new year, new donors
TRANSCRIPT
New Year, New Donors
DonorPerfect 12.13.12
New Year, New Donors
How can creative, direct marketing and technology work to show donors you know and love them?
New Year, New Donors
Flip the Focus
Its about YOU the donor.
• Who did YOU help
• What did YOU make happen
• What can’t be done without YOU
• Why is YOUR gift critical
Look for WE, US and OUR in your copy and change to YOU
Credit: Tom Ahearn
New Year, New Donors
Flip the Focus
Make 2013 the Year of Donor Stories
• Deputize every board member and volunteer as “story-collectors”
• Make it part of everyone’s role to find stories
• Keep an eye on your social sites. Follow up on comments that could turn into stories
• Create an official monthly plan to gather a new story
• ASK! people love to share their story!
New Year, New Donors
Get action not just eyeballs
Gather
Great
Images
New Year, New Donors
Get eye-level and close up
Gather Great Images
New Year, New Donors
Gather Great Images
Make Images Sharable
New Year, New Donors
Gather Great Images
Tie images to you – add your branding on images posted to social sites
New Year, New Donors
Using images to engage:Invite donors, volunteers and participants to post event pictures to photo galleries on Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram.
New Year, New Donors
http://animoto.com/education/case_studies#civilrights
Work your Images
Turn pictures into video
New Year, New Donors
Work your Images
• Turn pictures into mini-marketing
• Share your story online• Re-purpose in print• Add to your annual report• Create an email series• Include in direct mail• Build recognition by using a
consistent stylehttps://www.facebook.com/ThePhiladelphiaFoundation
New Year, New Donors
• Thank you gift• Personalized “brochure”• Event keepsake
Build a Photo-story• Document a capital project• Major donor presentations• Incentive for giving levels
New Year, New Donors
Make it Personal
Respect your List
• Eliminate duplicates
• Check spelling – Cathy is not Kathy
• Note email unsubscribes in your main database
• Add a form to update addresses to your website
• Create a process for getting new contacts into the database
• Segment
New Year, New Donors
Make it Personal
Tactics for personalization
• Cold call vs friend call
• Add personal notes from board members and volunteers
• Variable data — giving history, specific interests
• Friends asking friends
• Volunteer led events
New Year, New Donors
Make it Personal
Tactics for personalization
• Cold call vs friend call
• Add personal notes from board members and volunteers
• Variable data — giving history, specific interests
• Friends asking friends
• Volunteer led events
New Year, New Donors
Opportunities
What is the BEST way to connect with donors?
• Direct Mail• Email
• Website
• Social Media
• Events
OFTEN!
New Year, New Donors
• Test
• To test you need a list – a big list
• To get your own big list:
– Invite people to join
– Research prospects
– Rent lists
If you haven’t tried everything you may not know what could work
New Year, New Donors
How do you test?
• Make only one change at a time
• Provide that option to a portion of your list
• Track the different response
New Year, New Donors
Or try major changes on small projects
• Experiment with different email content and formats
• Consequences of “failure” are low and you will learn things you can apply to “ask” communications
New Year, New Donors
Or try major changes on small projects
• Experiment with different email content and formats
• Consequences of “failure” are low and you will learn things you can apply to “ask” communications
New Year, New Donors
Or try major changes on small projects
• Experiment with different email content and formats
• Consequences of “failure” are low and you will learn things you can apply to “ask” communications
New Year, New Donors
Email Process:
• Monthly story meeting, quarterly visit to take pictures
• Writer develops 2-8 new stories balancing content and keyword optimization
• Stories posted on website in “news” (blog area)
• Content excerpted and linked to create social posts for the month
• Three stories selected to be highlighted in monthly enews that goes to people who have contacted the school for more information
• All stories include links back to site to engage visitors
New Year, New Donors
What Gets In Your Way?
Project Process - Breakdown Ahead
• Design by committee
• Content by volunteers
• Approval by board
Lots of opinions = watered-down message
New Year, New Donors
What Gets In Your Way?
Project Process – tools to guide you
• Communication Plan
• Action Plan
• Creative Brief
• Selected Representatives
Planned Input = feedback stays focused
New Year, New Donors
Communication Plan
New Year, New Donors
Action Plan
Details the purpose, timing and steps required to deliver the communication
New Year, New Donors
Creative Brief
Outlines the direction, style and message
New Year, New Donors
What’s Next?
No One Way Works for Everyone
• Check and double check for more YOU than US
• Be specific and personal
• Keep growing and updating your lists
• Test creative, message and timing
…Until you find the best combinations that connect and balance results with effort
New Year, New Donors
Thank You
Beth S. Brodovsky, PresidentIris Creative | Communications Build Community610-567-2799
Connect at:[email protected]
www.iriscreative.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bethbrodovsky
www.twitter.com/bethbrodovsky
www.facebook.com/iriscreative