In the midst of the holiday hubbub, here’s a tactical tip for you…
I was once part of a test to see if using matte paper, as opposed to glossy paper, would change fundraising results.
Here’s how the test worked:
- We took the organization’s active donors (about 80,000) and randomly split them into two equal groups.
- After writing and designing their newsletter, we printed half of the newsletters on matte paper and half of the newsletters on glossy paper.
- Just to be super clear, the design and content of the newsletter was exactly the same. The only difference was the finish of paper.
- One of the groups of donors received the matte version, and the other group received the glossy version.
The matte version of the newsletter raised more money. Both the Average Gift and the Response Rate were slightly higher.
I’ve replicated these results in other tests, and so have lots of other Fundraisers.
The general understanding for why this happens is that glossy paper reflects more light than matte paper, and the reflections make anything printed on glossy paper a little harder to read. This is especially true for older donors whose eyes don’t adjust between bright and dark as well as they used to.
And as you already know, when your fundraising is harder to read, fewer people read your fundraising. And when fewer people read your fundraising, fewer people give.
The difference in money raised was not astronomical, but it was significant enough that the organization started using matte paper for almost everything (even over the objections of somebody in leadership who thought glossy paper was “more professional.”)
Using matte instead of glossy doesn’t apply to everything. Does the outside of your holiday card to donors need to be matte? No. Can your annual report be on glossy stock? Sure.
But when you desire a response from the piece, and therefore readability matters more, go matte.
