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This blog is all about do-it-yourself nonprofit communications and marketing. I love helping small and medium-sized nonprofits communicate more effectively with their members, donors, volunteers and other supporters, so that together, we can all make the world a better place. I do that as a blogger, trainer, coach and consultant.
I believe that even the smallest nonprofit staffs with the most modest budgets can achieve tremendous results through savvy marketing and communications. I hope this blog and my online marketing training and other resources encourage you to do just that, while helping you grow personally as a nonprofit marketer and communications professional.
Please comment on posts and feel free to contact
me with your questions and comments. You can also learn more about hiring me as a coach or consultant.
Check out my calendar of events for upcoming webinars, live broadcasts of Magic Keys Radio, online office hours, and more.
P.S. Please feel free to connect with me on these social networks: Facebook, Nonprofit Marketing Guide Page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Posted by Kivi Leroux Miller on Jun 19, 2009 in
E-Newsletters,
Online Courses 
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)
Posted by Kivi Leroux Miller on Jun 16, 2009 in
Online Courses 
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:
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)
More than half of the 75 Special Summer Passes to our webinar series have been sold. Only 35 15 left! Attend live or watch the recording of every webinar we host from now until August 31, 2009 and get access to our archive of webinar recordings from the last year, all for $75. Use this special link (you won’t find it elsewhere on the website).
What’s Happening This Week . . .
On Tuesday, I’m teaching a webinar called Quickie Annual Reports: Simple Ways to Share Results with Supporters. I’ll go over my suggested 4-page annual report templates and also provide some ideas for online reports that will be more entertaining and engaging than the standard paper in the mail.
On Thursday, I’m teaching Nonprofit Writing Stinks! How to Bring Your Writing Back to Life. If you find yourself writing in jargon and 501(c)(3)-ese or foundation-ese, this webinar is for you! I’ll show you how to hunt down your trouble spots and fix them, so you write like the passionate human being you really are.
After both webinars, I’ll share some of the Q&A on the blog. You can join us for webinars a la carte ($35 each) or get an All-Access Pass (here’s that summer special link again) and attend everything we do this summer.
More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)
I hear great stories all the time from nonprofit staff who are using their All-Access Passes to Nonprofit Marketing Guide’s webinar series to get more support for their good causes and to develop their own careers. Here are stories from three people who are relatively new to the nonprofit sector . . .
“A group of fellow cancer patients and myself recently formed PMP Research Foundation to promote awareness and fund research for our rare form of cancer. Having only a for-profit business background, this whole nonprofit world has been a learning curve. Finding your site has been great. I’ve watched a couple of archived seminars and have attended two live webinars so far.
I like the format of the webinars — the slides are always excellent, the timing is perfect to glean the important details, and the briefing fits into my busy day. I’ve taken advantage of many suggestions which have been implemented via our new email and newsletter campaigns. I’m glad we purchased an All-Access Pass and feel the investment is well worth the money and time spent.”
Lisa Luciano
President, Board of Directors
PMP Research Foundation
*********************************
“I just wanted to let you know how much I’m enjoying your webinars! I started in my very first non-profit in mid-January. I had so much to learn! So I’ve signed up for as many webinars and teleconferences as I can manage. Of the different ones I’m taking in, yours are hands-down the best. The information is right up to date, you lay everything out clearly and you’re so positive and encouraging. Thanks for all the help!
P.S. I was asked to put together a PowerPoint presentation for an upcoming board meeting. Even with compressed photos, it took forever to send in an email. But then I remembered that you recommend SlideShare. So I opened an account and uploaded it there. The Board members (scattered across the country) were told where they could view it - and we’ve had other traffic besides (free publicity!). So huge thank yous to you!”
Barb McMahon
Director of Communications
Pediatric AIDS Canada
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“The webinars have been great for me, especially as I just started in this position last December (with no real direct experience in the non-profit world). I really appreciate what I consider my guaranteed weekly learning time!
The “4 page annual report” webinar was terrific, and I am using it as my template to put our report together. The organization of the information and detail included means that it’s pretty much a step-by-step guide I can use to piece it all together. The fact that the webinar included example layouts really helped me envision what I wanted our report to look like as well.
I feel that way with all the webinars I’ve attended - at the very least, it’s a great chance to sit and focus on one important topic, and I always get a minimum of one or two really great ideas that make it an hour very well spent.”
Jude Walton
Community Relations Coordinator
Avalon Housing, Inc.
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All-Access Pass Summer Special!
Only 39 Passes Left
We are offering 75 Summer Passes to the Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinar series for just $75. The pass will give you access to all of our live and recorded webinars from now through August 31, 2009. New pass holders only - no renewals, please!
Only 39 passes are left. Get yours now! You must use this special link for the Summer Pass.
More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)
Posted by Kivi Leroux Miller on May 20, 2009 in
Nonprofit Communications,
Online Courses Update (6/2/09, 1:15 p.m. ET) — Only 15 Summer Passes left!
From right now until they are gone, I’m offering a special Summer All-Access Pass to Nonprofit Marketing Guide. You’ll get all the same stuff that you’d get with the regular All-Access Pass for less money (23% less to be exact).
You can attend live or watch the recording of every webinar we host between now and August 31, 2009 (here’s the schedule). You’ll also get unlimited access to our webinar archive, which houses recordings of nearly all of our webinars from the last year. Our on-demand e-courses on storytelling and annual report writing are included too.
I’m only making 75 of these special Summer Passes* available and I’m only advertising them to friends of Nonprofit Marketing Guide — our blog and email newsletter readers and followers/fans on Twitter and Facebook — You won’t find the special link on the Nonprofit Marketing Guide homepage. Here it is: Get Your Summer All-Access Pass for $75.
I hope you’ll join us this summer for some great training!
*Summer Passes are for new All-Access Passes only (no renewals, please). Pass expires August 31, 2009 regardless of date of purchase.
More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)
Posted by Kivi Leroux Miller on May 19, 2009 in
Fundraising,
Online Courses If you want to raise more money with your fundraising letters, set aside Noon-1:00 p.m. Eastern (9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Pacific) on Thursday to learn how to do it right. That’s when Mal Warwick will be presenting in our Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinar series.
Mal is the author of the best-selling How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters and also published Fundraising When Money Is Tight: A Strategic and Practical Guide to Surviving Tough Times and Thriving in the Future earlier this year. His fundraising company is celebrating 30 years of helping good causes raise lots of money through the mail.
I took a look at his presentation today, and it’s packed with great tips. Mal will share the basic components of a direct mail appeal (it’s much more than a letter) and his eight steps to creating successful fundraising appeals. Writing the body of the letter is actually the last step, so if that’s where you are starting, you should join us on Thursday and see why Mal says that’s the last (and easiest) part of the package. He will also share his eight cardinal rules of great fundraising letters (and when you can break them).
Join us on Thursday and I guarantee you’ll get some great tips, no matter how long you’ve been working in the nonprofit world!
As always, the webinar is $35 for everyone in your office who can fit around one computer and it’s also included in the All-Access Pass.
More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)
Posted by Kivi Leroux Miller on Apr 20, 2009 in
Fundraising,
Online Courses This week is online fundraising week at Nonprofit Marketing Guide. I’m teaching a webinar on the basics on Tuesday, followed by the advanced session on Thursday by Alia McKee of Sea Change Strategies. Alia will share her eight steps to online fundraising success. Want a taste? Alia has written a guest post about #6, which is listening to your supporters. Really listening. Read on, and join us this week for the basic online fundraising and/or advance online fundraising webinars. (Want to do both? Get the All-Access Pass.)
Guest Post by Alia McKee, Sea Change Strategies
One of my favorite cartoons shows a lady stretched out on the couch at her shrink’s office. The caption reads, “Maybe I’m depressed because I have to pay someone to listen to me.”
The cartoon says it clearly. People want to be heard. We want to think our feelings, thoughts, and opinions matter to the people in our lives – and very importantly to the people behind the causes we choose to support.
Too many nonprofits drop the ball when it comes to listening to donors. A survey once a year just doesn’t cut it. You might think, “Well since most nonprofits aren’t doing a good job of listening, I’m safe, right? There’s no competition.”
But there is expectation – and believe me it is increasing with each new generation.
Enter in the opportunity! You have a chance to set the bar – to distinguish yourselves from other organizations with their head in the sand. You, on the other hand, will have your finger on the pulse.
So what should you do? This list is by no means comprehensive, but it will get you started thinking about simple and creative ways you can listen to your donors.
The Basics
– Answer your general email. If a donor or activist responds to your general mailbox – they should receive a timely and thoughtful (no form letter) response.
– Surveys – surveys are great tools for soliciting feedback – but do so with a purpose. Use the survey to inform a donor reactivation campaign strategy, benchmark your organizations net promoter score, or find out how the economy might affect your donors’ giving plans this year. A survey just for a survey’s sake is a waste of or your time (and your donors).
– Report back what you learned – this is critical – donors want to know that you’ve heard them.
– Charity Navigator and Guidestar both allow donor user reviews - think Yelp for the nonprofit set. Your donors may be talking about you there. Read those reviews and respond as appropriate.
Social Networks
– There are a lot of social networks out there. The key for a small nonprofit is to focus your resources. Maybe you can’t tackle Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Gather, Ning, and an organizational blog all at once. But choose one or two and do them really well. You can always ask your donors where they spend their virtual time and go from there.
– When I say do them really well – this is where the listening part comes in. Social networks are all about two-way (five-way, hundred-way, maybe even thousand-way conversation). Don’t think of them as just another push channel. You’ve got to respond to what people are saying if you want a real community.
Advanced
– Online discussion panels – think of this as a virtual focus group for particular subsets of your donors. It’s cheaper than a focus group and creates intense cultivation value among participants.
– Passion Panels for high value donors. This is an intensive, invite-only online community that aims to increase giving engagement by providing a high-touch relationship with the organization. Panels can also can provide ready advice on messages and programs and track longer term trends in donor thinking and attitudes.
OK – so with that said, now it’s my turn to listen. Please respond to this post and tell me other ways that your organization is listening to your donors. Share a case study of something that worked – or maybe something that didn’t. I’m all ears!
Join Alia on Thursday to get your advanced online fundraising questions answered.
Tags: listening
More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)
Not raising money online yet? Or not raising enough? (How’s that for a stupid question?)
Next week we are hosting a two-webinar boot camp specifically on online fundraising. This is your chance to learn both the basics and the advanced techniques for turning your website and email list into a real, sustainable fundraising force for your cause.
Magic Keys Radio on E-Newsletters
But first, on Friday, Claire Meyerhoff and I are back with another edition Magic Keys Radio, our live Internet radio show and podcast and we’ll be talking e-mail newsletters and how you can use them for fundraising. How to do them, why to do them - whatever you want to know about nonprofit email newsletters - we’ll do our best to answer. Join us on Friday, April 17 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (10:00 a.m. Pacific) for the half-hour show where you listen live over the Internet through your computer speakers. You can call in your questions over the phone or chat them in on the Blog Talk Radio site. The podcast is available right after.
Online Fundraising Basics: Jumpstart Online Giving to Your Good Cause
Then on Tuesday, April 21, I’ll be teaching the “Basic” online fundraising course, where I’ll talk about the different elements you need to have in place, including the system that actually processes your donations securely. But online fundraising is about much more than just processing credit cards and big “Donate Now” buttons. We’ll talk about what you need to have on your website (and where) and what you need to send out in email to be successful. We’ll talk about creating the kind of content for your website and email newsletters that inspires donors to give more, and to give again. We’ll also touch on growing and managing your email list and tracking your success. Get the details.
Advanced Online Fundraising: Getting to WOW! in 8 Steps
On Thursday, April 23, I’ll turn it over to Alia McKee of Sea Change Strategies for the “Advanced” course. Alia will show you how to go beyond the basics and, in eight steps, take your online fundraising to an entirely new level. She’ll give you the how-tos and some great examples that show you how it all works. I took a peek at her slides today, and if you feel like you have a solid foundation in place (decent processing, decent website, decent email) and are ready for the next step, you will love this webinar. Get the details.
As usual, individual webinars are an affordable $35. You can take both of these for $70. Or you can do the really smart thing and get the All-Access Pass for $97, and take these two webinars, plus everything else we offer for the next 12 weeks. Your Pass gets you access to both the live and recorded versions of the webinars, plus access to the Webinar Archive of recordings from the past year. Take a 3-Minute Tour of the All-Access Pass.
I hope to see you and your great questions Friday, Tuesday, and/or Thursday!
More Goodies: Get Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips E-Newsletter (2-3 times per month)
