mandy
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mandy
It Pays to “Put On a Good Face”
Carl Sagan was not alone in hypothesizing that human beings are “hard-wired” from birth to identify the human face–even when it isn’t there. In the photo to the right do you see the profile of a giant bearded man, with his eyes closed, just sort of floating in between the couple? Or, do you see that […]
Continue readingWhat you can learn from Buzzfeed, Viral Nova, Upworthy and Wimp about writing clickable headlines
What doesn’t get clicked, doesn’t work. It’s that simple. You write emails, Facebook posts, blog posts, and articles to inspire a donation, a registration, a petition signature, a volunteer or a profound feeling of appreciation. If your headline or subject line fails you lose. Click-baiting is when you write an overly emotional or hyperbolic headline […]
Continue readingHow to Boost Your Search Engine Ranking Without Spending a Dime
Thinking about your year-end fundraising campaign yet? You might want to start. Growing your house file is big deal to every nonprofit (and business) today. When you build your leads and prospects today you’ll have time in the next several months to convert them and fundraise from them at the oh-so-important end of year. Get started […]
Continue reading2 quick tips for getting new leads from Facebook
Have you been trying Facebook Ads with mixed results? We’re fans of using Facebook ads to acquire qualified new leads. Especially if you have a limited ad budget. But how? We’re developing a coaching course on building a systematic lead funnel, until it’s available, I wanted to share a few tips that might improve your […]
Continue readingYou Built It. They Didn’t Come. We Can Fix That.
The nation’s premiere peer-to-peer fundraisers met this week in Atlanta at the annual Peer to Peer Professional Forum. I co-presented on the topic of participant recruitment, “You Built It. They Didn’t Come. We Can Fix That” where we rated and reviewed the top 20 participant recruitment tools ranging from direct mail (which is declining in […]
Continue readingHow not to be frustrated with Facebook
Tiffany just posted this last night. Ever feel like Tiffany? Is your Facebook Reach and engagement way down? Do you have that sinking feel that Facebook pulled a bait and switch to force you to pay just to reach your own fans? Worn out from trying to keep up with all of Facebook’s drama? This […]
Continue readingShare Your Story: Here’s The Best Way
You don’t want to come across as cheesy, salesy or worse, self-promotional. I get that. Why Stories Fail However, one of the biggest reasons stories fail is that they aren’t shared or promoted enough. I want you to share your stories more frequently and I’ll show you how it’s done so your reader actually values […]
Continue readingThe one sentence that will change your storytelling forever
“All story is manipulation. Is there acceptable manipulation? You bet. People say, ‘Oh boy, I was moved to tears in your film.’ That’s a good thing. I manipulated that. That’s part of storytelling. I didn’t do it disgenuinely. I did it sincerely, I am moved by that [story] too. That’s manipulation.” – Ken Burns, Director […]
Continue readingHere’s how to find good stories
You need stories to build your story-bank. Here’s how. Find stories internally Host a “mission moment” in every meeting you hold (staff meeting, coaching session, board meeting, volunteer meeting) Cap the sharing to five minutes to keep your meeting from being cannibalized by storytelling Use Ask the Right Questions template to tease the right detail […]
Continue readingQuick Reference: Story Builder Template
Short and sweet. Good storytelling is a true art form–and sometimes complex. Every nonprofit needs a story-bank. A bank of three to six “go to” stories that makes your reader connect to and feel your mission. Your founders story may be compelling, but don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the only story you need. It’s […]
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