Yellow Dog Project Leads with Audience: Learn How You Can Too
I have a shy rescue dog named Blue Jean. Blue Jean isn’t mean or aggressive. But she gets nervous and fearful when strangers approach us. In a nutshell, Blue Jean just needs her space. The problem is...
View Articlewhat the hell is content marketing?
Great Joe Pulizzi post on distinguishing content marketing from what he deems “merely clever advertising.” In refining the definition of content marketing, Pulizzi offers a number of defining criteria,...
View ArticleWhere’s the donor in your outreach efforts?
We can learn a thing from Bruno Mars about making our audiences (and donors) the “stars” of our communications vehicles. Bruno Mars is featuring fans dancing to his hit “Treasure” on a new website...
View ArticleLanguage Matters
Why are right-wing extremists so much more effective than progressives at using language to mobilize the faithful? Is it just because they have Frank Luntz and we don’t? My pet theory — and yes it’s a...
View ArticleThree Hours
According to this Hubspot research, the average half-life of a Facebook post, Tweet or email is three hours. Better quality content lasts longer, say the researchers. No big surprise. The post Three...
View ArticleNeed to persuade? Try verbs
Nobody takes an action until they have imagined themselves doing it. Those are wise words from Roy H. Williams — AKA The Wizard of Ads. After sponging up his wisdom for three days, I landed teeming...
View ArticleHow To Move Millennials to Give: Alia at MCON 2013
Watching yourself on video is tough. Even so, I want to share a talk I recently gave as part of MCON, a day of thought leadership and conversation about engaging the Millennial generation for good. In...
View ArticleIs September the new December?
The leaves haven’t started changing, and here I am talking about year-end fundraising. While December still reigns supreme as transactional prime time for online giving — when typically 60-70% of...
View ArticleAre you the most interesting man (or woman) in the world? Stop talking about it.
I met someone over the weekend who reminded me of this guy – the most interesting man in the world. He said thought-provoking things. He described his work with passion and zest. He regaled me with...
View ArticleIs reality the new new thing?
Meanwhile, back in the real world… The latest crop of up and comers in cybertopia share an interesting quality – they use technology to make our real lives better. Anyone who has witnessed the Soviet...
View ArticleWhen We Count Everything, Nothing Matters
The proliferation of marketing metrics is a mixed blessing. In theory all that data allows marketers and communicators to reach the exact right audience with the exact right offers in an ever more...
View ArticleDeath and Consulting
No really, working for nonprofits only sometimes feels like death. What I’m talking about here though is A Band called Death, a documentary film about music, family, and the price we pay when we refuse...
View ArticleMeet the Newest ‘New New Thing’
Even the slowest among us have gotten the memo by now that email is not dead. But according to the New York Times and other sources, it is not only “not dead” but positively resurgent. Email...
View ArticleConsulting BS Decoded
There are two schools of consulting, both alive and well. The “Bamboozle them with Bullshit” school uses highfalutin fuzzy language to instill the notion that you are dumb, they are smart, and you need...
View ArticleWho are you building it for?
There is no shortage of ideas. Let’s promote a $50 per month membership. Let’s build a platform where activists can find and engage in direct action opportunities. Let’s develop a new campaign to bring...
View ArticleYour words have power: The art of mindful speech
Have you ever wanted to tell a co-worker to go jump off a cliff? Maybe something even nastier? I have. Our work as fundraisers relies on building strong relationships — with our donors AND with our...
View ArticleWow: A gratitude post
This will be my last post of 2014 — and I’d like to sum it up in three words: I’m so grateful. I’m grateful because: I get to work and play each and every day with Mark Rovner and Sann Knipple. They...
View ArticleWhat is community?
Community — the word is bandied about in digital channels like sauce at a BBQ picnic. But what is it really? Here are five traits I think are necessary for me to feel like I’m part of a community:...
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There’s a tribe for that
Back packs with meal management systems built in… “Come with me if you want to lift.” Branch Chain Amino Acids… Strong Magazine… I didn’t know about these things before joining my tribe — bodybuilders....
View ArticleStupid or Evil?
This has nothing to do with fundraising, so reader beware. One of the great philosophical questions that causes me wonderment is how the supposedly smart conservatives (and yes they do exist) deal with...
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