Not too long ago I dumped on Donor Power Blog and actually de-listed them from the recommended blog list on my site. They’re still de-listed (too traditional/transactional in my view), but as I noted in my post I still read DPB daily and always enjoy Jeff’s style of writing even though I typically differ from his perspective.

Jeff had a nice post today referencing an Improbable Research piece that I definitely encourage you to check out.

In the piece, IR mails a wide variety of items–a rose, a football, tennis shoes, a $20 bill–and evaluates whether they were delivered, how long they took, and in what condition they arrived.

Neither Jeff nor IR had a particular application step in mind for all of this, but I do:

Before you sit down to write your next direct mail letter:

• Read the Improbable Research Postal Experiments article
• Ask yourself, “What could I mail to my champions other than a letter that would enhance their ability to impact the cause?”
• Then ask yourself, “What could I mail to my champions and encourage them to mail to people in their sphere of influence that would encourage my champion’s champions to impact the cause?”
• Check out the 2008 Echo Award winners and note how all of these highly successful packages involve sending something other than a letter–something far more unusual (and, as the results from each package suggest, far more successful)
• Check out this passage from Daniel 5 and reflect on this truth: How God sends a message is as important as the message He sends.
• Now write your letter

I’ll be expecting my deer tibia in the mail from you nine days from now.