mail pieces increase response rates by more than 500 percent over a basic, non-personalized piece."

Gotmarketing reports that "personalizing an email marketing campaign can improve response rates by 45 percent." This one defines customized content and the customer's purchase history as personalization.

ClickZ shares data from a study that "found personalization was the most important factor when contributors determine which charity or fundraising direct mail they open at 62 percent." Second place? Timing at 59 percent.

It may cost more to personalize the campaign, but the response rate more than makes up the difference than taking the cheap, generic route. When I see mail addressed to "Resident," I promptly throw it in the trash or recycling pile.

More resouces: "Personalized donor letters always outperform generic 'Dear Friend' appeals. Donors deserve 'special' treatment and appeals should reinforce the positive relationship you've already established." From FundClass.

Mal Warwick & Associates, Inc. learned "personal attention makes a big difference. The old cliche is true: people give money to people, not organizations. The more personal the contact, the more effective your fundraising will be."

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.