Filed under Nicva by on Jul 1st, 2012. Comment. 
The great and terrible thing about online marketing is how quickly things change. Here’s a post from the VerticalResponse Email Marketing Blog that points out some things that not so long ago were widely held to be universal truths — but may not be so any more: Mythbusters: Do Old Wives’ Email Marketing Tales Hold True?.
- Using words like ‘free’, ‘dear’ or ‘save’ in the subject line will cause your email to be marked as spam.
- Test everything!
- Send email only during the week.
- All unsubscribes are bad.
- Sending too many emails too often will make you to look like spam.
As always with things like this, test before you decide to remove it from your rulebook.
Filed under Future Fund Raising Now by on Jul 1st, 2012. Comment.
I have a theory (unprovable, but somewhat supported by experience) that your organizational logo can only help you a little when it’s good, but it can hurt you a lot if it’s bad.
Here are some tips from The Duck Call for designing the non-bad type of logo: Don’t let your logo trip you up.
A good logo:
- Doesn’t have to show everything your organization does.
- Doesn’t even have to show anything your organization does.
- Doesn’t have to include an illustrated mark.
- Can turn around a disadvantage.
- Can make people look (and think) twice.
Filed under Future Fund Raising Now by on Jul 3rd, 2012. Comment.
Filed under Nicva by on Jul 3rd, 2012. Comment.
The Fundraising Authority blog says You Aren’t Paying Your Development Staff Enough. I’m inclined to agree (though I’ve known a few development staffers who were paid way too much).
You usually get what you pay for. If you’re going to the bargain basement for your fundraising staff, chances are you aren’t getting your money’s worth:
[T]he best non-profit organizations … realize that good fundraisers are hard to find. Mediocre fundraisers (like mediocre salespeople) are a dime a dozen. When they find a great fundraiser, they pay them what they are worth. They give them responsibility, keep them interested, engaged and happy.
Your fundraisers are the people who make everything else you do possible. They are worth paying. If you have some who aren’t pulling their weight, let them go as quickly as possible and get some who are worth paying. It can make all the difference for your cause.
Filed under Future Fund Raising Now by on Jul 4th, 2012. Comment.