One of my recommended 10 Changes to Make in 2012 (webinar recording available now; e-book coming soon) is to make your communications more visual. 

Why? Visuals can often convey information more quickly than text (you know, a picture is worth a thousand words). That makes a big difference when people are zooming through their inboxes and Facebook feeds. Visuals are also commented on and shared more frequently in social media than words alone.

Here are some easy ways to add more photos to your nonprofit communications -- we'll talk infographics, logos, and video soon.

1. Hiring a photographer to get the shots you need is the best approach. Organizations like PhotoPhilanthropy and CreativeCares can help connect you with photographers.

2. If you need photos that convey an idea or concept, I think istockphoto.com has the best search engine for matching photographs with ideas. Their prices have gone up a bit, but they are still affordable, especially if you just need a web quality image.

3. If you want free photos and are willing to spend a little more time searching, try Flickr. If you search with the Creative Commons "By License" filter on, you can use the photos however you like as long as you give credit to the photographer. That usually just means including the URL back to the page on the photo somewhere.

It's not as easy to find images that represent concepts on Flickr, though. Instead, try to think how someone would caption the kind of photo you are looking for. So while you might search "mistake" on istockphoto to find a person making an expression like they've made a mistake, on Flickr, you'll be better off searching on "Doh" or "Ouch" or "Oh No."

4. A series of pictures can tell a story all by itself. You may have seen this album making the rounds on Facebook, sharing the message that people with Downs Syndrome are just like everyone else. The photos are obviously casual, which is part of their appeal.

The TechSoup Annual Digital Storytelling Challenge, which starts today (February 1, 2012), includes a category for a 5-photo slideshow. So even if you aren't ready for video, give that a try instead! Lights. Camera. Help. will be offering tons of training for participants, and if you want a headstart, check out their list of resources.

5. You can also dress up your photographs to promote your cause.  How about creating Facebook cover photos for the new Timeline layout that everyone is getting?

This article appeared in the February 1, 2012 edition of our weekly  Nonprofit Marketing Tips e-newsletter. We hope you'll subscribe!

I just finished a webinar called "Nonprofit Writing Stinks: Bring Your Writing Back to Life" for our webinar series All-Access Pass Holders. The recording will be available later tonight on the Pass Holders Dashboard if you missed it.

Cutting back on the Blah, Blah, Blahs was a big point of discussion. When I think about the problems I see with nonprofit writing (especially online), one of the biggest is that the content is just too long. Emails with thousands of words. Web pages that require way too much scrolling. You know what I mean, and maybe you've even written it.

Here are eight tips for editing your first drafts when they are too long -- and too full of the blah blah blahs.

1. Drop the first few sentences. Lots of people (including me) need to warm up as they start writing and don’t really get to the point until a few sentences in. Warming up is good for working out, but not for writing at work. Get right to the point.

2. Jettison the background information. We often assume that people need more history than they really do. Sum up any critical background in one sentence and tell the readers where to find additional background or to contact you if they need it.

3. Focus on what you want from the reader. Are you expecting the reader to take a particular action based on your newsletter article or whatever it is you are writing? If so, focus your draft around that. What do you want them to do? Why should they do it? How should they do it? Cut everything else that doesn’t contribute to moving that reader to action.

4. Watch for tangents. It’s easy to stray from the main point. Watch for tangents and babbling streams of consciousness. Turn those sections of your draft into separate articles if there is something worth keeping.

5. Cut the the wordy phrases, redundancies, cliches, etc. Shorter is better. Cut out all the words that don’t contribute meaning.

6. Chunk it. Think about what parts are important, but could live elsewhere. Maybe you can cut out a few paragraphs from the email and link to a web page. Or maybe you can break that long web page into three different web pages and link them together.

7. Do Parts 1 and 2. Think about whether you have enough content to communicate about the topic twice. Instead of one really long email, maybe you can do a Part I and a Part II a couple of days apart.

8. Read it out loud, then cut any parts you read quickly or skipped over. If you find yourself zooming through sections when you read something out loud, it likely means that section isn’t that important and can be edited out.

This article appeared in the January 26, 2012 edition of our weekly  Nonprofit Marketing Tips e-newsletter. We hope you'll subscribe!

Saying thank you to your donors, and saying it well, is only polite, right? The truth is that good thank yous are much more than good manners: they are a very smart and savvy fundraising strategy.

Donors are Testing Nonprofits, and Nonprofits Are Failing

Sixty-five percent of first-time donors don’t make a second gift. That’s what Penelope Burk’s donor-centered research tells us. Donors want something quite simple: a prompt, meaningful thank you letter and additional communication that explains how the donation was used. That’s it. Eighty percent of donors say that would convince them to make the second gift.

And yet the typical thank you note that many nonprofits send is more like a transaction receipt that speaks to a donor’s inner bookkeeper more than a donor’s inner angel. Let’s speak to that angel! Here are nine clever approaches to thank yous.

1. Write a Greeting Card, Not a Business Letter

The best nonprofit thank yous feel friendly, warm, and personal. And yet they are still relatively short. Even if your thank you appears on stationery, think of a good Hallmark card as you write (not the ones with four paragraphs of flowery script, but the shorter ones that lay it all out there in under 30 words). They feel personal, even though we know they were written for thousands of others.

2. Share Recent Progress, However Small

Your supporters want to know that they matter. So give them little gems of progress that show that with their support — and directly because of that support — you are bringing about some kind of change, or making life easier for someone, or advancing the cause. Maybe it’s a short anecdote, or a telling testimonial, or an impressive statistic.

3. Add an Invitation – But Not to Something that Requires Another Donation!

You want your supporters to stay on with you, so invite them to do so, without asking for another financial donation. Invite them to your next free event, a behind-the-scenes tour, or a special conference call with a staff expert. Mention any volunteer opportunities, and ask them to follow you on Facebook or Twitter.

4. Use a More Creative, Personal Opening

Forget “On behalf of” or “Thank you for” and start your letters with a more creative and personal opening. Try something like, “You made my day” on one line by itself. Then jump into a story: “Your donation crossed my desk today and . . .” Explain how the money will be used. Or start with, “I have a great story to share with you.” Launch right into a success story and then talk about how the donation will create even more happy stories.

 5. Include Results-Oriented Photography

Including photos, either in the body of the letter or stuffed in the envelope, will make an instant connection between your donor and your work. A photo of a client or smiling people making a difference out there in the world will light up your donor’s day. Get a group of people who your organization helps together and take a photo of them holding a big banner that says “Thank You.”

 6. Record a Video Message

One of my favorite thank-you emails came from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with a link to short video. The video features real TNC scientists around the world — not polished spokespeople — in their own countries, speaking in many different accents, saying “Thank you for helping to save (whatever natural area they work on).” It’s so genuine, and yet so easy to duplicate!

 7. Send a Postcard from Behind-the-Scenes

Several digital photo apps let you turn your photos into instant postcards (see Postagram or Touchnote, for example). What if your program staff took some photos during the course of their everyday work out of the public eye, and turned those into personalized postcards for your supporters? It’s hard to get more timely and personal than that.

 8. Be Specific About How the Gift Is Being Used

Very quickly but clearly describe a specific program where the gift will be used. If you are fundraising for specific programs this will be easier than if you are fundraising for general support. But even then, you still need to give supporters a sense for what you’re doing with the money. You can use anecdotes as examples for how the money is being spent, or you can assure donors that their gifts are going to “where the need is greatest.”

 9. Change Who’s Saying Thank You

If you have clients who benefit from programs funded by individual donations, ask a few clients to explain in their own words how your organization has changed their lives and to thank the donor for making it all possible. They write the letter, but you send it. Or ask board members to send a separate hand-written thank you note or even an email, as a follow-up to your “official” thank you letter.

Get more of our tips on writing thank you letters at  NonprofitMarketingGuide.com/thankyou

I presented a webinar called "The New and Improved Nonprofit Annual Report" three times in 2011, where I urged nonprofits to stop producing long, printed annual reports and to look at shorter, more readable and viewable, alternatives.

I asked the same two poll questions each time: at the beginning of the webinar I asked what their annual report looked like last year, and at the end of the webinar (after they saw many examples of shorter formats) I asked what format they were most likely to try for the coming year.

Over 100 nonprofits participated in the polling over those three webinars, and I have averaged the results below.

What Annual Report Formats Nonprofits Are Using

A quarter of the nonprofits didn't do an annual report at all the previous year, but the majority, 54%, had created a printed report that was longer than four pages. I didn't ask how much longer, but in the webinar chat, several nonprofits said their reports were 10 or 20 pages or even longer. 15% had created a short printed version and 6% had created an online-only version of a PDF or PowerPoint presentation. None had used an online version like a video or website page (not a PDF).

What Annual Report Formats Nonprofits Want to Try

After the webinar, where I strongly encouraged much shorter printed formats like oversized postcards or 2-4 page reports (especially for those nonprofits who use the annual report mailing as a fundraiser and need to include a return envelope), as well as video and other online formats, only 20% said they were most likely to stick with the longer printed version. Nearly half, 47%, were going with a 2-4 page printed version, while 23% were going to try an oversized postcard. Another 7% wanted to try a mini-website (either as a separate domain or a subdomain on their existing website) and 3% wanted to try video.

Nonprofit Annual Report Samples

You can see all of the samples I shared during the webinar on the Nonprofit Annual Reports Wiki I created. Please add your examples of new and improved nonprofit annual reports to the wiki!

 Get More Nonprofit Annual Report Tips and Advice

Check out our Annual Reports Resource Page for more.

Click through the slideshow for my answer . . .

• Register to Receive a Copy of the 2012 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report (mid-December 2011 release)
• Register for the Free Webinar on January 5: Ten Changes to Make in 2012
• Get We Are All Weird by Seth Godin (Amazon link)
• Get Little Bets by Peter Sims (Amazon link)
• Get Newsjacking by David Meerman Scott (Amazon link)

We've all been talking about marketing and fundraising campaigns a lot with the end-of-year giving season rapidly approaching. But the idea of a multi-week or multi-month campaign works year-round too.

I'm a fan of editorial calendars, but you can't let the calendar drive the process of deciding what content you create. That's a trap that's very easy to fall into, but ultimately means you are just focusing on tactics (seeing only the trees) and failing to employ a real strategy (seeing the whole forest). Instead, try using campaigns or communications arcs.

Using the Campaign Approach

Campaigns are usually very goal and/or deadline driven. You announce your goal or deadline (or both) and then as the days and weeks pass, you continue to urge your supporters to help you achieve it. You give them progress reports along the way, and inspire them with stories from others who are helping, and those who will be helped, as a result.There's usually a big push at the beginning and an even bigger one at the end.

Fundraising goals are the most obvious example (We need to raise $50,000 by December 31 so this good thing will happen.) But you can use the campaign model for all kinds of goals and deadlines. Let's get 20 letters to the editor submitted this month. When 100 people register for the workshop, Smith Company will buy lunch. You get the picture. Sketch out your communications plan so that it builds toward that goal or deadline.

Using the Communications Arc

I've talked about communications arcs before. The general idea is the same as a campaign, but you focus on the major points of a story instead of a goal or deadline. Arcs should also bring your supporters along toward an end -- but it's the end of the story (and hopefully a happy one). As you sketch out your communications plan, you want to build in some drama and build expectations so your supporters can't wait to see how everything turns out.

Last time I taught the Taming Your Editorial Calendar and Content Creation Process webinar, participants came up with these ideas for communications arcs:

• Follow one school, or one teacher, throughout the school year, showing how our work is helping them.
• Follow a set of foster parents as they begin fostering for us or taking in a new child.
• Watch the renovation of a community center, or chronicle how a green building is designed and built
• Watch one of our legislative battles from beginning to end

Instead of letting all the empty boxes in your editorial calendar drive your content decisionmaking, start with campaigns and arcs first.  Think of 3-5 campaigns or arcs that can make up the bulk of your annual communications plan. Fill in the calendar with those. Then go back and see what boxes are still empty and really need filling.

 On Wednesday, November 9, 2011 I'm presenting one of my favorite webinars, Taming Your Editorial Calendar and Content Creation Process. When you register for the webinar, you can purchase the Nonprofit Content Marketing Cookbook for only $25.

This article first appeared in Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips, a free weekly e-newsletter.

What ruins many a good story about a nonprofit client, volunteer, or donor is the broad brush. It produces profiles that are way too shallow and wide. You try to cover too much about the person in too little space, and we end up with an "overview" of this amazing individual, instead of a compelling story we can't forget.

Here's my best tip for telling a story about a single person: put down your broad brush and pick up your post hole digger.

For those of you unfamiliar with this tool, post hole diggers dig a deep, but narrow hole that a fence post can sink down into. You want to do the same thing with your profile. Pick a fairly narrow aspect of this person's personality or experience, and go deep into that one aspect of the person's story.

Here are some examples, taking some typical broad brushes we see in nonprofit profiles and turning them into post holes.

Broad Brush: Talking about a volunteer's family tree, e.g., Mary has been married for 36 years to Phil, and they have four children, and 15 grandchildren.

Post Hole: Ask Mary which one member of her family most shares her passion for your cause. Explore that single relationship in your article.

Broad Brush:  Talking about a donor's educational background, e.g.,  Frank graduated from high school in Missouri, but went to college in Pennsylvania, where he received his BS in Biology. He then traveled back across the country to California to work on a Masters blah blah blah . . .

Post Hole:  Ask Frank what kind of degree he would like to get today if he went back to college. Or ask him what memory from his college days relates to his donations to your cause today.

Broad Brush:  Throwing in details without helping us see why they matter, e.g., In her spare time, Jenny enjoys running and playing guitar.

Post Hole: Pick one of those hobbies, and figure out a way to relate it to her love of the cause. Has Jenny ever run a race for charity, and how did that go? If she was going to write a song about her experience with your nonprofit, what kind of song would it be?

When you are interviewing your profile subjects, don't be afraid to go a little off-track with your standard list of questions. That's how you get to the best "post hole" details that produce memorable, moving stories.

Learn more in our webinar, Telling Powerful Stories about Everyday People.

This article first appeared in Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips, a free weekly e-newsletter.

When you look at all the places you need to put content (website, email, Facebook, etc.) multiplied by the number of times you want to update each of those places, you end up with a lot of content buckets that need filling.

But how much of that should be completely fresh and original content? How much can be repurposed, remixed or reheated?

Half Original, Half Remixed

You'll need to work out the right proportions for your organization given the number of topics you like to cover and how many people are contributing. But if you need a place to start, go with my 50-50 rule.  Shoot for creating original content for half of those buckets. In other words, half the time you are sharing content, make it something new and fresh. The other 50% will be content that is repurposed from older content (or curated content) that you remix or reheat into something that feels new, but really isn't.

It's Not Cheating; It's Media Mogul Genius

To some of you, this might feel like "cheating" in some way. But, trust me, this is how creative professionals work, whether they are painters, musicians, or writers. We are always building off or riffing off of something we did previously – or something someone else did. And as a nonprofit marketer, you are a creative professional!

You are a publisher and a broadcaster -- we all are now. And no media mogul worth her salary creates original content all the time. Instead, moguls use re-runs, syndication, b-roll, and other techniques to reuse and repurpose the content they've created. It not only makes your work life easier, but it's smart from a marketing perspective too!

Message Repetition is Your Friend

You want to repeat your main messages several times, across multiple channels. That's the only way those messages have a chance of actually getting through. Despite your best intentions, and theirs, your supporters don't read everything you put out in its entirety, the first time they see it, and commit it to memory right then. They likely just give it a glance or skim it, which means you need to give them several opportunities to let that message sink in.

Remixing the 50% doesn’t mean you simply copy and paste everywhere, all the time. Your fundamental message stays the same. Your fundamental calls to action are the same. But you’re just slightly remixing the way that you’re framing those things and the way you’re presenting those stories.  This approach allows your thinking on various topics to grow and you can incorporate those new perspectives as you repurpose old content. It allows allows you to incorporate feedback on earlier versions.

But it still demands that you create some new stuff too, so you don't get lazy. Best of all, the 50-50 rule  makes your job more manageable.

Figure It Out with the Nonprofit Content Marketing Cookbook 

The 50-50 rule is just one of the strategies I share in my brand new e-book, The Nonprofit Content Marketing Cookbook: Your Guide to Creating and Curating Content that Educates, Motivates, and Inspires.

This article first appeared in Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips, a free weekly e-newsletter.

You don't have to try hard to find people who despise the idea of nonprofit newsletters, whether in print or email. Boring, they say. A huge waste of time and effort. No one reads them. And, you know what? In many cases, they are right.

But that's because many nonprofits have drifted away from the original intent of newsletters.

Look at the word itself: news + letter. That to me says timely + personal. Because of our 24/7 media culture where we prefer everything in snack-sized bites, I would also add short to the equation.

Newsletter = Timely + Personal + Short.

It's the perfect formula for the majority of your nonprofit communications, and especially your newsletters!

But what if the equation at work in your nonprofit is more like Newsletter = Outdated + Impersonal + Long?

Here are a few tips to get your newsletter back on track.

From Outdated to Timely

Focus less on reporting what you've done in the past, and more on what you are doing right now, and will be doing in the coming weeks. It's so depressing to get nonprofit newsletters in the mail and to see them talking about stuff that happened months ago, while inviting me to an event that took place last week.

Keep a realistic production schedule in mind, and only promote upcoming events when you are absolutely positive that a printed newsletter will reach people at least a week before the event takes place. Obviously, with email, you have more leeway and you can send reminders for events that are just days away.

The point here is to really focus forward instead of backward in your communications, so they feel much more timely.

That's not to say you shouldn't report on accomplishments. But try to describe that work in ways that aren't so date-stamped.

From Impersonal to Personal

The easiest way to get more personal is to simply change your writing voice into the first and second person (I, We, Our and You, Yours). Let us hear the voices of your staff, rather than the monolithic voice of the 501(c)(whatever you are).  You can do that by putting bylines on your newsletter articles and by including lots of direct quotes and photographs of people.

As much as you can, also get away from talking generically about the people you serve. Instead, give us some real examples that involve real people.

From Long to Short

Can you take whatever you producing now that you would describe as long and cut it in half?

Can you reduce your print newsletter to four pages, or even two pages?

Can you reduce your e-newsletter to less than 500 words and link to your website for everything else?

In most cases, it's better to communicate less content but more frequently than to communicate a lot all at once. Think tapas, not a four-course meal!

Want More Help with Rethinking Your Newsletter?

Join us for Rethinking Your Nonprofit Newsletter: Making It More Relevant for Today on September 20, 2011.

This article first appeared in Kivi's Nonprofit Marketing Tips, a free e-newsletter that we try to keep timely, personal, and short! 

Tired of sharing "updates" all the time? Simply changing the format is a great way to repeat your core messages while making the content feel more fresh and interesting. Let’s look at what I consider the tried-and-true Top 20 formats for nonprofit content.

How-to Articles

In an easy-to-follow format, provide your readers with clear directions on how to do something related to the issues you work on. Is there something your readers could do on their own to advance your mission? Do people call your office asking how to do certain tasks?

Advice Columns

It’s your basic advice column, but with your own twist. If people call your office for advice, use some of those questions in your content. Encourage readers to send in their own questions. You might try rotating the person who answers the letters among experts in your organization or field. You can also write humorous, fictional questions with subtle true-life lessons in the answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pick a topic and write down five to seven of the most common questions you hear about it. Then provide your answers. This is a great way to share information about your programs and to answer common questions about your organization as a whole.

First-Person Anecdotes

Hearing about an experience directly from the person who lived it is usually more interesting and believable than someone else talking about it. Ask someone with a good story to share to write an article or essay in the first person (i.e., using the words I, me, and my).

Definitions

Help your readers keep up with the latest lingo in your field. Or help them understand terms everyone should be familiar with (e.g., Internet terminology). You’ll be surprised how many people have questions about special terminology, but are too afraid to ask.

Trends

Put events, statistics, and other information in context for your readers by reporting on trends in a specific segment of your field. What patterns do you see developing? What issues are people talking about now more than before?

News Compilations

Give your readers quick summaries of the latest news, with just a few sentences per news item. Gather news by looking at newsletters and websites in your field, by searching social media like Twitter and YouTube, and by scanning mainstream media headlines too. Be sure to link back to your sources!

Reviews or Recommendations

Share your thoughts, both positive and negative, on the books, websites, new reports, places, and events your readers are likely to be interested in.

Success Stories

Let your readers share in your successes and in the successes of others in your field. Write about a recent accomplishment and how you made it happen. Or pick a topic and write about several organizations or people making progress in that area. Highlighting a successful endeavor is also a good way to enliven an otherwise boring case study.

Personal Profiles

Personal profiles are a great way to say thank you to donors, volunteers, and other special people in your organization. Have someone on your staff conduct a brief interview with the person you are profiling and then write up the article. Profiles of people in need or those facing difficult situations can also be useful in urging new donors and volunteers to contact you or pressuring public officials to act on an issue.

Popular Facts and Figures

Impress your readers with the latest statistics on the issues they care about, especially if the figures change frequently. You’ll also save your readers the effort of searching for facts and figures relevant to your issues by providing them with regular updates.

Lists

People love lists. They can be made up of just about anything and can be used to provide advice, offer checklists, or simply entertain David Letterman-style.

Where to Find . . .

Do the research for your supporters on the best places to find the things or people they might be looking for.  If you’ve recently conducted a search for something, odds are your readers may need to do the same search themselves.

Legislative Briefings

Policy debates and politics in general can be difficult to follow, especially when deals are made behind closed doors. Give your readers the latest information on legislation that will affect your organization and either help or hurt your cause.

Wish Lists

Few nonprofits can afford everything they need to accomplish their missions. What does your organization need? Or what can friends donate to you, so that you don’t have to spend limited resources buying it yourself? Wish list items can include everything from inexpensive office supplies, to computer equipment, to large cash donations for specific purchases you’ll need to make in the near future. Or get more creative and make your wish list changes you’d like to see in legislation or around your community.

Quotes

Use “man on the street” interviews with several of your readers to get perspectives on a particular topic. Or you can draw quotes from letters you’ve received, presentations you’ve seen, meetings you’ve attended, etc.

Partnerships

If your organization works in partnership with many other organizations, take the time to explain the importance of those relationships to your readers. Why are you working with the organization? What do they bring to the partnership? What can you accomplish together that you couldn’t on your own?

Leadership Perspectives

Be careful. The traditional “letter from the director” and other rambling from executives tend to bore readers. However, if you focus this first-person piece on a strong opinion or an insider’s perspective on a particular issue or theme, this kind of content can be very powerful.

Survey Results

Take a poll and share the results with your readers. Get in the habit of asking a question in your newsletter, on your website, via social media, or when you see your supporters in person and share the responses in your content.

Fact Versus Fiction

What are the common misperceptions in your field? Are there any tales you’d wish would die forever? Lay out the fiction and the facts for your readers.

This list appears in greater detail in The Nonprofit Content Marketing Cookbook: Your Guide to Creating and Curating Content that Educates, Motivates, and Inspires, a new e-book from NonprofitMarketingGuide.com.