Content Creation Strategies for Nonprofits: Free Webinar on 7/23

Nearly 400 people voted on the topic for our next Nonprofit Marketing Guide free webinar, and 61% of you picked “Content Creation Strategies: Making the Most of Your Writing, Photos, and More.” So that’s what we are offering on July 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT).

Register now - 249 people already have! It’s free, but you must pre-register.

Even if you can’t join us live, go ahead and register and you’ll get the links to the recordings 48 hours after the live event.

Here’s what we will cover:

• Why an editorial calendar is the lithium for your content creation mania (you’ll get sample templates for several different kinds of editorial calendars)
• Where to get ideas for new content (you’ll be surprised how much you have once you know where to look)
• Setting realistic goals for yourself and prioritizing which content to create first
• Using technology to speed up your content creation and distribution (and watching for tech pitfalls that can slow you down)
• How to recycle what you create into different formats - and for different audiences
• Ways to organize everything so you can find it and reuse it later
• How to recruit other people to generate content for you (and how to be a kind but decisive editor when they do)

Register now to reserve your space (at the pace we are going, I’ll have to close registration before the 23rd).

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)

In the Red Last FY? What to Put in Your Annual Report

One our All-Access Pass holders, Lane Phalen, a board member and PR committee chair for a local humane society called TAILS, recently submitted this question about what you say in an annual report when you are running a deficit:

“TAILS was founded ten years ago and we haven’t done an annual report at all yet. Because we were in the red last year, I had a huge argument with other board members when I said I wanted to do an annual report. They said to do an annual report now would make us look like a sinking ship and people wouldn’t donate.  I felt by letting people know that we needed money, it would raise contributions.  We have had incredible accomplishments during the past ten years, which is what I wanted to highlight.  Can I do an annual report without putting finances in it or down-play them? ”

Here’s what I told Lane:

You have to be honest, but just because you are in the red doesn’t mean you are a sinking ship. There are PLENTY of ways to put a positive spin on it and highlight all of your good work to motivate more donations. It’s all about the attitude in your messaging. Explain why you were in the red (helped more animals than you really could afford to given that donations are down because of the recession, but need is up for the same reasons — or whatever the case may be). Then explain what you are doing to rectify the situation (What changes in decisionmaking have you made? What concrete plans have you made to raise more money or reduce costs?). If you remain upbeat and focused on the results of the organization, and deal honestly with any problems, including red ink, your supporters will respect that and understand.

In my opinion, you are much more likely to be viewed as a sinking ship if you DON’T communicate with your supporters about your work. Hmmm . . . what are those people hiding?

Writing an annual report for the first time? Check out our How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report on-demand course. It includes our e-book and workbook that will help you write a full-length report, as well as a recording of the one-hour webinar where I explain how to create a great annual report in just four pages. Get the details.

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)

Nonprofit Tech - How, When, Why, and What to Consider

Rebecca Leaman (aka Curious Apricot) at the Wild Apricot Blog has posted the latest edition of the Nonprofit Blog Carnival, with a nonprofit technology theme. Here it is. You’ll find not only some good how-to’s on social media, but also some posts that challenge you to really think about how you use technology within your nonprofit to collaborate and communicate with others (e.g. what’s the right mix of online and offline communication?).

The Nonprofit Blog Carnival is supposed to a monthly roundup of some of the best blogging on a particular topic of interest to nonprofits, and Rebecca has created a stellar example!

Next month the Carnival will be hosted by Heather Carpenter at Nonprofit Leadership 601, where the theme will be Nonprofit Leadership and Professional Development.  Watch Heather’s blog for her take on what she’s looking for this month, and I’ll post the link for you once she’s published her edition.

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)

Mixed Links: Can’t Miss Goodies for Nonprofit Communicators

Here’s a tasty mix of links that I think you’ll find interesting or helpful as you build support for your good cause . . . Happy Friday!

The next edition of the Nonprofit Blog Carnival (founded by yours truly) is coming up and the theme is nonprofit technology. Here’s how to submit your blog post (deadline today!). I’ll send you the link when the Carnival is posted next week.

Have you voted on the topic for the free webinar I’m hosting on July 23? If not, please vote now. Registration will open on July 1. (Just opened registration for five new webinars yesterday with some great guest speakers - check them out!)

Nancy Schwartz has opened up nominations for the 2009 Tagline Awards. A strong tagline does double-duty, extending your organization’s name and mission, while delivering a focused, memorable and repeatable message to your base. Enter your tagline and Nancy will send you a free copy of the fully updated 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report later this year. It’s the only complete guide to building your org’s brand in 8 words or less — filled with how-tos, don’t-dos and models. You can now follow Nancy’s tagline award news on Twitter at @orgtaglines.

Katya Andresen provides a nice summary of the report written by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine on the lessons learned about fundraising through social media from the Giving Challenge that the Case Foundation sponsored with Parade Magazine last year. I’m adding the full report to my reading pile.

Katya has also had some great posts lately on how nonprofits can tell better stories. Check out this and this.

The Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100 is the first public ranking in the United States to value nonprofit organizations by more than financial standing alone. Which nonprofit brands top the list? YMCA, Salvation Army, and United Way are the top three.

New to the nonprofit tech world? Heather Carpenter has created a great all-in-one-place intro to the field (and challenged me to do the same for nonprofit marketing! I’m working on it.)

NTEN offers some tips for nonprofits on online communications that don’t suck.

Here’s how to add an email sign-up form to a Facebook page. Haven’t tried it yet, but sounds like a really good way to offer Facebook fans a more direct way to connect with you. Thanks to John Haydon for the tip. Speaking of Facebook, here are 4 reasons why Facebook might not be right for your organization from Jocelyn Harmon. Jocelyn is going to do a webinar for us in August on how to add personality to your marketing mix.

Enjoy your weekend!

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)

Mixing Your Work and Personal Life Online

When I started my consulting business 11 years ago, virtually everyone told me to market my services under a company name, rather than to promote myself under my own personal name. No one would hire an individual freelancer, I was told. I needed to appear to be a “organization.” Organizations were more stable,  more trustworthy, and more marketable. I wasn’t keen on adding “& Associates” to my name, thus EcoScribe Communications was born.

Oh, how times have changed.

In the last decade, with the rise of social media, especially blogging and social networking sites like Facebook, the personal often carries much more cache than the organizational. Small business people like myself are urged to let their faces and personalities shine through — and even corporate America doesn’t want to be faceless any longer.

Now nonprofits are wrestling with these same issues, too.

How much of a staff member’s personality — and personal life — should shine through in a nonprofit’s newsletter or blog? What’s the right level of personal detail from staff on what are really meant to be organizational profiles on Facebook or Twitter? Should you encourage, monitor, or simply ignore what your staff say on their own personal profiles about their work lives? Can we really keep our personal and professional lives online separate, and even if we can, should we?

I’m hosting a webinar on The Personal/Professional Mix: Getting it Right in Social Media on July 15 (Rescheduled from July 1). During the webinar, I’ll share some examples from the nonprofit sector about finding the right mix of the personal and the professional and also offer some tips on making the right decisions for you and your organization. I don’t have all the answers, but I will help you frame up the discussions so you can talk intelligently about your options with others in the office.

For now, here’s what some smart folks in the nonprofit world are saying:

Does Your Nonprofit Need a Social Media Policy? (Beth Kanter)

Why We’re Not Friends Anymore (Michelle Murrain)

The Two Paradoxes of Identity in the Digital Age (Maddie Grant)

How are you handling the personal/professional mix online? Leave a comment and share your story!

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)

I’m Doing a Free Conference Call on Email Marketing - Join Us!

Next week on Thursday, June 25, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern (1:00 p.m. Pacific), I’ll be talking all about the “Seven Steps to Better Email Fundraising and Communications” on a free conference call hosted by Network for Good. Actually, I’m only blabbing for about 20 minutes and then I’m taking your questions for the rest of the hour. Here’s how to pre-register to reserve your spot.

I also need to hear from you about our next free Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinar. What will the topic be? You decide, by voting now. I’ll announce the winner and open registration on July 1 for this free webinar, which will take place on July 23 at 1:oo p.m. Eastern. Sixty-five people have voted so far, and there is a clear preference with 60% of those votes cast for one of the choices . . . is it the one you prefer?

Here’s what’s coming up next in the webinar series:

June 24: Best Practices in Nonprofit Marketing. Perfect for marketers new to the nonprofit world, or nonprofit staff new to marketing. Self-taught? This webinar will fill in your gaps.

July 8: How to Be an Effective Spokesperson for Your Nonprofit. Fear not the media! Learn how to talk to the press so they get your message out the right way with guest speaker Thom Clark from Community Media Workshop.

July 9:  Blogging for Nonprofits: Tips, Traps and Tales. What you need to know before your nonprofit starts blogging.

July 15:  The Personal/Professional Mix: Getting it Right in Social Media. Be yourself, but still represent your organization. See how others are doing it and figure out the right mix for you and your nonprofit. (Rescheduled from July 1)

Each webinar is $35. Or get 12 weeks of live webinars and full access to our Webinar Archive for $97 with the All-Access Pass.

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)

Vote on the Topic for the Next Free Webinar

Our next free webinar will be on Thursday, July 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. ET). But I don’t know the topic yet. That’s for you to decide!

Here are the choices:

- Hiring and Managing Freelance Writers, Designers and Other Communications Consultants
- Listening to Social Media: Monitoring Who’s Talking About You and Your Cause Online
- Content Creation Strategies: Making the Most of Your Writing, Photos, and More

Vote Now!

Registration for the free webinar will open July 1.

Registration is currently open for these webinars:

• June 17: Saying Thanks: Writing Thank-You Letters That Inspire Future Gifts
• June 24: Best Practices in Nonprofit Marketing
• July 8: How to Be an Effective Spokesperson for Your Nonprofit
• July 9:  Blogging for Nonprofits: Tips, Traps and Tales
• July 15:  The Personal/Professional Mix: Getting it Right in Social Media (Rescheduled from July 1)

Join us for $35 each, which includes two weeks of access to the recording, in case you can’t make the live event.

Better yet, join the 229 other nonprofits that currently have All-Access Passes to the webinar series. Attend as many live webinars as you want and watch recordings from the last 12 months, all for just $97 for 12 weeks of access. Get the details on the All-Access Pass.

Already have an All-Access Pass? Login here to RSVP for webinars.

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)

Nonprofit Blog Carnival & More Goodies You Don’t Want to Miss

Here’s a roundup of nonprofit marketing items you don’t want to miss, which I affectionately called my Mixed Links.

First, you’ll find this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival at the Nonprofit Congress Blog. The next edition will be hosted by Wild Apricot and they are seeking great blog posts on nonprofit technology. Deadline is June 26.

Next, check out the new Nonprofit Email Marketing Guide from Network for Good. It’s free, and I know it’s an easy read, because I wrote most of it!

Nancy Schwartz (Getting Attention), Danielle Brigida (National Wildlife Federation) and Felicia Carr (National Parks Conservation Association) answered questions on how to use online social networks to promote your cause during a Chronicle of Philanthropy chat. These weekly chats are usually really, really good. Join the Chronicle’s group on Facebook and you’ll get regular reminders about them.

Fundraiser extraordinaire Gail Perry has a new free e-book out: Seven New Rules for Fundraising in Changing Times

So you are checking your web analytics, right? But not sure what the heck to do with them? FutureNow offers you some action steps. This is written for a commercial site, but nonprofits can still learn from these suggestions.

In the Cool Tools Department, we have KnowEm, which lets you check the availability of a username on 120 popular social media sites. Once you set up your presence on a few sites, you’ll see the merits of using the same username.

Gayle Thorsen asks you to move beyond the PDF for information sharing and think more creatively about how to get all that good information you are sitting on out to people.

That should hold you for awhile! I’m off to the pool . . .

More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)