Summertime, and the Marketing Is Hard.....

Now that it's really summer, the living might be easy but the nonprofit marketing sure is hard.

What with the presidential campaign heating up with the temperatures, and people enjoying summertime distractions, it feels more challenging than ever to  get attention.

Yet I believe that there's a real opportunity for you here to hit hard with focused, immediate-term calls for action. Clear, finite calls to action that can be swiftly accomplished, before attention veers off to the town pool or coming vacation. After all, nonprofits and corporate messages alike are a bit less prevalent during the summer. So there's less attention, but also less clutter.

Focus hard to define what you want your audiences to do, and launch that targeted campaign. Relate to key issues being discussed in the campaign, or other page one stories, and you're more likely to catch  interest.

As for me, I'm following my summertime muse and taking off, in 10 minutes, till next Monday. Just staying around home, spending some time with my family and garden, and listening to a bit of Gershwin, with and without bongos.

Have a great 4th!

Direct Mail Reality Check: Outakes from Fundraising Day in New York

Here are some very interesting tips from folks who do direct mail 24/7 and shared their expertise at a recent session at Fundraising Day in New York (remember, this work is 99% fundraising). But I gotta say, I was shocked by the bubble some of these experts are trapped in; read on for details:

• How much you say depends on who you're reaching
  • Prospects respond better to longer (4pp.) letters
  • While in-house lists (current donors) prefer a shorter letter (2pp.)
• People assume you're customizing the letter to them
  • So it's not always necessary to explicate that
  • Members who received mailings for an annual fund campaign responded at a higher rate to the test that didn't address them as members, or refer to their membership at all.
• Be as tangible as possible for higher impact
  • A fundraising mailing that featured a ribbon drew much better when a real cloth ribbon, rather than a ribbon sticker, was used.
• Too much nitty-gritty can depress response
  • When the Special Olympics(SO) integrated testimonials from the families of its atheletes, response rate fell
  • My guess: Perhaps SO's current direct mail donor base (60+) doesn't want to hear the truth. The rest of us crave it. And so will we when we get older. Look alive, direct mailers.
• Companion emails increase response to direct mail by 12%, especially when the ask in is the first two paragraphs of the email
  
  • This is no surprise to those of us immersed in integrated marketing, but most of the speakers (and listeners) at FRDNY are all mail, all the time.
• Authenticity rules -- handwritten cards (real, not printed handwriting) work

All useful to know. But here's what really startled me. When I asked the panel of three direct mail experts why they're focusing only on folks 60+, they stared at me like I was crazy. The universal response was that the other prospects were handled by other parts of the organization (online only), and that they don't give much. What about shepherding folks teens up into supporting nonprofits in all ways? What about people now 60 who've been using the Web for 15 years? What about all those confused audiences who are getting snail mail and email that are completely uncoordinated?

Wake up, direct mailers, and break out of your bubble.

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I'll Be Speaking at CCSNYS' Money for Mission Tomorrow -- Hope to Meet You

I'm jumping in the car now to drive to upstate NY, where I'll be speaking tomorrow at CCSNYS' (the NY association of nonprofits) Money for Mission conference. I was lucky enough to meet the ebullient Valerie Venezia at the NTC conference, where she proffered this lovely invite.

Are you going to be there? If so, please say hello. You know what I look like (just look at the top of this page) and I'll be wearing a Getting Attention t-shirt. I'd love to meet you.

I'm eager to dive into this conference, especially hearing the two bound-to-be inspiring keynote speakers; Greg McHale of Good2Gether and Charlie Crystle of Giftwork's creator Mission Research.

But what I'm most excited about is meeting you guys in person(I don't get enough of that) and, as the featured workshop speaker  be premiering my nonprofit tagline workshop! Can't wait.

Strengthen your tagline with the Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report. You'll get a free copy  when you subscribe to the Getting Attention e-newsletter (featuring in-depth articles and case studies on nonprofit marketing).

Thanks to You 3,062 Voters for the First Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards

A big thanks to all of you who showed your interest and support by voting for the tagline award winners.

I was amazed that more than 3,000 nonprofit professionals voted; more than I ever expected.

Stay tuned for mid-July publication of The Nonprofit Tagline Report, with dos, don'ts, trends and award winners. And that's not all...

Report readers also get The 2008 Nonprofit Tagline List with 1,000+ nonprofit taglines. These taglines are a great inspiration and brainstorming tool for your organization's branding process.

Strengthen your tagline with the Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report. You'll get a free copy when you subscribe to the Getting Attention e-newsletter (featuring in-depth articles and case studies on nonprofit marketing).

Last Chance to Vote and Learn -- First-Ever Nonprofit Tagline Awards

Tick tock. Polls close tonight at 8pm. Vote today for the best in nonprofit taglines.

Don't miss this great opportunity to learn while you vote for the first-ever Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards.

The finalists have been culled from over 1,000 taglines submitted to the recent Getting Attention Tagline Survey.

The organizations behind the taglines did a fantastic job of putting 8 words or less to work building their brands. Now it's *your* turn to select the best.

Most of the over 3,000 voters to date have lauded the learning they get while voting. Don't miss out.

Polls close at 8pm, so...

VOTE now -- it'll take you 7 minutes or less.

Strengthen your tagline with the Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report. You'll get a free copy (due in July), when you subscribe to the Getting Attention e-newsletter (featuring in-depth articles and case studies on nonprofit marketing).

How To Communicate Effectively in the Shadow of Disaster

What's the place of nonprofit communications in the wake of disaster, particularly when even these crises of epic proportions have generated far less giving than Hurricane Katrina or the Indian Ocean tsunami relief efforts? And how about when human life is not at stake, but there's massive economic and environmental devastation at play, as in the current flooding in the Midwest.   

For a nonprofit, the answer lies in the way (if any) the organization is involved in the relief effort, or related issues. Read the full article for comprehensive guidelines for nonprofit marketing in tough times.

These guidelines derive from an analysis of news of, and fundraising campaigns for relief efforts in, regions struck by the recent earthquake in China and cyclone in Myanmar.

P.S. Disaster isn't the only challenge in your communications context. Read these articles on nonprofit marketing strategy for more tips for challenging times.

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Helping the Needy Get Nerdy -- Memorable Tagline from Free Geek

I adore this tagline. It's short, engaging, humorous and captures the spirit of the organization, all in five words.

Portland, OR-based Free Geek recycles used technology to provide computers, education, internet access and job skills training to those in need in exchange for community service. Its tagline is carefully crafted to play on the perception of techies as nerds, repositioning a jokey characterization as a powerful skill and focusing the reader's attention on how these nerds are putting their skills to work in the community.

In the eight years since its formation, Free Geek has recycled over 1,500 tons of electronic scrap and refurbished over 15,000 computer systems that are now in use by individuals and organizations in the community."  Keep on geekin', Free Geek.

BTW, don't forget to VOTE for the BEST NONPROFIT TAGLINES in the first Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Award competition.

The finalists have been culled from over 1,000 taglines submitted to the recent Getting Attention Tagline Survey. Now it's *your* turn to select the best.

VOTE today -- it'll take you 7 minutes or less. 
Polls close Friday, June 20.

Strengthen your tagline with the Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report. You'll get a free copy (due in July), when you subscribe to the Getting Attention e-newsletter (featuring in-depth articles and case studies on nonprofit marketing).

Hey, Nonprofit Marketers -- Relevance is EVERYTHING

Obama grabbed all the headlines yesterday, speaking about fathers in church (a new church, since his old one was so controversial, in so many ways).

Relevance, and timeliness is everything. Be on target, each and every time.

Missing out on the Getting Attention e-newsletter? Subscribe now for in-depth articles and case studies on nonprofit marketing.

Be the 2,000th Voter for the Nonprofit Tagline Awards...

Place your vote for the Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Award winners and you'll ensure me a great weekend.

More seriously, the response to the poll is fantastic with 1,999 votes to date. Polling closes in just a week so c'mon, VOTE RIGHT NOW.

Make my weekend, please. You have a great one too.

Strengthen your tagline with the Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report. You'll get a free copy (due in July), when you subscribe to the Getting Attention e-newsletter (featuring in-depth articles and case studies on nonprofit marketing).

VolunteerMatch(ing) Easier Than Ever with Redesign -- Showing True Respect for Time and Effort of its Base

The leading online volunteer matching service, VolunteerMatch (VM, can't get a name better than that), has just launched a redesigned matching site making finding the right volunteer opportunity easier than ever for its users.

Nothing speaks more strongly to your site users (or your program registrants or online donors), than making it easier for them to act. Such changes are the ultimate in respecting your base and so a powerful nonprofit marketing tool, bound to increase activity.

At the center of the launch are improvements to VM's pioneering Search & Match engine used by prospective volunteers to find active opportunities. With the changes, users can now just enter their location and a few words describing what they want to do to initiate a search. It's seriously really, really easy. As easy as using Google. And on the results side, the new system reveals better information that users can filter by location, description, organization and date. Brilliant!

Robert Rosenthal, VolunteerMatch's director of communications, is confident that "the new approach will lead to higher referral rates from volunteers, especially in areas of skilled volunteering  -- and 5 days worth of data seems to suggest this is the case."

There are two other interesting features to note:

• Ratings & Reviews – A nationwide platform for user-generated recommendations about specific volunteer programs. It's likely to lead to better volunteer-nonprofit matches and stronger, more effective, volunteer programs. Nothing means more to a user than a peer recommendation
  • But are nonprofits ready for this level of transparency??? Volunteer managers get to work.

• RSS Subscriptions – Users can subscribe to RSS feeds to track volunteer opportunities by “cause” or by organization as new listings enter the VolunteerMatch system. Again, making it so easy for prospective, and current volunteers.

Kudos to Volunteer Match for respecting its users, and for walking that talk.

What can you do to make it easier for your base to interface with your organization?

Missing out on the Getting Attention e-newsletter? Subscribe now for in-depth articles and case studies on nonprofit marketing.