Digital Marketing Therapy

Email is a big part of your year end giving campaign. But what do you actually put in those emails? This episode gives you a glimpse into what to put in them to get more people to engage and donation to your organization.

What you'll learn:

→ importance of storytelling.
→ how to make impact levels that convert.
→ where to start with your emails
→ planning and scheduling to save yourself time.
→ establishing a clear call-to-action (CTA).
→ power of the P.S.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[3:08] Get specific on your storytelling.Make sure you are connecting on a personal level with your audience. Stories connect more than stats. Tie direct impact to dollar amounts.
[5:46] Start with your longest email first.That way you can break down that email into smaller sections for social media and shorter emails.
[14:42] Make it easy for people to donate.Ensure there are several places that people can click to get to your donation page. You a combination of buttons and text that is hyperlinked.
[17:33] Send from a person and focus on subject lines.If people don't open your email then they can't see the greatness inside. Send it from your Executive Director or Development Director and make sure the subject lines are interesting.

Resources

Digital Marketing Therapy Sessions

Community is something that is critical when it comes to returning donors. When they feel connected to you they are more likely to come back for more. So how do you build that community? There are many different ways you can create the feel of community – no matter what the size of the organization is. Also – regardless of if you are building a virtual or in person.

What you'll learn:

→ being social on social media.
→ what we can learn from Swifties.
→ creating personal connections.
→ how to engage with different generations.
→ why community makes it easier to fundraise.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[5:30] A Facebook group is a great way to build a virtual community.You'll be able to communicate and share what's going on as well as allow people to connect with each other over their common love for your cause.
[6:49] Community doesn't look like any one thing.Looking to Taylor Swift for inspiration, you can see how even at a large scale, you can still build a tight knit community. Each person engages in their own way but once you get them all in the same stadium they all share the same experience.
[9:29] Think about your communication as one-on-one, even if it isn't.When writing your communications, pretend you're writing it to one person. That will ensure that it feels special and more personal.
[16:36] Different generations engage differently, just like different platforms lend themselves to community differently.It's about meeting people where they are and utilizing the platforms as they're intended. Setting goals for your growth based off how platforms work makes a big difference.
[26:13] When you build a real connection they show up when you ask.It makes it easier for you to make that year end ask because they know who you are and the impact you've been creating for the past year. Consistency matters!

Resources

Digital Marketing Therapy sessions

Paul Gowder

Owner and Founder, PowWows.com

Paul Gowder is the owner and founder of PowWows.com which has been the leading online community celebrating Native American arts and culture for the past 25 years. Paul’s techniques and skills have enabled him to build one of the largest and most engaged online communities in the World. Paul helps other entrepreneurs navigate the successes and pitfalls of building an online business through his public speaking and consulting services. Learn more about Paul by visiting PaulGowder.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours

Year end giving is a stressful. Getting as much done as early as possible is going to make it easier to reach your goals. This episode will give you some resources for putting your campaign together. You'll know what to put together based off of the goals you have for your campaign.

What you'll learn:

→ creating your impact statements.
→ using data to determine what materials go to what list.
→ what communications you'll want to create.
→ building a new donation page.
→ scheduling as much as you can.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[3:15] Create a clear and concise impact statement.Focus on one area of your impact that you really want to share. Be clear and concise so people can really understand what their donation will do. Customize this impact for your major donors, returning donors, and new donors so it resonantes with them.
[6:10] Create your lists so you know what buckets you're sending communications to.Knowing who those people are will help you determine the buckets for where the funds are coming from as well as what materials you'll need to create.
[7:28] Create a combination of offline and online communications.Materials will include direct mail pieces, email communication, social media posts, promo kits, phone calls, and more. You'll then tailor those communications to the different audiences you've identified.
[14:07] Create a landing page with your year end giving information.This should include the language that matches with the rest of your giving campaign. Include a donation form and replace your main donation page links with this landing page when your campaign kicks off.

Resources

Digital Marketing Therapy Sessions
EP 207 | Donation Page Layout and Features
EP 208 | Designing Your Donation Page For Conversions with Eric Ressler
EP 209 | Data Driven Donation Page Best Practices with Matt Bitzegaio
EP 210 | Keeping More of Your Donations with Jen Nielesky

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours

Copywriting tools can help you with the confidence to hit publish on all the incredible content you're creating. Especially if you have a small team! Using these tools can help you streamline your process and ensure it stays within you voice and style.

What you'll learn:

→ tools for editing.
→ AI tools.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[3:50] Grammarly.This tool is great for editing your content. You can even download a Chrome plugin so that you get the edits in whatever page you in, your email software, website, social media, etc.
[5:38] Hemingway App.This app gives you tips as it relates to readability. If you're thinking about how people can scroll your content and get the most out of it then this is the best app to use.
[7:47] AI can help you with repurposing your content.Once you have your content written, AI is great to help you with creating social media posts, email subject lines, or even to tweak headlines or titles for the post. Find the platform that you like and use so you can figure out how to use it best.
[11:40] If you need help writing long form content, try Content at Scale.This platform is more than an AI generator because it pulls posts from keywords, YouTube videos, podcast episodes and more. It also gives you all sorts of SEO feedback. Check out the blog on H & E Marketing Solutions to see it in action.

Resources

[quiz] Should You DIY Your Website?
EP 221 | Creating a Language Guide
Grammarly
ChatGPT
Canva
ClickUp*
Answer the Public
Content At Scale*

*This is an affiliate link. Should you purchase we may receive a commission. We are only affiliates of products or services that we use ourselves.

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours

Being known for something is what allows you get a faster path to donations. It makes it clear to people what you do and how you serve. And it builds trust with potential donors because it is clear where the funds will go. While you do lots of things in your organization, be clear in your messaging about the big picture goal of what you do.

What you'll learn:

→ power of storytelling.
→ figuring out your tone.
→ choosing clarity.
→ better understanding clickbait.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[5:47] Content connects better when there is storytelling involved.This works across industry but especially when it comes to more technical or academic areas of support. People remember stories.
[10:23] Create you brand voice.Understand how you want to sound and the tone of your brand. Do some research to understand how your competitors sound. Take into consideration your ideal audience. Put it all down in a language guide so you can stay consistent. At the end of the day – be authentically you. Do no feel the need to replicate another brand. It's also important to remove jargon and speak in a way that people who don't know what you do can still understand impact.
[20:00] Clarity is the most important thing.You can get cutesy with your language but. notat the expense of it being super clear for people to understand. It always needs to go back to your brand voice. Clarity also comes with a call-to-action that makes a clear next step.
[24:58] Don't use clickbait unless it's genuine and takes people somewhere authentic.Yes we want people to click the link, and a great headline is. away to do that. If you don't send them somewhere they expect to go then you'll get people to bounce from your website, lose trust, and hurt your search engine rankings.

Resources

Digital Marketing Therapy Sessions

Alison Ver Halen

Founder, AV Writing Services

Alison Ver Halen majored in English and Psychology without realizing she was getting the perfect degree for content marketing. It wasn't until a few years after she graduated, when a family friend asked her to write blog posts for his law firm, that she realized she could make money doing what she loves. Fast forward to today and Alison is still writing blog posts, as well as website landing pages and emails, but also integrates SEO and marketing strategy into the content she writes to give her clients their best chance of attracting, engaging, and converting their ideal clients. Learn more:https://avwritingservices.com/

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours

Being known for something is what allows you get a faster path to donations. It makes it clear to people what you do and how you serve. And it builds trust with potential donors because it is clear where the funds will go. While you do lots of things in your organization, be clear in your messaging about the big picture goal of what you do.

What you'll learn:

→ what it means to be a challenger brand.
→ why it's important to listen to what the market is telling you.
→ sharing impact to drive emotion.
→ ways to keep things simple.
→ when it's time to expand.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[4:45] Challenger brands are organizations that are going up against industry gorillas.This means you have to be even more laser focused on what you do in order to cut through the noise. The messaging and way you share what your organization does needs to beclear and concise.
[10:33] Listen to what the market is telling you.Talk to people! Phone calls are best because you typically get more honest responses from people. Ask open ended questions and really get their feedback and thoughts. They will be honored you're asking their opinion and will give you honest responses.
[19:02] Keep your fundraisers simple.While your organization might do a lot of things, keep your messaging clean and simple. Build tradition around your events and be known for something. It develops over time and will help with consistency in fundraising.
[26:04] When you build slowly over time you'll naturally know when it's time to expand, AND have the financial stability to do so.Serving more people before you can financially support it is where organizations get in trouble. Take your time and build your base of raving fans. It starts with consistency.

Resources

VIP Days
Challenger Brand Marketing

Craig Alexander
President, Gumas

Craig Alexander is the President of Gumas an award-winning, full-service
San Francisco advertising agency and the country’s foremost authority on Challenger Brand Marketing®. His intimate understanding of what it takes to succeed with Challenger Brand Marketing has made him an esteemed leader in his field. Craig always strives to create memorable, relevant, and motivating campaigns that are designed to evoke emotion or inspire people to take action. He has been praised by his clients for his expertise and passion for his work. Learn more:https://gumas.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours

A language guide is a part of your branding materials that helps ensure your entire organization is speaking the same way and your copy is consistent. Putting together a word doc that allows you to keep the terms and phrases you us as well as your ideal customer makes it faster and easier to get things done.

Learn what can go in your language guide and tips for putting it together in this episode.

What you'll learn:

→ what is a language guide?
→ how it helps make things easier.
→ video is crucial.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

[0:11] A language guide is part of your branding toolkit.It provides clarity and consistency as you communicate with the public. Building it takes time but will make things so much easier as you engage volunteers or other team members to write for your organization.
[3:50] Things to include.Vision and mission statement. Words to use, and not to use. Taglines that you can reference quickly. Ideal donor avatars. Testimonials. The tone you want to use

Resources

Digital Marketing Therapy 1:1 Sessions

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours