Direct mail still works. It generates a lot more money than email/online donations despite the fact that email fundraising continues to grow quickly.
My biggest problem with direct mail is the lack of information that it provides. You really don't know who has read it, if they've put it on their fridge, if they threw it away, or anything really. Your postcards go out into the world and the only feedback you get is the amount of money raised.
Email campaigns on the other hand can yield a wealth of information including read rates, click-throughs, unsubscribes, donations and more.
The other advantage with emails is that they don't have to be "asks." You can use email for awareness building or testing without worrying so much about the return on investment because the costs are so low. When you send out a postcard there can be significant costs associated with it so you want to be sure that an "ask" is a major component of a direct mail campaign.
Campaign Monitor is my favorite provider, by the way. www.campaignmonitor.com
Still, people are used to getting solicitations in the mail and until the return rates are next to nothing I would suggest keeping direct mailings in your fundraising portfolio. But give it a short leash and work hard to collect emails so that when you are ready to switch to emails only you don't lose people. Till then, use both.
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