Gaining a Positive Marketing Perspective

I guess it is human nature to constantly look for and examine our flaws and shortcomings. What is unfortunate is how much energy we put into analyzing our weaknesses and so little taking note of the things we do that are good and effective. As nonprofit marketers, we spend a good deal of time searching for the right way to communicate information that will positively move people and strengthen their support of our organizations. We all know that uplifting messages and statements of positive results are more effective than messages of despair. Yet paradoxically, we spend very little time looking at and examining the things we do that are good and effective. With so much emphasis on what is wrong, what needs improving, what missed the mark, we are failing to see and fully utilize those things we routinely... Continue Reading

The Top Ten Skills You Want in Your MarCom Professional Now

With increasing frequency, nonprofit CEOs ask me what skills they should look for in hiring a marketing and communications (MarCom) professional today. CEOs understand that while certain skills and experience are a constant, the advent of the technology revolution requires mastery of an entirely new skill set and the facility to quickly adopt and smartly apply the next important emerging digital applications. Determining which skills your nonprofit will benefit from most, depends to some degree on your organization’s primary function (fundraising; relief work; education; etc.), on its size and organizational structure (management reporting ladder; key functional areas; etc.) and a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish with your marketing and communications efforts. There are, however... Continue Reading

Branding … Your 5 Intangible Attributes

Once upon a time, it was about asking for money. New century; new millennium; new – everything. A concept that would have seemed far-fetched a century ago is accepted as normal today, a concept such as branding. As Kelley Jarrett of Blackbaud and Danielle Brigida of the National Wildlife Federation told an audience at Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits in Charleston, S.C., branding is the intangible sum of a product’s attributes, or the following: Name. Recognition of the name tied to mission is important, because a vague name can entail larger expense to build name recognition. If necessary, incorporate a tagline to help explain the name. Packaging. A wrapper can do a lot to help sell a product, so think of what the organization’s “wrapper” portrays. It should communicate brand... Continue Reading

Do the Old Rules Still Apply?

The old formula, developed by experts at direct response press advertising many years ago, is still a good starting point for copy structure. This is known as ‘AIDCA’ (though usually pronounced without the C) – attention, interest, desire, conviction, action. Here’s the thinking behind it. You won’t have any readers unless you gain their attention. Attention on its own won’t get a response. You have to move quickly on by stimulating the reader’s interest. However strongly interested, the reader won’t act unless he or she really wants. You have to convert interest in the subject matter into desire to do something about it. And a belief that the donor really can do something about it. Even this is not enough to secure a donation. Before parting with any money the skeptical reader... Continue Reading

Handling PR: Outsourcing or In-House?

by Sharon Gefen Many non-profits struggle with the decision as to whether or not to outsource their public relations efforts or to hire an in-house “spokesperson”. The answer certainly isn’t clear cut. It depends on the size of the non-profit, what it wants to achieve from its public relations efforts, and in the case of Israeli non-profits, if they want to reach international audiences as well as local. From my experience – and I’ve worked on both sides – as a client and as a PR consultant – it generally makes sense to hire a PR agency or professional to promote the non-profit in the media. This is due to the fact that an outside PR consultant usually enjoys contacts with the media that an in-house person needs to create. Moreover, the level of strategic PR consulting services... Continue Reading

Your Image Counts!

by Abigail Harmon Online fundraising, personal fundraising pages, email signatures, social networking sites, are just a few of the “new” methods for fundraising. But with each new invention, you must decide what you will invest in and what you will ignore. Sifting through the choices is not always an easy task but sticking to general rules of thumb can be. Before you start a new method for attracting donors stop and look at the decision as you would any other major business decision. How many hours do you estimate it will take you for set up? What do you expect in return? How long will it take to reap the return? What will you not be doing in order to achieve this new goal? As new technology pops up, your organization should be flexible enough to consider the possibilities while smart enough... Continue Reading

How Effective is Your Website?

An obvious place to sign up for an email newsletter. A well placed donation button. A prominent photo that conveys your mission. These are all tactics that can boost the results of your nonprofit’s Website. But there’s plenty more that you can do on this front. Consider: Does your homepage cover essential points that meet the basic needs of your Website’s visitors? To see how good a job you’re doing at providing this critical information, ask yourself these three questions. Who are we? What are we trying to accomplish with our site? Do we proudly display our tagline, which clearly summarizes what our organization does? If your homepage answers these key questions, you’re on the right track. courtesy: Convio [Translate] Bookmark:  Read More →

Is Your E-Mail Awe-Inspiring?

The New York Times February 9th article by John Tierney, titled “Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It’s Awesome” offered some fascinating insights from a recent University of Pennsylvania research study. The researchers, Jonah Berger and Katherine A. Milkman intensively studied The New York Times list of most-e-mailed articles, checking it every 15 minutes for six months in the period between August 2008 and February 2009. They determined that people preferred emailing articles that a) had positive as opposed to negative themes and b) were lengthy and on intellectually challenging topics. But more revealing was their analytic conclusion that “readers want to share articles that inspire awe..” Based on prior research the Penn researchers had conducted, they determined... Continue Reading

Bold and Brave Digital Marketing

Charities need to be bolder and braver online by Elly Woolston The maturing of the online space has meant that we are increasingly finding comfort in tried and tested methods, rolled out time and time again. This often results in multiple brands using similar approaches to fish in the same shrinking ponds, and this should be a cause for real concern. For charities this is especially concerning. As a sector, we have not on the whole been at the forefront of digital innovation although we have now embraced the breadth of opportunities the online world presents. However, for those charities not currently embracing bold and brave digital marketing, capturing the hearts and minds of the increasingly astute, demanding donors will be difficult. This would be a sad development for the charity sector, especially... Continue Reading

How Donor-friendly is Your On-line Presence?

by Laura E. Kaufman There is nothing scientific about this post. No studies were conducted, no metrics gathered. I am simply sharing observations based on the experience of one donor: me. This year, I did my year-end giving either partly or entirely on-line. I gave to multiple non-profits. They included local, national and international organizations. Some gifts were to grassroots projects and others to large, well-resourced non-profits. I used organization websites, and if I was less familiar with an organization, I checked their ratings on Charity Navigator. More and more non-profits are using Web 2.0 to promote their cause and attract donors. However, simply establishing a website, Facebook page or tweeting is not enough. Non-profits need to keep their web presence current. If attracting... Continue Reading

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