Marketing with Purpose

My special expert guest, Bruce bishop, is a professional drone videographer and owner of Big Muddy Motion. The suggestions he's going to share with you will apply to any type of video excursion, even if you're just shooting video with your iphone. Because remember folks - we all start where we are. You may not be able to have a professional videographer right now but that doesn't mean you don't ne...

Building an events section can seem intimidating and well, it is and it isn’t. It’s not life or death, but if you get it wrong, small children may cry. (I’ll honor you with that story later.) Anyway- If you are revamping your event section, you don't like how it works right now, or you're updating your whole website, you’re in the right place.  Because I’m going to dissect it for you today. For a...

You used to be able to pop up a photo and a few words and you were good to go. Now social media is becoming a more integrated part of sales and marketing, forcing a good social media manager to wear a variety of hats. So, which traits are the most important ones for a good social media manager to have?  Sit down - I'll tell you! For a fully-formtted article version of this episode, head over to ou...

When I first started my business, I began as a designer/developer and it never occurred to me that I would have to sell anything until a year later when my business partner left. I was not comfortable talking about money. It made me feel yucky.  I hear those same words from nonprofit volunteers, executive directors and development professionals. So I was really excited when Danielle Locke of Lock...

Google Ads Grants are not magic but they are still pretty stinking awesome. For those who don't already know what a Google Ad Grant is, this is your lucky day. I’m here with Grant Hensel, CEO of Nonprofit Megaphone, who is going to tell you all about what a Google Grant is (yes, Grant is here to talk about grants… the irony is not lost on me). He also explains who is a good candidate for a Google...

Dang, I wish everyone had Google Analytics installed on their websites; it lets you see how people are using your site - for free. I install it on every site we build. Clients get reports. I’m filled with joy by sharing all this amazing data and you know what they say to me? “That’s pretty Monica, but I have no clue what any of it means.” So that, my friends, is what I’m unearthing today - how to...

I was so excited when Annette with PedNet Coalition agreed to tell me all her secrets to success for their continually successful annual year end giving campaign. What I didn't know is how much I was going to learn about so many things beyond just how they plan and promote their year end giving. She also shared how they switched to a paid membership and rolled that into their year end campaign, as...

RJ Huebert runs 5K’s.  But strapping on his running shoes is just part of his gig… he started his 5K races as a money making venture and now manages 3 race brands that bring in over a thousand participants every year. With so many 5K fundraisers out there I wanted his opinion on how you could set your 5K apart from others and leverage it to raise more money for your organization. So I asked and he...

I won’t say the homepage is the most important page on a nonprofit’s website. I think it jockeys for importance with the Donate page, because that darn thing is pretty prime.  The home page is, however, almost always the most visited and viewed page on a website.  It often ranks for more terms. It's usually shown more in search results. The only exception is a website with an active and well-traff...

Join me and special expert guest Julia Campbell, speaker, nonprofit consultant and author of Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as we talk about how you can turn Instagram into one of the more powerful tools in your social media arsenal. For a fully-formatted article version of this episode, head over to our website:  https://mayecreate.com/podcast/building-your-instagram-aud...

Website scams are actually quite common.  We were in our weekly meeting this morning and realized that more than one of us had clients who were dealing with fraudulent claims last week so we thought now would be as good of time as any to educate our listeners about common spam schemes and how to steer clear of them. For a fully-formatted article version of this episode, head over to our website: ...

Building a website is like  building a house; You draw up plans and review them before you ever start building--because it’s a lot easier to move the kitchen on paper than it is once the house is built! But not everyone is an experienced architect. So, for those of you who are building your first website, or are thinking about redoing what you have, here's the Nonprofit Website Checklist... so you...

We can all learn a thing or two from people with autism and their families. Each person sees the world differently. And by experiencing it from another's point of view you can better communicate and serve others. In celebration of Autism Awareness Month, I talk with Myles Hinkel and Katie Lentz of  The Thompson Foundation for Autism about how they help people with autism and their families to adap...

In our Website Planning series, we geek out over each aspect of a nonprofit websites. In this first episode we tackle the  10 crucial questions you need to ask when planning on  building a new website! For a fully-formatted article version of this episode, head over to our website:  https://mayecreate.com/blog/10-questions-to-ask-when-building-a-new-website-website-planning-series-part-1/

This article is not one of those “what you should be posting about on social media” bits.   I am going to explain how I use social media as a business owner, a salesperson, and as a representative of my company to connect with people in a similar way to how I would be connecting with people at a fundraising event.   For a fully-formatted article version of this episode, head over to our website: ...

Are the tools you're using to fundraise for your organization actually helping or just holding you back? I interview Sara Mayer of Sara Mayer Consulting about how to patch the tools holding your organization together with duct tape and swap them out for the types of systems you need to boost productivity and make fundraising easier. For a fully-formatted article version of this episode, head over...

About a year and a half ago the Missouri United Methodist Foundation (MUMF) began hosting educational webinars to deepen their relationship with their audience. Today it's still going strong and growing.  I interview David Atkins and Laura Murphy to learn how they do it and how it's working. For a fully-formatted article version of this episode, head over to our website:  https://mayecreate.com/bl...

In aerial, you can learn one technique, one move, one principle, and use it to create much more complicated, unique, and interesting moves, without having to learn anything new. One technique can produce endless variations. We marketers often feel the pressure to work harder and keep doing new things in order to meet people. I’m here to tell you - You don’t have to do that. You can recycle your ex...

If you have a blog, you know how much time you invest and that it can be a lot of work. You probably also know that if you're going to put that much work into something, it is absolutely imperative you know whether or not it's working. The last thing you want to do is pour hours and hours into making a blog you feel is going to connect with people, and then it just falls flat. I go full data ninja...

Join me as I dig in and debrief the awesomeness and lessons learned from CoMoGives 2020, our community's $1.6M year-end online giving campaign with John Baker, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Central Missouri and Erika Payne, MayeCreate Project Manager. For a fully-formatted article version of this podcast, head over to our website:  https://mayecreate.com/blog/1-6m-online-giving...

When I get the chance to talk to Peggy I have to check my impulse to write down every word she says. Like, if she had a fan club, I’d join it. (That’s not creepy at all right?) But if you need a straight answer about nonprofit anything Peggy has it. So when I asked, “how can you tell what donors need to know?” She rattled off three things likity split. Which makes sense because she has over 38 yea...

Marketing is all about communication.  Communicating with your audience and communicating with your team.  One of my favorite tools to understand personal and audience behavioral and communication styles is DISC.   When we hit a bumpy spot with a client or team member we go right to DISC. The results are incredible. Heck, my husband and I agree we're still married because we did DISC training when...

3 Reasons Why You Need to Know Why Your Donors Donate Cliff Notes You can’t be effective unless you know why people give (their motivations) Learn the motivations of your current donors by actually talking to them and asking them why they give to your organization You can use what you learn to hone in what’s most attractive in your mission for future asks - Whether through direct mail, thank you l...

If your board is feeling a bit resistant to putting together a marketing calendar, then this is the story to share! Giving campaigns and ongoing marketing can feel hectic at the best of times. Then add in the holiday season and you have a recipe for total overwhelm.   Loretta saw the warning signs and took matters into her own hands, encouraging her board to participate in a pre-planned marketing...

City of Refuge was one of the highest earning nonprofits who participated in the 2020 CoMoGives campaign.  But $48,615 in donations didn’t happen by accident!  How did they do it?  Garrett and Andrea will explain the careful planning that lead to a huge day 1 and overall amazing end of year fundraising campaign for their organization. For a fully-formatted article version of this podcast, head ove...