Grow Your Non-profit: Marketing And Technology

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary In this episode of the Grow Your NonProfit podcast, Amanda Goldman-Petri, founder of Market like a Nerd, explains how nonprofits can work smarter, not harder, on their online marketing through creating partnerships and building traffic that they own. There are many ways to do this. A few examples have even been discussed in these podcast episodes: (insert links to “using alternative marketing to stand out”, non-profit fundraising and engagement”, and “the power of the influencer”.) Regardless of which marketing strategy you use to attract traffic to your site, the ultimate premise here is for you to leverage the influence that you currently have, to gain more influence.   Amanda gives her recommendations for organizations that are looking to pump up the volume on their online marketing campaign. These recommendations will help you get much more visible and enable you to build a strong online co

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary Building relationships is one of the most important skills that you, as a non-profit, should learn. It is the precursor to being able to build communities, and every seasoned fundraiser will always emphasize the importance of having a supportive non-profit community. In this episode, we are joined by Rachel Pedersen who shares some wisdom on community building by using different types of technology, relationship-funnels, and impact-driven storytelling. And this concept is exactly what you’d find in our book, “Brick by Brick” where we let our readers in on a few secrets on how you can create new relationships and strengthen them through storytelling. Our book briefly takes you to a foster care scenario and the challenges that a family encounters when trying to build a relationship with their foster child and how these challenges can be overcome by something so simple as a story. Rachel has been

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary One thing that every organization encounters during the course of any campaign is stagnation. You can find success so often that this success becomes a habit in itself. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but the moment that you become complacent in your duties, even if you maintain your success, is the same moment that you stagnate. And stagnation, even if you’re successful, is a sign to your followers that you are no longer putting as much effort as you used to. In the world of non-profit fundraising, this can mean to your followers that you aren’t as interested in your cause as you were when you were just starting out. Sometimes, it really isn’t your fault that your organization’s success has reached its peak and there isn’t much that you can do to surpass the high bar of standards that you’ve established. - That’s often not the case, at least according to Albert Bandura, who believed that people

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary It’s not just about mindset that determines the success of your fundraising. We all have things that we want to do. We all want to make an impact wherever we can and we all want to feel good about the work that we do. A successful fundraising campaign isn’t just about mindset. It’s about much more than that. Successful fundraising is about figuring out how to make the pieces of your puzzle work. It’s about synchronicity and timing. It’s about building relationships and giving people the power to influence change. Figuring out who you are and surrounding yourself with people who understand your mission as much as you do is an integral part of successfully championing a cause. You need to learn to love what you do, regardless of the difficulty that the tasks may bring. This dogged determination and utmost willingness to make a sacrifice is paramount to the success of your campaign. But this isn’t

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary You can create an authentic fundraising experience that is as interesting as it is strategic. All you need to do is to know your story and find leverage in what distinguishes you from the rest. Marketing trends are great to watch because they give you a sense of what’s out there and what people are responding to. However, just because a trend works for one organization doesn’t mean it will work for yours. Each organization has its own purpose, views, and mission. Your organization’s mission will become the backbone of your story. Staying true to your mission and being creative in the process will help you find your story and share it with passionate people who can intimately relate with your story. Find your tribe and share your story. Package your story into your marketing campaign and see how storytelling can easily help others understand your mission. All brands and organizations (whether th

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary A chapter in our book, “Brick by Brick”, explains the importance of having a proper organizational framework. This framework can include marketing, production, management, and everything in between. We follow the story of Aeneas and the survivors of Troy and how they were able to overcome the worst of odds after having lost everything (which, in a way, is the same as “starting with nothing”). In a way, they were like nonprofits. They didn’t exist to attain wealth. They bonded together because they wanted to ensure the survival of their people. (In the same way that many nonprofits work to ensure the survival of anything they believe in.) A common misconception about nonprofits is that these organizations do not make any money other than the donations that are given by their supporters. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many non-profit organizations that have built-in strategies

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary One way that you can take your fundraising further is by using data. The main premise here is that data is invaluable. The proper collection and analysis of data yields very important pieces of information that will undoubtedly help you make the best possible decisions by allowing you to allocate your resources where they are needed most and where they have the greatest impact. And an added bonus of this is that you are able to save your resources for ventures that give you the best results. A chapter in our book, “Brick by Brick”, delves into the importance of data gathering and the dangers of working with faulty data by using history as a prime example. The book contains some accolades of espionage and deception during World War II and how information (and misinformation) allowed the Allies to mitigate their losses as the free men of the world united to overthrow the tyranny of the Third Reic

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary What’s a new way that you can connect with your community in a manner that’s welcoming and delightful? ChatBots are new to the marketing scene and relatively untouched by non-profits; but, businesses are finding great success with them in order to provide stellar customer service and invite their audience into their brand to find out more. Chatbots can be used to guide your community to find out about programs and services, sign up for and participate in volunteer opportunities, and donate to your cause. They can help you create a unique experience and build the personal level of attention your audience is looking for. When we talk about building a chatbot, we’re referring to creating an ongoing dialogue with visitors (something you can control). And by connecting with your ideal users, you’re able to open up so many new possibilities – like a whole new way to build your mailing list, for insta

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary In this episode, Marc A. Pitman explains the 4 Quadrants of leadership and speaks about how leaders and fundraisers overcome their personal hurdles to become more confident and impactful in their roles. Then, we talk about how to take it a step further and improve relationships with your donors and community members. Successful leadership stems from your relationship with yourself. As a leader, you need to be credible, confident, and capable of foresight. An honest self-assessment paves the way that helps you fix any flaws. One of the most important aspects of relationships is to be true to yourself. In the case of fundraising, this is represented by your organization’s mission. This not only builds genuine trust, but this awareness and understanding creates alignment throughout your fundraising system and enables you to understand and interact with your prospects much better. If your audience

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary In this episode, we hear from Robyn Blakeman, an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee. She discusses Guerrilla Marketing and alternative ways to help your organization be noticed, recognized and remembered. Marketing has changed, but the principles remain the same. In this episode, we talk about the fundamentals of marketing and how to create integrated marketing campaigns. Key takeaway: start with a strong idea that resonates with your community and maximize its reach through your media. A chapter in our book, “Brick by Brick” talks about the importance of creating a good marketing strategy by relating it to a Psychological principle known as “Brain Priming”. By using alternative marketing techniques, you are actually presenting your organization as different as well as unique. Every organization, whether for-profit or non-profit, needs a good marketing strategy. It’s almost the

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary Let’s get real in this episode on data and understanding what works for you. Geoff Livingston provides knowledge based on his many experiences working with nonprofits that took years to learn. Data is full of surprises and if you watch carefully, you can find trends that help you better connect with your audience and actually get your message in front of your donors in way that catches and holds their attention. Knowing your audience not only allows you to tailor your communication to your target market’s preferences, but it also allows your organization to come across as one that is familiar with its supporters. “Repetition builds familiarity” after all. Best practices and benchmarks are a great way to see what’s happening on a larger scale and they can certainly help guide you in your marketing, but there is a lot to be said for studying your own data and finding what works for you; because,

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary When it comes to gaining visibility for your organization or cause, you can take advice from David Meerman Scott, a fellow DeadHead and founder of the newsjacking movement.We’ll also discuss how to piggyback off of news stories and leverage trending topics. In this podcast, David explains how you can use the news cycle to your advantage and boost the reach and impact of your message. Through hashtag searches, news alerts, and some self-awareness, you and your organization can build a formidable system for drawing attention to your message and creating conversations around it. The key is to focus on speed, accuracy, and credibility to add value to the stories. Controversial topics are fair game, but be sure to think how your comments can be construed by people with different points of view in order to avoid offending others. Basically, creating content that’s related to breaking stories is a gre

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary When it comes to the world of modern fundraising, the rise of search engine optimization and digital marketing cannot be understated. The importance of SEO is that it helps match users with relevant content. When your website is properly-optimized, you are increasing the chances of coming up in the top search results for people who are specifically looking for an organization such as yours. This means that because you are relevant to what they’re looking for, you are bound to get increased traffic from people who are also more likely to respond to calls to action. SEO professionals are experts in increasing the online exposure of your nonprofit. They increase the visibility that your website has amongst the internet. The way they do this is by ensuring that it is accessible by search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Pinterest (to name a few). They do a thorough keyword search in order to increas

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary Your online fundraising strategy can always improve and become more innovative. Gaining new knowledge and keeping up with an evolving industry places your organization on the path to growth and this ultimately allows you to accomplish bigger and greater goals. You can do these by employing some of these strategies to help you attract new donors, increase engagement, and make better use of technology. Fundraising starts in-house. Your staff is going to be the start of the fundraising movement. They are going to begin the search for lucrative prospects and may even turn them into donors. Why not reward your staff for successfully bringing in these donors? An incentive program not only motivates your staff but it also ensures that they are going to be working with high standards to earn these incentives. This strategy is commonly used among organizations whether they are for-profit or non-profit.

What’s all the buzz about Blockchain? All over, you’re hearing how it will affect every industry. Yes, you heard it right! EVERY INDUSTRY! So, maybe you’re wondering how it will affect nonprofits? Well, we’re here to talk about that. Here’s the thing, for a lot of the Blockchains, we’re seeing a lot of hype because of the buzzword attached to it. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and with so many people trying to find out about so many different projects, there’s overlaps and misunderstandings between different projects. But, fortunately, from what we’re seeing, it’s a lot more simple than it seems. For non-profits, there are two ways to look at it… 1) From a marketing perspective accepting crypto-currency shows that you’re progressive and high tech. 2) From a more practical standpoint, there are people who have currency that they’d like to spend and give to a cause. Your organization can set up a wallet to be able to accept crypto-donations and be ready for the donors when they are ready to give. Thi

You change people by how you make them feel. - Nahdya Weathers Influencers have the power to attract new audiences and impact existing ones. While organizations send out thousands of email campaigns to thousand of people, each of those email addresses belongs to one person with a relatively small network. Influencers are equipped with an audience in the hundreds of thousands. They have the power to cultivate a movement or structure an opinion with thousands of heads nodding in agreement. By tapping into an already fulfilled audience allows an organization to reach potential supporters. When putting together a campaign for influencer relations, organizations need to consider the amount of people they are trying to reach an analyze the possible accounts that could be a match. How do you decide which influencers are best to work with? Discovering how often they share relevant content , how many connections they have, identify their discussion topics, and finally what prior interactions have they had with other b

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary There are ways that you can raise money, save money, and receive grants to improve your nonprofit’s operations. Google Grants is one of these ways that can help organizations earn up to $10,000 per month in grants. All you have to do is: Select words that are related to your cause. Write short text ads using Google’s online system and choose landing page for each ad. Pay attention to the ad as it shows up in the search results that are related to the keywords you selected before. Encourage people click the ads to donate to your cause. Make sure the ad is compelling. One tool that fundraisers can utilize to improve their campaign is a funnel. A funnel is a marketing tool that allows organizations to direct their leads toward a call to action, this call to action usually asks for a donation or volunteers (as is the case for nonprofits) and sales (for businesses). If you provide a subscription p

[av_social_share title='Share this entry' style='' buttons='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']   Episode Summary What compels someone to want to support your cause? Your story? Your brand? People join movements because they desire a sense of belonging. Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They can create movements that start at a higher level.  Movements demand action; and the way to create action is through developing your messaging and your brand. A prime example of the proper use of an effective message and brand is mentioned in our book, “Brick by Brick” wherein we try to delve into what makes superheroes so popular. Think about it, superheroes are so ingrained into our culture to the point that entire franchises are built upon them. These are some of the most lucrative ventures that one can pursue. Superheroes are brands in themselves. Comic book releases that contain the stories of these superheroes are almost the same as, if not exactly the same, compelling copy. Your co