Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

What a Toddler Taught Me about Communicating

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My nineteen-month-old niece was crying as if her heart would break.

toddlers communicate

What is she saying now?

Her heart was fine, actually.  It was her grandfather’s heart that was cracked open for a triple bypass, in a hospital an hour away.  So her mother had gone to the hospital, and I was spending the day taking care of her.  Alone.

“Honey, what do you want?” I pleaded with her.  And I thought, “If only she could tell me what she’s thinking.”

But she could.  She did tell me.  And your audience is telling you too.  Look and listen to what they do online, and you will find out what they want.

How does a toddler tell you what she wants?

Pointing.  My niece knows the milk is in the refrigerator, the bananas are on the table, and the TV remote is on the couch.  If she points at the table, you know she wants to eat a banana.  If she hands you the remote, it’s time for Bubble Guppies or Sesame Street.

Your audience knows where to find what they want online.  If they’re visiting your website or social media pages often, there’s something there they want.  So, find out where they’re pointing!  The pages, posts, or tweets they visit will tell you what will keep them coming back again and again.

Making happy noises.  My niece laughs, squeals, and talks excitedly in full sentences in a language I don’t understand when something makes her happy.

Your audience likes, shares, retweets, or recommends the content they like the best.  So, listen to their communications with other people to find out what kind of content will keep them gurgling with delight.

Keeping to a routine.  My niece gets up around the same time each day.  Five hours later, it’s time for her nap.  If it’s around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon and she’s rubbing her eyes, I know it’s time to take her to her crib.

Your audience is online at certain times more than others.  Find out their pattern and you’ll know when to post.  They like reading more serious articles at certain hours and they go for distraction at other hours.  Keep track of that and you”ll know what content you should post when.

Listening to You

Oh, my brother-in-law is fine.  Thanks for asking!  And my niece is now three years old, and still adorable (as is her baby brother).

So on this blog, I’m listening to you as intently as I listened to my niece. When most of you readers are online,  in the before-work, after-lunch, and early-evening hours, that’s when I’m posting. And I hope this story made you as happy as a child.

What else would you like to see on this blog?  You could let me keep figuring it out.  If I can do that with a toddler, I can do it with anybody!  But if you’re a grown-up and know how to “use your words,” write me and let me know what you want.

Thanks for reading!

An Open Letter to Nonprofits from Your Donor

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Dear nonprofit, Can we talk?

Thanks for the amazing work you do. I mean it. And you know I mean it–because I sent you a donation. But maybe I made a mistake.

I’ve been giving to you for years, always at the same time of year. You send me a thank-you note whenever you get around to it…if at all. Sometimes the thank-you note arrives after the next time you ask for money. (Tacky, my friends, tacky.)

Between my gifts, you send me newsletters that do nothing but pat yourself on the back. I don’t want to know how great you are, even if you can prove it with statistics. I want to know what difference it makes to the cause I care about when I give. You’re not telling me that.

You asked me to follow you on Facebook. I did. But all I see there is the exact same articles you included in your newsletter, in the exact same format. I know that’s easier for you, but it does nothing for me.

Let me tell you a secret: I have a little list. It’s the list of organizations I give to every year. You’re on that list because of the work you do–but there are other groups that do equally good work. I can’t give to all of them, and with the way you treat me, I wonder if I should drop you and add one of them to the list instead.

Now, here’s another secret: you could get me to keep you on the list and maybe even give to you more than once a year. But you’d have to change your ways.  How?

Thank me early and often. Write personally to me and tell me a story I haven’t heard yet that will convince me I gave to the right group.

Write newsletters I’ll want to read. If it’s only in there to make the Executive Director look good or the Board feel good, leave it out! Help me understand the real-world problems that my donation empowered you to solve.

Be social on social media. Don’t just post: ask questions and invite me to answer them. Reply to my answers. Comment on my posts. Let’s have a conversation, and it’s on you to inform me, entertain me, and make me glad I talked with you.

That sounds like a lot of work? Well, I’m worth it.  I and all the other donors who feel the same way.  We’re on your list…but make your communications as impressive as the program work you do if you want to stay on our list this year.

Sincerely,

Dennis

 

 

 

20 Ways to Thank Your Donors Throughout the Year

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thanksgivingIf you’re a nonprofit, every day is Thanksgiving…or should be.

Yes, I know it’s been months since your last appeal.  You sent a thank-you letter to each donor back then.  (In fact, maybe you sent the ideal thank-you letter.)  But have you been ignoring them since then?

You neglect donors at your peril.  Donors notice when and how often you’re in touch.  If they say, “That organization only writes me when they want money!”, how likely are they to respond the next time?

Have you heard the rule that you should thank a donor seven times before asking him or her for money again?  Maybe you wondered how in the world you’re supposed to do that.  How many ways can you say thank you?

Here are 20 creative ideas for showing your gratitude, courtesy of our friends at Lifehack.

  1. Make a gift bag. It doesn’t have to be expensive–just personal.
  2. Give a toast. You don’t need a special event–you could do this over lunch. Make a video and send it to the donor.  Picture the smile when they see it!
  3. Write a poem. Say why they deserve your thanks.
  4. Send them custom gift labels.
  5. Give a gift card. (Get the gift card donated, too.)
  6. Send a hand-written letter.
  7. Use social media to give thanks in public.
  8. Make your own digital greeting card.
  9. Make a Youtube video.
  10. Bake cookies.
  11. Make surprise gifts for guests at your events.
  12. Put together a flower basket.
  13. Take a picture. Again, it doesn’t have to be professional, just unique.  The camera on your phone can capture priceless moments!
  14. Pay it forward.  Show them you care about what they care about too.
  15. Do something special for them.
  16. Help them when they’re the ones who need help.
  17. Be there for them.
  18. Listen to them.
  19. Say it another language…especially if they speak it.
  20. Show them some #donorlove, without being asked.

You can’t do all twenty for all your donors. Fine.  But which ones can you do?  Make a plan to say thank you to as many of your donors as you can, each month.  When annual appeal time comes around again, they’ll think of you as a friend.

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