Driving Participation Podcast: What Is Working in Marketing & Fundraising | Nonprofits | Schools | Associations

Think print publications are dead? Listen to Carol Meerschaert, of the Health Care Business Women's Association and you'll reconsider. Carol lets Beth in on the secrets to creating a publication that is central to the organization. A long-form magazine lets you speak to your members in a very personal way, to dig deeper into a topic and to have almost an intimate conversation with your members. Integrating it into your entire organization is critical. Carol shares how she creates content that her members love and look for. And the creative ways she has discovered to cover costs while expanding reach could be a game-changer for sustaining your publication.

The press release is the dinosaur of the industry. Debbie Albert of Albert Communications says there's no question about it and if people keep referring to press releases, they really don't understand what public relations can do. Its time to talk PR. And Beth asked Debbie to share what's working today from traditional tactics to web and new media.

Sarah Durham, Founder of Big Duck and Author of "Brandraising" joins Beth today to talk about what you can control—and what you can’t when it comes to creating perception. Back in the 90s even using the word 'branding' with a nonprofit could be a no-no. People saw branding as a very for profit sector concept. Now, organizations are really embracing branding concepts and seeing branding as much bigger than logo development.

"New Hampshire Community Loan Fund" is a mouthful. No one wants to have to say it or type it 20 times a day. Before Steve Varnum arrived, the organization had shortened the name and—too late—discovered that they dropped the part that connected them to their audience. Today Beth and Steve talk about how to back up and correct a misstep with your brand.

Online, participation means someone showing up to collect what they were promised. Brian Massey, the Conversion Scientist, weighs in this week on getting people to take action that moves your organization forward. Brian shares the incredible power that is available by watching what people actually do online. We talk about the role of design—and your designer—when it comes to guiding action. Online marketing, Brian says, is reducing the cost of knowing the truth about what people want. It may be science, but the results are truly magical.

This week, the genius of online engagement, John Haydon, joins Beth to tell us about the magic of a 'mini campaign" to test ideas in an

online world that is changing weekly. John thinks that the organizations that are making real progress online do a lot of risk taking. Facebook is a great forum for experiments because it lets your fans become ambassadors. Taking people that like you in real life and letting them share your story with their friends engages them and grows your community. Listen in to learn John's "recipes" for social engagement.

This week Beth gets to turn the tables as Tony Martignetti from Nonprofit Radio gets to be a guest for a change. In over 225 episodes, Tony has had more than 500 conversations with nonprofit leaders and consultants on topics critical to the success of small to medium sized organizations. Beth asked Tony to share the lessons, trends and struggles that show up over and over among his many guests. Listen in and learn the top issues that cause roadblocks for hundreds of organizations hear Tony's ideas for getting past them.

One big one: thinking strategically. If that's an issue on your team, join me for a free webinar April 7, 2015 to think bigger about your brand Register at www.nonprofittoolkit.net/afpbb

This week Beth welcomes Kivi Leroux Miller from the The Nonprofit Marketing guide to share great tips about clarifying and branding your organization. Beth and Kivi talk about role of a style guide as a tool to be a home base for making brand decisions rather than a restrictive covenant. Who should have responsibility for what goes in your guide and how should you negotiate

varying from the system are just some of the answers Kivi offers in this week's episode. It's the perfect week to talk Branding and if you are listening live you still have time to join Beth Live on Thursday March 19 for a Webinar on the Basics of Branding. Register at http://www.nonprofittoolkit.net/basicsofbranding

We all have this tendency to focus on bringing in new members and donors. That cost is rarely looked at against the value of keeping somebody in your organization. Shanon Doolittle, the Donor Happiness Coach, talks today about how a team approach to keeping your donors happy can make such a massive difference for organizations.

Become a Force of Gratitude - See Nonprofit Toolkits new Thank You Cards [http://www.nonprofittoolkit.net/thank-you-cards/]

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Seven out of ten of our donors make one gift and never ever come back again. The biggest cause is that we don't actually stop, take the time to appreciate the gift that we've gotten and say thank you, tell donors what their gift did and then ask next after we've built a relationship. Lynne Wester, the Donor Relations Guru, shares her path for growing support through showing gratitude and impact.

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