Category Archives: Social Media & the Web

3 Lessons from my first Kickstarter Campaign

Posted on October 4, 2011 | 10 Comments

Late last month the rest of the Mach 30 board and I launched our first Kickstarter campaign.

Since the goal of the campaign is  to create a SourceForge for Open Source Hardware and I don’t expect there are a ton of open source hardware folks hanging out here* I’m going to skip the “give us money part.”

On the other hand, almost all of you are interested in how to fund the work that drives you, so I’ll focus on the three big lessons we learned from our first attempt at a Kickstarter campaign–as well as a bonus lesson that applies to successful projects of all kinds. Continue reading →

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Posted in Adventures in Fundraising, fundraising, Social Media & the Web

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An Affiliate Marketing Lesson for Nonprofts: Make New Friends and Keep the Old

Posted on May 11, 2011 | 2 Comments
No-spam

No matter how noble your cause, SPAM is not the answer

If you’ve hung out here for a while, you know how I feel about e-mailing people without getting permission. (It’s bad.) I bet you can also guess how I feel about buying, renting and even trading mailing lists from other organizations. (it’s really bad).

I do, however, get why nonprofits do it.  Buying, renting, or trading mailing lists is fast, easy, affordable and (sometimes) effective, but the short-term gains lead to unpleasant consequences in the long-term.

One of your organization’s most valuable assets  is the relationships you’ve built with your donors.  They know you, they trust you and they have enough faith in you to support you financially.  Every time you sell or trade their contact information you erode that trust. Continue reading →

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Posted in fundraising, Social Media & the Web

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Open Letter from a Potential Donor

Posted on May 3, 2011 | 11 Comments

One of my friends posted this to Facebook last week:

Dear Various Charities, Do not send us mail more than once a year if at all. Do not include stickers, address labels, a penny, a miniature plastic crutch (WTF?), etc. You are wasting resources, even if donated to you by businesses that will write of their efforts. Furthermore: Do not put pictures of abused people and children on the envelopes. I have a stomach for removing fly eggs from a baby animal's eyes, but that doesn't mean I wish to stomach grotesques as I sift through each day's mail. One time offer: the first charity to send me one letter making it's plea and promising to never contact me again will win a monthly withdrawal (though small) from my bank account to last until your cause is solved, you are proved a fraud, or I die.

When I read it, two parts of my personality had a little fight about what it meant. Continue reading →

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Posted in fundraising, Social Media & the Web

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Social Media Success Series: 7 Tips for Creating Viral Content

Posted on April 27, 2011 | 6 Comments
154 Blue Chrome Rain Social Media Icons

Image by webtreats via Flickr

This post is part of a series.  Catch up on other secrets to social media success here.

It’s ok to admit it–we’ve all been there.  At one time or another almost every organization’s social media strategy  basically boiled down to “we’ll make a video that goes viral and then everyone will know and love us.”

As many of us have learned the hard way, setting out to create a single video that goes viral and solves all of our marketing and fundraising challenges doesn’t count as a social media strategy–it counts as a pipe dream.  That having been said, creating the right content and sharing it in the right way can help you build a support base.  These seven tips will help you get started. Continue reading →

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Posted in Social Media & the Web, Social Media Success

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Social Media Success Series: Take Advantage of Selfishness

Posted on April 13, 2011 | 3 Comments
How we all secretly feel we ought to be treated

How we all secretly feel we ought to be treated

This post is part of a series.  Catch up on other secrets to social media success here.

People are selfish.

Even the amazingly generous people who give their time and treasure to help support your cause are fundamentally selfish.

You and I?  Absolutely selfish.

Ironically, this constant in human nature can actually help you and your organization attract more attention online and ultimately create more good in the world–you just have to know how to harness it. Continue reading →

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Posted in Social Media Success

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