Communicate!

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Nonprofits, Who (and What) Are You Blogging For?

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Our Executive Director wants us to start writing all our nonprofit’s blog posts in her voice, and address them all to our donors. Do you think this is a good idea?

That’s the question Sarah asked when she attended my webinar on Blogging for Change, part of the course “Your Donor Engagement System” that Pamela Grow and I taught together.

Here’s how I answered her:

Sarah, you’ve actually asked two questions.

One: Should you write in one person’s voice?

Probably, yes. Your readers will feel like they’re getting to know the Executive Director personally, and that will certainly make them feel closer to the organization.

But note: They’ll only feel that way if the writing is actually personal. Just signing the blog with your ED’s name and saying “I” instead of “we” won’t make any difference. You’ll need to put some of your ED’s personality into it: write in her style, tell stories from her point of view. That will take practice.

So, tell your ED you will need to spend more time together on each blog entry if you’re truly going to write in her voice. As you get more practiced at it, you will be able to do more of it on your own–but take the time right now to get it right.

All this is assuming your ED is a good spokesperson for your organization…and that she is not planning on leaving any time soon!

Two: Should you write your blogs to your donors?

It depends.

What’s the purpose of your blog? Have you made a strategic decision that you’re blogging to build stronger relationships with people who already support the organization? If so, I applaud you: nonprofits don’t spend enough time retaining the donors we already have!

But maybe your blog is supposed to serve a different purpose. Maybe you are trying to burnish your reputation with your funders (government agencies or foundations). Maybe your blog is a vehicle for sharing important information with your clients, or a megaphone for mobilizing advocates working on the same cause.

Have you decided what your blog is for? Do that, and then it will become clear who your audience should be. Click To Tweet

How would you answer Sarah’s questions? What would you add?

Are You Talking to ME, Nonprofit?

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Communications strategy begins with a simple question.  Before you write–before you start talking–before you post, tweet, blog or pin, ask yourself:

“Who are my audiences?”

Find your specific audience!

Don’t talk to the crowd. Find your specific audience!

I do mean “audiences,” plural.  At different times, you may want to get the attention of any of the following groups:

  • Members
  • Clients
  • Donors
  • Prospects
  • Elected officials
  • Regulators
  • Board members
  • Volunteers
  • People in a certain age group
  • People who participate in a certain activity
  • Residents of a certain neighborhood

You have different relationships with each of these groups, so it’s crucial to identify who you’re talking to at the time.

Different Voice for Different Audience

Would you talk with your mom the same way you talk with your boss?  Unlikely–unless you want Mom to feel hurt, or your boss to feel confused.

Then why would you talk to Board members who have sweated for your organization for years the same way that you speak to people who might just give you their first donation if you give them a good reason why?  You wouldn’t, I hope!

Figure out the specific audience or audiences you are trying to reach before you figure out what you are going to say.

When You’re Talking AND When You’re Writing

Speaking to a specific audience is just as important when you’re “speaking” in print, or in email, or on the internet.

It won’t work to say, “I’m just going to write to the general public.” There is no such thing! If you aim at everybody, there’s a good chance you’re going to reach nobody. Speak to one audience at a time. The others can listen in.

You want to do the detective work to understand as much as possible about the people who are interested in your nonprofit. Especially, you want to know what hurts them and spurs them to act.

And when you’re sending out appeal letters–as so many nonprofits are doing this time of year–look at your donor personas and write to a specific audience. (And call them what they want to be called.)

 

Nonprofit Marketing: Communications with a Purpose!

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Marketing.  It sounds so commercial, doesn’t it?  But don’t be put off by the term.  Your nonprofit organization can steal marketing secrets and use them for a good cause.

What is nonprofit marketing?

Marketing  is business-speak for “communications with a purpose.”

purpose

Communicate with a purpose!

Your purpose may be to improve public health, enhance democracy, end hunger or homelessness, or enhance people’s lives through the arts.

Whatever it is, if you tailor your communications to a purpose, you’re doing marketing–and you can look for ways to do it better.

What is your nonprofit marketing strategy?

Strategy means keeping your purpose in mind and letting it direct your activities and the way you use your time.  It means knowing how you will approach your goal and not making it all up on the fly.

So what is marketing strategy? For businesses, the term means:

An organization’s strategy that combines all of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business.

How do we say that in nonprofit?

  • Market research for nonprofits is whatever you use to get to know and love your audience. Depending on your organization. your research could be hiring an outside professional to conduct surveys and focus groups–or going through your files and asking your staff and Board members what they know.
  • Product mix is the services and benefits you offer.  When you know and love your audience, you figure out what they need.
  • Instead of profit, you aim to maximize good outcomes for the people you serve.  You can only do that if they know about your services and use them.
  • But you still need to sustain the business.  And unlike a for-profit business, you can’t count on the people who use your services to pay for them.  So, “sustaining the business” means raising funds from donors, foundations, corporations, and government, or through events or sales, to pay for what you really are “in business” to do: your mission.

Let’s put it all together.

When you develop a marketing strategy, you are making a commitment.

You are promising that everyone inside your organization will know whom you are trying to serve, what will help them, how you are providing that help, and what difference it makes.

The people who use your services and the people and institutions that pay for them will know that too.  All your communications will help you convey that message, and your programs will help you make it reality.

Make that commitment and keep to it.  That’s how you say “marketing” in nonprofit.

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