Relationships are built person-to-person, not person-to-organization. So put your people forward! Pithy, punchy staff bios–with photos–to introduce prospects to your organization at a personal, emotional level, motivating them to dig more deeply into the details of what your nonprofit has to offer or how they can get involved.
Here are some well-tested guidelines for crafting bios that will help audiences connect with your organization: (Read the full article for a more in-depth guide to crafting compelling nonprofit staff bios.) READ MORE
Nancy Schwartz on December 7, 2011 in Writing
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Tags:bio, message development, messaging, Nonprofit Communications, nonprofit marketing, staff members
I’m always grateful to find a point of view that helps me understand more about what works communications-wise, and why. Today I want to thank nonprofit innovator Dan Pallotta for his guidance to Stop Thinking Outside the Box.
If you’re like me, you’re sick to death of the inside the box/outside the box paradigm. It’s become a cliche, so all too easy to ignore. But don’t…Pallotta makes this vital point:
Thinking outside the box without understanding the box is a petulant exercise in resistance — every idea that comes from the process has the box written all over it. It’s a reaction to the box. It’s fighting the box. It’s a child of the box….It will fail.
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Nancy Schwartz on November 29, 2011 in Branding and Messages
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Tags:Dan Pallotta, message development, messaging, nonprofit marketing
With Thanksgiving upon us, all attention turns to gratitude (or at least the recognition that we should be thankful, for something).
I’m grateful to New York Times columnist John Tierney for cutting through the gratitude flotsam:
Cultivating an attitude of gratitude has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior to others, including romantic partners. One study stated that writing just one sentence of five things you are grateful for once a week made people happier and more optimistic than the control group. They also reported fewer physical problems, slept longer at night and were also less aggressive.
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Nancy Schwartz on November 22, 2011 in Strategy
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Tags:message development, messaging, Nonprofit Blog Carnival, Nonprofit Communications, nonprofit marketing, pamela grow
The right messages make all the difference in connecting with your target audiences.
What if you were skilled at the most critical marketing process necessary to engage your target audiences with clarity and purpose?
What if you mastered a proven 11-step message development process so you had a positioning statement, key messages and a sparkling tagline that connected with your supporters and energized your staff, board and volunteers?
And what if you could perform this marketing and communications transformation with expert guidance in just 8 weeks?
Well now you can, starting next Tuesday, November 15. But there’s just one seat left… Learn more here. READ MORE
Nancy Schwartz on November 10, 2011 in Branding and Messages
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Tags:branding, message development, messaging, nonprofit branding, tagline awards, tagline focus project, training
I’d like to invite you to joining me in my new intensive, small group training program on message development, the Tagline Focus Project (TFP).
Just 5 seats left — program starts November 15
You’ll immerse yourself in getting to know your audiences and learning how to craft messages that engage them via small group trainings and one-to-one coaching and critiques—working from the comfort and convenience of your own desk.
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Nancy Schwartz on November 3, 2011 in Branding and Messages
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Tags:Audience Research, message development, messaging, nonprofit branding, Nonprofit Communications, nonprofit marketing, tagline, tagline awards
It takes a team to create great messaging.
As I prepare to begin the Tagline Focus Project (TFP) program on November 15, many of you have gotten in touch with questions. And you’ve reminded me how common it is to feel isolated and overwhelmed by the challenge to create messages that connect for our organizations.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
That’s one of the reasons I’m so looking forward to working with a small group of nonprofit communicators (no more than 12) like you this fall, leading them through this immersion program to learn how to develop messages collaboratively—with me, the other program participants, and their colleagues and external audiences. READ MORE
Nancy Schwartz on October 19, 2011 in Branding and Messages
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Tags:message development, message focus project, messaging, nonprofit communications jobs, nonprofit marketing, tagline, tagline focus project
Call it what you will — integrated, holistic, multi-channel fundraising and marketing — but there’s no variance in my recommendation that you take this approach right now, if you’re not already.
Without multi-channel marketing and fundraising, your target audiences are confused by the inconsistency of what they’re hearing from you via various “channels” (your emails vs. Facebook page vs. in-person events). No one likes to be confused and in many cases, the response is to flee your call to action. This doesn’t mean you have to use every channel. It does mean that when you focus on the channels where your target audiences already are, strive for consistency.
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Nancy Schwartz on October 6, 2011 in Strategy
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2 comments
Tags:marketing planning, message development, messaging, multi-channel nonprofit marketing, planning
Thanks to guest blogger, Kimberlee Roth, one of our team’s valued writers. Kim has written for the Chicago Tribune and The Chronicle of Philanthropy among other publications, and provides writing and editing services to universities, health systems and other nonprofits.
I harbor no ill will toward opening messages. In fact, I believe they can be an important component of a nonprofit’s annual report. When done well–well being the operative word–they provide context for the rest of the publication. They personalize it and make it more immediate, and they help point readers to key information and calls to action.
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Guest Blogger on September 19, 2011 in Annual Reports
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Tags:annual report, fundraising, leadership communications, message development, nonprofit communications jobs, writing
The stresses of the times are dramatically affecting your organization’s relationships, and that’s likely to continue through 2012. But there’s some very good news.
