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, speaker, 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.
This week I started an intensive month-long coaching program for freelance writers who want to serve nonprofit clients. I limited the program to just 10 freelance writers, because I wanted the whole group to be able to interact and for me to be able to answer questions directly and fully.
Several communications directors at small nonprofits, when learning of this program, said
“Hey, Kivi, what about us? Where’s our intensive coaching program on how to be better writers for our organizations?”
That’s a great question!
I’d be happy to create a program like that for you, but I need to know exactly what YOU want out of it. Help me get the mix right.
Here is what Susan, one of those communications directors, said she’d like to see in a program like this:
Communication Strategy: how best to prioritize all elements of our communications strategy, including marketing presence, media relations, and social media.
Writing: how to most effectively communicate our messages to our target audience in a compelling, concise and consistent manner.
Social Media: determine the most effective strategy to leverage social media to increase visibility and reach (Facebook Fan, Twitter, LinkedIn, others?)
Media Relations: how to develop relationships with key media contacts and provide relevant information on a timely basis; how to balance outreach to traditional print/broadcast media with outreach to the online influencer community.
So Susan is looking for a good mix of the strategic and the tactical. How about you?
Creating a tight peer network for the participants would be one of my goals for the program, which I think means that I should define some of the characteristics of the people who will be allowed to participate in any given “class.” Who would you want to be in a class like this with? Is 10 people the right size? What do think about these limits (or strong suggestions)?
Nonprofits of a certain size (determined by overall budget or communications budget or by number of staff dedicated to communications)
Years of experience as a communications director
Current state of marketing program (e.g. just getting into email marketing or social media, versus more mature online programs)
Some people have also talked about preferring to network with people who do the same general types of work they do, e.g. groups that provide direct social or health services to people, versus groups that are more education or research oriented. Does that matter to you?
Finally, how many weeks would you want to commit to something like this? The freelancer program I’m doing is four weeks, with a live webinar once a week, and new content posted every business day for consumption and discussion. Participants must complete at least one challenge assignment per week (they can pick from three a week). We also have a private email discussion list.
Please let me know what you think on any or all of these questions by leaving a comment or emailing me directly at kivi@ecoscribe.com. If you are getting this blog post via email, you can reply to that email as well. Same goes if you are reading on Facebook.
The first week of a new year is always one of my favorites . . . there is something so hopeful and fresh about it. In addition to the typical resolutions about doing more of this and less of that, I also like to pick a theme for the new year. Sometimes it’s a few words, or a personal tagline, or even a song.
This year, I’ve picked three words that popped out at me when I read What Matters Now, a series of short essays each on a different word. It’s a free ebook conceived by Seth Godin and edited by Ishita Gupta that includes Mark Rovner, a great friend to nonprofit marketers and one of my Lexulous pals.
Here are my three words for 2010:
ENOUGH. I have a too-long to-do list, waaaay too many feeds in my RSS reader, Twitter and Facebook friends whose updates I never see, and four racks of files sitting on my desk. ENOUGH. This year I pledge to only commit to what I can reasonably see, hear, and do without making myself crazy. I’m going to use the tools at my disposal, like lists in Twitter and Facebook, so I can see what’s most important — and ENOUGH — more quickly.
EASE. 2009 was a wonderful year in many ways. I wrote my first book. More than 2,500 nonprofit staff participated in our weekly webinar series. I traveled around the country speaking to some really great groups of nonprofits about nonprofit marketing. I love it all. But I push myself hard, and while I can take it, it’s not always fair to those I love most of all. Our kitten Luna can fit in my inbox, but my kids can’t, and they shouldn’t have to try. So I’m going to EASE up on how tightly I schedule commitments so I have time for everything that’s important to me, rather than letting deadlines run (and sometimes ruin) my life.
LEAP. This word returns for an encore, although it’s taken the form of ”Just Do It” in previous years. I do a lot of decision making by the seat of my pants. Most of the time, it works. LEAP stays on the list this year simply as a reminder to have faith in following my instincts, even when decisions aren’t as carefully considered as the more analytical parts of my personality might prefer.
What are your three words for 2010? Leave a comment on this post or link back to it with your own post to share.
P.S. We are kicking off the new year on Thursday with an interactive conference call on Trends for 2010 and Your Nonprofit Marketing Plan for a New Year. I hope you’ll join us for an enlightening discussion. I’ll be asking participants to share their three words too.
It’s a busy, busy week of training, starting with a free Nonprofit911 call from Network for Good on Tuesday, then a webinar on social media skeptics, an online fundraising workshop for AFP, and a conference closing plenary session via webinar. If you are participating in any of these events, let me know. I’d love to hear from you before and after.
Tuesday, September 15 Your Best Email Campaign Ever: 4 Steps to a Winning Strategy This Fall
During this free Nonprofit911 training call sponsored by Network for Good, I’ll be talking about what you can do this fall through your email communications to help set yourself up for bigger gifts in December.
Wednesday, September 16 Convincing Social Media Skeptics: “Selling” the Value of Social Media
You are ready to add social media to your marketing mix, but others around you aren’t so sure. Several people asked for help with the problem, so I’ve created this webinar to help you make your case. It’s on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT). Registration is $35 or included with your All-Access Pass.
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.”
“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!”
“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.”
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!
Most media outlets don’t want to include event sponsors in the stories. So how do I get the word out and add value for them?
What are the low resource/cost options for discovering what is gripping or engaging to our market?
How do you pull the heart strings of prospective donors when your “good cause” is education versus humanitarian aid, animal rights or even art? What is a history museum to do?
How do you launch an effective campaign to restore the reputation of a nonprofit?
What are the two most important / effective things marketers can do to help promote their organization to the public, when we have very few dollar and people resources?
What is the best way to craft a marketing message in this hyper competitive market?
Are print materials passe?
When you grant funds, as well as seek funding, how do you balance the two?
How important do you feel it is to equip your board of directors with effective marketing tools such as a powerful case for support statement?
In an economic climate where critical needs are looming large, we’re finding it difficult to create a message of “compelling need” when our mission is to open the first dog parks in Birmingham.
How do you re-energize a longstanding nonprofit’s image in the community?
I’m going to NTEN’s NTC this year (that’s the Nonprofit Technology Network’s Nonprofit Technology Conference) in San Francisco in April. It will be my first time, and I can’t wait, because I know I’ll get to meet in person so many of the friends I’ve made online over the last few years.
I’m also excited because, though it may not look like it on the surface, I believe this conference has the potential to become the national event for nonprofit marketing staff at small nonprofits.
Why this technology conference rather than one of the more traditional marketing conferences? Three reasons:
1) Small nonprofits can afford online marketing. Using online tools and social media technology to market your organization is incredibly cheap compared to traditional print marketing. It just makes financial sense to take advantage of the technology and this conference is all about helping you learn how to do that.
2) Small nonprofits will feel comfortable at this conference. NTEN is a casual, fun group of mostly supportive, friendly people. I have no doubt that there will be a few speakers who look down their noses at small groups with little technical experience or tiny budgets, but I bet they will be in a very small minority. I’m not sure what the stats are these days, but when I asked NTEN Executive Director Holly Ross a year ago how many of NTEN’s members were techies who managed technology versus communications people who used the technology, she said it was something like half and half. In other words, there is a place for us within this organization and at this conference.
3) It’s where the cool kids in nonprofit marketing will be. I just quickly scanned the registration list, and many of the top bloggers who write about nonprofit communications will be there, including Nancy Schwartz, Maddie Grant, Mark Rovner, Britt Bravo, and Geoff Livingston. And that’s just the early bird registration. Nancy Schwartz is now on the NTEN board, which is another great sign.
I hope you’ll join us in San Francisco – and I hope you’ll help some nonprofits who can’t otherwise afford it by donating to NTEN’s scholarship fund. I just gave $25. Can you donate a few bucks? Click over to the blog to see the fundraising widget.
Last week, Lindy Dreyer (SocialFish.org) and I hosted a free half-hour webinar called “What’s the Buzz? Find Out Who’s Talking About Your Organization and Issues Online” – or what’s called “social media listening” by the Web 2.0 cool kids.
We talked about why you should be listening to online conversations and how you can use what you hear to improve your nonprofit’s programs and marketing. We also walked through how to set up several easy, free listening tools.
If you missed it, you can watch the recording: What’s the Buzz? (Windows Media Video .wmv)
This morning, the group was gathered in person at a conference and they used webinar technology to bring me in virtually. This afternoon, we used the same webinar technology I use every week for the Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinar series with participants logging in from across the United States. It was a cost-effective way to get training to members of an association in one case and to a foundation’s local advocacy partners and grantees in the other.
I’m available to give just about any of the webinars I teach through Nonprofit Marketing Guide as private webinars for your members, grantees, or partners and can customize the examples and talking points to be relevant to your cause or concerns. Give me a call at 336-499-5816 or send me an email to begin discussing how we can work together to provide some high-quality, affordable training for your groups.
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"I'm so excited about using the information I've learned from you to improve our communications with donors. I also wanted to tell you that I have been attending webinars from several different sources, some free, some paid. Yours are the best by far."
How to Get Your
Nonprofit Marketing
Questions Answered
I'll gladly answer your questions (or try to anyway), but I prefer to do so in a public way, so others can benefit from our conversation and join in with their thoughts too. Here are the best ways to ask your questions and get free advice.
Live Office Hours - Many Fridays, when I'm not on the road, you can either call in your question to Magic Keys Radio or chat with me live on this blog's homepage. Check the calendar for details.
See Your Q&A on the Blog - I'll post your question and my reply on this blog and/or in my e-newsletter when you submit your question at Ask Kivi.com.
Email Me Directly - Last resort for general questions, and probably the slowest, because I'm putting priority on answering questions in the places above first. Here's the contact form.
For questions about webinars, coaching or consulting, please feel free to email me or to call me at 336-499-5816 anytime and I'll get back to you promptly.
Magic Keys Radio/Podcast
A couple of times per month, Kivi Leroux Miller and Claire Meyerhoff host a live Internet radio show and podcast.
Looking for the 
I’d be happy to create a program like that for you, but I need to know exactly what YOU want out of it. Help me get the mix right.
The first week of a new year is always one of my favorites . . . there is something so hopeful and fresh about it. In addition to the typical resolutions about doing more of this and less of that, I also like to pick a theme for the new year. Sometimes it’s a few words, or a personal tagline, or even a song.
“A group of fellow cancer patients and myself recently formed 
“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!
Last week, Lindy Dreyer (
