New Year, New Donors

DonorPerfect 12.13.12

New Year, New Donors

How can creative, direct marketing and technology work to show donors you know and love them?

New Year, New Donors

Flip the Focus

Its about YOU the donor.

• Who did YOU help

• What did YOU make happen

• What can’t be done without YOU

• Why is YOUR gift critical

Look for WE, US and OUR in your copy and change to YOU

Credit: Tom Ahearn

New Year, New Donors

Flip the Focus

Make 2013 the Year of Donor Stories

• Deputize every board member and volunteer as “story-collectors”

• Make it part of everyone’s role to find stories

• Keep an eye on your social sites. Follow up on comments that could turn into stories

• Create an official monthly plan to gather a new story

• ASK! people love to share their story!

New Year, New Donors

Get action not just eyeballs

Gather

Great

Images

New Year, New Donors

Get eye-level and close up

Gather Great Images

New Year, New Donors

Gather Great Images

Make Images Sharable

New Year, New Donors

Gather Great Images

Tie images to you – add your branding on images posted to social sites

New Year, New Donors

Using images to engage:Invite donors, volunteers and participants to post event pictures to photo galleries on Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram.

New Year, New Donors

http://animoto.com/education/case_studies#civilrights

Work your Images

Turn pictures into video

New Year, New Donors

Work your Images

• Turn pictures into mini-marketing

• Share your story online• Re-purpose in print• Add to your annual report• Create an email series• Include in direct mail• Build recognition by using a

consistent stylehttps://www.facebook.com/ThePhiladelphiaFoundation

New Year, New Donors

• Thank you gift• Personalized “brochure”• Event keepsake

Build a Photo-story• Document a capital project• Major donor presentations• Incentive for giving levels

New Year, New Donors

Make it Personal

Respect your List

• Eliminate duplicates

• Check spelling – Cathy is not Kathy

• Note email unsubscribes in your main database

• Add a form to update addresses to your website

• Create a process for getting new contacts into the database

• Segment

New Year, New Donors

Make it Personal

Tactics for personalization

• Cold call vs friend call

• Add personal notes from board members and volunteers

• Variable data — giving history, specific interests

• Friends asking friends

• Volunteer led events

New Year, New Donors

Make it Personal

Tactics for personalization

• Cold call vs friend call

• Add personal notes from board members and volunteers

• Variable data — giving history, specific interests

• Friends asking friends

• Volunteer led events

New Year, New Donors

Opportunities

What is the BEST way to connect with donors?

• Direct Mail• Email

• Website

• Social Media

• Events

OFTEN!

New Year, New Donors

• Test

• To test you need a list – a big list

• To get your own big list:

– Invite people to join

– Research prospects

– Rent lists

If you haven’t tried everything you may not know what could work

New Year, New Donors

How do you test?

• Make only one change at a time

• Provide that option to a portion of your list

• Track the different response

New Year, New Donors

Or try major changes on small projects

• Experiment with different email content and formats

• Consequences of “failure” are low and you will learn things you can apply to “ask” communications

New Year, New Donors

Or try major changes on small projects

• Experiment with different email content and formats

• Consequences of “failure” are low and you will learn things you can apply to “ask” communications

New Year, New Donors

Or try major changes on small projects

• Experiment with different email content and formats

• Consequences of “failure” are low and you will learn things you can apply to “ask” communications

New Year, New Donors

Email Process:

• Monthly story meeting, quarterly visit to take pictures

• Writer develops 2-8 new stories balancing content and keyword optimization

• Stories posted on website in “news” (blog area)

• Content excerpted and linked to create social posts for the month

• Three stories selected to be highlighted in monthly enews that goes to people who have contacted the school for more information

• All stories include links back to site to engage visitors

New Year, New Donors

What Gets In Your Way?

Project Process - Breakdown Ahead

• Design by committee

• Content by volunteers

• Approval by board

Lots of opinions = watered-down message

New Year, New Donors

What Gets In Your Way?

Project Process – tools to guide you

• Communication Plan

• Action Plan

• Creative Brief

• Selected Representatives

Planned Input = feedback stays focused

New Year, New Donors

Communication Plan

New Year, New Donors

Action Plan

Details the purpose, timing and steps required to deliver the communication

New Year, New Donors

Creative Brief

Outlines the direction, style and message

New Year, New Donors

What’s Next?

No One Way Works for Everyone

• Check and double check for more YOU than US

• Be specific and personal

• Keep growing and updating your lists

• Test creative, message and timing

…Until you find the best combinations that connect and balance results with effort

New Year, New Donors

Thank You

Beth S. Brodovsky, PresidentIris Creative | Communications Build Community610-567-2799

Connect at:beth@iriscreative.com

www.iriscreative.com

www.linkedin.com/in/bethbrodovsky

www.twitter.com/bethbrodovsky

www.facebook.com/iriscreative