BOO!
Halloween is creeping up on us, so I’ve got some really scary stuff for you!
Don’t get too spooked. There are also a few treats.
In fact, you’ll get eight delicious goodies — in the form of “to-do’s.”
But first… the bad news.
No bones about it, you’re frightening folks away if you’re committing any of these 8 boo-boo’s!
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I hate jargon. With a passion.
Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.
Just. Can’t. Stand. It!
Yes, I guess you could call it a pet peeve.
But, really, why would you ever use jargon if you wanted to truly communicate with someone?
Just check out the definition:
“language used by a particular group of people, especially in their work, and which most other people do not understand”
— Cambridge dictionary.
When you talk to people in words they don’t understand, really, what’s the point?
Are you just trying to make yourself look smart?
Because, trust me, that’s not how it comes across.
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Do you ever worry you’re not doing enough to attract the donors of the future?
Does thinking about how to market to Millennials (who already are the largest segment in the workplace, will be 50% of the U.S. workforce in the next two years, and who will be 75% by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) fill you with anxiety, because it’s just one more thing to add to your overflowing list?
Fear no more!
Today I’m going to tell you how you can have it all – and with very little extra work.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not dissing a multi-generational strategy. If you can manage to treat different types of donors differently, you absolutely will get the biggest bang for your buck by so doing. However…
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I’m wagering you’re too busy.
That means you’ve little space for adding new projects to your work plan for the coming year.
Never fear. Help is here!
First, let’s clear out some space.
I’ve participated in many a planning session, and seldom do I recall – if ever – really focusing first on what we could stop doing to make room for new endeavors. If this sounds familiar, you’re likely also familiar with the unfortunate consequences.
There are some things that really should not be part of your work plan moving forward. Or, at the very least, they should be pared down. Quite. A. Bit.
Here’s how you know you need, as Marie Kondo might say, to tidy up.
We talk a lot in fundraising circles about inspiring people to give. Inspiration is a funny thing, however. Will we give if we’re inspired by hope or fear? Can you even call fear inspiring? Hmmn… Let’s leave those two questions aside for the moment (we’ll get back to them), and address that which I…
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“Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
— David Ogilvy, advertising legend
Your email subject line matters. A lot.
So this article is all about learning how to rock your online ‘envelope’ – which is really what determines if your email will get opened.
When you stop to think about this, it makes a lot of sense. Your email subject line has a function! And its form should follow that function.
People’s inboxes are increasingly cluttered, so you need to stand out. Big time! Really, you’ve probably got no more than two seconds to make an impression.
Do you think carefully about purpose when you create your email subject line? Do you even craft it at all, or do you delegate this essential function to someone else, perhaps an assistant or someone in your marketing or digital communications department? Someone who perhaps doesn’t really understand the email’s primary purpose as well as do you?
If you’re like most nonprofit fundraisers and marketers, you likely spend a lot of time crafting the perfect email body copy, selecting images and figuring out just the right design that will entice someone to respond to your call to action. Then, at the last minute, you’re ready to send it and hastily come up with a subject line.
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Steven Shattuck of Bloomerang wrote something for Nonprofit Hub called the Ultimate Nonprofit Social Media Scheduling Guide. And I kind of just , , it. Essentially, it suggests just one thing as your absolute key to a successful nonprofit social media strategy. It’s deceptively simple. I say deceptively, because at first blush it los…
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A recent article on Beth’s (Kanter) Blog by Miriam Brosseau and Stephanie Corleto was so well-written I was inspired to share some of it with you. I 100% agree with everything it says – and strongly believe you absolutely must do what the article suggests.
What’s that?
Bust down your siloes!
Specifically, turn those puppies on their sides so they form a pipeline, and let the free flow of ideas between programs, marketing and fundraising begin.
Can you picture this?
Imagine your program staff is hoarding all the inspiring stories of impact, and failing to share them with your development team. That’s a silo that needs to be toppled. Because…
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I’m a HUGE proponent of blogging for nonprofits.
Blogs are media. They’re also social. They aren’t rocket science.
You can build a great blog. But why would you want to? Aha! That’s the question too many nonprofits fail to ask. So, today we’re going to ask and answer this important 21st century question.
If you’re not currently rocking a blog — and making it central to your content marketing strategy — I hope you’ll reconsider.
Which is why I recently hosted Jay Wilkinson of Firespring for a wonderful webinar on the power of blogging and thought leadership for nonprofits. Among his key take-aways were these:
It’s how you get the word out about what you are experienced in. This is important so people think of you in this regard. Depending on your mission, when the topic of local theater comes up… or cancer research… or feeding the homeless… or equine therapy… or fighting human trafficking… you want folks to immediately think of you. For this to happen, you must truly commit to becoming a thought leader in your particular area.
A blog is akin to a super-charged, dynamic website that will bring you many more visitors – and a lot more engagement — than your website does now. Did you know 70% of visitors to the average website never visit again? Done well, a blog drives traffic to you naturally… brings folks back for more… and even gets folks to share stuff you post on your blog with their own networks. It’s a hugely powerful tool for finding and engaging with people – your donors and potential supporters – and I’m not the only one who thinks so. The primary reasons to blog are:
To these reasons I would add: To generate more philanthropic support. That’s the bottom line. It’s why you’re building awareness and driving traffic to your website, right? So… let’s dive into how to make your blog the best tool in your integrated marketing and fundraising toolbox!
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Donors are always a bit nervous about their investment in your nonprofit. More than anything, they want to know what their hard-earned money is accomplishing!
Bloomerang found that 8% of donors failed to renew their giving specifically because they weren’t sure what their gifts accomplished.
THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN!
If you want more gifts, you must give them.
And in this article we’ll look at why stories can be the perfect donor gift!
For a lot of nonprofit insiders, this is a paradigm shift. Think about it. I’m asking you to go from focusing on asking to focusing on giving.
Another way to consider this is to shift from focusing on selling to focusing on helping.
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