Nonprofit Marketing Guide
NOVEMBER 13, 2019
You know you need great photography. But for whatever reason, you don’t have it in-house. Maybe you don’t have the skills or access to a professional. Or maybe you can’t photograph the real people you work with for whatever reason (privacy and safety being the main ones in the nonprofit world). So, you turn to stock photography. and find nothing that looks authentic.
Ann Green
JUNE 25, 2019
Have you seen the recent posts from the Agitator blog about thanking your donors? It’s worth reading, as are all Agitator posts. They cite a study where thank you calls didn’t result in an increase in donations. Thanks, But No Thanks. This prompted a flurry of responses, all in support of thanking your donors, including this one by Penelope Burk, whose research has shown that thank you calls can increase future donations.
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Selfish Giving
FEBRUARY 27, 2019
Everyone wants more hot leads (direct inquiries from potential partners). But what about warm leads (someone who shows interest in your organization)? Would you like more warm leads if I showed you two ways to get them??? Okay, here you go. First, every nonprofit should have an email pop-up on its homepage. Most of you are familiar with the pop-up I use at Selfish Giving.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
DECEMBER 19, 2019
Cause awareness and giving days can be very powerful themes upon which to launch online fundraising campaigns. The first step is to decide which days to build a campaign upon and then add them to your 2020 editorial calendar. In addition to the days listed below, see also public holidays by country , Days of the Year , and Wikipedia’s List of Commemorative Months.
Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
MARCH 26, 2019
I’ve been doing a ton of research and thinking about social media strategies for nonprofits, especially those of you without dedicated social media staff, ahead of the two new webinars I am teaching in April: Social Media Strategies for Nonprofits that Won’t Waste Your Time. What is most likely to work regardless of the platform or future algorithm changes?
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JUNE 11, 2019
If I were starting from scratch with social media, or revamping a social media strategy, here’s what I would focus on in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Facebook The majority of the content created for Facebook would be uploaded video and live streams. The majority of time spent on the platform would be in Groups. I would build an ad strategy around people who had watched videos or shown interest in events and create look-alike audiences for those people.
Nonprofit Leadership Zone brings together the best content for advertising professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
MAY 16, 2019
Successful social media strategies demand authenticity. But what does that actually look like when you are juggling a million different tasks, trying your best to stay strategic, and work in a boring office environment that’s not exactly photogenic? Here are 15 ways to bring some authenticity by doing a quick recorded or live video or creating a photo post with a great caption or overlay.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
APRIL 17, 2019
Guest Post By John Haydon If you’re like most nonprofits, Facebook is your top social network to engage supporters and increase awareness about your nonprofit. However, like most nonprofits, you’ve probably had your fair share of frustrations with Facebook. Dramatically declining reach is the biggie. Facebook giveth and Facebook taketh away. Here’s the thing: Facebook and (Instagram) are where most of your supporters hang out and talk about the causes they care about.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JANUARY 16, 2019
We really push for you to create a shorter, more visual nonprofit annual report here as opposed to long print reports. Shorter annual reports don’t take as many resources, can be shared more easily, and will be read more often. But whether you have an infographic, a video, a 4-page, or a 40-page annual report, there are five elements essential to a successful nonprofit annual report.
Ann Green
MARCH 12, 2019
A newsletter can be a great way to engage with your donors, but the key word here is can. How often does that actually happen? Unfortunately, not very much because most donor newsletters can be used as a cure for insomnia. They’re too long and filled with boring articles that brag about how wonderful the organization is. It’s possible to create an engaging newsletter your donors will want to read.
Speaker: Dave Sackett
Traditional budgeting and forecasting methods can no longer keep pace with today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Static budgets, rigid annual forecasts, and outdated financial models limit an organization’s ability to adapt to market shifts and economic uncertainty. To stay ahead, finance leaders must leverage a future-forward approach—one that leverages real-time data, predictive analytics, and continuous planning to drive smarter financial decisions.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
APRIL 25, 2019
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Serra Boten. One of my clients recently celebrated a big victory. After months of talking about his desire to get an opinion piece published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, he achieved his goal. He put together a timely and thoughtful piece about a controversial issue — a piece that challenged conventional wisdom about a complex topic and showcased his experience and expertise.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JUNE 25, 2019
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Steve Bustin. Now more than ever, journalists need good PR people. That’s the key theme in Cision’s latest Global State of the Media Report , which surveyed nearly 2,000 reporters and editors about their working conditions and how they relate to public relations professionals. I often find this report useful as I review my PR strategies.
Ann Green
MAY 28, 2019
If you have a July 1 fiscal year start date, you’re most likely working on your budget for next year (at least you should be). Those of you who use the calendar year as your fiscal year will be working on yours later in the year. Whatever the case may be, putting together a budget can be a pain, especially if you’re a small nonprofit with limited resources.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
APRIL 29, 2019
A couple of weeks ago, I shared some tips from other nonprofit communicators on how to communicate internally at your organization as well as other resources on getting people to meet deadlines and the best communications apps to use. Today I am sharing the internal newsletter used by Community Partners in LA. Lauren Kay, director of communications, shared this with me about their newsletter: Lauren Kay “We’ve been growing and now have a staff of 42.
Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand
Do you really know your donors? Not just what they give, but who they are? 👥 In this interactive session, we’ll break down how nonprofits can use behavioral indicators (affinity, recency, frequency, and monetary value) to build prospecting segments that go beyond wealth screening and actually align with donor identity. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to move beyond basic demographics and cultivate supporters based on how they already engage with you!
Ann Green
JULY 9, 2019
How often do you use stories when you communicate with your donors? Most likely, not enough. That’s a mistake because people respond better to stories. . Imagine your donors opening an appeal letter or newsletter and glossing over a bunch of mind-numbing statistics as opposed to being captivated by a story about how the Mason family moved out of a shelter and into a home of their own.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
MARCH 12, 2019
Guest Post By John Haydon Instagram Stories create an extra layer of visibility for your nonprofit – whenever you want that visibility. Like Snapchat and Messenger Stories , Instagram Stories last for 24 hours. And like Snapchat, stories are told in a series of pictures and videos. Users who’ve published Instagram Stories within the past 24 hours appear at the very top of the home screen (as shown below).
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
MAY 15, 2019
While Instagram is definitely a visual platform and photos are best, you can still manage a successful Instagram strategy without photography. Just take a look at the ACLU’s feed and stories. Most of the work they do is legal in nature, so it’s not like they have tons of great photography options. Instead, much of what they do on Instagram is actually content repurposing from Twitter.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JANUARY 3, 2019
In previous posts, we’ve shared the most common marketing and communications goals , strategies , and objectives for nonprofits. Today, let’s complete the list by talking about tactics. Tactics are the tools you use to pursue the objectives associated with your strategy. Tactics include both communications channels like email, PR and social media, as well as specific types of content like storytelling or infographics.
Speaker: Jennifer Hill
Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
MAY 21, 2019
Ever been asked to create a marketing strategy or a communications plan for your nonprofit without any further guidance? You aren’t alone! Let’s sort it all out, so you can figure out what you really need to create. First, let’s address the definitions. Right or wrong, marketing and communications are often used interchangeably in the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JANUARY 8, 2019
Most nonprofit communicators consider themselves to be good writers. But what really sets apart the great writers in the nonprofit world is mastery of seven distinct types of copywriting. 1. Microcontent Microcontent refers to the short but powerful pieces of copy you find in headlines, subject lines, captions, and tweets. 2. Storytelling Nonprofit storytelling refers to narratives about participants and supporters that include characters, descriptive details, emotions, and plot. 3.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JUNE 4, 2019
My favorite definition of a story comes from The Elements of Persuasion : “A story is a fact, wrapped in an emotion , that compels us to take an action that transforms our world.” Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman All of the five words I have in bold are essential to nonprofit storytelling success. Your stories need to be true , or at a minimum, based in fact.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JANUARY 21, 2019
We want to add a new member to the Nonprofit Marketing Guide crew. Please share this with your freelance graphic designer friends! Nonprofit Marketing Guide LLC is seeking a graphic designer for a variety of projects, including Graphics for email promotions, landing pages, and online advertising Iconography for sections of our website and various training frameworks Graphics and themes for PowerPoint decks Design and layout of e-books Our preferences are to work with a designer who is.
Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg
Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
FEBRUARY 20, 2019
“A story is a fact, wrapped in an emotion that compels us to take an action that transforms our world.” – Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman in The Elements of Persuasion Starting in March, I will share more on how to write stories, but today we get down to the basics in case storytelling isn’t a priority at your nonprofit: Why Stories Work Easier to remember.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
MAY 23, 2019
What’s your hook? This question likely looms over you daily if your job is to pitch stories to the media or create content for your organization’s owned media channels. To get your story picked up and noticed, it’s critical to have something current to latch on to — a hook that adds a sense of urgency by connecting to something that’s happening right now.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
FEBRUARY 13, 2019
Guest Post By John Haydon You already know that Facebook Live lets any nonprofit live-stream fundraising events , breaking news, impact stories, and more, directly from their Facebook Page. But did you know that Facebook lets nonprofits add a donate button to their Facebook Live broadcast ? How to Use Facebook Live to Raise Money If your nonprofit is based in the US, and your Facebook Page is verified, you can fundraise within a Facebook Live broadcast.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
Welcome to the latest installment in our series on the “Day in the Life” of nonprofit communicators! This series lets you describe your workday in your own words. Laurice Grae-Hauck is a marketer passionate about social justice, art equity, and dismantling oppressive systems. In the not so near future, she plans to get her Master of Divinity and Leadership Studies at Meadville Lombard Theological School.
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Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JANUARY 24, 2019
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Jeff Eaton Many nonprofit communicators have a similar complaint about the news media. It goes something like this: “We have great stories, but nobody covers us.” While it’s easy to blame the media for your lack of coverage, it’s more likely that you’re not getting attention because you’re not sharing your stories thoughtfully.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
APRIL 30, 2019
News Writing is one of the seven writing styles that all nonprofit communicators should master. In the world of nonprofit comms superlatives, news writing wins for the “Writing Style Used Most Often When It Shouldn’t Be.” Too often, nonprofits write about their issues, programs, and events in a straight news style when they would be better served by using storytelling , donor-centered copywriting , or lifestyle writing.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JANUARY 23, 2019
The 2019 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report found that the most successful nonprofit communicators were putting significantly more emphasis on content marketing than less effective organizations. For the most effective nonprofits, 24% consider content marketing an essential strategy, with only 5% saying it’s a low priority. That compares to a mere 11% of the less effective nonprofits who call content marketing essential, which is dwarfed by the 16% who say content marketing is a low pr
Ann Green
JULY 16, 2019
In these days of information overload, it can be hard to get your donors’ attention. In my last post, I wrote about the importance of telling stories. Written stories are great, but since donors get so many messages from different sources they may not want to read another word. . This is why you also need to use visual stories. Some people respond better to visual stimuli, anyway.
Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand
Is your organization ready to build a recurring giving program that not only sustains but also propels your mission forward? 🚀 In this new webinar with industry visionary Tim Sarrantonio, we’ll guide you through the critical steps to establishing and scaling a successful recurring giving program. Whether you’re starting fresh or enhancing an existing program, this session will provide the strategies you need to deepen donor relationships and secure long-term support!
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