Top 10 Tips for Successful Nonprofit E-Appeals

Planning any special e-mail campaigns before the end of the fiscal year? This summer?  If not, think about it. An e-campaign costs pennies on the dollar compared with print marketing. And the right message at the right time to the right market can empower your supporters to help you change the world.

Your success will be measured not by how many you send, but by how many get opened; then how many answer your call to action. Here are 10 basic tips to assure your email engages your audience. Oh, and I left an 11th tip out on purpose.  It’s something that’s super important. If you think you know what it is, contact me with your guess. I’ll pick randomly from among the correct answers – the winner gets a 50-minute top-level review of their next e-appeal (a $200 value), at no cost.

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One Huge Mistake You Don’t Know You’re Making with Your Donors

Don’t wait too long to ask. It makes people anxious.

I’ve seen this happen so many times.  I’ll be sitting with an E.D. or a board member at lunch with a prospective donor.  We’ve talked in advance about our roles.  I’ll handle the details and technical questions.  They’ll inspire and, ultimately, make ‘the ask’.

It begins well. It continues even better. They engage in lively conversation about the cause. The prospect leans forward, animated and wrapped up in the flow.  Then, just when I’m sure ‘the ask’ will be made and the prospect will say “yes!”…                    

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What App Developers Can Teach Content Marketers: 5 Tips to Energize Your Brand

Find a need and fill it. That’s Marketing 101.   Well, today some of the folks most clued in to what people want are the apps developers. Why not piggyback on their insight and research to enrich your content marketing strategy?  The key is to tie it to your brand promise (i.e., why you’re on this planet and what folks perceive your value to be to them). Find an angle that makes the trend relevant to your business.

End your constituents’ pain.  This is simply another way to think of taking the consumer-oriented approach that means the difference between failure and success. What’s bothering your community?  What keeps them up at night? How can you help? This is how app developers – and inventors, and successful business start-ups – think. 

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