During my recent webinar on new and improved nonprofit annual reports (recording available to All-Access Pass Holders), I said that I would love to see a nonprofit do its annual report as an oversized postcard (think that big size popular with political candidates). This format has lots of advantages: The small space forces you to…
Nothing seems to elicit deeper sighs from the small nonprofits I talk to these days then how to best use social media. They know they need to “be there” and they understand the basics. But they are often troubled by the lack of strategy, and the lack of control. What staff, volunteers, and clients might…
Welcome to this week’s Mixed Links! Tuesday, February 22, I am presenting a webinar hosted by my good friends at Network for Good called 9 Tips to Improve Your Small-places Writing: How to Compose Better Microcontent and Social Network Updates. This is part of Network for Good’s Nonprofit 911 training series and registration is FREE.…
During the Writing to Raise More Money webinar last week (recording available to All-Access Pass holders), I talked about four ways to improve your fundraising copy: 1. Cue an Emotional Response 2. Make the Request Feel Personal 3. Convey Urgency 4. Ask Clearly At the end of the webinar, I asked participants which of the…
I came across 17 Email Marketing Terms Every Business Should Know last week and it’s a nice summary written in plain English. We included a plain English glossary of online marketing terms at the back of The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause (Amazon). If you’ve been afraid…
Here are five common questions I get about nonprofit annual reports, along with my answers. If you are still trying to figure out how to produce your 2010 nonprofit annual report, join us tomorrow’s webinar (2/8/11 at 1:00 pm Eastern, 10:00 am Pacific), where I’ll explain how to create a “New and Improved Nonprofit Annual…
Welcome to this week’s edition of Mixed Links! Social Media While many nonprofit professionals use LinkedIn for their personal use, not many organizations are using yet. But that may be changing. Joanne Fritz asks, “Are Nonprofits Warming Up to LinkedIn?” and highlights a few nonprofits who have jumped on the LinkedIn bandwagon. NTEN, Common Knowledge…
When I was in Jacksonville, NC last week, which is home to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, a woman who works for a women’s center that does educational programs on domestic violence asked me this question: How can you make them listen? She described her predicament this way. If you have a big room full…
Tomorrow (Thursday, 2/3/11) I’m presenting a webinar I call “Writing Thank You Notes That Inspire Future Gifts.” I firmly believe that the thank-you note after the first gift is the first step in getting the second gift. The standard, boring, impersonal form letter or email receipt doesn’t cut it. During the webinar, I’ll share lots…
I presented the Thursday night keynote at the City of Jacksonville’s Board Development and Training Program last week (this North Carolina city requires nonprofit grantees to send their board members to free professional development training – a brilliant idea!). My topic was the importance of storytelling, and how as board members, they needed to help…
If we agree that we should develop messaging that resonates with our donors, what should we do when that messaging might be offensive to others? Take the case of donors who make substantial gifts to charities rather than leaving assets to their “good for nothing” adult children. I presented a “Storytelling for Fundraisers” workshop in…
Welcome to another edition of Mixed Links, a weekly roundup of good stuff for nonprofit communicators. I had some technical difficulties yesterday (Windows . . . Grrr . . . ), so I not only broke my daily blogging streak but also had to postpone yesterday’s webinar. So, the silver lining is that if you…
