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Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.
Market to Mobiles
As Holly said, smart phone usage grew 80% between June 2007 and June 2008. The monetary figures are even more impressive: $1.9 billion dollars will be spent on mobile marketing
in 2009. That's a lot of cheddar! And if folks are spending that much
money on something, there's probably something to it. (Okay, there are exceptions.)
We're certainly not going to ditch our mobiles, so how can nonprofits get in on the mobile marketing action? First, you need to understand what it is and what it isn't. Then you need to build your list. (Just remember, you NEED people to opt-in before you text them.)
Not to be snarky -- well, okay, maybe a little -- but that's pretty much it. You can glean some tips on how to craft your mobile message
from the restaurant professionals, who've been in the game for awhile
now. You can also find some great information and resources at MobileActive.org and Mobile Commons. Oh, and we'd be pretty poor e-mail marketers if we didn't mention our upcoming webinar, "Mobile Giving Works, Learn How".
Steal Ideas (for a Better World)
If
you've been wondering how your tiny little budget can compete with the
$1.9 billion spent on mobile marketing, we've got the answer for you:
steal some ideas. No, really. We do it all the time. Remember the web ads we ran for the 09NTC? We borrowed the concept. And while Holly put a heck of a lot of effort into remaking Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video, she wasn't the first to do it.
Here's a hypothetical example. Consider this particularly hilarious YouTube remix video.
Now, let's say you work for an organization concerned with privacy. All
you need to make a similar remix that -- oh, we don't know -- matches
the words of a certain former VP with "Every Breath You Take", you just need some video footage. Did you know that CSPAN has a free video archive? That could prove useful. Then, grab some free audio mixing software, some free video editing software, a free clone of Auto-Tune (to make speech sound like song).
Oh, and a staffer with a creative bent. Who wouldn't want to work on
something like that? As Holly's video proved, a little (modified)
imagination will get you some attention.
Need some mobile marketing inspiration? Well, Fanta made an app featuring sounds inaudible to anyone over the age of 20. Vodaphone's running a social media drama this summer. Heck, BMW got a 30% response rate selling winter tires.
What
we're saying is: Don't just watch what other nonprofits are doing,
watch what everyone's doing. Get outside your circle. Then steal their
ideas.
Prepare for the 10NTC
We interrupt this newsletter for a self-serving commercial interruption.
We're still nine months away, but not a day goes by that somebody at NTEN HQ doesn't mention the 10NTC. Since we don't want to seem like obsessive hermits, we'd like to bring you in on the action.
The new Sponsor Guide is already available, so reserve your spots before we sell out (again). If you want to help plan the agenda, read about the process, then join us on our next Community Planning call on August 7th.
To help you relive the 09NTC, we've got a few "Best of" webinars coming up:
- Best of NTC: Mobile Giving Works, Learn How
- Best of NTC: Going Remote: What You Need To Know
- Best of NTC: Advancing Your Career and Earning What You Deserve
- Best of NTC: Confessions of a Social Media Campaigner
- Best of NTC: Integrated Fundraising Case Studies
And if 9 months is just too far away, join us in September for the Online Nonprofit Technology Conference.
Melissa Barber, Friends of Trees
Like most small nonprofits, Friends of Trees doesn't have the budget for elaborate bar-code systems or a chunk of staff time to track the success of its direct mail campaigns. Until about a year ago, we attributed all the contributions we received between the drop dates of two successive mailings to the first mailing in that series. It makes sense, and feels true -- until you start tracking the data.
Fortunately enough, you can even use your existing supplies and systems to track the success of your different direct mail campaigns.
Maren, German, and Kristie, Google Grants
On the Google Grants team, we receive a lot of questions from grantees on how best to evaluate their AdWords performance. We put this article together to give guidance around monitoring and evaluating your Google Grants account using a few strategies we find valuable. We hope you do, too!
Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.
Find an NPTech Job
An investment banker recently incensed the nonprofit community by asking the New York Times, "If you just take your base home, the question becomes, why not just work at a nonprofit from 8 to 4 instead of a bank where you’re expected to work weekends and every night till 10 or 11?" Setting aside the whole greed-as-motivation issue that got us into this mess in the first place, it's a bad assumption because it's becoming harder and harder to land a job at a nonprofit.
So, what should you do? TechSoup's guide to the Nonprofit Job Search is a good place to start. And lifehacker has an entertaining guide on switching careers. You might also want to check out some advice from EchoDitto's Joshua Wachs. Bottom line: typos in your cover letter = no job for you.
Once you've got a handle on the search process, peruse the listings on Idealist.org, OpportunityKnocks, or NTEN's aggregated job board, which focuses on NPTech. You may also want to set up Google Alerts with keywords focusing on your areas of interest.
If all else fails, be like Jimmy and lower your standards: our NTC intern has offered to stuff tote bags for a modest amount of money, unlimited soda, and control of the stereo.
Hire the Right People
On the flip side of the job search, you as an employer want to make sure Jimmy's actually going to stuff totes, and not just sip Obama Cola while listening to his recently purchased Jonas Brothers album.
This is more art than science, but you may want to consider "behavior-based interviewing". The HR Council for the Voluntary and Non-profit Sector has a guide to "Getting the Right People" nearly as comprehensive as its name, while Bridgestar manages to fit its advice into one (very long) page.
It can be instructive to consult the past, as well. In 1997, Fast Company profiled Netscape: "Barksdale's company focuses relentlessly on acquiring talent. Netscape has distributed more product (at last count, 60 million copies of its Web browser) and generated more revenue than any software startup in history. Which means it has to keep adding people at a ferocious pace." We all know how that turned out. So, don't be like Netscape.
It's also helpful to know how other organizations are handling their IT staffing needs. That's why we put out our IT Staffing Report. This year's survey closes February 28th, so please, take it today.
Keep Your Best People
First, the good news: employee turnover is lower at nonprofits than at for-profits. But, just because you're doing good in the world doesn't mean that mission attachment overrides the desire for higher pay.
Yes, filthy lucre tops most lists of staff complaints. But you can get around that with some creative thinking about benefits. Commongood Careers also has a great report on meeting the needs of nonprofit employees and jobseekers (PDF).
Apparently, meeting the needs of Generation Y staffers requires special attention. They're young, they have energy, but they're feisty. There's even a blog devoted to the topic.
Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause (although this month, we're going to be a little self-serving).
Get the Most out of NTEN
Our newsletter is only the tip of the iceberg: it's the Member benefits you're not seeing yet that will sink your ship. Hmm, wait, that doesn't sound right. Unless: you're like a goldfish on that ship, trapped in a bowl (of tech knowledge), but tragically separated from the wider sea of technology-loving fish everywhere. So you want the ship to sink! [Ed. note: Ouch.]
Anyway, if all you're getting out of NTEN is this newsletter, you're clearly missing out. We've got plenty of free ways for you to connect with your peers, from our Facebook group to our Affinity Groups and 501 Tech Clubs to our blog.
But if you really want to thrive in the current economic environment, you'll take the next step and become a Member.
Let's just consider our popular webinars: in addition to saving up to 50% off our already low prices, NTEN Members can buy the Season Pass -- unlimited webinars in 2009 for only $275.
What's more, we've just made our entire archive of recorded webinars (through September 30, 2008) free to our Members, with more to be added on a quarterly basis.
Then there are all the other reasons to join.
Prepare for the NTC
And, of course, NTEN Members save $200 off registration for the 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference. You can get the best price by registering before the Early Bird deadline on January 31st. You can also book a room at the San Francsico Hilton at our special group rate.
With that out of the way, you can start looking forward to April 26, when 1,200(ish) like-minded individuals join together for 3 days of insight, camaraderie, learning -- and not just a little fun.
We've been working hard to make sure there are so many great breakout sessions, you may have a hard time choosing between them. Now would be a good time to start planning your own learning agenda. We've also got noted author Clay Shirky as our keynote speaker.
Plus, we'll be in San Funcisco. And wouldn't you know it, they have a handy Visitors' Guide, so we don't have to scour the web for recommendations. (We can recommend the MOMA, though.) Finally, don't forget to sign up for our After Party, at Mezzanine. The musical acts should come as quite a surprise. Stay tuned!
Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.
Write for the Web
First, you need to understand how people read on the web. (Hint: they don't.) Eventually, higher resolution screens and devices like Amazon.com's Kindle will make it easier for human eyes to scan e-text, but for now, make the bullet point and the <strong> tag your best friends. Then, check out the recording of our webinar, "Writing for the Web: Less is More".
Usability expert Jakob Nielson has a lot to say on the subject. You might also consider taking some advice from a 67-year-old blogger.
Then, if you haven't already, jump on the Cluetrain: be open, honest, and direct. Humor helps, too. While you should be wary of anybody promising to teach you how to make people laugh, some of the advice itself can be pretty funny.
Finally, if you're really into words, you should check out The Global Language Monitor, where you can learn that "obama" has entered the English language as a root, as in: obamacize, obamanomics, and (our favorite) obamarama.
Design for Web2.0
Apparently, it's simple: cheerful colors, rounded edges, and "Free, as in beer (not kittens)". We also recommend some advice from "web design from scratch", but with reservations: their web site isn't as pretty.
You've also got your step-by-step guides, from buttons to headers to sites templates. Don't forget to take your users into account!
Of course, to follow all this advice, you need to know your way around PhotoShop (or its open source equivalent, the GIMP). Important topics: layers, masks, and the clone tool. Need more? Here are 60 advanced tutorials. Let us know when you can make our office building appear to be somewhere, in, oh, let's say Djibouti. (No, really: say "Djibouti". It'll cheer you up.)
Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause. This month, all of the links are courtesy of
We Are Media.
Add your voice to the discussion today!
Share Your Story
And by "your", we mean your supporters, because with Social Media, they're the ones extending your brand. You just need to give them a little shove in the right direction sometimes.
If you haven't read Seth Godin's seminal "Flipping the Funnel", yet, you should start there. The Rapleaf Business blog also has some great advice on incorporating user generated content instead of working from scratch.
What's that you say? It may be easy for big groups, with photogenic interests -- like the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Habitat program or The Nature Conservancy's nature picture contest -- to use something like Flickr, but you're too small? Balderdash! Poppycock! Take a look at what the Learning Community is doing. Or the Women's Museum. Flickr makes it easy to get started!
Then, of course, there are blogs, and podcasts, and video, and... (Those are all "How-to" links, by the way, but) if you're short on time, here are 50 Web2.0 ways to tell a story.
Determine the ROI of Social Media
NTEN's own Holly Ross suggests a simple formula: (Time & Money Saved + Money Earned) - (Time & Money In) = ROI. That sounds about right. Money earned is easy, but how do you figure if you're saving time and money?
Well, The Social Organization has a piece on "Collecting All Social Media Metrics". That's a start. Dow Jones, of all places, has a white paper on "Tracking the Influence of Conversations". (We imagine many of the conversations they've been hearing over the past month involve Chicken Little.)
All you wannabe bloggers should get a kick out of "The ROI of Blogging". (And you have read Chris Brogan's "12 Ways to Sell Social Media to Your Boss", right?) Then there are some straight ROI articles: "ROI: The Null Hypothesis" and "What's Your Return on Your Social Media Investment".
Geez, there's just too much to cover for one little section of one little newsletter. But that's why we helped start We Are Media! We hope that, after you've read through it, you'll consider adding to the conversation.
Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.
Craft a Fundraising Appeal
In Cordoba, Spain, one enterprising itinerant was in the habit of setting out 3 hats, with a sign next to each: "Money for food"; "Money for beer"; and "Money for drugs". His multi-channel appeal did better than average, as different audiences donated based on their own proclivities. (An NTEN staffer merely recorded the anecdote, for eventual use as an example of how to connect with those who may not be predisposed to give you money. Besides, his beer money had already been spent.)
When you start to think about your next fundraising letter, you should follow the example of Marc Pitman: print out and analyze your past appeals. Who is your message targeting? Are you talking about yourself, or connecting to your potential donors? (Just, please, don't ask yourself, "What would happen if the author of The Da Vinci Code wrote your next fundraising appeal?" Other than that, Alan Sharpe's advice is pretty decent.)
Flickr Photo: Darwin BellOK, NTEN Members: this is your chance to step up to the mic and ask those burning CiviCRM questions!
Join us Tuesday, July 15, at 11am PT/ 2pm ET for a live conference call and online chat with Dave Greenberg, from the CiviCRM Team.
> Register Now - FREE for NTEN Members!
Your guide to the resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.
Become a Free and Open Source (FOSS) Expert
> Before you can advocate for free and open source software, you need to know what you're talking about. As much as any argument that begins, "The dictionary defines <insert hopefully obscure term here> as..." displeases us, you'd probably be remiss if you didn't start with WikiPedia's definition -- and not just because it runs on top of open source code. FOSS, F/OSS, or FLOSS? Choose for yourself!
> Groklaw has just started an interesting series on the history of Free and Open Source by historian Peter H. Salus. If you want to understand the difference between "Free Software" and "Open Source", take a glance at "Why 'Open Source' Misses the Point of Free Software", by Richard Stallman (who, it's generally agreed, is to FOSS what Neil Young is to grunge).
> For the latest on FOSS, turn to the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative, which maintains a news feed. The Free Software Foundation tans the hides of proprietary programs -- DefectiveByDesign.org? BadVista.org? -- while simultaneously advocating for FOSS, and the Open Source Initiative and even UNESCO maintain FOSS sites. Oh, and FOSSBazaar has a decent blog in addition to a cool logo.
Earn Executive Buy-in for FOSS
> It's not enough to understand the benefits of FOSS if you can't convince anybody else. You need numbers -- and David Wheeler has them. Oh, boy, does he. Market share, reliability, performance, security, the ability of FOSS to walk your dog and keep your ice cream from melting in the sun: Mr. Wheeler seems to have collected every study ever done on Free and Open Source Software in one place.
> If that isn't quite enough for you -- or you just really like numbers -- take a look at a couple of European offerings: Infonomics and the stiffly named, "Economic impact of open source software on innovation and the competitiveness of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector in the EU" (PDF). It reads much better than its title -- and you get to learn such things as "[the] existing base of FLOSS software represents a lower bound of about 131 000 real person-years of effort that has been devoted exclusively by programmers".
> For a final brush-up on your internal marketing skills, check out CIO Magazine's "IT Governance Tips: Help to Improve Executive Buy-in".
Determine Which FOSS to USe
> You've convinced your organization that it doesn't need to use proprietary software. The next step is determining which FOSS software to use. The best read is "The Top 50 Proprietary Programs that Drive You Crazy -- and Their Open Source Alternatives". Who knew there was a FOSS replacement for PhotoShop?
> More straight up -- and less subjective -- lists can be found at the Free Software Foundation and SourceForge; the former is more user friendly, the latter, impossibly comprehensive.
> To help you make your final decision, turn to Michelle Murrain and the fine people at NOSI. Their primer, "Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software" is indispensable reading for nonprofits. In addition to her article in this month's NTEN Connect, Michelle has been generous enough to write for us before on the subject -- and for those of you who don't like to read, she's even offered her wisdom in webinar form. In fact, it's not to late to catch some of her upcoming FOSS webinars, including takes on open source blogging tools and CMS systems Drupal, Joomla, and Plone.
