Brain Blink: When giving means getting

The nonprofit group, Disabled American Veterans, generally gets an 18 percent response rate when it sends out mailings requesting contributions. However, when the same letter is sent with personalized address labels (each costing just eight cents apiece), the response rate jumps to 35 percent. Sociologists call this phenomenon the "Rule of Reciprocity”. That is, when someone is given something for free, the recipient feels compelled to return the favor.

Idea: How might you incorporate the Rule of Reciprocity into your next program? Try these tips:

• Give items that your user will actually utilize, e.g. if your user is a mom, think of something that she might share with her family – a board game, perhaps?
• Personalize the items in a meaningful way, e.g. favorite food, passion or interest
• Make sure whatever you give is something that the user will utilize over and over
• Be creative. No bottled water containers, calendars or coffee mugs. Think beyond traditional premiums.