Relish THIS: The Nonprofit Marketing Podcast

If you have been listening to Relish THIS for a while, you have probably detected a theme: I'm a big fan of taking action.

In fact, I ask each of my wonderful guests at the end of each episode what action they would like for you, dear listener, to take after our discussion.

Well, my guest today, Mark Bergel, Co-Founder of the Shared Humanity Project is ALL about action.

The Shared Humanity Project enables people to select an area of interest and be presented with actions they can take in that area to help eradicate poverty. It's an incredibly interesting approach to circumnavigate the inevitable question most nonprofits hear, "That's a great mission, but how can I help?"

Mark and I share a foundation in Sociology so had a really fun, thoughtful conversation that touched on ways to form partnerships to expand your mission, working with INSPIRE phase opportunities to create stakeholder engagements to spread the word about your organization, effective storytelling, persona development, and much more.

I hope you enjoy this valuable discussion.

Action Ask:
Make a vow, get committed, and take action.

The business world is changing. No longer can businesses continue to operate in using the old paradigm. Put your head down, shut up, and work harder no longer work as a motivators for your team.

This shift to culture-based business promises a different experience for all stakeholders. And when you and your entire team can live the values you have created that define your culture, job satisfaction and productivity soar. Need evidence? Follow Dan Price on social to see what he’s up to at Gravity Payments.

But here’s what’s really cool… when you run a nonprofit, you get to not only establish your values as a business, but can then apply those same values to your mission. That’s what Seth Ehrlich is up to over at SOS Outreach.

Seth applies the core values of SOS Outreach as part of their programming. See, SOS Outreach creates opportunities for underprivileged and inner-city kids to experience the magic found only in the mountains by getting them into the outdoors and connecting them with mentors who are steeped in the SOS Outreach culture. Courage, discipline, integrity, wisdom, compassion, and humility guide the team’s actions and these same values are core to the SOS Outreach engagement.

So what does this episode bring to the table? A great discussion of ways to engage your stakeholders from the framework of core values.

Seth and his team are amazing. Hope you enjoy the show.

Action Ask:

Follow SOS Outreach on social media. Take the next step to get involved and engage through your passions.

Whether you run a nonprofit or for-profit organization, paid search is going to be one of the main marketing ecosystem pillars you should consider to get "instant on" traffic sources to your offerings.

That being said, running a successful paid search campaign requires some planning and know-how to make sure you get the most out of your investment.

That's why we are joined today by Kurt Filla, Founder of FillaLife Media.

Kurt LOVES data and it shows. We have a super fun conversation about Search Engine Marketing and Pay Per Click advertising for nonprofits and other purpose-focused enterprises as well. If you are looking to start a paid search campaign, this episode is a must-listen.

From setting up your budgeting and goals to how to tweak your campaigns for maximum effect, this show has it all. Learn about landing page creation and optimization, how to tweak your calls-to-action to get your audience to DO what you are seeking, how re-targeting works, lookalike campaigns, and much, much more on this episode PACKED with great info.

Action Ask: 

Look at your reporting data and make sure you have robust tracking set up to ensure you aren't wasting your time and money on your campaigns. Then test the waters and see what you can do for your organization through paid ads.

Launching a podcast can be difficult especially if you don't find your niche. According to recent research, there are currently over 2 million individual podcasts out there. And around 45 million episodes.

That sounds like a pretty crowded market.

But when you dig into the stats a bit more, some real gold gets unearthed.

According to Amplifi Media, of that 2 million, roughly 25% have only published 1 episode. When you dig deeper, the stats get even more interesting...

Only 770,000 shows made it to the 10 episode mark.

So, even though jumping into the deep end of podcasting seems like you will be swimming in a very crowded pool, if you can commit to your show and stick with it, you have a pretty clear lane of travel to becoming among a pretty select few who have a "successful" podcasting experience.

My guests today, Tony Lupo and Ryan Fairfield from The Warrior Next Door, have been conducting interviews with veterans of World War II for over 17 years and recently spun these interviews up into a really great show that launched in the fall of 2021. The Warrior Next Door has a unique, serialized format in which Tony and Ryan add context to the interviews and take listeners on a real journey with their guests. It's a fantastic show I recommend you check out.

But here's the rub... getting a podcast up and running and building an audience takes some work. That's what we discuss in this episode. How to launch a successful podcast, the pitfalls to avoid while spinning up your show, and how to make sure you can reach the widest possible audience to make the biggest splash.

If you are looking to get your podcast up and running (or firing on all cylinders), this is the episode for you.

Action Ask: 

Put down your screens and really be present with your families. Have real conversations. Pair up with someone and bring your passions to life. Preserve your family history through conversations.

Marketing is all about relationship-building. The most valuable relationships are measured by their quality vs. their quantity, but almost every relationship begins with an exchange of value often marked by some series of back-and-forth interactions. My guest today, Keith Hartnett, the Founder and CEO of Better World Products, knows all about the power of relationship-building. 

Keith is here to talk about his vision to shift to shift the retail landscape and bring new life and wealth into our shared communities. Learn more from Keith about how to bring your products to the market, build relationships, and create processes that will help you scale and more.

Have you ever considered how you "be" directly influences all that you "do"?

It's an interesting concept – one that requires some serious brain yoga to wrap your head around.

See, if you follow today's guest's approach, you have the capacity to create every moment in your life. How you show up in life (how you "be") influences everything.

In this episode, Stu is joined by Life Transformation Architect, Townsend Wardlaw, to share how the book, The Ultimate Coach, inspired him.

Extending that to others, Townsend shares his experiences undergoing some of the transformative thinking he has created for himself and those with whom he works over time.

Find inspiration from this conversation and witness as you realize how each of us holds within the power to experience Peace, Freedom, and Connection.

Join Townsend to not miss out!

When you start a business, systems optimization isn’t usually top of mind when it comes to priorities. However, if you want to scale and grow, you need to have processes in place for your team to follow.

Today’s guest is Alyson Caffrey, the Founder and CEO of Operations Agency. Her goal is to help organizations create powerful, reliable systems that support their vision. 

In this episode, Alyson shares how you can develop your operations so you can run and grow your business at the same time. There is SO much great info in this episode if you are looking to effectively scale your business. 

Hope you enjoy the show.

Action ask: If you don't have Loom or some other screen capture application, get one and start documenting processes your team can follow to get to "done right".

Nietzsche is quoted as saying, "To live is to suffer. To survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."

But what if the suffering itself was optional? What if you can shift your mindset to look forward instead of back?

This concept is what today's guest, Jeff Kinsey, and your host, Stu Swineford, have in store for you.

Jeff is the Founder of The Logos Group, an organization specializing in strategic planning and executive coaching to help anyone live their best lives. He also volunteers with Breakthrough that works with incarcerated individuals to help them prepare for reintegration into society. 

Jeff went from trying to justify making rich people richer to giving people a home that they had never had before. 

This is a fantastic conversation jam-packed with concepts you can apply to bring peace and fulfillment to your life.

Action ask: Experiment letting thoughts go by.

As you’re probably aware, I’m a big fan of protecting Colorado’s open spaces. You may know Relish is involved with 1% for the Planet, but I think it’s also of interest that I’ve chosen to live deep in the forest of Colorado’s Front Range. It’s fair to say environmental stewardship is engrained in what I do.

That’s why this episode of Relish This was so much fun.

I got to chat with two people—Stephanie Weber and David Taft—who work with the San Juan Mountains Association. 

The organization was started in the Durango area, and since their inception, they’ve expanded their reach. Now they preserve and protect forests with a solid ambassador program, education program, and volunteer program. All of these initiatives help people who are enjoying the forests understand the importance of protecting these pristine locations.

SJMA now impacts more than half of Colorado’s wilderness areas!

This episode focused on helping SJMA hone their message and expand their reach and engagement with stakeholders. Through social media, email, and general community networking, we look at strategies and ways to answer the question, “How do you reinforce all the good you are doing?”

This was a fun conversation with a group doing some real good for Colorado’s public lands and forests. I hope you enjoy the show. 

Link: 

SJMA

Ask: 

Get involved in your own backyard to protect public lands.

In the for-profit world, Sales and Marketing are two sides of the same coin. They work hand-in-hand to build an organization. In the nonprofit world, however, these two components of brand building and stakeholder engagement get a bad wrap. 

But do nonprofits actually sell? Of course they do. Whether some component of your organization drives revenue through selling, or your ED is simply out drumming up donations during the giving season, at some level every non-profit depends on sales and marketing.

My guest on this episode of Relish This is Suzi Bahnsen, founder of Apple and Arrow Sales. They help organizations and leaders navigate the intersection of marketing, branding, and sales. 

Suzi and I met when she was working at Boulder, Colorado's Small Business Development Center. She has a long history working with nonprofits and small businesses to improve their sales and engagement, and it was great to reconnect with her..

We had a vigorous discussion about storytelling and how to use marketing and branding to get your message across to your stakeholders, how to develop a solid marketing and engagement strategy, and much more. 

This was a super fun episode. I hope you enjoy it. 

Link: 

Apple and Arrow Sales

ASK: 

Say something nice to a stranger and find a charity to give to!