Are the copy and images in your nonprofit marketing materials drugging readers into ignoring you and your issue entirely? It’s a process called narcotization. Here’s how it works. People were shown pictures of gum disease. One group saw photos of a mouth just a little rotten. The second saw photos of moderately rotten gums. The…
Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog is looking for posts on what’s good or bad about fundraising for next week’s Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants. Here’s what’s bad about fundraising from my perspective as a nonprofit marketing and communications consultant. These are the three reasons that I nearly always turn down requests to write grant applications…
I really enjoyed Marc Sirkin’s recent post on the differences between “radical attention hogs” and “platform players,” which he presents as a take of the difference between causes and organizations. He argues that as a nonprofit becomes more established, it will naturally lose its edge. I agree that this path is true for most organizations,…
This week’s edition of Real Time with Bill Maher featured Cornel West and Mos Def, and it was one of the most entertaining and interesting episodes this year. At one point, they talked about the complacency of the media and how many mainstream reporters want to fit in with and be liked by the people…
Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention has posted another stellar edition of the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants, this time on how nonprofits can use online video to strengthen their marketing impact. It’s loaded with great examples, how-tos, and pitfalls — a must-read for anyone considering how to use video to promote a nonprofit cause. Next week…
Priscella at Solidariti posted this week’s Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants yesterday. You’ll find several interesting posts on communicating with supporters, including tips on using YouTube, MySpace, blogs, podcasting, and more. Next week the Carnival moves to Getting Attention with Nancy Schwartz.
As I was looking over annual reports from environmental groups this week, I noticed that both Environmental Defense (ED) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) claimed that they were largely responsible for getting California’s law on global warming passed. Now, I really have no idea who did what or how much, and I am…
Harold Jarche has put together an edition full of Canadian bloggers as his first foray into hosting the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants. Thanks Harold – I hope we’ll hear more from these bloggers in the future (hint, hint, sign up for the contributors’ list to get a weekly email reminder to submit your posts to…
When Emily at the Nonprofit Blog Exchange assigned the Camp ASCCA blog to me as part of this summer’s Nonprofit Blog Exchange Virtual Event, I was excited because I had already included it as a good example of how nonprofits can use blogs in my Blogging for Nonprofits course. This assignment from Emily gave me…
Storytelling is all the rage in the marketing world these days, because it works. Examples are everywhere in commercial advertising. Samuel Adams commercials feature real employees and customers talking about beer. Those Geico commercials (not the ones with the gecko or the cavemen) feature customers and celebrities telling real stories. The UPS ad executive at…
This week’s Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants is now up at the Bamboo Project. Michele has a keen eye for truly helpful and insightful posts, so you’ll want to grab your favorite cool drink and spend some time clicking through the Carnival. Next week, the Carnival moves to a new host, Harold Jarche’s Blog. See you…
Michele Martin at the Bamboo Project asked about our favorite learning resources and what gets us excited about learning new things. I get tons of great information from reading other people’s blogs, but I saw that Rosetta Thurman wrote a great post about that already, so I’ll go with another favorite learning tool of mine:…
