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Improve Direct Mail Performance Using Behavioral Science & Personality Traits with Kevin Schulman

Missions to Movements

Chapters
1:15
Why My Mailbox Became A Lab
3:40
Is Direct Mail Still Worth It
6:40
Meet Kevin And Donor Voice
9:50
What A Real Donor Relationship Means
17:08
The Three-Question Commitment Score
20:58
From Surveys To Systemwide Data
25:33
Calibrating Comms By Commitment
29:28
Personality 101: The Big Five
34:33
From Traits To Tailored Messaging
39:43
The Charity Water Test Setup
44:53
Tracking Indirect Lift Across Channels
48:38
Postcard Versus Letter: The Surprise
Missions to Movements
Improve Direct Mail Performance Using Behavioral Science & Personality Traits with Kevin Schulman
Nov 19, 2025 Episode 211
Dana Snyder

Fewer than five of charity: water’s donors wrote a check during a 75,000-piece direct mail test, yet direct mail STILL lifted revenue by 1.5-2%!

Behavioral science expert and DonorVoice founder Kevin Schulman is here to talk about why traditional direct mail metrics fall short, why your “non-check-writers” may be your biggest missed opportunity, and how personality-based messaging can transform donor engagement.

You’ll hear the inside story of a charity: water experiment that tested postcards vs. full letters, QR codes on the outer envelope, and personality trait targeting based on the Big Five framework. 

Kevin and I also dig into measuring donor commitment, what predicts retention, and how some nonprofits are increasing their first-year monthly donor retention by 6-9 percentage points simply by adjusting their communication volume. 

If you’re rethinking how direct mail fits into your world, this episode will reshape how you design, segment, and evaluate your campaigns.

Resources & Links

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn and learn more about DonorVoice on their website.

Check out the book I’m currently reading, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect, by Will Guidara.

LettrLabs is the proud presenter of Missions to Movements. 

LettrLabs helps nonprofits build lasting donor relationships through real, handwritten mail that’s fully automated - turning moments of intent into meaningful connection. From thank-yous to impact updates, they help you cut through with mail donors actually open, remember, and trust.

Join me and the LettrLabs team on March 30th at 1pm Eastern for a FREE webinar that will showcase even more examples and case studies of how direct mail can work for you.

The Monthly Giving Builder: Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

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