Direct Response 101

Get educated on the essential elements of Direct Response Marketing at the only Direct Response 101 in the NYC area. 

Join us at Epsilon’s offices, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY.  Please enter on King street and check in at the desk when you enter the building and you will be directed to the meeting space. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and your DR 101 registration includes a happy hour at 5 PM. 

It promises to be a lively session that will go in depth on the fundamentals needed to create a profitable program. 

AGENDA/SPEAKERS 

8:30 – 9:00 AM – Registration 

9:15 – 10:00 AM – Audience Identification and Strategy

The most effective direct response strategies don’t start with the creative or the channel—they start with the audience. This foundational session opens the two-day course by grounding attendees in the essential truth of nonprofit marketing: knowing who you’re talking to is everything.

Whether it's acquisition, renewal, or reactivation, identifying and understanding your audience allows you to tailor your messaging, select the right channels, and ultimately drive better results. Starting with audience strategy helps avoid wasted spend and increases engagement, conversion, and loyalty.

Key Learning Objective:

Understand how audience identification shapes campaign strategy—and why every great fundraiser begins here.

10:00 - 10:05 - Break

10:05 -10:50 AM – Mapping Donor Journeys

A well-mapped donor journey helps fundraisers move beyond one-off campaigns and build real relationships. In this session, Amy Sukol will walk attendees through how to identify key donor stages—awareness, consideration, conversion, retention—and align communications accordingly. You'll explore how lifecycle thinking creates more personalized, effective donor experiences.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Understand the stages of the donor journey
• Learn how to align messaging and channels to each phase
• Discover how journey-based strategy improves retention and LTV

10:50 – 11:00 AM – Break 

11:00 – 11:45 AM – Designing Effective Tests

Testing is the beating heart of direct response. In this session, Jessica Harrington will simplify how to design tests that matter—from A/B basics to interpreting results. Attendees will learn how to set hypotheses, choose variables, and turn test results into actionable insight.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Learn to design a basic test with clear goals and KPIs
• Understand when to use A/B vs multivariate testing
• Gain confidence in interpreting results and applying learnings.

11:45 PM – 12:30 PM – LUNCH

12:30 – 1:15 PM – Crafting a Compelling Message

Overview:
Even the best strategy fails without the right message. Winnie MacKintosh will share how to write messages that connect emotionally and move donors to act. From storytelling structure to calls-to-action, this session will help fundraisers find their voice—and use it to make an impact.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Understand the key elements of persuasive donor messaging
• Learn how to craft mission-aligned copy that drives response
• Discover how story, structure, and tone shape engagement

1:15 PM – 1:20 PM - Break 

1:20 – 2:00 PM – Engage/Execute, Measure & Learn

You’ve learned why audience matters, how donor journeys unfold, what effective testing looks like, and how message matters more than ever. But now it’s time to get practical. In this session, you’ll learn the how: how to execute what we’ve learned, measure what matters, and keep learning as we go.

Direct response marketing is more than planning—it’s performance. This session centers on how new fundraisers can translate foundational strategies into campaign execution, drive meaningful engagement, and use data to fuel better decisions. Explore what it means to build a responsive, learning-focused program from the ground up—and how small wins, tracked well, lead to bigger long-term impact.

Key Learning Objectives:

• ENGAGE & EXECUTE: Learn how to turn audience and message strategy into actual campaigns across key channels—mail, email, digital, and more.
• MEASURE: Understand which metrics matter most, how to track performance consistently, and how to read results in context.
• LEARN: Discover how to apply a test-and-learn mindset to every campaign—turning even imperfect results into insights that drive the next win.

2:00 - 2:40 PM - Soup to Nuts Direct Mail Production

Direct mail remains the backbone of many fundraising programs—but production can feel overwhelming to newcomers. This session will demystify the entire direct mail production process—from data prep to drop date. Experts will share best practices, timelines, vendor roles, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Understand the full direct mail production workflow
• Learn how to manage timelines, vendors, and specs
• Gain tips for keeping costs low and quality high

2:40 – 2:45 PM – Break 

2:45 – 3:25 PM – Digital Marketing Basics

Today’s donors are digital-first—even if they still respond to mail. In this overview, you’ll walk through the key digital channels they need to understand: websites, email, paid search, and social. The session will also unpack digital KPIs and how attribution works across channels.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Learn the role of core digital channels in direct response
• Understand how email, search, and social drive donor engagement
• Explore basic digital metrics and cross-channel attribution

3:30 – 3:35 PM – Break

3:35–4:20 PM – Putting It All Together – Plan, Engage, Measure, Learn

In the closing session, we’ll connect all the dots. Patrick Burton, a senior nonprofit agency leader and direct response strategy expert, will walk through what it looks like to plan, engage, measure, and learn in the real world. You'll see how organizations take audience insights, strong creative, testing, and execution—and turn them into a repeatable system for growth.

Key Learning Objectives:

• See how direct response strategy plays out across an annual campaign cycle
• Learn how to prioritize efforts and scale what works
• Gain insight from real-world examples of integrated planning and testing

Accessibility

If you need additional accommodations, please contact Risa Sudnow at info@dmfa.org or 646-675-7314.

CFRE Credit

Completion of this event is applicable for 7 POINTS for the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.