Photo by mae armstrong designs

This past Monday I met with a few folks who are putting together a cycling event to raise money for Beth Israel Deaconess Memorial Hospital.

When asked about any additional audiences we can reach out to, they mentioned that a local printer offered to print thousands of free brochures for the event like they’ve done for the past 6 years.

What they used each year was a full color trifold brochure with all the information one needed to register for the event. It had a very personal and moving story from the event’s founder, date and location of the event, and a summary of the various different family-oriented activities during the event.

Following are four ways we’ll improve the direct mail piece. Hopefully you can use them for your brochure or direct mail piece:

1. Understand Your Audience

Who is receiving the direct-mail piece? Are they current donors? Are they volunteers? Or are they simply names from a rented list?

Once you know who will be receiving the direct-mail piece, you can better understand what messaging will work best.

2. Keep It Simple

Postcards are cheaper than trifold brochures. So for the same amount of money we could get more pieces. And in our case, people don’t need the entire story, or all the information in a single printed piece.

Figure out what information will entice people to visit your website or Facebook page, and then provide the balance of the information there–including a call-to-action.

3. Create Dissonance

One powerful feature of the human brain is its consistent need to resolve dissonance. For example, try singing the ABC song and stop on P. Notice the feeling of dissonance–the desire to get to Z–in your mind.

In the same way, you can use the direct mail piece to create dissonance–a question that can be answered by visiting the URL printed on the postcard. For this event, the postcard will have a partially-masked picture of the founder smiling, asking “Why is Tom smiling?” Of course the recipient can only resolve this question (plus others like “Who is Tom?” and “Why is his face partially masked?”) by visiting the URL.

4. Measure Hits and Conversions

Being able to measure which channel and which message creates the most conversions allows you to improve your messaging and also decide which channels are worth investing more in.

The problem with direct mail though is that it’s a piece of paper. It’s not the Internet which can easily be tracked through a variety of tools. But the solution to this problem is easily resolved by creating a unique URL that you can track via Google Analytics.

Additionally, you also want to create a unique Thank You page specifically for the direct-mail piece. This will allow you to see how well recipients convert! It will also allow you to leverage the moment by asking people to like your Facebook page and share the campaign with their friends.

One last thought…

Direct mail is often perceived as having nothing to do with online media. Try and make an effort to always know what both hands are doing by talking to each other (if their handled by different departments). You can get more out of each channel by operating as a whole.

How do you integrate direct mail and online strategies?

Photo by Yutaka Tsutano

Editor’s note: Today’s guest post is from Tonia Zampieri. Tonia’s the Mobile Strategist for Atlantic Business Technologies. She has nearly 10 years of digital fundraising and marketing experience and launched one of the very first nonprofit iPhone apps, Tap-n-Give on iTunes in 2009.  She tweets regularly via @iheartcharity and can be reached directly at tonia.zampieri[at]atlanticbt.com.

Well, not quite. But here’s a thought: how about mobile gamification harnessed to make FUNdraising more fun? Imagine this:

Your nonprofit has an annual fundraiser complete with an online giving machine *ahem* website. Your participants run the gamut of age, sex, and socioeconomic status, but the majority of participants are under 35. This group loves your cause, they tell their personal stories through their online fundraising pages. But other than a little growing thermometer (which in itself IS a game) any tangible “reward” (for lack of a better term) is non-existent.

The biggest reward of course is the good feeling that people get when they know they are touching lives like funding important cancer support services, saving a cat, even providing a meal to a hungry child. But in the end, we have this desire to get a little something extra, to have an experience within an experience, a WIFM (What’s in it for ME), if you will.

Consumer expectations regarding gamification are increasing as it spills into other areas of our lives. Why should this not be considered in fundraising? This is where our concept of nonprofit mobile gamification steps in.

Fundraising games on my phone?

So what if this young, tech savvy (smartphone-owning) set of fundraisers, could partake in a mobile fundraising game? The Badge gamification route has proven popular. You can get a fundraiser leaderboard tied into said fundraising platform, and offer some weekly/daily badges that auto-populate on their Facebook accounts that further influence their social circle, causing a gamification ripple effect. Another example is Spent, a game that let’s you experience what it’s like to be in the shoes of someone living under tight economic conditions.

And nonprofits can do it too?

What if every time someone donates to your page, a push message shows up on your mobile device offering to pop a virtual balloon for chances at extra goodies? The more they fundraise, the bigger the prize they could win. For example, when they’re starting out fundraising, they could go for a chance at free pizza through a mobile coupon, but once they reach $250, they have a chance at an hour massage, also through a mobile coupon.

Mobile devices are delivery vehicles to reach our supporters’ hearts and minds. Mobile gamification can spread far beyond raising money. Feelings elicit action, and action creates change.

Mobile Can Engage Donors

Opportunities abound concerning how mobile can deliver engaged nonprofit supporters- regardless of cause, so establishing an effective and thought-out strategy that aligns with your audience and desired outcomes is critical. Fortunately such an opportunity exists through a mobile strategy and technology grant contest.

Atlantic BT, based out of Raleigh, NC, is awarding $25,000 worth of mobile-centric services to one lucky nonprofit. 12 semi-finalists will win a free mobile strategy session.

Mobile marketing concepts like this are happening with retailers, why not with nonprofits?

Photo by Guillaume Paumier

Have you ever sat in a meeting, looked around the room, and seen the evidence of massive disconnect between departments or staff members at your nonprofit?

Or just think what it would be like when an organization, working for the same mission, had siloes built around each department, each budget, and didn’t communicate well even when they worked on the same campaign?

When people or entire departments are working on their programs separately and don’t integrate with what other departments are doing, they’re working in siloes. And as you can imagine, not much good can come from working without really knowing what the other hand is doing.

This isn’t a problem unique to the corporate world; it happens in nonprofits all over, even when you focus on the way nonprofits communicate to the outside world. So in their latest book, Marketing in the Round, Geoff Livingston—who you’ve seen regularly blogging here at Inspiring Generosity—and Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, talk about what it takes to break down the siloes between messaging, strategies, and tactics. 

Here’s a glimpse of how integrated marketing can work:

“Imagine your organizational structure as a wheel instead of a typical hierarchy. Think of marketing as the hub. The spokes are made up of public relations, advertising, Web, email, social media, corporate communication, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, content, and direct mail. They circle simultaneously.”

This is what’s called integrated marketing: managing all of your outbound communications so that it works together, supporting and supplementing each other.

Nonprofits don’t have the resources or the time to waste in double work, especially when it’s difficult enough to fundraise for its existing programs. So for a nonprofit to maximize its resources by being a more lenient organization, in turn, it’s fundraising can be more tactical to get the best results.

How has your organization broken down the communication siloes for fundraising? I’d love to hear your experience in the comment box below!

Photo by kthompsonstudios

Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Have you bought mom a present yet? Here’s a great gift idea. Support one of these causes in Mom’s honor!

Build a Tribute Patch this Mother’s Day

Honor mom with a tribute patch that supports Opportunity International. This nonprofit provides financial products and strategies to over 2.5 million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world.

You can choose from a great assortment of tribute patches and donation levels, and then share it with mom via email, Facebook, even Pinterest.

Moms are Worth a Million!

Motherwoman’s goal is to raise $10,000 for scholarships so that low-income community leaders and professionals working for nonprofits can take the MotherWoman Support Group Facilitator Training. These women from across the U.S. will bring this life-changing resource back to communities where moms are struggling the most.

Show You Care for Mom & Support Public Radio

If you live in Greater Boston like I do and enjoy public radio, you can make a pledge to Boston’s public radio station, WBUR, and Winston Flowers will send mom a beautiful flower arrangement.

Imbornto: The Official Charity of Mother’s Day

Imbornto (I’m Born To) is a new ambitious cause campaign from the March of Dimes that’s aiming to be the official charity of Mother’s Day. Listen to this interview with MOD to learn more about the campaign.

You can support the March of Dimes by shopping, dining or donating at locations where they see the March of Dimes imbornto logo. Here’s a list of companies supporting the campaign.

Godiva Chocolatier Feed 10 Tote Bag

Godiva Chocolatier has launched its first global corporate philanthropy effort, the Lady Godiva Program. Lauren Bush Lauren, co-founder of FEED Projects, has been named the first national Lady GODIVA Program Honoree. Through its partnership with FEED, Godiva is selling Godiva “FEED 10″ tote bags in Godiva stores and online. The $25 tote bags will provide 10 school meals to children in African cocoa-sourcing countries.

You can also give you mom the choice to support these and other organizations by giving her a Giving Card instead! Happy Mother’s Day to all moms!

Photo by Tim Sheerman-Chase

The more posts you read here at Razoo, the more you can see, tangibly, everything that is on the plate of a person in the world of nonprofits. You’ve got a business to run, a cause to promote, fundraising to do, a family to acquaint yourself with, and more. Heck, just handling the social media part of your efforts can translate into long nights, skipped meals, and days where you’re ready for bed by about 2 PM.

I’m going to toss something out though. Does pushing yourself to the maximum like this really translate into you doing your best work? Does it translate into you being your best you? I’m going to go ahead and cast my vote for “No” and “No,” respectively.

You can’t save a drowning person if you don’t know how to swim.

From the time I was a kid, I always wanted to create some great way to help people. I think in part it’s because the whole Live-Aid fundraiser happened when I was a kid, and I was horrified that there were fly-covered starving children in the world. It clashed horribly with my rather quiet, suburban understanding of how life was supposed to be. From those days onward, my mom always reminded me of an important lesson. If you see a person drowning, you’d better make sure you can swim really well before you try to help them.

This translates into all facets of life, of course. If you don’t have a lot of money, don’t act like a philanthropist to the point where you’re totally broke. If you are having problems with depression, don’t put yourself on the edge by trying to pull someone else up. If you are leading an unhealthy life, it’s probably best to refrain from offering health tips to others.

In the NPO world, the same logic applies. If you are worn out, bleary-eyed, fatigued, and otherwise drained most of the time, how will you be able to perpetually muster up the strength to keep your NPO going? The answer, of course, is that eventually you will burn out. Your body has a funny way of telling you when enough is enough.

Learning How to Swim

Your cause is your passion. It’s what you’ve decided to dedicate your life to, right? In order to give everything you can to your organization, it’s important that you are at your best. In other words, before trying to infuse your NPO with energy and pep and vivaciousness, you need to make sure you are energetic, peppy, and vivacious. Or at least close, right?

So how can you do this when you have so much on your plate? Here are some ideas:

1. Make sure you eat three meals, and try to make as few of them as possible fast food meals.
2. Make sure you have “sacred” times away from your work. Get away from the computer. Refresh and reenergize.
3. Plan ahead. Make meals over the weekend that you can freeze and then heat up throughout the week.
4. Schedule time with your family and friends. Don’t break those meetings.
5. Sleep. I know it’s trendy to tweet about 3 hours of sleep, but it does you no good. Starbucks is not a life force (yet).
6. Do something physically active. Even if it’s just walking outside on a beautiful day. Get those legs moving.
7. Read something not work-related. Whether it’s a magazine or a book, feed your brain.
8. Make sure you do things you enjoy. Feed your soul.
9. Take time to clear your mind, whether it’s through Yoga, meditation, or something else you enjoy.
10. Take time off. Set aside one day a week if you have to where you barely even think about work. Enjoy that thing called life.

There may not be a work/life balance, but walk the line.

Sheryl Sandberg was quoted recently as saying that there is no such thing as a work/life balance. There’s work and there’s life. She’s probably right. Regardless, to make your organization the best it can be, you need to be the best you can be. In order to give, you need to give some attention to yourself. In order to build your organization, you need to increase the care for yourself. In order to save a drowning person, you need to learn how to swim.

How do you handle the complex task of making sure you are at your best for your cause? How do you prioritize and plan? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

There are many great sources of advice for how to use social media to help marketing your event. As time progresses, many of these tactics evolve. I have created many a social media event over the years, so here are my six all-time favorite social event promotion tactics.

1) Hashtagged conversations and promotion on Twitter, Google+ & Instagram has to be the #1 go-to tactic. Using hashtags like #pmiemea #pmot is a great way to flag interested parties to a relevant conversation. They can search and add RSS streams based on the hashtag, and jump into conversations with people even if they are not following them. Hashtags allow you to measure relevant conversations and track positive and negative memes. Much has been said recently about hashtag spam, but I still find this to be the most relevant tactic.

2) Blog and event content in advance extends interest and buzz about the event to relevant social networks. It provides searchable content that empowers you to educate interested parties who are looking for more details on Google, Bing, and other search sites. Content after the event educates those who couldn’t attend about relevant findings, or in the case of photos, who was there!

3) Live stream for extended audiences allows you to have a greater audience! It’s harder to have the same experience on video, but many people like to tune in during work. This of course gives your event and content a wider reach, and makes for a larger extended conversation.

4) Photograph sharing and reusing on Facebook albums, Pinterest boards, Instagram, and Flickr extends the life of the event. As mentioned in number 2, it is a highly valuable form of content for extending an event’s life. But it gives people more than that. It’s something to talk about. It’s also the easiest form of content to crowdsource. People point and click with their smartphones and upload.

5) Sharing speaker content with YouTube, Slideshare, & Scribd is another favorite content tactic. It’s a great way to present content on blogs, get it indexed into search engines for long term viability, and to extend the conversation. No one does this better than the TED and TEDx series of conferences.

6) Aggregating content using Storify allows conference organizers and/or attendees to share using the many data points generated during an event across social networks. This is an extremely easy tool to use. It’s a great way to curate content and helps tell a larger story. Different viewpoints via Storify are possible thanks to curation, and the selection of which tweets and updates. A Spotify story makes for a great blog post.

What is your favorite tactic to promote a social event?

Photo by Coletivo Mambembe

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Sohini Baliga, writer and communications consultant who has produced and written extensively for clients in both for and non-profit sectors. Check out her last post on IG and follow her personal blog.

I clearly remember a moment two years ago–an eternity in social media time–when I mentioned that I routinely advise clients to pick a couple of social media platforms and not worry too much about the ones they’re not at yet. Even if that includes the big four (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and LinkedIn). It was an informal social media discussion and I kid you not when I say the room stilled. I then compounded the moment by using one of my favorite phrases, “shiny object syndrome.”

As it turns out, I wasn’t wrong. I’d just said out loud what a lot of people were already thinking but didn’t routinely say yet, especially to big clients who had the budget and resources to try everything. Today a lot of communications professionals will say that it is better to go narrow and deep with one or two really well-tended social media channels vs. spreading yourself thin over many channels that don’t get frequently updated and look actively bad over time.

If you’re Ford or Nestle, it makes good sense to consider, try, and adapt to everything there is out there. (Hey, budget’s not an issue!) But if you’re a small business or nonprofit with limited budget and resources, you have to be strategic with your time and resources. And that is where you have to watch out for shiny object syndrome.

The Shiny Object Sydrome

The challenge is to explain this to nervous clients who worry that they’re not where they should be. They hear about something new, but know just enough to ask for an assessment. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard colleagues privately bemoan the pressure from a boss to start a blog: “Everyone has a blog. We should have a blog! Why don’t we have a blog?!”

It reminds me a bit of the patients who my doctor friends said drove them crazy after a very special episode of House. Except they almost always responded with, “That’s TV, this is real life, and your insurance may not cover that full body MRI.” My colleagues and I can’t quite use that response, particularly if the client does in fact have the budget to support a social media channel that is clearly going to be wrong for them.

Frustrating as it may be, this is where I think a communications professional earns their dollars and their reputation. It is my job to present the client with the full panoply of options. After all, that is what they’re paying me for–the expertise that will alert them to the Next Big Thing, and then implement or delegate as necessary. But as I tell all possible clients, it is also my job to rain on your parade when necessary. And push back hard if I think you are wasting your time and money.

A classic case in point is Pinterest. I heart Pinterest. I think it is great for some folks. But it can be a huge challenge for those who don’t do visually interesting things–they’re going to have to work twice as hard to come up with the imagery and infographics that feeds a really successful board.

I happen to have a client for whom I think Pinterest would be a great fit. And I would not have been doing my job well if I didn’t at least tell her about this new platform. But we both had to look at what was smart. She looked long and hard at her budget, her audience, my availability, and what has worked so far. The verdict was clear: we’re skipping Pinterest for now. A wise decision, because not soon after, the client’s Facebook and Twitter feeds finally got the traction I’d been hoping for, and a website relaunch and migration became a priority.

Bandwidth 1, Shiny Object 0.

A landing page is a page on your website where visitors complete a specific transaction, such as donating money or joining an email list. Your goal is to design these pages so that you get the most conversions.

Converting visitors is way harder than it sounds. Bad design, uninspiring text, and slow load times are just a few challenges. Below are some ideas to help you improve the conversion ratio on your landing pages:

Plan Your Landing Pages

1. Know your audience.
2. What’s your goal? Pick one, and only one. If you want new email subscribers AND new donors on the same landing page, break those goals apart and create a separate landing page for each.
3. Who’s your audience? Understanding their motivations is an ongoing process that you should always be working on anyhow.

Designing Your Landing Pages

1. Maintain the same branding across all landing pages. On your Facebook custom tab and avatar, in your email newsletter template, and in your direct mail pieces. This way, you’ll create a clear consistent visual experience for users as they arrive from each of your channels.
2. Tell the whole story with a single compelling photo, preferably a person. Brain science tells us that images stir emotions better than words alone. Good sources for hi-quality photos are Fotolia and Getty Images.
3. Slice up the text into paragraphs. No one reads the text on landing pages, they scan it. So if they’re interested, they’ll read it.
4. Use bullet points and numbered items. Bullet subconsciously convey two powerful messages: “You will be getting several things here,” and “These things are very specific.”
5. Use big fonts. A study conducted by Stanford confirmed that font size influences trust.
6. Use big buttons. Amnesty International found that bigger donation buttons help convert more donors.
7. Write copy in second person narrative. The word “you” directly addresses the reader, and makes the landing page 100% about them.
8. Repeat the call to action two or three times by using text and buttons. Users are constantly asking themselves on some level, “What do I need to do now?” Just tell them!
9. Cut your copy in half. A good exercise is to take your existing copy and cut it in half. Chances are you’ll end up with a much more effective landing page.
10. Keep the important stuff above the fold. This is the area of browser that’s visible without scrolling down.

Improving Functions Within Landing Pages

1. Ditch the sidebars. Unless the information in the sidebar contributes to the landing page, get rid of them!
2. Reduce page load times. People start to drop off if your page takes longer that 2 seconds to load. Use Google Page Speed.

Measuring Landing Page Results

1. Use Google Analytics to measure visitors and conversions. Check out these video tutorials on using Google Analytics.
2. Perform the three second rule.
   • Have a few people look at your landing page for three seconds.
   • Close the browser and have them write down the purpose of the page was.
   • You’ll be very surprised at their response!
3. Perform the “Header Removal Test.” If you remove the logo and tagline from your website, will people still know what your site is about without scrolling?

Debrief and Discuss Your Results

Improving your landing pages is much easier if you discuss it in person. Schedule a meeting with your coworkers to talk about what you want to achieve, what your challenges are, and what solutions should you try first. And schedule a series of follow-up meetings to keep things on track.

What’s your landing page tip?

Photo by tobiastoft

I give a lot of presentations, and I listen to even more. They all share one thing: PowerPoint.

I used to encourage people to dump PowerPoint altogether, but I don’t think that’s realistic anymore. The expectation that speakers will use PowerPoint is so great that you just have to use it. Fortunately, that’s not a terrible thing–if you use PowerPoint correctly.

Don’t forget who the star is: YOU!

Too often people lead with their PowerPoint presentations. Pictures, videos, animation, crazy fonts, and templates. It’s like a circus, and speakers see themselves less as the star and more of a ringmaster introducing the next act. Send in the clowns! But the big show is you. Having an interesting PowerPoint is nice, but it doesn’t compare to putting the time and work into creating outstanding content and the delivery to match it.

Use Powerpoint to do something you can’t do.

I hate when people use PowerPoint as a speaking outline for themselves. That doesn’t enhance your audience’s understanding of your speech topic. Such visual displays are for you, and unnecessary if you’ve prepared a good presentation. Instead, use your slides to better illustrate or explain your point. For example, I’m giving more presentations on QR Codes in advance of my new book coming out in June. I can talk about QR Codes until I’m blue in the face, but a good use of PowerPoint is to actually show people what QR Codes look like and how they work.

Give listeners a copy of your PowerPoint presentation, but wait until the end.

Some people argue that handing out your presentation in advance of your speech is a good idea, then listeners won’t feel so obligated to write everything down. Here’s the bad news: unless you’re Tony Robbins they’ll probably take more interest in your handout than they will you. Why give them another reason not to listen to you? They have plenty of reasons already. Instead, tell them at the beginning of your speech that they’ll get your PowerPoint afterward so they can rest their pens and give you their full attention.

Give into the distraction you can’t withhold until the end.

Expect attendees to be on their smartphones and tablets throughout your presentation. They’ll be texting, emailing, looking at cute baby pictures and watching videos of puppies frolicking. It’s an inescapable part of modern life. Don’t cringe, use it to your advantage. Here, PowerPoint is your friend. People are tweeting on their phones. Respond with hashtags and pithy quotes in your PowerPoint that they can tweet. I tell my listeners, “Tweet this.” And with my thickest Boston accent I add, “You’re friends will think you’re wicked smaht!” Include QR Codes on your slides that attendees can scan with their smartphones that link to relevant content.

The bottom-line is that PowerPoint is a good servant but a poor master. Make it work for you and your audience.

Photo by bradley j

There is a lot of good information in this blog, so I compiled a list of what I think are the most useful ones to get your nonprofit started in online fundraising. Ready?

Narrowing Your Online Priorities

First, take some time to find out which social media platform will help you promote your nonprofit. This piece by John Haydon will help you sort out the difference between Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Using Social Media to Fundraise

Facebook can be one of the best ways you promote your fundraisers online, so this blog post will show you 5 ways to get more from the links you post on your page. If you’re serious about using social media to fundraise, this post from Lisa Gerber can help you get started on Twitter for the first time. And if you’re really excited about how social media can pump up your fundraising, check out this post on what Pinterest could do for you.

Social Media With a Plan

With everything you do online, make sure you’ve got a plan, people to help you manage it consistently, and buy-in from management. This blog post will also help you measure the success of your online fundraiser, so you can see the progress of your efforts online.

Building Your Online Community

Building an online community also includes finding those influencers (people with large networks) and this blog post by Margie Clayman will help you sort out and find those who’d be great champions for your cause.

Telling Your Nonprofit Story

The way you communicate online is a key element in how your fundraiser does, so check out this post on how to tell your nonprofit story. Because really, storytelling is the center of everything.

What other topics would you add? Do you have any blog posts you learned a lot from? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!