Don’t turn to the “dark side”

We fundraisers are a fascinating group of talented individuals. But this year, I’m seeing many of us talk ourselves out of asking for money, even when the donors have told us they’ll give! I guess it should make sense: successful fundraisers need to be good storytellers. But as they say, your greatest strength can become [...]

Bootleg clip from the AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference

I’ve never been bootlegged before. I’m not even sure that’s the correct phrase! But Elaine Fogel recorded this from my Who’s Telling YOUR Nonprofit’s Story? session at the American Marketing Association’s 2011 Nonprofit Marketing Conference last week in Washington, DC. The wider context for this segment is I’m illustrating how diverse our communication options are [...]

Influential Fundraisers Poll – Fundraising Magazine

a man's hand writing coach, vision, mentor, win, etc on a pane of glass

Earlier this week, I read Mark Phillips post Who should influence fundraisers? Make your vote count. In the spirit of his post, I’ll list the names of the 10 people I voted for. First, please choose to not be offended if your name isn’t on this list. I have the privilege of knowing many very [...]

The three very serious diseases for nonprofit marketers to avoid like the plague

With this guest post, I’m pleased to introduce Katya Andresen. Katya is the COO of Network for Good and the author of Robin Hood Marketing. I love Katya’s ability to help nonprofits focus their marketing and I talk about her in most of my trainings! Folks, please vaccinate yourself – especially this time of year, [...]

Career Change Without Felony Charges

Last week Good Day New York invited me to talk about career stress in light of Steven Slater’s quitting his job by jumping out of a JetBlue plane. The interview is below. But there was so much more that I sent to Good Day New York. The entire 5-page article is available here: Changing Careers [...]

Book Review: Guerrilla Market for Nonprofits

Guerrilla Marketing for Nonprofits

I’m surprised by how many nonprofit professionals see “marketing” as a bad word, a practice that is somehow beneath them. If that’s your attitude, a new book called Guerrilla Marketing for Nonprofits will help you move beyond that and become excellent at communicating your message. This book is packed with useful ideas, detailed strategies, and [...]

Facebook Marketing advice in the NYT

Waterville’s amazing librarian, Sarah Sugden passed on this terrific article from the New York Times, How to Market Your Business With Facebook. It’s well worth reading for nonprofits too. For instance, take this great advice: Some basic rules: Buy-buy-buy messages won’t fly. The best practitioners make Facebook less about selling and more about interacting. Engage [...]