Is it time to refresh your nonprofit’s email newsletter? We recently shared our seven tips for modern nonprofit email newsletter designs. Today, let’s look at five email newsletter trends that will influence the way your nonprofit’s e-newsletter looks in the future. 1. Movement at the Top We all know the power of video and animated content. It’s everywhere. So why not at the top of your e-newsletter too? Here’s an example from Charity: Water. You can easily make animated gifs from still photos or graphics using tools like Canva or by inserting just a few seconds from a video you are highlight ..read more

We recently presented a new webinar on modern nonprofit email newsletter designs. If you missed it, All-Access Pass holders can watch the recording in our private community. We looked at more than a decade of nonprofit email newsletter designs and compared those to best practices today, which was very eye-opening for many participants. Are you still emailing like it’s 2020, 2017, or even 2012? Here are seven pointers we recommend for any nonprofit considering a newsletter redesign. Based on the number of webinar participants who said they wanted to implement this change, I’m sharing these in ..read more

Ever thought about how we, as communicators, can build deeper, long-lasting relationships with our stakeholders, especially our donors? It’s crucial because donors are emotionally connected to our mission. Plus, it’s more cost-efficient to retain a donor than to find a new one. We should honor their commitment by viewing them as long-term relationships rather than transactional interactions. Having a good grasp on the wants and needs of your donors, can really make a difference in your donor communications. The concept of love languages, popularized by Gary Chapman in his book “The Five Love ..read more

Here at Nonprofit Marketing Guide, we specialize in nonprofit marketing training. We do this in our quest to help you learn your job, love your work, and lead your team. But we know everyone learns differently. Everyone has a different amount of time to devote to professional development. Everyone is at a different level of experience and learning on the job. Some want hard skills training, and others want to talk it out with colleagues before they make decisions at their organizations. That’s why our nonprofit marketing training menu offers so many different styles and topics—and we’ve just ..read more

Knowing who you are talking to in your communications—who your target audience or personas are—is an essential part of any marketing strategy, even a “quick and dirty” one sketched out on a napkin. But it’s hard to build personas customized to your nonprofit if you don’t have solid information on exactly who is on your mailing list. That’s where research into universal and basic human values can help. The Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values is a universal, cross-cultural model that outlines ten broad values that steer human behavior: Universalism Benevolence Tradition Conformity Security P ..read more

Video content is pretty much essential at this point to any communications program. People spend about 18 hours a week watching videos online, and 89% of consumers want to see more videos from brands in 2024. How can you keep up? Make sure you have these 6 video fundamentals for nonprofits down! 6 Key Video Fundamentals 1. A Storyboard Is Vital to Success. A storyboard is a visual representation of how you want your video to play out. Creates the timeline Clarifies beginning, middle, and end Helps you see what you have and what you still need Includes both visuals and audio You can simply s ..read more

Are you looking for a basic template or pattern to follow when creating a nonprofit marketing strategy? When creating your nonprofit marketing strategy, we recommend that you choose from these 12 marketing goals, 12 marketing strategies, 12 marketing objectives, and scores of tactics, including both types of content and the channels through which you’ll distribute that content. If sorting through those choices sounds overwhelming, you can start with what we consider a default or basic plan and then tweak it from there. Let’s tackle this using cards from the Nonprofit Communications Strategic ..read more

Endless revisions? Missed deadlines? Going over budget? Oh my! Making pretty things isn’t always fun and games. These are common issues many of us have faced while producing creative projects for our organizations. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, understanding how to collaborate effectively with graphic designers is number one in elevating your organization’s visual presence. Here are a few tips to make the most of your design partnerships: 1. Get the communication right. Success in design starts with clear communication. By articulating your vision clearly and sh ..read more

How do you create great content as a nonprofit communicator? Or, more specifically, what should you put on your website, in your emails or newsletter, and on social media? You should put content in those places that’s “PUT” — Personal, Useful, and Timely.  This has always been true — we first blogged about PUT as an email newsletter content strategy in 2016. But it is definitely as relevant as ever, especially with more AI-generated content and Google’s interest in highly ranking content that is helpful, reliable, and people-first.  AI can help with the U in PUT: being useful, or he ..read more

Should nonprofits disclose when they incorporate AI (artificial intelligence) into their content creation for communications, marketing, and fundraising?  When is AI a simple tool you don’t disclose, like using spelling and grammar checkers? When is it an original content creator whose “authorship” should be documented? As of today (in May 2024), we at Nonprofit Marketing Guide believe nonprofits should disclose when they use AI to create photographic images by placing a custom watermark on the image. Photographs are powerful ways to communicate about your organization’s needs and soluti ..read more