Jun122013
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Top 10 Checklist to Simplify Nonprofit Blogging

I really want you to blog. Did you know that Social Media Examiner’s 2013 State of Social Media Report puts blogging #1 at the list of the top 14 social media channels you should be exploring? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Your blog is the hub of your content strategy (or it should be).  Build a blog and rock it. You’ll simultaneously put in place a content  strategy that will enable you to easily share relevant content across every communication channel you use.  Online and offline. There’s no better way to offer your constituents meaningful engagement.  So… what are you waiting for?

BTW: You can learn a lot more if you download my free webinar,The Keys to Nonprofit Blogging that Drives Engagement.  Did I mention it’s free?
Here are 10 tips to get you started, or to help you simplify the process so you can focus and deliver.

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5 CommentsContent Marketing
Jun62013
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For Whom the Bell Tolls: Major Gifts Officers Will Lose Their Jobs in 2 Years

Unless… they reinvent themselves.

I know this sounds harsh. But check out Seth Godin’s Tried and false where he bluntly tells the truth about the tried and true: “In times of change… most of the tried is in fact, false. False because what used to work, doesn’t, at least not any longer.”

You may have been the best major gift officer on the planet five years ago.  But that was then. This is now. The buying/giving market has fundamentally changed. And, yes, the culprit is the digital revolution. That’s how revolutions work. It’s truly the end of business as usual.

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2 CommentsMajor & Legacy Gifts
Jun42013
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4 Crucial Steps to Develop a Donor Retention System

When you ask a fundraiser what the most difficult part of their job is, chances are you’ll get one of two answers – acquiring donors or retaining donors. Any fundraising organization is bound to come up against these problems at some point. But here’s the thing that is often overlooked – if you do a better job retaining donors, you can spend less time and money trying to acquire new donors.

Could this be the secret formula for fundraising success? Well, not entirely. But it’s a solid start.

Donor retention can seem elusive for many non-profits. It’s frustrating to pull up your annual reports to find out that you’ve only had 50% of last year’s donors make a gift again this year. Sometimes, it can even feel like a personal defeat.

If you’re working on the annual giving side of development, keep track of thousands of donors is nearly impossible. Your database can quickly become your archenemy. Having the highly personal relationships that major gift officers have with donors is a novel pipe dream.

But what if it was possible to scale this concept to create a system that retains donors?

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May202013
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What’s the ‘Oh Goody!’ Rule of Email Appeals, and Why Do You Need It?

Cat exulting. Hooray!
Oh Goody! I got email from Top Cat.

Chances are good that when you open your email box a majority of the messages are of little interest to you. You don’t know who they’re from, they look like junk, or they’re coming from someone who doesn’t interest you enough to compel you to open their message.  If you have time, maybe you will.  If you don’t, maybe you’ll hit “delete.”

You don’t want your e-appeal to wind up in the trash heap. To avoid this, you need to use the ‘Oh Goody’ Rule.

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May172013
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Why You May Not Have Time for an Email Campaign

Jumping on the bed
Are you giving yourself time to sleep on it and channel your superhero?

I was playing around on Mashable yesterday and happened on The Key to More Successful Email Campaigns: Time.  Since I recently offered you Top 10 Tips for Successful Nonprofit E-Appeals (and the big 11th is coming on Monday – you’ve still got time to guess what it is and win a free e-appeal review!), I thought I’d share this with you as a nice complement.

It’s something that should be a no-brainer; but, as Pooh describes it, sometimes we all can be “a Bear of No Brain at All.” How can we be the Best Bear in all the World?

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