Navigating the Multi-Channel Communication Stream

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing
We live in a multi-channel communication world. We send and receive messages via direct mail, email, websites, social media, and our phones. Chances are your nonprofit organization is using all these channels to communicate with donors and other supporters. All of these channels can work, and they can work better if you use them together. 


How do you decide which channel works best for you and integrate all channels in your fundraising and marketing campaigns? Here are a few suggestions.

Which channels do your supporters prefer? 

Just because you have people subscribed to your email list or following you on social media, doesn’t mean they are always using those channels.

How do you know which channels your supporters like? You ask them. Conducting surveys a couple of times a year can be very helpful. You might find out your supporters prefer print newsletters or they are glued to their mobile devices. What works best will be different for every organization, and it will often be a combination of channels.

Once is never enough 
If you only mail out a fundraising appeal, your success rate will be much lower than if you also send out appeals through email and social media. According to a study by Convio (now part of Blackbaud), dual channel donors give an average of $123.29 annually, which is 46% more value to a nonprofit than direct mail only donors.

In addition, we are all very busy and have to contend with messages from a variety of sources. We might miss a fundraising appeal when it comes through the mail or email, but have our aha moment when we get a reminder on Facebook. On the other hand, some people never use social media or email and respond better to direct mail.

Quality vs. quantity 
How often you send out messages depends on the channel. Because of the cost, smaller organizations may only send out direct mail pieces a few times a year. Generally organizations send out email once a week and post on social media a couple of times a day.

But make sure you have something good to say. Don’t just put something on Facebook because it’s been a few days since you posted anything. Make your messages clear, concise, conversational, and compelling. The 4 Cs of Writing Good Content  

I recommend using an editorial calendar to help you plan your multi-channel communication strategy. LightBox Collaborative’s 2013 Editorial Calendar

Keep track 

For every campaign, keep track of how many donors come through each channel. Do the same when you recruit volunteers or hold an event. Figure out what works and what doesn’t. You may not have that many people responding through Twitter because your supporters don’t use it, you haven’t built up a following yet, or you have a lot of followers, but aren’t using Twitter effectively.


Stay consistent 
When you are communicating across channels, make sure your messages and look are consistent. If a donor goes to your website after receiving a fundraising letter, your donation page should have the same message, along with your logo. It’s okay to use exactly the same messages. Just alter them for each channel – e.g. your social media posts will be shorter. Everything you send out needs to look like it’s coming from the same organization. 

All paths lead to your website 
Often when you send out a letter, an email, or a social media post, you are directing people back to your website. Use this checklist to ensure that whatever web page you are sending someone to is effective and engaging. A Website Checklist  

These are a few examples of ways to help you navigate the 

multi-channel communication stream. How do you use multi-channel communication?

Time For Some Spring Cleaning

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, website, writing

Spring is here, yea!  Spring is a time for new beginnings.  It’s a time to clean up what’s old and make room for something new.

Many of you may take on spring cleaning projects in your home.  Here are a few spring cleaning projects you can do that will benefit your nonprofit organization.

Clean up your mailing lists
Did you have an influx of address changes, returned mail, and bounced emails after you sent out your annual appeal?  Now is a good time to clean up and update both your print and email mailing lists.

You should be emailing your supporters regularly, so you need to keep your list up-to-date.  Remember never to add people to your list without their permission.

You may not mail as often, but why wait until right before your next big mailing to clean up your list.   

Update your donor database
Most likely your print mailing list is part of your donor database.  Besides updating that, make any other additions, changes, and deletions you need to make in your database.  For example, if you had a conversation with a donor, include that. Your donor database is an important tool and you need it to be up-to-date and filled with accurate information about your donors.

Spring Cleaning Your Database

Check in with lapsed donors
As you are cleaning up your mailing lists and database, you may come across some lapsed donors.  These folks can be an untapped source of revenue, so don’t let them get away. Find your best prospects and give them a call.  This is something your board can help you with. 

There are many reasons these donors haven’t given recently – they were too busy to donate last fall, they can’t afford to give right now, or they may not be interested in your organization anymore.  If it’s the last one, hopefully it’s not because you aren’t engaging with them regularly.  Whatever the reason, it’s always good to get feedback.

Where to Find the Gold In Your Fundraising 

Update your website
Your website is often one of the first places a newcomer will visit.  Your current supporters may also visit regularly.  It’s very important that you keep it up-to-date, that it looks good, and it’s easy to navigate. 

Use this checklist to help ensure that you have an effective and engaging website. 

A Website Checklist

Come up with fresh content
In the spring we can open the windows and let in some fresh air.  Have you been using the same stories and photos for awhile?  Start coming up with fresh stories, quotes, testimonials, and photos to use in all your materials.  It’s fine to use the same stories and photos in different materials, but it’s also a good idea to come up with some new ones.

Do You Have Good Stories To Tell?
Take advantage of this time to make any updates and changes you need to make. What spring cleaning projects do you have in mind for your organization?

Ramp Up Your Donor Relations

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising

We don’t know the outcome of the sequester, but it could be bad for both nonprofits and donors. If the economy takes a downturn, nonprofits will see more requests for services, while some donors may feel the need to cut back on their giving.   

Will your organization make the cut?
Let’s say there is a donor who currently gives to five nonprofit organizations a year including yours, but is feeling a financial pinch, and is going to cut back to three. 

Will she choose an organization that:
  • Only communicates when they are asking for money. 
  • Sends a lame thank you letter, or no thank you letter.
  • Sends out a newsletter that’s long, boring, and only focuses on the organization.
Or will she choose one that:

  • Thanks their donors by calling them or sending handwritten notes.
  • Communicates often with success stories and updates.
  • Sends a newsletter and updates that are focused on how much they appreciate their donors and how they are making a difference with the donors’ support.

You can’t control your donors’ financial situation, but you can control your relationship with them.  You should always have a strong donor relations program, but you need it more than ever in an uncertain economy.

Donor relations needs to be part of your fundraising plan. It’s usually easier and more cost effective than trying to find new donors, which of course should also be part of your fundraising plan.

Here are a few things to keep in mind about donor relations.

Spend as much time on your thank you letters as you do on your annual appeal letter
A great thank you letter, phone call, handwritten note, or any combination of the three is a good first step to successful donor relations. Thank donors within 48 hours and be personal and creative. Thank Your Donors All Year Round 

Make all your communications donor focused
Let your donors know how their support is helping you make a difference.  Give examples of how you wouldn’t be able to do your great work without their help.

Find ways to keep your donors engaged and make them feel appreciated
Donor relations is an ongoing process.  Keep finding ways to engage your donors and thank them all year round. Find Ways To Engage With Your Donors
Find out how your donors want you to communicate with them
You may be tempted to do the bulk of your communication by email since it’s both easy and cost-effective.  That’s fine if it’s what your donors want.  But what if they would prefer a print newsletter?

Just because you have an email address for a donor or they are following you on social media, doesn’t mean they are always using those platforms.  Ask your donors how they would like you to communicate with them.  Don’t spend a lot of time on channels that they aren’t using.

The February Blog Carnival was all about donor relations and donor retention.  You’ll find lots of great tips that will help you keep your donors. 16 experts tell you how to keep your donors wanting to come back

Let’s Work Together – The Importance of a Good Relationship with the Program Department

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing

In my last post, I wrote about the importance of a good relationship between the development and marketing departments.  Now I’d like to go a step further and explore the importance of a good relationship with the program department. Of course, you want a good relationship between all staff, but I am going to focus on marketing and development’s relationship with program.

Don’t create silos. Always remember that you are all working for the same mission.

Process vs. results
One key to a good relationship is to understand how the different departments work.

The program department focuses on the process – serving the people in need, while development and marketing are more concerned about the results – how you are actually making a difference.  It’s all important.

Sometimes there is a conflict between process and results, but you can’t have programs without fundraising and marketing, and you can’t raise money and awareness without strong programs. The departments need each other. 

Sharing success
The heart of fundraising and marketing messages is how you are making a difference for the people you serve.  The program staff is your connection to get stories, photos, and even videos to share with donors and potential donors.    

It can get tricky. Development and marketing need to be updated with client numbers and accomplishments, so they can share them with donors.  But program is busy serving clients and may not see that as a priority.

Plan ahead
You need to be respectful of the program staff’s time.  Don’t approach someone the day before your newsletter needs to go out and ask for a success story ASAP.

I always recommend nonprofits have an ongoing collection of stories, profiles, and photos to use, so you aren’t scrambling at the last minute.

If you get grant funding, you must work with program staff to determine what outcomes you will measure in the grant. Also, program needs to know when your grant reports are due, so they can give you results.

Again, don’t wait until the last minute.

Come up with a system
You need to come up with a system where the departments can work together without feeling overburdened.  This could mean sharing success stories at staff meetings; regular meetings between the departments to discuss stories, accomplishments, and funding needs; or program providing written monthly updates of client numbers and accomplishments. 

Seeing your programs in action
Development and marketing can sometimes be removed from the program work of your organization, especially if it’s done offsite.  If possible find ways for other staff to meet clients, visit your community center, or volunteer at your food bank.  

The more you know how the programs work, the easier it is to put this in human terms and share it with donors.  I used to work for a mentoring organization and staff were required to take the mentor training and encouraged to attend group activities with the mentors and mentees.  Doing that gave me a deeper understanding of the organization’s mission.

Working together
If you can create an atmosphere where the departments understand each other’s role, realize that program needs to share success stories with development and marketing, and know that those departments need to spend time seeing the programs in action, you will have a better chance of working together to accomplish your mission.

Here’s more on the importance of working together.
Fundraisers and Program Professionals: Can’t Everyone Just Get Along?
How is the relationship in your organization?

Let’s Work Together – The Importance of a Good Relationship Between Marketing and Development

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing

If your organization has separate marketing and development departments, how well do you work together?  Do you even work together, or do you get territorial about responsibilities?


Remember, it’s not a competition between departments. There is a huge amount of overlap between fundraising and marketing. You are all working for the same mission. If you distance yourself from each other, what is popularly known as siloing, you are not doing what’s best for your organization.

Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Everyone in your organization has a role in marketing
All staff, board members, and volunteers are brand ambassadors for your organization.  You should have a consistent set of messages that you use in all your materials.  If you don’t, here’s some information about creating a message platform.  Make Your Messages Clear and Consistent 

Everyone should have an elevator pitch and be prepared to share your organization’s messages.

Everyone in your organization has a role in fundraising
Fundraising is the lifeblood of all nonprofit organizations.  Creating a culture of philanthropy Building a culture of philanthropy in your organization lets everyone know the importance of fundraising. 


Your role as an ambassador includes fundraising as well.  Depending on the size of the organization, sometimes it can be all hands on deck during annual appeal time as everyone pitches in to get it out.  Staff might be asked to send annual appeal letters to family and friends, as well as invite them to events.

PROBLEM AREAS AND HOW YOU CAN WORK TOGETHER
There may be times when the two departments might clash.  Here it’s important to go beyond what is development’s responsibility and what is marketing’s responsibility, and remember you are all working on behalf of your mission. 

I like this quote from donor communications expert Tom Ahern – “The heads of development and marketing have to accept that they are oxen pulling the same wagon, a wagon labeled ‘increasing community support’.”


You need clear and consistent messages
As I mentioned before, your organization needs consistent messages in all materials, fundraising and others.  Your messages also need to be conversational and easy to understand – no jargon. 

There may be a case when someone in marketing makes edits to your fundraising letter so that it includes your organization’s messaging and that it is easily understood by your donor. It’s important not to take this personally.  It’s not your writing, it’s your organization’s.  Your fundraising letter needs to captivate your donors.

You need control of your communication
A large part of fundraising is building relationships with donors and one way to do that is to share success stories and updates by email, social media, and on your website.

Marketing and development should work together on an editorial calendar that includes fundraising campaigns and events, along with newsletter submissions and other updates.  You can’t have people sending out three different messages one day and then not communicate again for three weeks.

In many organizations one person is in charge of controlling the flow of communication that goes through the channels listed above and often that is someone in marketing.  That doesn’t mean that someone in development can’t send out fundraising messages, but you need coordination so that you are sending out the right amount of messages.  This person also needs to know how use the platforms (especially the email template) so everything you send out has a consistent look.

Development needs understand that most communication goes through marketing.  Marketing needs to understand that one of the main purposes of the newsletter and other updates is to communicate with donors and potential donors.  See how the two departments are so interconnected?

The links below provide more insight to the importance of a good relationship between development and marketing. One key is support from leadership.

How is the relationship in your organization?

When Fundraising is Your Marketing Goal – And Not
4 Steps to Moving Your Marketing and Fundraising Teams to a Productive Partnership
In my next post I’ll write about the importance of a good relationship with the program department.

The Personal Touch

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, writing

I recently received a mailing from a nonprofit organization highlighting its 2012 accomplishments.  As I read it, I was struck by the impersonal tone and that the organization wasn’t focusing on the people they serve.

I don’t mean to single out this organization, because I know others are guilty of the same thing. This organization does great work and to their credit they did try to engage with their donors, they thanked their donors, and they didn’t ask for another donation. 

That said I would have recommended something more personal. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you communicate with your donors. 

Not all donors are the same
The mailing seemed more appropriate for grant or corporate funders.  This organization specializes in cancer treatment and research. Some of the accomplishments they featured were advances in their research, grants received, and their national and local rankings.

The only donation I ever made to them was when I bought their holiday cards.  I was drawn to the organization and their work because I lost a beloved uncle to cancer last fall.

People donate to nonprofit organizations for a variety of reasons, but many give because they have a personal connection to the cause.  These donors are going to want to hear how you are helping people.

Be conversational
In this mailing, the organization referenced a new community cancer care clinic they opened at a local health center, located in what they referred to as a “medically underserved community.”  That’s a great accomplishment, but the word underserved sounds like jargon to me.  

I think you should be conversational with donors and not use jargon or clinical sounding words.  Imagine yourself talking to a friend and use everyday language. 

How are you making a difference?
The organization shared a list of accomplishments that focused much more on their success than the specific impact they had on the people they serve.

I would have liked a story about a person whose life benefited from this new clinic.  Perhaps they could have highlighted a patient who used to have to travel miles to get care and now it’s available a few blocks from her home.

The organization also emphasized its “compassionate care”.  What does that mean?  Maybe they could have included stories and testimonials demonstrating that.

Use engaging photos
All photos in this mailing were black and white and most of them were pictures of researchers.  I know you can’t always include photos of patients, but maybe feature some who had successful treatments, along with their stories. 

They did include a photo of kids hanging out with some baseball players.  More photos like this would have been better.

Finally, photos are usually more captivating when they are in color.

What are you sending out? 
Take some time to look at the messages and materials you are sending out.  Are they appropriate for each donor group?   Are you focused on thanking your donors and showing how you are making a difference for 
people you serve?

You’ll do a better job of engaging your donors if you can be personal.

Your Attention Please

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, marketing, writing

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve written about the importance of engaging your donors.  One way is regular communication with them.  You may have created a plan and chosen donor-centered content, which is great.  Now you need to get their attention to get your messages across. 

Think short
You might have better luck with shorter more frequent messages.  Aim for every week or every two weeks.  If you only send out a monthly e-newsletter, your donor might miss your email due to a number of reasons – vacation, work, family.

You only have a few seconds
When sending email choose subject lines that will capture your donor’s attention.  February Newsletter is not as enticing as Learn How You Can Help Prevent Childhood Hunger.  The same goes for headlines in your newsletter and website.

Consistency is key
All your messages and materials, both electronic and print, should have a consistent look.  Your donors will start to recognize your brand, and hopefully see you as a reputable source.

Make it easy
Your donors are busy and are receiving messages from a variety of different sources besides your organization.  In most cases, they are going to scan your message, so make sure they still get the gist of what you want to convey.

Your messages should be easy to read and scan.  Use a white background with black type.  Use lots of white space and bold headings.  In addition, use at least a 12 point font (bigger is better).

Make it visual
Photos and graphics can tell a story in an instant, but in certain venues such as email, they can create problems.  Here are some ways to prevent this. Top Five Worst Nonprofit Email Marketing Mistakes: #3 Assuming Users Will See Your Graphics and here is a creative way to enable images. How to get donors to enable images in email
Photos are great in print pieces and on Facebook.

You need good content
That might seem obvious, but if your donor has come this far and is ready to read your message, don’t shortchange them. Put yourself in your donor’s shoes.  What would they be interested in?  In most cases personal stories triumph over a bunch of statistics.

When creating content, remember the four Cs – be clear, concise, conversational, and compelling. The 4 Cs of Writing Good Content 

Think multichannel
Use different channels.  Besides email, communicate by social media, on your website, and through the mail.  Measure which channels work best for you.  You can communicate the same message through different channels. For example, include links to your newsletter on social media.

Be mobile friendly
Many people read email and look at social media and websites on their mobile devices or tablets.  I am not a technology expert, but I do know that when I read content on my iPhone, I’m much happier when it fits nicely on the screen.  This will make your donors happier too, and that’s what you want.

Here are some resources about going mobile.

Four Strategies for Going Mobile
Mobile Resources
Be known but don’t be annoying
Some organizations are afraid of annoying their donors by communicating too often, but most don’t communicate enough.  Remember your donors might miss some of your messages. 

Staying in touch once a week and sending out short, engaging messages will help you get your donor’s attention.

Show Your Donors The Love

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising

Valentine’s Day is coming up. This is the perfect time to thank your donors and show how much you appreciate their support.   It’s also timely if you haven’t thanked them since you sent a thank you letter after you received their annual appeal.  You did send thank you letters after your annual appeal, didn’t you?

In my last post, I wrote about finding ways to engage your donors and one suggestion was thank you messages.

If you want to send out a thank you message on Valentine’s Day, you may not have time to do cards or a video, but going the electronic route is fine.  Send an email and post something on social media.  

In addition, put a thank you message on your home page. Keep it up all year, although you can change it periodically.  Phrase it something like this.
    
Thank you to all our donors! Your support makes it possible for us to (list ways in which you are helping the people you serve). 

If you prefer not to acknowledge Valentine’s Day, I still think February is a good time to send out an upbeat thank you message.  Unless you live in Florida or California, it’s cold and snowy, and kind of bleak.  People may be getting tired of winter and need some cheering up.

Share an update or success story 
Besides saying thank you, share a brief update or success story.  Emphasize how you couldn’t have helped someone without the donor’s support.  If you included some 2013 goals in your annual appeal, sharing regular updates of your accomplishments is a great way to engage.

Get creative
Make your thank you message really positive and fun.  One idea is a photo of people holding up thank you signs.  I’ve included links with a couple of examples below.  The first one is actually a video, but you could do the same thing with a photo.  By the way, this is a great example of a video.  Not only does it say thank you, but it showcases the work the organization does and the people they serve.

11 New Year’s Resolutions for Nonprofit Social Media Managers
HOW DO I THANK THEE, STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS…

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to feature cute kids.

Visual messages are a great way to engage.  Besides photos, create a thank you illustration, infographic, or word cloud. 

Keep it up
Keep thinking of ways to thank your donors!  You really can’t say thank you enough. 

If your budget allows it, think about sending out cards or creating a video. 

At certain times of the year, like Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving, people expect to receive messages of gratitude, but imagine how surprised your donor might be if they receive something in May or August?

And if you are looking for creative ways to say thank you, maybe these posts will inspire you.

22 Delightful Ways to Say Thank You!
Nine Clever Ways to Thank Your Donors
How are you thanking your donors?

Find Ways To Engage With Your Donors

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, writing

This post was featured in the February 2013 Blog Carnival

Have you heard the dismal news about donor retention?  It doesn’t need to be that way.  One solution to keeping your donors is better engagement.

Try to engage with your donors by email once a week.  If you use social media, you can communicate more often  –  generally once a day on Facebook and a couple of times a day on Twitter.

Quality counts
Whatever you send out, make it donor-centric.  Focus on success stories.  Show how the donor was part of that success.  And always show gratitude. 

Be welcoming
If you are not are already doing this, send a welcome message to your new email subscribers. Personalize it, say thank you, and give a brief summary of what types of information they will receive.

What about my newsletter?
Perhaps you send out an email newsletter once a month or every two weeks, and that’s fine.  While it’s generally recommended that nonprofits communicate with their supporters anywhere between once a week and once a month, I would aim for closer to once a week.

One issue with e-newsletters is that they are too long.  If you are sending out a monthly newsletter, keep it to a few articles.  People have short attention spans.

Testing time
Here is a good opportunity to test.  Measure to see how people respond to short weekly updates as opposed to your longer monthly newsletter.

You can still send out newsletters, and supplement them with short messages in between. 

What should I send out?
Remember to keep your audience in mind.  Also, keep your messages short.  Make them easy to read and scan.  Besides providing updates, here are a few other ways to keep your supporters engaged.

Surveys
Send out short surveys.  You can ask people their opinion on an issue or something else relevant to your work.  Make people feel included.  One nonprofit I know of that sells holiday cards asks folks to vote on their favorite designs.
If people respond well to your short surveys, perhaps you could do one a month.

Here is more information about creating surveys and other ways to get feedback from your supporters. HOW TO GET FEEDBACK FROM YOUR SUPPORTERS

Advocacy alerts
Send out an advocacy alert on a piece of legislation that affects the people you serve.

You’ll have more success if you make it easy to take action.  Provide a sample phone script, letter, or email template.  You could send out an existing advocacy email from another organization, if it’s too hard to create your own.  Be sure to credit that organization.

Another way to engage is to report back results on that legislation.

Say thank you
Why not make a point to send a thank you message to your donors each month.  Share a success story and let them know that you couldn’t have accomplished that without their support.

Always find ways to say thank you.

Invite people to join you on social media
Send an invitation via email to join you on Facebook and Twitter.  But don’t stop there.  Show your supporters what they will get out of it.

Remember that social media is social, so ask questions to engage folks.  Start a conversation.

Here some ways to build a community on Facebook. 7 reasons your nonprofit Facebook page has no fans 

Share photos and videos
Share photos of the people you serve.  Not all email providers display photos, so you’ll want to include a link to link to your website. Facebook is great for sharing photos.

You might not have the capacity to create a video, but if you do, make it high quality and short.  Share videos of the people you serve participating in activities or better yet saying thank you to your donors!

Other ideas include sharing testimonials and quotes.  I favor stories over statistics, but you could share some interesting statistics with a link to a story.  Phrase it, Did you know…..?

Get organized
If you use an editorial calendar, you shouldn’t have a problem coming up with and organizing your content.  Make it cross channel and include email, social media, website, and print.  Figure out what to send out and when.  Here is more information on creating editorial calendars.  Your Most Powerful Social Media Tool for 2013 

Keep measuring how people respond to your messages.  If you are not getting much of a response from your surveys, either do them differently or find another way to engage.

All roads lead to your website
While I’ve been emphasizing email communication, and to a certain extent, social media, often these messages include links to your website.
Keep your entire website up-to-date and engaging.  You never know if your supporters will travel from your web link to another page on your website.

It’s very important for you to communicate with your donors regularly and keep them interested and engaged in your work. 

Let’s hope next year at this time we won’t be reading all these dismal statistics about donor retention.

Your Audience Isn’t Everyone

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, writing

Have you or someone in your organization ever said “We want everyone to know about us.” Everyone, really?  I hate to break it to you, but EVERYONE is not interested in your organization, even though you may be doing great work.

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com points out there is no general public, and when you try to reach out to everyone, you reach out to no one.

In addition, just saying you want people to know about you (e.g. raising awareness) is a vague goal.  You need a call to action, such as donating, volunteering, contacting your legislator, or attending an event. With a clear call to action,you will also raise awareness.

Who is your audience?
Take some time to put together audience profiles or personas.  You can survey or interview your supporters, or just put together a profile to the best of your knowledge.  The more accurate you can make it, the better.

Here is more information on putting together audience personas.
Create Personas to Bridge the Gap with Target Audiences 

How to Develop Donor Personas for Your Nonprofit
Make a point to get to know your audience.  Listen to what they have to say about you.  Social media is a great platform for that.  

Communicating with your audience
Once you figure out who your audience is, visualize yourself communicating with them, or better yet, with one person.  Your messages should meet their needs and interests.

Remember that one size doesn’t fit all. Messages to donors will be different from messages to volunteers.  Come up with content which will persuade that group to take action. Create clear, concise, conversational, and compelling messages.  The 4 Cs of Writing Good Content
Your audience is a great resource
As you plan to find new donors, volunteers, and other supporters, you usually don’t have to look very far.

How many people who subscribe to your mailing list and follow you on social media are donors?   If they aren’t, they are great candidates to become ones.  Much more so than people who don’t know you.

Your volunteers are potential donors and your donors are potential volunteers.

Also, social media makes it easy for supporters to share information such as attending events, volunteering, and even donating with their friends.

You often don’t have to go far to find new supporters.

Track your audience
Of course, you will need to expand your audience and your best bet is people who will be most likely to support your cause.

Keep track of how your audience responds.  Who donated to your annual appeal?  Was it current donors, mailing list subscribers, or event attendees?  Who is more likely to volunteer – seniors, people in faith communities or colleges students?

Keep this in mind as you seek to expand your audience.

Finding an audience through media coverage
Getting media coverage is not as essential for publicity as it was in the past.  Now you can also communicate the same information via your website and social media.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek media coverage.  But plan carefully.  Besides coming up with a newsworthy story, choose publications that will be most likely to publish it and ones that have a similar audience.  Sometimes small and local will bring you better results.

Always remember that your audience isn’t everyone.  The more you know who your audience is and can create messages they will respond to, the more successful you will be.