Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential

Hi there! I’m Lauren Creagan, welcome to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential, the podcast where you’ll get advice, inspiration and learn how to use social media for your nonprofit. It’s episode 60! We made it! 60 podcast episodes that are tailor made with your challenges in mind. That’s what this podcast is all about – helping you use the right tools to unlock your nonprofit’s potential. You don’t want to be mediocre. You don’t want to spin your wheels anymore. You want to have a growing, thriving nonprofit that helps people in need. That’s why you’re here! So you can learn to use Facebook, Instagram, and email marketing effectively to get more people in your door, at your events or meetings, and supporting you with their money so you can help more people and make a difference in more lives. If you’re here and listening to this today, you should be so proud of yourself – you are proactively taking steps to make your nonprofit better than ever. Now, speaking of making things better than ever… I have a BIG announcement to share with you.  This is the last podcast episode of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential. WHaaaat!!! I know… But here’s the good news – Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential isn’t going away; we’re just changing the way we’re doing things.  Over the past year that I’ve been recording these episodes and interacting with you on social media and reading your emails and because I am always doing research, thinking about this podcast and what’s the best way to help you – I’ve come to understand that the best way to serve you is with a blog that you can read and see what I’m teaching you. I’ll get to why a blog is the right way to serve you in a minute, but first I want to tell you a story… A couple weekends ago, I went for a hike in the National Forest by my house on a section of the Continental Divide Trail. If you’re not familiar, the Continental Divide Trail is 3,100 miles long and it runs from Mexico to Canada along the Continental Divide (hence the name) — it goes through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, and it usually takes people about SIX MONTHS to hike it. I was with my friends Cindy and Kathy, and we met a girl – probably 21-22 years old, from Chicago – who was hiking the trail by herself. Yep, she was hiking all the way to Canada ALONE. We were the first humans she’d seen in days, and she was SO happy to see us – she asked if she could walk with us to the trailhead, which of course, we said yes, and she chatted away the entire time peppering us with questions about our lives and what it was like to live in Wyoming – I’m pretty sure she knows my friend Cindy’s entire life story now, and might have earned herself an invite to Thanksgiving dinner at Cindy’s house. Anyway, after meeting this hiker, her story and what she is doing really stuck with me. For the next few days, I just sat with the idea of hiking such a long distance. What was it like to start such a journey? Probably scary, exciting, full of rookie mistakes, and figuring things out. What was the day to day like? Probably some days were harder than others, probably full of reminding yourself to focus on the trail in front of you, putting one foot in front of the other and just focusing on that next step. What was it like to finish such a journey? It’s hard to imagine, but I’m willing to bet a person feels an undeniable sense of pride and accomplishment. Six months of little steps forward propelled you 3,100 miles up mountains, down through valleys, across deserts and plains until you accomplish what you set out to do. As I thought about all of this, I couldn’t help but draw about a million life lessons from it all.  There is one thought that sticks with me that applies to all of us, as I think about hosting this podcast, and about you, as the nonprofit leader… Life is a long journey.  And if something isn’t working and you know you can fix it, you do. I have gotten to know you over the last year and I learned that while you listen to the podcast, you like to read more. You’d like to see more illustrations of what I’m talking about.  It’s true I have recording equipment and a “radio voice” but, I’m a writer naturally and by trade, and when we work in our strengths, more gets accomplished. So this will be the last episode of the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential podcast, and the beginning of the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential blog. This blog will give you easy to read, step by step answers to fix your social media problems.  You’ll learn about new ideas to implement so you can grow your nonprofit, bring in more clients and people who need your help, and when you grow, that gives donors even more reason to give to your organization.  You’re going to become the best your nonprofit’s ever been.  On the blog, there will also be more visual aids – yes, screenshots from Facebook and Instagram, and templates for how to create posts that make new people begin to know, like and trust your nonprofit. I’ll be giving you videos with instructions and tutorials of how to do all the things on Facebook and Instagram that are confusing and hard to figure out on your own. I’m still going to be here with you every step of the way – you’ll just be reading articles from me instead of listening to me explain things in this podcast.  With this blog, I’ll be able to serve you more and better. I’ll be creating courses for you, answering your questions on Facebook Live events, and providing you with more helpful and do-able tips and tricks that you can read (and re-read if need be!) and follow along with step by step instead of trying to listen to the instructions in a podcast.  BUT…If you just can’t get enough of my voice (ha!), you’ll be happy to know that you can binge listen to this podcast any time you’d like because it will be available on your podcast app and at NonprofitPotential.com, we just won’t be updating it with new episodes anymore. I am so excited to create this new blog for you with the same great content, with easy to implement social media and marketing steps, but with more information and better visual aids. This shift will allow me to serve you better, answer your questions and help you achieve your goals for your nonprofit. The new blog is on the same website as before – NonprofitPotential.com. Be sure to sign up for my weekly email on the website – you’ll see the signup box when you visit the website - so you can get the best social media and marketing tips for nonprofits delivered right to your inbox each week. Be sure to follow Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential on Facebook and Instagram. We’re going to keep adding to the blog and growing the content there so you will have a reliable place to turn for all your social media and marketing questions. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast – it’s been a pleasure chatting with you each week and I look forward to hearing from you soon with questions you’d like me to answer on the blog – contact me through the blog! Check it out, Nonprofitpotential.com. Take care! – and thanks for listening to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential. Want something fun to do? Check out the personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/60

Hi there! So this week, a nonprofit board member called me to ask for help with Facebook. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that’s what I do for a living – I help nonprofits and businesses with their social media marketing. When starting with any new client, there is always one thing I do first.  This one thing is so often overlooked, but it can have a huge impact on your nonprofit’s success on Facebook and Instagram. It can help your nonprofit’s page and posts be seen by more people in your local area, it can help people who are interested in what you do find you, it can improve your post performance, traffic to your page, traffic to your webpage, help you get attendance at your events or groups, or appointments for your services. And maybe best of all, this one thing is easy to do!  What is it? Make sure your Facebook and Instagram pages are up to date! Here’s a step by step checklist and how to do it guide for you.  Page Name. Maybe your nonprofit rebranded, or someone else set up your nonprofit’s Facebook page and didn’t type in the correct name – there are a million reasons why you might need or want to change your nonprofit’s page name. Whether it’s on Facebook or Instagram, your nonprofit’s page name is the first impression you make. Your nonprofit’s name does the same job as your own personal name – it identifies you! Make sure your nonprofit’s name on social media matches the name on the sign outside your nonprofit’s door, or on your brochures – use the name the public knows you as. If the sign outside your door says, “Agatha’s Angels” but your 501c (3) paperwork says, “Agatha’s Angels of Indiana, Inc.” – use “Agatha’s Angels.” To change your nonprofit’s page name on Facebook – first, get on a computer, sign into your personal Facebook account. If Facebook switched you to “New Facebook” – (which is all white, and frustrating for me to use), click on the little arrow that is pointed down, at the very top right corner of your screen. It’s to the right of your profile icon and notifications bell. When you find that arrow and click on it – a menu will drop down. Select “Switch to Classic Facebook.” You’ll probably feel immediate relief when your old familiar Facebook style returns! If Facebook asks you why you want to switch back, just let them know you’re having trouble finding things in the New Facebook style. So now that you’re on Classic Facebook, go to your nonprofit’s page, and then click on “About” on the menu bar on the left side of the page. Once you get to the “About” page for your nonprofit, locate “Name” under “General.” If you need to make any changes, click edit. IMPORTANT: You can only change your nonprofit’s name once every 14 days on Facebook – so make sure you know exactly what name you want to use before you change it, or you’ll have to wait two weeks to change it again. On Instagram, changing your page name is easy. Bring up Instagram on your phone, go to your nonprofit’s account, and tap “Edit Profile.” Your page name is the very first line on the “Edit Profile” screen. Username.  You might not be familiar with the term “username” on Facebook, but this is an important element to keep updated! Having a username on Facebook allows other people and organizations or businesses tag you in posts – a valuable asset when it comes to building a following! Your username should be your page name but typed out in all one word. If your desired username isn’t available, it’s OK to improvise – try using your organization’s initials or add your town name. Edit your username the same way as your page name, located just below where you edited your page name. To change your username on Instagram, tap “edit profile” and locate the username field just under where you edited your page name. You might have to use an abbreviated version of your organization’s name.  Keep it something easy to recognize and understand for someone who might be unfamiliar with your nonprofit. Location, Business Info, Contact Info, About, Products, Story.  While you’re on your nonprofit’s “About” page on Facebook, scroll to the top. Above all the information sections and map depicting your location, in the right corner, click “Edit Page Info.” A new window will open up and you’ll be able to work your way through any and all information that needs updating. You’ll be able to update your organization’s description, categories, phone number, website, email, etc. Make sure you check the map location. You can change it by dragging the little location pin to your organization’s location, add at least a city and state, and a service area if applicable. Once you’ve filled everything out, click the X at the top right corner of the little window you’ve been working in. On Instagram, all of this information has to be condensed down into your bio on your nonprofit’s profile. It’s tough since you have to work with limited characters. Your profile should be a one sentence version of your mission and a call to action. Be sure to include your phone number and address on your Instagram profile. It seems simple, but so many nonprofits skip this and then miss out on connecting with people in their area. One last area you can update while you’re on your “About” page is called your organization’s STORY located across from the General category. This story on your “About” page will not go away. Click on it, add a photo, a headline and a quick version of your services and mission. You can add a link to your website or a phone number, too. Admins.  One thing that is often overlooked when there is a changing of the guard, or when someone moves away, or moves on to another job, is removing them as an administrator from your organization’s Facebook page. Right now as you’re going through all the basic information of your page is a great time to do a little check up on who is allowed control of your Facebook page. To do this, make sure you’re still on your nonprofit’s Facebook page and click on “Settings” – it’s on the top right of the menu bar at the top of your nonprofit’s page. Once you’re in Settings, click on “Page Roles” on the menu on the left. Scroll down, and you’ll see the existing page roles that have been assigned. If you see someone who should not have control or access to the behind the scenes of your nonprofit’s page, click on their picture, and then click “remove.” To add a new admin or editor (admins can add/remove new roles – which means they’ll have the power to remove you, editors can post and a few other things) – type in someone’s name or email address ad click the blue “add” button on the right. And that my friend, is how you make sure your basics are up to date! This is so important because the more information you can provide Facebook, especially about your location, the more you’ll be rewarded by Facebook and Instagram. It will help people find you, it will make running ads and boosting posts easier and more efficient – and you’ll have better results. When people search for things on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll be more likely to show up, and it will help your nonprofit’s credibility with your community.  Take the time to go through and do this – or have a volunteer or staff member listen to this episode and go through these steps for you! Find a way to get this done – it’s important to the success of your nonprofit.  If you want to see improved results when you reach out to people in your community, make sure your basics are covered! If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/59

Hi there!  In this episode we’re talking about reviews.  Your organization might not have any reviews, maybe you have a couple, or 5 or 10, or hundreds. Having reviews to use helps other people get confidence to try out your organization or to donate to your nonprofit, so it’s good to have them! I heard this recently from someone who works with a nonprofit… She said her organization doesn’t have very many reviews, just 2-3, and she feels hurt because no one is leaving reviews for her organization on Facebook or Google, even though when her organization helps people, everything in their interactions is positive and they can’t stop thanking her and telling her how much they appreciate her help.  She feels frustrated and agitated because she knows the good her nonprofit is bringing to the world and how it’s positively impacting people’s lives, but they won’t ever thank her where other people can read about it. For a regular business, reviews can be majorly important. When I am trying to decide what restaurant to go to for dinner, I pay attention to how many 5-star Google reviews a place has. When you’re trying to pick out a birthday present for your sister or your mother or someone special to you, and you search for a cute little boutique or a shop, and you find one with reviews that say, “I love this store, they have such cute stuff and great prices,” it entices you to go there, doesn’t it? Reviews for regular businesses are a big deal. Yes, they can help. But guess what your nonprofit isn’t? A regular business. Yes, you should think about your nonprofit as a business – you need to think about operating successfully in that way, but when it comes to your marketing, you cannot have the same expectations as a regular business. Your services help people with complicated backgrounds and who are in difficult situations. Your organization helps people in need.  Think about this… Facebook is the highlight reel of people’s lives… And it’s also public.  If someone is in need, they probably don’t want the public or want their friends to know they are in need. If someone’s husband lost his job and they are having trouble paying the bills, is she going to be posting on Facebook that she’s off to the food bank again to pick up groceries for a few days so she can feed her children?  If a young single girl finds out she’s pregnant and doesn’t want to be, she’s not going to be posting selfies of her and a nurse at her pregnancy center appointment. If someone has two or three children and one of them is gravely sick, that parent isn’t going to remember, in all the chaos of their day to day life to write a review for the nonprofit organization that’s helping them pay their medical bills. People don’t always want to leave a review. They’re busy. Maybe they’re embarrassed. Maybe they don’t want people to know. And yes, when you leave a review on Google or Facebook – your name and picture are right there for everyone in the world to see. I won’t even leave a review for the shop where I get my car’s oil changed because I don’t want my name and picture living out there on the internet for everyone to see. I’m just a private person and I don’t want to. If I feel that way about leaving a review for an oil change shop, imagine how someone might feel admitting to the world in a review that they can’t pay their bills, or they couldn’t feed their children. If your nonprofit serves people in need like that, please don’t take it personally if you’re not getting reviews.  So what can you do? You need feedback – it’s valuable when it comes to knowing what your organization is doing right, it’s helpful to use in marketing, and it can be the difference maker when it comes to convincing your donors your organization is a worthy cause to support. Here are three things to keep in mind about reviews: Realize where your people are. Think about what their everyday life is like, and then, have compassion for them. They just have a lot going on in their lives, and leaving a review is probably just not on their radar. Remember this – I see what you’re doing, and I know how hard you are trying, you are doing a great job and I am proud of you.  Follow up. Follow up with the people you serve by email or text, Facebook message, phone call, or the most effective form of communication for your clients. And ask them follow up questions like did they go to the doctor, did they enroll in WIC, did they try that new recipe you gave them, did they have a good week – whatever question you can ask to follow up and let them know they are still on your radar screen. Thank them and ask, “Is there anything else we can do to help you?”  Not everyone will respond. But all you need is one to get you started. When someone does respond, make a record of their response. Keep a spreadsheet or a Word document of all the responses you get (keep it anonymous, leave their names off). They might say something like, “Thank you for all you did for me”, or “I don’t know what I would have done without you,” or “Y’all are so good!” When you start gathering responses and start reading page after page of what they say, you start believing it! You’ll be amazed and see, “Oh my gosh! We’re really helping people!”  These responses are what you use in your marketing. Just attribute it to “Agatha’s Angels Client” or something anonymous like that. If you’re a healthcare provider, you know you need to stay within your HIPPA boundaries, but you can take a line from their text like “You helped me so much” or “I felt all alone, and you made me realize, I’m not” and add it to your spreadsheet. Put it into action. Once you’ve gathered some of this feedback and put it on a spreadsheet or in Word, start to build your Facebook post. Here’s how to do it:  You can use Canva.com or another website or program where you can put text on a picture.  Then use one of those one liner reviews from the spreadsheet and attribute it to “A patient” or “Anonymous.”  Add a stock photo of someone who looks like they are one of the people you might serve.  Now you have a great Facebook post. See the example in the show notes if you want some more guidance.  Use the example as a template for all of your Facebook posts – they’ll work for you because you’re using your clients’ words to draw new clients to your nonprofit and a picture, caption, and call to action. And when you run out of reviews, start over from the beginning and use a different picture. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you just need to keep repeating your message. Go look at the example because this will make so much more sense when you see it. People LOVE what you’re doing…. But they might not be in a place in their life where shouting it from the rooftops is high on their priority list, or something they feel comfortable doing. Seek out their feedback in these creative ways and use it to attract others with the same problems so you can help them too. Letting the world know that you help people is not bragging. It’s spreading the message. You need to effectively spread the message so that you can help people who need you. You ARE doing a great job, and you are trying so hard. Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket! Get it out there for the world to see so people can find you! They need you, so let them know what you can do for them. Links mentioned in this episode:  Canva.com Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/58

Hello! It looks like the pandemic is still around and we’ll be affected by it for a while longer. School is supposed to start, but will it? Did you go on vacation or was that put-on hold?  How are you handling your days?  As a nonprofit leader your focus is usually on the people you serve, your donors and your volunteers. But in this crazy time, have you gotten distracted by masks, going virtual, or all the other distractions? It’s a stressful time for so many people - and it might be a really hard time for you too. It’s fire season and my husband who is a wildland firefighter isn’t home much, which is hard for me.  But it also means I get to watch whatever I want on TV… so I’ve been watching a lot of Hallmark Channel. Hallmark Channel has their Christmas in July thing going on where they play Christmas movies throughout the month of July. Watching all these Christmas movies reminded me of an episode of this podcast from last Christmas where we took a step back and reflected on the people you’ve helped.   In times like these, it’s helpful to remember all the good that you’re doing, how many lives you’ve helped make better because there are a lot of reasons to feel anxious or uneasy these days.  It’s easy to feel like a spinning top that won’t stop. It’s easy to compare yourself to others and do what it seems like everyone else is doing. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed to the point of asking, “What’s the point?”  Now is not the time to give up. It’s time to remember and then decide what’s working and what’s not. Remember the people you’re helping. Remember your “why.” Remember why you got started. When you know deep down why you’re on this mission, your courage begins to shine through. Then you begin to look at things in a new way with faith and hard work and start moving forward. Memory and imagination work together to create new things, a brighter future for you, your nonprofit, and the people you serve. I just want you to take the next few minutes and listen to this episode from last Christmas. It will help you remember why you do what you do and inspire you to keep bringing good into your part of the world. Enjoy… Merry Christmas in July.Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/57

Hi there!  A year ago on this podcast, all the way back in Episode 10, I shared with you what I was going through trying to grow grass from seed in my yard  I was so tired of putting all this time and effort into trying to get something to grow that just wasn’t going to… and as I was walking back to the house to turn the water back on, feeling hopeless and like I was pointlessly watering dirt, I looked down and saw… A BLADE OF GRASS. A single blade had popped up through the soil!  Immediately, my motivation was RENEWED, and I couldn’t help but feel like this was an analogy for SO MANY THINGS in our lives. Especially for getting the word out about your nonprofit.  There might be times where you feel like you’re just wasting your time.  You feel discouraged and you just want to quit.  I’m telling you – if you just keep showing up and clearly telling people what you do, it’s only a matter of time before you see growth. I’ve been thinking about that particular podcast episode, and you, the nonprofit leader, a lot lately, especially when I am outside moving the sprinkler around my yard. The grass is as lush as a hayfield, and knee high in some parts. Rabbits hop into my yard at dusk to munch away at the bright green blades, and prairie dogs start each morning by picking the seeds and taking them back to their burrows and stashing them away for winter. The grass is thick, and it blows in the wind like waves on the sea. It’s funny because A YEAR AGO, I could count how many tiny little grass seedlings were starting to barely come up from the barren dirt. In a year’s time, the growth is overwhelming and beautiful – and it feels like all the work was worthwhile. All these thoughts about growth also had me reflecting on one of my social media marketing clients – my mom’s pregnancy care center. About a year ago, my mom said numbers were down – they weren’t seeing as many patients. She suggested we try changing things up with our posts on Facebook and Instagram. We worked together to come up with a plan – very much like the plan and the ideas I share with you each week here – and here we are, a year later… The patient load at their pregnancy care center has dramatically increased from last year. Even through the COVID shutdown!  What’s telling though, is that on their patient intake form, there is a question that asks, “How did you find us?” The most commonly checked boxes are Facebook and Google. My mom even says, when young women call the clinic, they commonly use the same wording we just posted on social media. It’s not magic, it’s not a secret method – it’s just about implementing – following through with the same things I share with you every week here on this podcast. So let’s check in… Have you been following through? Do you feel like the seeds you planted a year ago are growing? Are they thriving? Are they little seedlings? Or is it still just dirt and prayers? I’m asking because I know what it’s like to feel stuck. Believe me, with this podcast – and with the online course I’m building – it feels like the Field Of Dreams… “If you build it, they will come!” Sometimes I feel like I put in all this hard work and I’m not even sure it’s going to make a difference. But then, I work with so many nonprofits on their social media and I see – what I’m telling you here on this show, in every episode of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential - IT WORKS!  You have so much good to give to the world, and we need that good now more than ever. I don’t want you to feel stuck. I want you to feel proud of what you’re doing. I want you to feel satisfied that you are successfully sharing the good you have to give to the world. I want you to feel confident that you’re making a difference! It’s easy to get into a rut. It’s easy to feel defeated. It’s easy to be swallowed up in our emotions. But if we can take a step back and look at the situation, and what isn’t working and then, think of how we can fix it, it’s amazing! We can fix whatever difficult situation we’re in by taking action. It’s good to look at everything in your life and check in to make sure you’re following through, and your seeds are growing, but today, right now, while you’re listening to this episode, I want you to specifically take a look at the marketing for your nonprofit. Have you been posting two times per week consistently on at least Facebook, if not Facebook and Instagram? Have you been keeping your posts short and to the point? Just a picture, plus 1-3 sentences with a call to action with your phone number or website?  Have you been using pictures for your posts that will be appealing to the person you’re trying to help? Are you keeping in touch with your donors with weekly emails? Are you keeping in touch with the people you serve through email? Are you giving yourself enough time to market your events? These are just some things I want you to think about. Just take inventory. If you haven’t been doing all these things – hey, I get it! You are busy! I know how it is. But here’s what I want you to think about – the grass. Think about what would have happened if I never started watering the grass. Not much. Maybe a few blades here or there would have fought their way out of the dirt and made do with the 10 inches of rain we get here every year. What if I had watered it a little? Probably a little more grass would have grown. I made a commitment to water consistently – and the grass grew up around my house consistently. And even though the grass is green and lush, I’m still watering it – even green grass still needs attention. Think about the people your nonprofit helps. That’s your grass. Your quality, consistent posting on Facebook is like watering your grass. Your weekly emails to donors are like watering your grass. Sending out emails to the people you serve is like watering your grass. Giving yourself enough time to market your events is like watering your grass. Your grass isn’t going to be knee high overnight. It’s not magic. It’s not a secret method. It’s moving forward with consistency and purpose that makes it work.  Take time to look at your marketing, then add one thing to implement consistently to what you’re already doing. Follow through with your nonprofit marketing.  Remember – you are amazing! You can do this! You are already making great steps – you’re listening to this podcast which means you have the desire! Think about all the good you have to give to the world. You bring so much light to the people around you – don’t hide it!  If you liked this episode and know you want someone to guide you and encourage you and be your biggest cheerleader, then make sure you subscribe to this podcast. Actually go into iTunes or Apple podcasts and subscribe to this. Because when you subscribe, brand new episodes will land right on your phone each week and you won’t miss an episode – it will be right there for you to listen anytime, anywhere in your iTunes library. I’d love for you to subscribe… Alrighty, I hope you enjoyed this episode –  Until next time…  Links mentioned in this episode and other helpful episodes:  Episode 10:  Three Step Plan for Event Marketing Episode 22: These Call to Action Tips Are a GAMECHANGER! Episode 37: Your Donors Want You to Hear This Episode 36: 3 Things People Should Know About Your Nonprofit Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/56

Hey there! Let’s jump right into today’s episode… You know I’m working on creating an online course for you.  I’ve been getting a lot of feedback and researching things to include in the course… One of the things I keep coming across is people need help with virtual events. We’re all very aware, because of COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines across the country, that it’s hard to plan an in-person fundraiser right now. We’re in the season when lots of nonprofits usually do all the planning for their big fall fundraising events, but this year – it’s a little more complicated. We don’t know if in-person fundraising events are going to be allowed, or in what capacity, or what your state’s public health orders will be in a few months from now, so it’s nearly impossible to plan!  I’ve always loved the Michael McGriffy, MD saying, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” That is the attitude we have to adopt in these times – “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” When the world zigs, we have to zag! When things aren’t exactly as we hoped or planned, we have to adapt. Things have changed – like it or not – so we have to take a step back, adjust our plans, and overcome. We have to stay flexible and remember – God has us right where He wants us! So – planning a virtual fundraiser instead of your in-person fundraising event might feel like uncharted territory, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret…  The #1 thing your nonprofit’s virtual fundraiser needs is something you already know… MARKETING! Just like with a regular in-person fundraising event, your nonprofit needs to increase awareness with your audience, build up anticipation, and make sure that every single one of your potential and current donors knows exactly what they are supposed to do.  The #1 thing you need to let your donors know is when they can donate, how they can donate and why they should donate. Your marketing leading up to your virtual fundraising event should repeat those three things over and over and over again until there is no doubt in anyone’s mind of what to do. Here’s the most important thing you need to remember though...you need to be clear. You need to be so, so laser focused and clear in what you say. You need to have a plan. If you don’t have a plan, your marketing message will not be clear. If you don’t have a plan, your donors will be overwhelmed and confused about your event, and when that happens, they will not give.  Here is your plan for marketing your virtual fundraising event: Start early. Just as with any in-person event, you need to have a long runway to spread the word about your virtual event. I know – it seems silly, it’s not like anyone needs to secure a babysitter to come to your virtual event, but it takes a lot of repetition and a bit of time before people start paying attention to things. If you start laying the groundwork a month or two before your virtual event takes place, people will have time to recognize your advertisements, and start paying attention to what you’re asking. This long runway will also give you time to reach more people. Run a Facebook ad about your virtual fundraiser – you can get step by step instructions on how to run an ad on Facebook in Episode 50.  Running an ad makes sure your donors and potential donors see that you’re having a virtual fundraiser. Be sure to put a link in the ad where they can donate right then and there if they’d prefer. Donors need time. Substantial donors don’t donate on a whim or donate at the last minute either. You have to warm everyone up to the idea of your virtual fundraiser and giving online.  So constantly share the link where they can donate. Virtual events are relatively new for most people, so make things easy for them and let them know they can donate by clicking a link. Then they don’t have to decide if they are going to attend an event in person or online, they can just simply decide to support your organization without having to figure out if they want to commit to attending a virtual fundraiser. By the way, if you want some great tips for talking to your donors and fundraising, especially during COVID-19, check out Episode 46 where I chat with my friend Martin Leifeld – Martin has raised more than $500 million for organizations – he’s the real deal and shared so many great tips in Episode 46 so check it out if you want some advice from a fundraising pro. Episode 46: Fundraising Tips from the Best of the Best with Martin Leifeld Virtual Event Marketing Plan Step #1: Start Early Create an event on Facebook. This is just like you would do if you were going to have an in-person fundraising event. Facebook is REALLY going out of the way to help businesses and organizations create Facebook Events recently.  Tip: If you’re not sure how to create a Facebook event, just go to your organization’s Facebook page, and you’ll see under your cover photo it says: CREATE. Then there are buttons that say, LIVE, EVENT, OFFER, etc. Click on the EVENT button and you’ll be on your way to creating an event! If you create an event on your organization’s Facebook page, Facebook will let all of your followers know about it, but it will let their friends know about it too. Yes, they’ll all get a little red notification badge on that little bell at the top right corner of their screen on their computer, or a little red badge on their phone that is going to tell them that your organization has created an event they might be interested in!  And guess what – that doesn’t cost you a dime! Look at all the awareness about your event you are spreading and attention your event will be getting with minimal time and energy spent, and for free. Virtual Event Marketing Plan Step #2: Create an Event on Facebook The third part of your marketing plan is to make email your best friend! Use email to reach your people. Research shows, email is the most effective marketing tool available to anyone – and yes, it’s also free. Lots of people use Constant Contact, I like to use Mail Chimp. You can create great looking emails from a template with your logo. Even if you’re just sending them a message directly from your professional work email account and not an email designing tool like Mail Chimp, you can create a very simple invitation or flyer about your event on Canva.com or another program or website you like to use. Don’t overthink it – Who What When Where Why is all you need to worry about. Then, attach that flyer or invitation to the email you send out to your email list. Don’t just send them the invitation to your event by itself though – make sure you write them a short, clear, and concise email message to go along with it. Now here is the most critical part of email marketing, especially in this virtual event situation - don’t just send one email.  Send out another email in a week. And guess what? You have to send another email the next week. You have to keep reminding people about your virtual event. Even if they don’t open the email, they will see your name and will be reminded about the event! You’re using email to market your virtual event consistently, once a week on your long runway in advance, and you’re also using email to communicate some important details to attendees. You care about their experience at your virtual event, just as you would an in-person event, so use your email to first let them know you’re having an event, and secondly, how to enjoy themselves and what to expect. Virtual Event Marketing Plan Step #3: Make Email Your Best Friend! I hope this has given you the confidence to start thinking about how to market your virtual event. Take the next 5 minutes and think about how you can apply what you learned here today. Just jot down some ideas while you’re inspired! What we talked about here is going to be the key to a successful event. It’s not the prettiest, shiniest car that wins the race – it’s the one that doesn’t stop driving. It’s the one that keeps going. I know there are so many challenges you’re facing right now, but I just want you to remember, you can do this! You can! Don’t quit. Don’t ever quit. If you are overwhelmed, remember, you can email or message me on Facebook or Instagram with your questions or if you need encouragement. I am here to help you walk through this step by step. You can do this! You got this!  If you liked this episode and you know you want someone who is going to guide you and encourage you and be your biggest cheerleader, then make sure you subscribe to my podcast. Actually go into iTunes or Apple podcasts and subscribe to this. Because when you subscribe, brand new episodes will land right on your phone each week and you won’t miss an episode – it will be right there for you to listen anytime, anywhere in your iTunes library. I’d love for you to subscribe…  Until next time… Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. Links mentioned in this episode and other helpful episodes:  Episode 46: Fundraising Tips from the Best of the Best with Martin Leifeld Episode 50: How to Run a Facebook Ad canva.com constantcontact.com mailchimp.com If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/55

Okay, let’s jump into today’s episode… I’m working on creating an online course for you and one of the things I’m focusing on is something so obvious, but doesn’t get talked about much: Why are you posting? What’s the reason? You know you should be on social media, but you’re frustrated by your efforts that aren’t producing the results that they should… Or maybe you’re really unclear about what your next step is… because you ARE working hard! But you’re not seeing results. You’re posting on your nonprofit organization’s Facebook and Instagram pages regularly, but nothing seems to be coming of it. Nothing is happening. Have you ever been there? Or maybe you’re camping there right now… So frustrating, right? In the past, I’ve struggled there, too! It seems like you’re doing everything you’re supposed to be doing, but nothing works. Nothing seems to make a difference. It’s not just you… Facebook and Instagram are challenging! There are all these little nuances and tactics that seem so hard to navigate – but guess what? I’ve been through the fire. I’ve done all the hard part of figuring it out and researching and testing, and I’m sharing in this episode, and every episode of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential, what I’ve learned with you!  Why? Because I know what you have to give. I know the GOOD you have to bring to the world… And we need more good in the world - now more than ever! So stop struggling, and start taking notes, because I’m going to help you spread that good. You’re going to help more people who need you. You’re going to raise more money. And you’re going to use social media as a tool to help you accomplish those goals. Let’s take a step back from Facebook and Instagram, get some perspective and ask… What’s the point? What is the point? Why are you posting? Take a second to think about this.  Is it because you know your nonprofit should be on Facebook because that’s the world’s expectation these days – every business and organization should be represented on social media? Is it because it’s what everyone else is doing? Is it because you find it a fun and enjoyable part of your job? Is it because it’s the “new word of mouth” and you know you can reach the people you want to help through Facebook? Or maybe you have a different answer… It’s OK if your answer was one of those or something completely different.  Here’s the answer I want you to remember:  The point of posting on Facebook is to get people in your door. And how do you do that? Use your Facebook posts to direct them to your website so they can make an appointment, to find out directions, to contact you – drive them to your website so they can take the next step and find out more about what you offer.  For some people, just seeing your Facebook post is enough and they call you.  But for other people, they have to find out more about you.  They want to see if they can trust your organization enough to help them. They check out your website because they want to find out more.  They’re wondering… What else do you offer? Is it something that will help me? I have this problem; can you solve it?  Facebook is the first place a lot of people will learn about your organization – use it to steer them into finding out more. Your website has the answers for the people that want to find out more.  Facebook points the way to your website so they can get more information there and take the next step of contacting you. What if you don’t have a website? What if you just offer one thing and don’t need a website?  Then your Facebook posts are going to tell them to call you on the phone so they can make an appointment, or where to find out how to get to you, or how to contact you.  After they see your Facebook post, the next step should be that they contact you. The point of posting on Facebook is to get people in your door. Remember, the reason you use Facebook is to tell people about your service or product – but don’t just tell them about it and leave it at that, guide them so they can take advantage of your service.  In your Facebook posts, don’t just say, “Free parenting classes.” Say, “Free parenting classes – learn more and sign up on our website AgathasAngels.org.” This also includes Instagram too. Here’s a way to make posting as efficient and effective as possible – if you have an Instagram account for your nonprofit, post whatever you’re posting on Facebook to Instagram too. If you have a link to your website that you are adding in your Instagram post, just add the words “Link in profile” and then make sure you have a link to your organization’s website in your Instagram profile. Listen, I know social media can be fun. I know it’s so satisfying to post a pretty picture. I know it’s addicting to scroll through Facebook and Instagram and see what other people are posting. But your nonprofit’s page isn’t for fun. It’s not to become Internet famous. Posting on Facebook isn’t just about how many likes you get on a post, or how many followers you have – it’s about how many people you get to come in your door after they see your social media post. Are you seeing results from the posts you create? Remember, you’re posting for the person in need or in crisis that is looking for help. What’s going to attract them? What problem are you going to help them solve? What is going to be an obvious “front door” that they can walk through to get help? Let’s expand on this for a minute… Have you ever driven up to a building and you’re not sure where the entrance is? You park your car, get out, and you’re staring at the front of the building but there’s no obvious front door. You peek around the side of the building, and there’s a door, but you’re not sure it’s for you. It’s confusing, right? You don’t want to have to walk around the entire building looking for the front door.  Wouldn’t you like all front doors to be right there front and center where it’s easy to see and obvious? This is the way to approach your Facebook posts. Don’t make someone have to work to figure out how to get help from you or wonder how to contact you after they see your organization’s Facebook post. Your post should be a picture, a sentence, and a call to action. Use a picture that’s relevant to your organization. Let’s use a real-life example… If your organization is a pregnancy care center, you’re going to get a picture of a young woman that looks similar to the young women you serve on a daily basis – you can find plenty of free photos on Canva.com. Tip: If you register as a nonprofit, you get access to Canva’s entire photo library for free! It’s amazing and oh so helpful. Click here to register as a nonprofit.  You can also grab a copyright free photo on Unsplash.com   Or, you can post another relevant picture you might have from your pregnancy care center. Just make the picture something that is going to grab the attention of the person you’re trying to help. Not a picture you like! I like to use pictures that look like the person you’re trying to serve because we all like to identify ourselves in what we see. We like to relate to what we’re looking at. If you use a picture of a young woman that looks like the person you’re trying to serve, she will see herself in it. If she sees herself in that picture, she will also be able to see herself getting help from you. You can use Canva.com to dress up that picture with text – for this example, you could use a short phrase like “They treated me like I mattered” or “How do I know if I’m pregnant?” or “I feel all alone.”  Just make sure your text only takes up about 20% or less of the picture. Keep it short and simple. Pick out a phrase that really hits home for the person you’re trying to help. What is something they would say to you? Along with that picture, you are going to write a sentence to go with your Facebook post. This sentence is also going to be short and simple, for example: “Thinking you might be pregnant brings up so many questions, make an appointment to find out for sure.” And then, you’re going to put a call to action. A good call to action for this example would be: “Make an appointment today at AgathasAngels.org or call (555) 555-1234” A call to action is simply giving your contact information. This is the front door to your building. Make it obvious. Make it easy to find. Make it right there, front and center, so no one ever has to poke around the side of the building trying to find a way in. Never leave anyone wondering how to get in touch with your organization. If it’s frustrating to find, that makes the person have a negative feeling about your nonprofit organization.  That’s not what you want. One way you can measure the success of your social media efforts is by asking the people you help how they found you.  All you have to do is ask the people you serve on your intake form, and they will check the box or boxes where they found you.  You’ll realize that yes – your impact is bigger than your Facebook likes!  Now, you don’t have to ask the people you help how they found out about you, BUT you might be in the same position you’re in now, in a year. Is that where you want to be? Or do you want to grow? Do you want to get better? Do you want to help more people? I know you have SO MUCH to give. I know your heart – you are here listening to this podcast because there is something inside you that knows you need to do something different. There are people out there that need your help. Show them that front door! So here’s what I want you to remember from today… This is your main takeaway: Use Facebook to drive people to your website or to call you on the phone.  Use a picture, a caption and most importantly a call to action in every single one of your posts – include your website or your phone number in every single one of your posts. Ask people how they found out about you. Download the intake form template and print it out, make copies and then have the people who walk through your door fill it out. If you want to see what's working, this will show you. And lastly, I want you to know that I am your biggest cheerleader and your biggest supporter. I see you out there on Facebook and Instagram working so hard. I see you out there on the frontlines working to make a difference in the world. You are so amazing, and I appreciate what you’re doing. You’re selfless, and kind and you care about others. You are doing a great job – keep going! There is someone out there who needs your help! Take this step to help them find your front door. I am here for you, I am here to answer your questions, I am here with you every step of the way! You are not alone, and you can do this! You can reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram or email me – you can find links to all that at NonprofitPotential.com – I am literally just a message away. I promise to be your cheerleader and encourage you and help you, all you have to do is reach out and I’ll be there!  If you liked this episode and you know that you want a lot of great tactics and simple, easy to understand step by step training… then make sure you subscribe to my podcast. Actually go into iTunes or Apple podcasts and subscribe to this. Because when you subscribe, brand new episodes will land right on your phone each week and you won’t miss an episode – it will be right there for you to listen anytime, anywhere in your iTunes library.  Until next time…  Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button.   Links mentioned in this episode and other helpful episodes:  Information Sheet and Intake Sheet Downloads Free Design/Photo tool: Canva.com Register on Canva as a Nonprofit: https://www.canva.com/canva-for-nonprofits/ Copyright free photos to use for posts: Unsplash.com More Helpful Episodes Like This One:  Episode 30: Your Impact Is More Than Your Likes Episode 50: How to Run a Facebook Ad Episode 53: How to Tell Facebook Who Should See Your Posts Episode 36: 3 Things People Should Know About Your Nonprofit   If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/54

I have to start by telling you this story – a few days ago, I decided I was going to make banana ice cream from scratch. Not just blending up bananas as flavoring into vanilla ice cream, but actually making frozen bananas into ice cream. I’ve heard of people doing this on the internet, but I didn’t have a recipe, so naturally, I turned to the mecca of ideas – Pinterest. I searched one time for “banana ice cream recipes,” saved two of the recipes that looked good and went to my kitchen to cut up bananas for my ice cream. I made the ice cream, it was delicious – like CRAZY delicious.  A few days later, I got on Pinterest for the first time since the banana ice cream search, and suddenly, all of the things showing up in my feed – all of the pins that Pinterest thought I would be interested in seeing – were about banana ice cream recipes. Has this ever happened to you? I’m sure it has – because if you use social media at all, whether it be Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram, they all work the same way. They show you what they think you would like to see.  Then you want to keep scrolling and for that to happen they need to show you things that you want to see.  This is how social media works. They show you things related to what you’ve searched for already. So, what does this mean for you and your nonprofit organization?  Here’s an example: It means if you tell all the people from your church to like your nonprofit’s Facebook page and they do, Facebook is going to show the church people your nonprofit’s posts again and again – even if they’re not the people you want to reach.  If you want to reach people who need what you provide through the services you offer or through an outreach group, or meetings, or classes, or moms’ day out but who don’t go to your church, those people aren’t as likely to see your nonprofit’s Facebook or Instagram posts because they are outside of the circle of your church members.  If you are trying to reach your church members, then having them like your post is the right thing to do - but if you’re not trying to reach church members, you’re missing the people you want to serve. Wait, WHAT?! Yes – if your church, or your personal friends, or your volunteers and staff make up the majority of people who support your nonprofit on social media, they are going to be the audience that Facebook and Instagram shows your posts to. They are the ones who appear to be interested in your posts (because they’re “liking” and commenting on your posts) – so Facebook and Instagram are going to give them more of what they are interested in: your posts – which is good, but they aren’t the people who need your services. So how do you get your nonprofit’s posts SEEN by people outside of your inner circle? Outside of your core group of supporters?  It is great to encourage your donors and supporters, your staff, and volunteers to support your nonprofit on Facebook and Instagram. Likes and Shares no matter who they’re from really do help, BUT if those are the only or the majority of the people liking and sharing your posts, those people and people who have similar patterns and behaviors are going to be the only crowd that organically see your nonprofit’s social media posts.  Note: Seeing a post “organically” on Facebook means seeing a post without paying for Facebook to show your ad to new people. Let’s say your nonprofit is hosting an outreach group for young single moms, or parenting classes, or a Bible study, or a Mothers’ Day Out group, or an arts and crafts group, or a young singles group, or any type of meeting, group or class for people that don’t typically go to your church. How are you going to reach those people?  You can’t just post about it once and expect the word to spread like wildfire because if you’ve only been getting likes and shares from your supporters, guess what? Those are going to be the only people who see your nonprofit’s posts. And then what? Nobody shows up to your group, or your meeting or your class. You’ve put in all this time and effort to plan this group, meeting, or class, and it’s all for nothing! How discouraging is that? Doesn’t it make you feel like you just wasted your energy? Doesn’t it make you feel like you’re NOT making a difference no matter how hard you try? But it doesn’t have to be like that. Listen to this – Tell Facebook and Instagram where to cast your net - which fish you want to catch. Don’t tell your supporters, staff, and volunteers to STOP supporting your nonprofit on social media, instead, tell Facebook and Instagram who to show your posts to.  If you want people to show up for your group, meeting or class, here is what you do: Before you do ANYTHING ELSE, create an event on Facebook. When organizations create an actual event on Facebook – not just a regular post, but an event – they see an increase in reach and response to their event. An event isn’t only a fundraiser, it can be a class or a meeting or anything like that! A few months ago – this was before all the COVID stuff - my husband and I were sitting on the couch on a Saturday night and he was scrolling through Facebook on his phone. He said, “Oh wow, did you know the town’s winter carnival was this weekend?” I said, “Nope.” He showed me what he was looking at and it was a basic Facebook post – NOT a Facebook event. There we were, two people with extra time on our hands and money to spend on supporting the town by buying from the food vendors, and shopping at the craft fair, and entering the pancake eating contest – and we had no idea that event was going on. It was taking place TWO MILES down the road from our house, and we had no idea. In contrast, I just got two notifications on Facebook for two local events coming up that nonprofits are hosting because they are Facebook events not just Facebook posts. If you create a Facebook event, Facebook will help you spread the word to more people – to audiences beyond your support system. When you choose a category for your event – arts, crafts, health, music, or another category – Facebook will show it to people interested in those things. And then, if that person shows that they are interested in your event, Facebook will show your event to their friends.If you are hosting a group that is going to meet over several weeks, or months, I want you to create an event for your next meeting only. Don’t worry about making an event for every single meeting. If your group is starting off, name the event “Parenting Class Kickoff” or “Mothers’ Day Out Kickoff.”  If your group has been meeting for a while but you still want to reach more people, just create an event for your next meeting and name it, “Mothers’ Day Out.” The most critical part is that you are creating a Facebook event – you can explain to people who are interested the details of your upcoming meetings, but first, you have to get your foot in the door with one event. When creating a Facebook event, be sure to add details like when, where, a contact email or phone number and a short description like – “Join us for Mothers’ Day Out, Tuesdays at St. Francis Church. Meet other moms while your little one plays with new friends. Call Jennifer for details at (555) 555-4321.” That is all you need to say.  Invite people by saying, “Join us” Say the event title - “Mothers’ Day Out”  When/Where One line describing what it is – “Meet other moms while your little one plays with new friends.” Call to action – “Call Jennifer for details at (555) 555-4321” If you’re hosting a virtual event, be sure to mention that specifically in the event description so that people understand that this is not an in-person event. You can also put a link to your meeting in the details. Tip: Even if your event is virtual, be sure to add a physical location to your event (like your organization’s address). This will tell Facebook to show your event to people in your local area. You also need a cover photo for the event which you can create for free on Canva.com. Keep it simple – just select “Facebook event cover” from the templates, type in the title of the event in the center of the graphic, or add a picture, and upload it to your Facebook event.That’s it! If you want people to show up for your group, meeting, or class, create an event on Facebook. Boost your Facebook event. Even if all you have in your budget is $5 to spend on boosting your Facebook event, DO IT. Boosting an event is like running an advertisement. You select your budget and tell Facebook to show your event to more people. The more money you spend, the more people you can reach. Now here’s the MOST IMPORTANT PART of boosting the event: Choose your audience. If you don’t choose your audience, Facebook will choose it for you. And who are they going to choose? Hopefully, you know the answer to this by now – Facebook is going to choose your support system and people just like them. You have to tell Facebook where to cast your net. So, let’s say your nonprofit is hosting parenting classes. You created an event for your “Parenting Class Kickoff,” and now, when you are viewing your event, click the “Boost Event” button. A new window will pop up, scroll down on the left to where it says AUDIENCE. It will give you several options, but I recommend clicking, “People you choose through targeting.”  In the new window that pops up when you select “People you choose through targeting,” you will select gender, age, locations, and you can even add detailed targeting. You can actually tell Facebook who to target based on their demographics, interests, or behaviors. So for this example, with the Parenting Classes, we are going to select both men and women, ages 18-30, and we’re going to type in the city we’re in, and major towns and cities around us that people would realistically come from to take this class. Next, we’re going to add some detailed targeting. In this search bar, you can type in things like “family” or “income” or “parenting” or “child.” For this example, we might select the demographic “Parents with early school-age children.” Yes, it’s pretty freaky how specific you can get with these types of details, but truly, by making these selections, this will help you reach the specific people you want to reach on social media. Think of your audience and some interests or demographic details that apply to them and add them as detailed targeting. You can always delete things you’ve added before you boost your event. Facebook will let you know if your audience is too specific, or too broad, or just right.  So, if you want people to show up for your group, meeting, or class, create an event on Facebook and boost it.  Post about it. In addition to creating a Facebook event and boosting it, you need to create a regular post about it on Facebook and Instagram once a week to build momentum and excitement about it. How many times have you been interested in something you found on Facebook or Instagram, and then you went to that organization’s or business’ page, and saw nothing about it? It kind of made you wonder about how legitimate it was, if they were serious about it, if it’s really happening, didn’t it? You need to post about it and keep reminding people that it’s happening. And now more than ever, with the COVID-19 shutdown, there have been so many events, meetings, and groups cancelled, people are out of touch and details are cloudy. Remember, posting once a week about your event will help clear up the details and remind people about your event. I also recommend that you take your strongest, most clear, and best looking post about the event and boost it in addition to your Facebook event.  Tip: Listen to Episode 50: How to Run a Basic Facebook Ad for step by step instructions on how to boost a Facebook post.  Just like with your Facebook event cover, your post needs to have a simple graphic with the title of the event on it. With a post as opposed to an event cover, you can include the date and time, or a one liner like “meet other moms while your little ones play!” but remember, you need to keep your text to 20% or less of the image, but you want it to be big enough to be readable on a smart phone screen. Keep your message short and simple. When you boost your post about the event, you can select the same audience you used for your event – Facebook will remember what you originally selected and allow you to use it again. If you want people to show up for your group, meeting, or class, create an event on Facebook and boost it, and post about it.  This is an opportunity to choose your audience. If you want to see success and stop spinning your wheels – take these steps! You will start to see a difference. It’s not going to happen overnight – but once you start, you’ll start seeing the ball roll and you’ll start to experience success! But it only works if you start. You can do this! You are amazing! Look how far you’ve already come! Everything we’ve talked about today is do-able. Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. Links mentioned in this episode and other helpful episodes:  Banana ice cream recipe: How to Make Banana Nice Cream (The Ultimate Guide!) Canva.com Episode 50: How to Run a Basic Facebook Ad for step by step instructions on how to boost a Facebook post. Episode 19:  Why Your Facebook Ads Get Rejected If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/53

There are a lot of things in life that can leave us feeling zapped. Out of gas. Wind completely out of our sails. Tired.  A big pile of mush. Whether it’s in our everyday lives at home, at work, or maybe the weight of the world feels like it’s on our shoulders – sometimes, it’s easy to lose inspiration and the drive to keep going. In this episode, we’re talking about how to get that inspiration and drive BACK - how to recharge your spirit so you can stay true to your mission at your nonprofit and serve people who need your help. Yes! There are people out there who need you at your best – they need YOUR help! Think about it like this – if your friend was stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere because her car broke down, and she called you for help. Even though you only have a little gas in your car, you start down the road to help her because she needs you – but what happens? You run out of gas, and now you’re stranded on the side of the road too. Now YOU and YOUR friend are in a pickle. You have to keep your own tank filled up so you can be there for others. You have to recharge your battery so you can be a light for someone else. Here are 5 tips to recharge and re-inspire your spirit: Rest – Rest is EVERYTHING! I know – you have a lot to do. Your days are full and busy. Finding time to rest will help you work more efficiently and help you cope with stress. Rest helps you find peace and avoid agitation. If you give your brain time to just “be” and not think about work – you’ll find an easier path to peace in your mind and in your heart. And then you can do more and better work. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that my husband is a wildland firefighter. He is the ultimate giver. Sacrifice is as natural to him as breathing. He gives up months of his life to lead a crew of firefighters to try to put out wildfires and protect the homes of complete strangers all over the country. He gives up summer vacations, time with family, weekends, holidays, time he could be fishing. In the summer, he lives a go-go-go lifestyle where he’s gone at dawn and doesn’t sit down and take his boots off at home until 8 o’clock at night – except for the nights he’s fighting a fire and then he sleeps on the ground outside or if he’s feeling really luxurious, he’ll put up a tent. Rest is ALWAYS part of the conversation in our house. This is where I think God really knew what he was doing when he put us together, because I am a HUGE advocate for rest! When my husband is off the clock, he still has a hard time resting – so we do things like take a walk or some nice easy fishing on the river a few minutes from our house one night a week. We schedule our Saturdays (or whatever day he has off from work), so nothing happens before noon and there’s lots of breathing room to drink coffee, eat a big breakfast and watch a little HGTV together. Even though I have to remind him to rest sometimes, do you know what happens when he does? He feels good! He feels ready to lead his crew. He feels ready to go save people’s homes. He feels ready to do his job and he’s less stressed.   You probably have a different scenario at your house, but rest still makes a big difference. So, here’s my rest challenge to you: Get one extra hour of sleep. That doesn’t mean you have to go to bed at 8:30 p.m., but what if you went to bed at 10 and woke up at 6? That's EIGHT FULL HOURS of beautiful glorious sleep! Or sleep 9:30 to 5:30! Maybe eight hours isn’t realistic for you – but whatever your life is like, try to get more sleep. You’ll reap the benefits of it and see a difference in how you feel every day. The second thing in this rest challenge… Fast. Not from food but fast from social media and email. Try going for 24 hours without social media and email. Why? THIS is how you can supercharge your way back to peace. Think about it – how many pictures do you see in a day? How many things do you read? How many thoughts do those things produce in your head? And of those thoughts, how many make you feel less than awesome? Maybe you find scrolling through Facebook relaxing, but here’s the thing – when you scroll through Facebook for hours, you’re not present in the moment that you’re living in. Not only are you missing out on enjoying the moment, you’re also introducing stress. How many times has your peaceful mood been agitated by an inflammatory Facebook post or comment that you read? How many times have you been carefree, until you peeked at your email on your phone on a Saturday and saw you had an email that had to do with something you’re anxious about at work? Admittedly, I fail at fasting from social media and email A LOT, but in the past few months, on Friday nights I've been shutting down all the apps on my phone and then leaving it in another room. The break from all the noise of the world helps me get back to peace and I feel ready to take on the world Monday morning. That’s your rest challenge – get one extra hour of sleep and fast from social media and email for 24 hours.   The second thing you can do to recharge and re-inspire your spirit is… Exercise. Moving your body every day is so important when it comes to your mental health. Not only does it feel nice to move and stretch and feel alive, it’s also so healthy for your mind! Try taking a walk every day before or after work or at lunch. Pay attention to how you feel before, and more importantly afterwards.  Plan. Sunday night is perhaps the most important night of the week for me. If I don’t stick to my Sunday night plan, the whole week is likely to go off the rails. My Sunday night plan consists of eating dinner at 6:30 or 7, then doing something relaxing and low key before I put on my pajamas and brush my teeth at 9:30 and get in bed. If I don’t do this, Monday morning is a disaster. I don’t sleep well when I go to bed late, then I’m tired, then I skip exercising, then I’m cranky, productivity is low, and I just feel crummy. The day is a wash, and then I spend my entire Tuesday playing catch up. If I’m lucky, by Wednesday I’ve taken the reins on the week. All of that fallout from a lack of sticking to a Sunday night plan that has proven to work for me!  So – look at yourself. What can you plan to do to set yourself up for success? Is there something you can do the night before you get up and go to work that can help you? Can you lay out your outfit? Can you make your lunch? Can you cut up vegetables and make yourself a little Tupperware of hummus to eat for a snack, so you’ll eat that instead of Cheetos? What can you do at night that will help you tomorrow? Pray and think. I remember once our former pastor asked in a sermon – “How many things do you click on in a day? How many times do you click on something that has to do with God?”  I think about that when I look at my whole day. I have 24 hours, and I devote most of them to working or sleeping. What piece of that time can I devote to God? In the grand scheme of things, taking 30 minutes out of my day to pray, think, read something that’s calming and going to fill my mind with worthwhile thoughts seems like something worth prioritizing.  What has worked for me is incorporating this small block of time for God into my morning routine. I read a short daily devotional, pack a page full of chicken scratch in a prayer journal, and take time to pray and digest what I’ve read. It’s like putting armor on for the day – and I never skip it! Remember. Take some time and let the dust settle in your mind. Take a step back and remember what your mission is… What is the mission of your organization? Why did you start helping people this way? Remember why you started. Remember the beginning. Focus on it.  Did you get distracted, or are you still on course? If you’ve drifted a little, it’s okay – just take this time to get back on track. We all get distracted. Remember why you got started and reconnect with the decisions that led you to start helping others. Remember - you are making a difference. People still need you. Remember how amazing you are and the gifts you bring to the table!  Recharge and re-inspire your spirit so you can be your best for you and for others. You need to have a “full tank of gas” to be able to help people who are looking to you, so make sure you’re taking care of yourself – fill your tank! Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/52

If you’ve ever asked me a question through email or direct message on Facebook or Instagram, you know I always reply with an answer. Hopefully that answer gets you on the right track with any social media challenges you’re working through. I’ve compiled a batch of those questions and I’m going to answer them in this episode. All of these questions relate to Facebook, so here we go! I’m new to Facebook. Should I friend people with my personal account and if I do, would I be friending them to my organization’s page or to my personal account that is bare – I don’t even have a profile picture? OK – so first things first, if you have a Facebook page for your organization, you have to have a personal Facebook page set up first. This lets you interact with people as you, or you can interact with them as your page. How do you know which one you’re interacting as? Check out the little comments box below a post – the little icon that shows your profile picture on the right side of the comment box will reflect which page – your personal, or your organization – you’re interacting as. Now, as far as adding people as friends – you can only add friends as you from your personal page. You can’t add friends as your organization’s page.  Get the free step-by-step guide: How to Interact as Your Page You can, however, invite your personal Facebook friends to like your organization’s page. This is how: if you go to your organization’s page, you’ll see there’s a box on the right side that will have all of your friends with an “Invite” button. If you click “Invite,” it will send that person an invitation to like your page.  If you want to add more of your real-life friends as Facebook friends, simply search for their name in the search bar at the top of Facebook. It’s there all the time, so you don’t have to worry about locating that search bar. Another way to grow your organization’s Facebook following is this: take the link for your organization’s new page in the address bar (Facebook.com/__your org’s username ) copy the link and paste it in an email to your real-life friends and supporters and ask them to follow your organization on Facebook. If you haven’t yet given your organization’s Facebook page a user name, simply go to your organization’s page, click on “About” in the left side menu, find the Username section, and click edit. This will let you add a username and then going forward, this will be your page’s Facebook address that you can send to all your friends: Facebook.com/__your org’s username__. I’m not getting many post views should I boost it?   If you feel like your followers aren’t seeing your posts, you can always encourage them to change their Facebook settings so that they do see your organization’s new posts. I just went over this with my mom last week because she wasn’t seeing any posts from a page she follows, but she wanted to see the page’s new posts whenever they were published. Feel free to copy and paste these instructions and send them to all your friends! “See First” Instructions: Log into Facebook on a computer (not a phone) Go to the page you want to “See First” in your feed Click the “Follow” button Under “In Your News Feed” – select “See First” Now, new posts from your organization’s page will show up at the top of your friends’ Facebook feed.  Also, if you’re not getting many post views or likes and your page is brand new, remember – you’re brand new! Give it more time. You can certainly boost a post or promote your page if you want to expedite the process. Listen to Episode 50 for instructions on how to boost a post. How do I put my organization’s page on my page?  So if you want to share your organization’s post on your own personal page, go to your organization’s page, find a post you want to share to your personal page, and click the share button, and then “Share Now.” Make sure you are interacting as your personal page like we talked about a few minutes ago. If you’re going to share it to your personal page, your personal profile picture will show up next to the share button. Get the free step-by-step guide: How to Interact as Your Page Do I have to friend people for them to see my organization’s page? You don’t have to be friends with anyone on your personal Facebook profile for them to see your organization’s page, if the page is public. The sure-fire way to test to see if your page is public, is to sign out of Facebook, then go to your internet browser, and type in your Facebook address… Facebook.com/_your organization’s username (just like we talked about earlier!) Something I see a lot on Facebook is people creating what should be a personal page and using that for their organization, instead of setting up a professional Facebook page. This is problematic primarily because only people who are friends of that personal page will be able to see all your posts. Also, you won’t ever be able to run a Facebook ad or boost a post. Get the free step-by-step guide: How to Create a Facebook Page for Your Organization How do I change the size of the photo? Once a photo is on Facebook, you can’t change the size, however sometimes Facebook will stretch a photo to be bigger if you’ve uploaded a small photo. I use Canva.com to resize all of my photos – it’s a free and easy to use website where you can edit photos and change the sizes with just a few clicks. If you want something simpler, you can open your photos with Microsoft Paint on your Windows computer (if you have an Apple computer, you can use your Photos app). If you have a Windows computer, find your photo, right click on it, and select “Open With” and then, “Paint.” Once your photo opens in Paint, you’ll see the option to Resize in the upper left corner. Note: It’s OK to make an extra-large photo a little smaller, but NOT OK to make a little photo bigger. It will look all blurry and bad – a definite no-no on Facebook. On the other hand, if you have an extra-large photo, it’s OK to upload it to Facebook – Facebook will make it the appropriate size for you.  If you want to crop a photo – trim the edges – before you upload it to Facebook, you can also use Paint. Just open your photo in Paint, click the Select button in the top left corner, select the area you want to keep, and click Crop – it’s near the Select button. Keep in mind – the recommended size for a Facebook image is 1,200 x 630 pixels. The MINIMUM size is 400 x 150 pixels. In layman’s terms, that means pretty much the bigger the better when it comes to photos on Facebook. If you upload a huge photo, Facebook will shrink it to fit their recommended size. When in doubt, go bigger than you think you need. Remember – you can always test things – create a post, and then click PREVIEW POST (Note: you may have to click “Publishing Tools” at the bottom of your post to see this option). If it looks good, then post it! If it looks blurry, your picture is probably too small. Try again! And if you accidentally post something, you can always delete it by clicking those three little dots at the top right corner of the post and selecting “Delete from Page.” Is there any way to give photo credit to my son? I will be using most of the pictures he took for posts. There’s no formal way to add photo credit to someone on Facebook. The most common way to give credit to someone is to simply write the words, “Photo credit: John Smith” at the end of the post caption.  If you feel daring and you want to add photo credit to a picture, you can always use Canva.com or Paint.  Using Paint, all you have to do is open that photo up with Paint, and then click on the button that has a big “A” on it. You’ll see it there next to the paint can in the upper left area of the window. If you click on that “A” you’ll be able to draw a box where you can type. I suggest keeping things very professional and put that little box in the bottom corner of your photo, and then type in “Photo credit: John Smith.” Keep it simple – you wouldn’t want anything to distract from that beautiful photo, would you? Is it possible to add bold, color, italics etc. to the text on the post? No. The most you can do is type out an occasional word in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, but Facebook recommends using proper grammar, spelling, punctuation and not too many all capital letters. In case you didn’t know, many people these days interpret all caps as YELLING, which can be kind of unpleasant to read, right? Try this instead: make your words count. Make what you say short and sweet and keep it from drowning in words you don’t need. This way, you won’t have to make your words visually stand out with bold, italics, and color, because everything you’ve said has meaning. I know, it’s a hard thing to do! But take that into consideration and try it out. I know I’ve mentioned Canva.com about a million times by now… BUT – if you really feel passionately about highlighting a short sentence from your post, you can always get creative and make an image on Canva with a picture and then some words across it. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ve seen how sometimes my posts are a big picture with writing on it – I make all of those on Canva – and you can too! Canva has templates you can just paste words into and boom – you’ve got a beautiful image to go along with your post that has some of your text IN the image that really stands out! Click here to learn how to design from scratch using Canva’s step by step guide. Here’s the one thing I want you to keep in mind while you are creating images on Canva… Make sure that you are not going crazy with the words. Make sure the words you type into your Canva image only cover 20% or less of the picture. That’s right, think of a square – the words can only take up 20% of that square.  The first day I had quite a few hits on my post and now they are dwindling. Should I be doing something different? Remember – you are just starting out! Give it some time to grow. Be consistent.  Share the “See First” instructions with your followers. Share your Facebook link again. Yes, you can boost a post if you want. Facebook loves engagement, so if someone leaves you a comment, “Like” that comment, and reply! Not only is this beneficial to your page, it also creates a positive experience for the person who left you the comment. Listen now to Episode 6: How to Handle Comments Don’t get discouraged! You are doing great! Keep listening to this podcast. Go back and listen to the early episodes again, things will become clearer to you. You’ll keep learning! Keep up the great work! When I finish and click “Preview,” only the first couple of lines show up so I have to publish before I can review it. Am I doing something wrong? You should be able to click the “See More” button and see the rest of your post. If you don’t see that “See More” button, it’s time to adapt and overcome!  Type in your text, and make sure it says what you’d like – or type your post into a Microsoft Word document, edit it and then copy and paste it into Facebook. After that, upload your photo to go along with your post, and hit Preview. You’ll see your photo and at least the beginning of your text so you can get an idea of what it’s going to look like. Then publish it!  I know, it’s nerve-racking to post something – this might be new to you and you’re not sure. But you know how to delete a post if you mess up – just click those three little dots at the top right of the post and select “Delete from Page.” The more you practice posting, the more confidence you will have with it.  Remember when you were a kid learning to ride a bike? Remember how scary it seemed? Remember how fast it seemed like you were going? Through practice and repetition, you learned. And you probably got a little daring at times with your bike, didn’t you? You had confidence in yourself riding that bike! This is no different. In time, this will seem easy – all you have to do is keep going. Keep practicing!  How do my posts look to you?  What should I do differently? The biggest mistakes I see with many Facebook post images are too many words in the image (remember the 20% rule?) or using images that are too small, so they look blurry. If you’re a nonprofit, the biggest mistake I see is not putting important information like a phone number or website and a call to action. I’ll see a beautiful picture, and then nothing to go along with it – there’s nothing that tells someone how they can get help, or what phone number they should call or where they can make an appointment online. They’re just left wondering. Why would I ever want to advertise on Facebook? You can reach hundreds of people who might be interested in how you can help them, or inspire them or teach them or what you have for them but they don’t know about you yet, but with a small amount of money, as little as $5, you can tell them. Advertising on Facebook is extremely effective, and extremely affordable. The more money you spend on Facebook advertising, the more people you reach.  Can you imagine, if you’re able to reach hundreds of people with just $5, how many people you can reach with a Facebook advertising budget of $25? Yes, you are able to get your Facebook ad in front of hundreds or thousands of people in as little as 4 or 5 days, for as little as $5. Pretty incredible, right? Making posts takes me a LONG TIME! Any tips? One thing you might try is drafting several posts in a Word document for future use. Start by typing in the date that you plan on publishing that post, then type in the text for your post. Next, I like to type a brief description of the photo I’m going to use for the post, or if I know the name of the actual file, I’ll just use that. Then, that post is ready when I need it. Then to make a second post, I’ll hit enter a few times to put space between the first post and repeat the process: date for publishing, followed by the post text, and a brief description for the photo. Then, set aside some time to get all your images in one place. Put them all in the same folder. This will save you time when you are ready to post – you won’t be looking all over for that one picture you had in mind but can’t find. Finally, when the time comes for you to publish your post, you can copy and paste from the Word document one of the posts you’ve already written out using a photo from the folder you’ve already compiled. Stay organized, spend a little time setting yourself up for success and it will pay off! I am so proud of you!  You’re doing such an amazing job of investigating, experimenting, and figuring out how to make Facebook WORK FOR YOU! You are awesome! Keep going! Send me a message on Facebook or a “DM” as the cool kids call it – or email me your questions! You know I LOVE hearing from you, and even more, I LOVE ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS! This podcast is FOR YOU! So, let’s answer YOUR questions! Let’s make this work for you! I am dedicated to helping you learn. I’m here for you! Send me your questions! If you liked this episode and you know that you want a lot of great tactics and simple, easy to understand step by step training without a lot of fluff… then make sure you subscribe to this podcast. Actually, go into iTunes or Apple podcasts and subscribe. When you do, brand new episodes will land right on your phone each week and you won’t miss anything. Until next time! Links mentioned in this episode Free step-by-step guide: How to Interact as Your Page Episode 50: How to Run a Basic Facebook Ad Free step-by-step guide: How to Create a Facebook Page for Your Organization Canva photo editor Learn how to design from scratch using Canva’s step by step guide Episode 6: How to Handle Comments Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/51

In this episode of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential, we’re going to tackle one of the most talked about pain points of Facebook – Facebook Ads!  Because this is SUCH a lengthy and intricate topic, we’re going to start at the very beginning and talk about the easiest way to run an ad on Facebook – boosting a post.  There will be a deeper dive into Facebook Ads for you coming up in the near future, but let’s start with the basics now. Even if you already know how to boost a post on Facebook, this episode will help you feel more confident in what you’re doing and why you do it! This is a big exciting episode – it’s only appropriate for our 50th episode – so let’s jump right in! Let’s start from the very beginning…  Why would you ever want to advertise on Facebook? You can reach hundreds of people who might be interested in how you can help them or inspire them or teach them – but they don’t know about you yet. And you can do that for as little as $5. Advertising on Facebook is extremely effective, and extremely affordable. The more money you spend on Facebook advertising, the more people you reach.  Can you imagine, if you’re able to reach hundreds of people with just $5, how many people you can reach with a Facebook advertising budget of $25? Yes, you’re able to get your Facebook ad in front of hundreds or thousands of people in as little as 4 or 5 days, for as little as $5. Pretty incredible, right? What would you want to advertise about? If you’re a nonprofit who offers services, you can run ads like any other business that offers services. You can use your Facebook ad to get the word out about what you offer, your hours of operation, any special events you have, or fundraisers. You can tell Facebook to show your ad to people who would be interested in taking advantage of those services. Even if your nonprofit or group supports an interest, or a hobby that doesn’t have a brick and mortar building with in-person service, there are still great reasons to run ads.  Let’s say, you want more people to follow your page and engage with you, you can run a Facebook ad that will encourage people who may be interested to follow your page. This is a great way to grow your audience.  For example, if your organization is a historical society, and you want more people to follow your page because you want to share stories, pictures and articles, a Facebook ad can make sure that people who may be interested in history or your topic can learn about your page. Or maybe you have a fundraiser coming up or a giveaway – a Facebook ad can help more people learn about it, even if they don’t already follow you on Facebook. Earlier this year, one of my clients put $8 into a Facebook ad about a fundraiser they were having, and they raised $8,000. That was the only advertising they did for that particular fundraiser. One Facebook ad, for one week. Definitely worth spending the $8, right? Another example would be if you’re running a Facebook page for a daily devotional, you can run a Facebook ad to make sure that people who are thinking about starting a daily devotion can learn about your page. Now that you see why a Facebook ad may be right for you, let’s talk about the easiest, most basic way to advertise on Facebook. It’s called “boosting” a post. Boosting a post on Facebook is hands down the fastest, and easiest way to get an ad running on Facebook. If you have a Facebook page for your organization, you’ve probably seen the blue button at the bottom of one of your posts that says, “Boost Post.”  If you click on that Boost Post button, that means, you will add a budget and your credit card information, and then Facebook will show that particular post to more people – people not already in your audience. What exactly does that mean? It means when someone is scrolling through Facebook, that post will appear in their “feed” – the list of new posts - whether they follow your page or not. You’re paying for a targeted group of people to see your post. You tell Facebook which audience you want to target.  When you click on that Boost Post button, a new window will pop up and ask you what your objective is, and who you want your audience to be. You’ll see other options too, but for now, I want you to ignore those other things. Let’s keep it simple to start off. The main thing you need to be concerned about as a new Facebook advertiser is your audience. Remember, as a nonprofit organization, your audience is the person you want to help, or it can be your donors, or it can even be people who you want to recruit as volunteers.  For an audience of the person you want to help – the person who needs your nonprofit’s services – think about that person’s age, male or female, where do they live, what are their needs, their problems, their interests? What is going to make them want to click on your ad?  Remember – your audience is always asking the question, “What’s in it for me?”  Make sure you think about that when you’re creating your post that you’re going to boost. And keep it in mind as you tell Facebook who your audience is.  Knowing the answers to these questions makes it clear who to tell Facebook to show your ad to. For a deeper dive into who your audience is, check out Episode 7 of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential. Now that you have your audience in mind – let’s go over the step-by-step process for telling Facebook.  (Tip: It will be easier to go through this process on your computer) First, click the “Boost Post” button. Once you click the Boost Post button, a new window will pop up that says    OBJECTIVE and a couple other things. Scroll past those options until you get to AUDIENCE because right now, we’re going to stay focused on only this section of this new window.  When you scroll down to the part of the window that says AUDIENCE, you can choose from one of these options - People you choose through targeting - People who like your page - People who like your page and their friends - People in your local area People you choose through targeting – this means, you can choose specifically who you want to see your post. All you have to do to customize this option is click on the “Edit” button right next to it. This will let you edit the audience’s interests, location, ages, and gender. Once you click Edit, you can choose who you want to see your post. Men, Women, their age range, where they live, and you can even type in something to the “Detailed Targeting” box. This means, you can type in something like “airplane” – select that when it appears in the menu, and then your boosted post will be shown to people who are interested in airplanes. Save your settings once you’ve chosen your targeted audience. People who like your page – I know what you’re thinking. “If they already like my page, why aren’t they seeing my posts automatically?” The simple answer is, there is a LOT of stuff on Facebook. It’s a competitive place. Facebook likes to show people popular posts, so if your post isn’t popular yet, this will help it get there by ensuring that the people who follow your page see your post. People who like your page and their friends – This is a great option if you want to cast your net a little wider than just the people who follow your page. Why? Because many times, people are friends with like-minded people. If someone follows your page, chances are, they have a like-minded friend that will also want to follow your page. Also, as an added bonus, Facebook builds in a little bit of extra credibility for you with this option. When Facebook shows this post to one of your followers’ friends, it will tell them that their friend follows your page. Think about it – aren’t you more likely to engage with someone or something if you know your friend is already part of it?  People in your local area – This is a great option for brick and mortar organizations. If you’re offering services, or you’re a community service organization, this is a great way to get the word out in your area.  After you choose your audience, you need to select the DURATION AND BUDGET.  Your Facebook ad, or in this example, your boosted post, should run for a minimum of 4 days. Facebook won’t let you run an ad for just 1 day at the last minute. They have to approve all ads, which can sometimes take 24 hours (sometimes it only takes an hour), so don’t wait until the last minute to boost a post. Facebook recommends you spend at least $1 a day. You’ll see when you’re going through this process on your computer or your phone (Tip: it’s easier on your computer), how to easily adjust the number of days and the total budget you want to spend.  In this part of your screen, you will also see an Estimated People Reached. This is the estimate of how many people will see your post per day based on how much money and how many days you’ve chosen. If you want more people to see your post, you can go back and add more money to your budget by simply finding the post on your nonprofit’s Facebook page again.  Once you’ve boosted a post, you won’t be able to go back and make changes to the text or image – once it’s posted to your Facebook page, you can’t edit it while it’s boosted, but you can delete it, by clicking those three little dots in the top right corner and selecting “delete from page.” You can also stop your boost, just locate the post on your nonprofit’s page, click on “View Results” and switch the “status” button from Active to Paused. If this is intimidating or you’re worried about making a mistake, now you know how to “undo” a mistake! You have the power to experiment and try something new, because now you have a safety net. You know how to get yourself out of something if you mess up, which means, you can do this! Nothing is holding you back! Okay, so now, we’ve set our AUDIENCE, and DURATION AND BUDGET, we just have to set up PAYMENT. Under the DURATION AND BUDGET section, scroll down to PAYMENT, and add your credit card information. Check over everything one more time, and then click the boost button when you’re ready! And then your post is boosted – now you get to watch the difference the simplest Facebook ad can make for your organization! A few troubleshooting tips: When you boost a post, sometimes you’ll have the option of “add a button” to the post. If you want to do this, the button can say things like “Learn more” and if your audience clicks on it, it will take them to your website. But if you’re not ready to add a button to your boosted post, and you’re seeing that you have the option to do so, just find the little section that says, “Add a button to your post.” Click that little drop down menu below that and choose “No Button.”  Make sure to use a picture and a few sentences with your post. Facebook says, “Posts that feature photos and videos tend to get more engagement than text-only posts.” That’s straight from the horse’s mouth, so find a picture to use with your post, and make sure what you’re writing to go along with it is short and sweet. Get the free guide: What makes a good Facebook and Instagram Post Episode 2 has great tips for creating posts: nonprofitpotential.com/2 If you’re feeling nervous… Don’t be! Think about the reason you want to boost a post. It’s because you want to grow. You want more people to see your post. You want more people to follow your page. You need it because you have something beautiful and amazing and something that will help people and enrich their lives… and this is how you reach people in 2020. This is how it works now. This is just Facebook, and yes, it can be confusing, but you can do this! Remember that! You can do hard things – and now you know how to do this! DM me or email me to let me know how boosting a post went for you. Tip: Print these notes and use them to help guide you through the process of boosting a post! Don’t be nervous. You can do this.  I promise, once you take that first step, the second, third, fourth step – ALL THE STEPS – will come so much easier. All you have to do is click that Boost Post button and start the experiment. There are people who need to see your post, but they don’t know about you yet. Don’t deny them of that help you could give them because of a fear of Facebook. I am so proud of you for getting out of your comfort zone so that you can help someone in need and spread the word about your nonprofit. YOU. ARE. AMAZING. I can’t say that enough. Until next time! Links mentioned in this episode Episode 7 - Who Is Your Ideal Customer Portrait? Episode 2 - Anatomy of a Good Post Get the free guide: What makes a good Facebook and Instagram Post Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the “Subscribe” button on the left side under the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo.  Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast Click on the “Write a Review” button. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/50

Wanna know something not many people know about me?I can be very indecisive. For me, even the smallest decisions can be hard to make. What shoes should I wear? What should we have for dinner? Should I take my dog, Jack, for a walk or play fetch instead? I spend so much energy trying to make decisions. I overanalyze every situation, I procrastinate making decisions, and sometimes, I just completely avoid making decisions by deferring to others. I say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter to me! You decide!” Or… my husband hates it when I do this… He’ll say, where do you want to go to dinner? And I’ll say, “I don’t care, you decide,” and then he’ll choose a restaurant, and I’ll say, “Oh no, not there!” because really, the decision DID matter to me! Spending too much time on daily decision-making can be a huge waste of time and energy! Making decisions is something that didn’t come naturally to me.  It was uncomfortable, so I put it off and that’s when it became exhausting and stressful.  Does this sound like you at all? If so, you have probably felt the effects of being indecisive in every corner of your life, especially when it comes to your nonprofit. Think about all the decisions you have to oversee at your organization – how you help people, how to raise money, who to hire, how to lead your volunteers and staff, how to market your organization, what your brand – your logo, your colors, your website, your EVERYTHING looks like! You have so many decisions in your basket as a nonprofit leader – and those are just a few of the decisions you make!  But here’s what I’ve learned about making decisions in my life: If I set aside time to think about my bigger choices BEFORE the moment I need to say what I think or act, it’s a million times easier for me to decide. I take time to think about things beforehand, then I don’t get as stressed out or worry, I don’t waste time overthinking the situation, and I don’t say, “Oh I don’t care, you decide!” I end up with what I actually want!  Here’s the good news… Decision making is a skill that you can practice. Yes, you can practice making decisions and get better at it. It can actually become easier for you! Don’t we all want that? It’s not hard or magic and you can start practicing today. Three little tricks that help me make decisions every day. 1. Stop overanalyzing My friend Sherrie said something to me the other day on the phone… She said, “I’m 62 years old, and I’ve spent so many years of my life worrying about what might happen, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that most of the time nothing happened, but I sure did lose a lot of sleep over it.” If you struggle with overthinking things – you’re not alone. I’ve had my fair share of sleepless nights and stressed out days worrying and overanalyzing decisions I needed to make. I thought every decision had to be the perfect one. Overanalyzing is like when you’re doing the dishes, and the sink is getting clogged up with water. You want to turn on the disposer, but you’re afraid there’s a spoon in the drain. The water keeps filling up, it’s not going anywhere, the sink is not going to drain unless you turn on the disposer, but you don’t want to put your hand in the drain to feel around for a spoon. So, you just sit there and watch the water rise. Maybe you turn off the water, but the sink isn’t draining. It’s stagnant. It’s better to turn on the disposer and drain the water – and if there’s a spoon in there, that’s OK! Maybe next time you reach in to check because you learned that this time when you didn’t check – you slightly damaged a spoon. The point is – you have to be willing to make a choice. You can’t just live with a clogged sink. You can rebound and learn from a poor decision. You can learn quickly and move forward. Whereas with no decision, you’re not making the situation worse, but you’re not making it better either. You can only move forward or backward in life – if you make a mistake, or a poor choice, you can learn from it and move forward – you just have to be brave enough to do it. And you, my friend, are called to be brave. So, stop overthinking, and practice being brave but learn from those decisions.  2. Find positive influences to help you learn Find people in your life and learn from them how they make decisions. These days you can learn in so many ways - listen to podcasts (like this podcast!), stories that inspire you, interviews of people you admire and read books that teach you something or listen to books online.  Spend your time learning and pay attention to how others are making decisions. Learn from their examples. 3. Make smaller decisions Mother Teresa said, “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” The same idea applies to decision making.  Decision making is like a muscle. If you were going to start working out for the first time, you wouldn’t go to the gym and pick up the heaviest weights you could find… If you’re like me, you’d start with the 2-pound weights! Practice being decisive in little ways. Make little choices, and then the bigger decisions will start to seem easier! Recognize the little decisions you already make and give yourself credit for it. Think about how many decisions you’ve already made today – you decided what to put in your coffee, you decided what to eat, you decided what to wear, you decided to listen to this podcast! Look at you! You’re a decision-making machine! Honor that and give yourself kudos for it!  Now keep it going – recognize all the times you make little decisions for the rest of today… and every day! Stay committed to making decisions – “Yes, I want vanilla creamer in my coffee!” “Yes, I want the chicken cashew salad!” “Yes, I want to watch Fixer Upper!” “No, I don’t want to look at this catalog that came in the mail.” Practice, practice, practice, and celebrate every decision you make. Before you know it, you’ll be more decisive! It won’t take so much energy and time for you to make decisions. You’ll feel comfortable and confident in your choices – and who doesn’t want more of that?  Remember, don’t try to be perfect. Nothing hampers decision making like trying to make everything perfect – accept that not every decision is going to be flawless, and not every outcome is going to be perfect. Life is not perfect, humans are not perfect, so let go of that expectation, it will only slow you down. Try keeping things in perspective, and you’ll improve and learn with every decision you make. You’re doing an amazing job! The fact that you carved out time in your day to listen to this podcast is a true testament that you’re striving to learn, grow and be the best version of yourself so you can help others. You are an incredible, one-of-a-kind person and I am so proud of you for making time to learn so you can lead even better. Until next time! If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Sign up here to subscribe to my weekly email. You’ll get encouragement, motivation, tips and new episodes delivered right to your inbox! Subscribe, Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “I love this podcast! The episodes are short, but packed full of practical tips and easy-to-implement action steps…. I learn something every week.” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. To subscribe on your iPhone’s Apple Podcasts app, watch this short video. You’ll also see how to rate my show and leave a review. Or, if you want to subscribe on iTunes on your computer, click here to open the Apple Podcasts web page. Then follow these steps: Click on the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” button near the top of the screen. Click on the “Open iTunes App” button in the little window that pops up. (Yes, it’s confusing!) In the iTunes App that opens, click on the "Subscribe" button on the left side below the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential logo. Then click on the words, “Ratings and Reviews”. Click on the “stars” to rate my podcast. Click on the “Write a Review” button. If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/49

I am SUPER excited for today’s episode. Quite a few of you have asked if we could spend an episode talking about blogging… So here you go! Let’s talk about creating a blog for your nonprofit! First of all, why are blogs important? If you have a blog, it can help you show up in Google searches and that helps more people find your nonprofit which gives you a better opportunity to serve and help people.  A blog is another way to connect with them, build their trust in you, and solidify the idea that you are here to help them. So, what should you write about on your nonprofit’s blog? Start off by thinking about the person you serve (or want to serve). What did they eat for breakfast this morning (if they ate)? What do they do in their spare time? What do they spend their money on? Why do they use your service?  For example: Let’s say your nonprofit is a food bank – why do people come there? What do they use that money for that they save by coming to you?  Is it so they can save up for shoes for their kids?  So they can pay for doctor’s appointments, school supplies, medicine?  Buy their child an ice cream cone or something special?  They need a little extra money for their mother – medicine, or something extra for her? You’ve probably had many conversations with people you serve, and you see the hardship they go through. What do you talk to them about when you see them? Are their kids doing OK in school? How is their mother? You know how complex and complicated their lives are.  When you begin to write the blog post, think of those things and that person. Write your blog post about topics that will help them. We all have things we know are good for us and want to share about them. But is that what the person you serve wants to read about? You know eating healthy is best and kale and super foods are really good, but is that a topic for the people you serve? Probably not.  Instead what would help them? What would they want to know about?  Think about the questions that person Googles – what do they search for on the internet when they have a question or a need? Then take one question and answer it in your blog post. Let’s use another example – let’s say your nonprofit is a pregnancy resource center. The person you serve is probably searching questions like: How do you get pregnant? How do you read a pregnancy test? How do you know you’re pregnant?  Answer each of those questions in their own separate blog post. Break it down to an easy to understand, bite sized article. That’s your blog post. Think of the person you serve, think of what their day to day life is like, what are their struggles and problems, think about a question they would Google, and then answer one of those questions in a blog post. A good way to get ideas for blog posts is to brainstorm. Write down the most common problems you encounter at your nonprofit.  What are the recurring problems you hear from the people you serve… Write them ALL DOWN. Don’t think about it too much – this is just a brainstorm activity. Doing this with someone else will help you get the creative juices flowing! Another way to get ideas for blogging is to ask the people who work at your nonprofit for stories. You’ll gain insight and ideas into what needs you can address in a blog post. You’re not telling that story in the blog post; it’s just meant to give you a topic idea. Write down ALL of these ideas and then go back over your list when you’re finished and pick out the very best ideas. Now, let’s talk about what happens when it’s actually time for you to sit down and WRITE! Things to keep in mind: Use one topic per blog post –The temptation here is to give a complete picture of the problem you’re trying to help with.  Avoid that temptation by just answering one question…what does a positive pregnancy test look like, things to do with your children for fun, where to go for free pharmacy meds, three things to do to help your elderly mom.  See? Take just one topic at a time. Write 150-180 words. In previous episodes when we’ve talked about blogging, I said 300-500 words, but my new recommendation is SHORT. 150-180 words. I am one of those people whose brain is wired, “If some is good, more is better.” In other words, I have a hard time quitting, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I struggle with this ACROSS THE BOARD in life! If some is good, more is better when it comes to food, sleep, exercise, laziness, face cream, listening to the music too loud in my headphones… I really have to fight that mentality of “if some is good more is better” – that isn’t always, if ever, true! So, if you’re like me, and you know you have a tendency to give too much, to fix all the problems, I want you to really focus on setting that limit for your blog post! 150-180 words.   Use a happy picture with it – Unsplash.com is a catalog of free photos you can use for your blog post. Use a happy or appropriate picture that matches the theme of your post.  The picture is to help them think of where they want to be – not a sad picture of where you think they are. Add your phone number and email address at the end of your blog post so people can contact you. They might finish reading your blog post and think, “Hey! I need more information.” Or “Hey! These people know what they’re talking about – I need to get in touch with them!” Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with them. Put your phone number and email address at the end of every blog post. Make things easy to look at when possible.  Use lists/bullet points – keep them short.  Don’t blog about the top 10 things, write about the top 3 things.  Make it easy to read Bold the text a little bit for important words.  Think about who you’re writing to. What are they interested in? Make it easy for them to read. Write on a 4th grade level. Don’t use big words, it has to be short, quick, easy to read. Exception:  If you’re blogging for a nonprofit university or an organization like that, you’re going to write longer and on a higher level than 4th grade because your audience typically reads at a higher level.  A blog is not an educational piece, but a way to connect to people you serve or supporters. Remember that we have thousands of pieces of information coming at us every day. Our brains are made to find the things that will help us survive and thrive.  So, people scan for things that are easy to understand and helpful to use.  If we get too complicated in the words we use or the tips we’re giving, people lose interest quickly.  Keep it simple and easy to read with good bite-sized information.   A blog is a way to connect with your people to help them.  When you keep them in mind, you’ll have helped them and strengthened their connection with your nonprofit organization. Can we just step back and recognize for a minute how amazing you are? Here you are, finding out how to write a better blog post for your nonprofit because you want to help more people. You want to serve more people who need your help. You are AWESOME.  You truly have a heart for helping others, and I admire you and your courage to serve those in need in your community. You inspire me! Thank you for all you’re doing. Until next time! Links I mentioned in this episode: Unsplash.com Remember to subscribe to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential wherever you get your podcasts. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “Thank you beyond words for this free knowledge…I learned soo much within just ONE hour!!” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. Click here, scroll to the bottom and tap to rate five stars, then select “Write a Review.”  Let me know what you like best about the podcast! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/48

You and I both know that right now more than ever, people are in need. People are in crisis. Whether it’s an economic crisis, or an emotional crisis, or a health crisis, or something else – there are a lot of people out there in your community that need you now more than ever. They need assistance from your organization. They need your help. They need your support. They need your kindness and compassion. So how do you tell them that you’re here for them? How do you let them know you’ve got their back – you’re here to help them. You want to help them. You are able, ready and willing to help them. How do you tell them that? Well, for starters, you keep posting on Facebook and Instagram twice a week – but what is the most important part of that Facebook or Instagram post?   A call to action. They want you to tell them what to do next. And so, you tell them something like this:  “Text us now at 555-555-1234”  “Make an appointment online at agathasangels.com” “Call us today at 555-555-1234”  That’s all a call to action is. It’s telling someone how to get ahold of you. They need you, and it’s up to you to tell them how to get ahold of you. I know, using a call to action can be really uncomfortable. You might feel like you don’t need one, or it feels like it’s not your style, or it’s pushy…  There are a lot of reasons you might skip a call to action: - You forgot - You feel uncomfortable - You don’t want to be “salesy” or slimy  - You don’t want to be pushy - You don’t know how or what to say - No confidence that it’s the right thing to do - Not confident that your product will help them - Thinking, “I’m not depending on God if I’m asking, I should just let God send me who he wants to put in my way” Or there could be other reasons. Here’s the honest truth…  If figuring out where to find your organization’s phone number or your website is too hard or time consuming, or it’s not clear what you can help them with, then the people you want to serve will just scroll on by because they don’t know that you want to serve them… By using a call to action, are you manipulating people? No. You’re not telling them, “You better call us… OR ELSE!!!” By using a call to action, are you pressuring people? No. You’re giving people your contact information. If you knew your new friend really needed your help, would you just say, “Let me know if I can help” and then walk away? Or would you say, “Let me help – Call me, here’s my phone number!” If you were pushy, or manipulating, you’d be like an unrelenting robocaller – not interested in the person’s needs, just wanting to wear them down so they’ll buy.  See? That’s not what you’re doing at all.  You’re not being pushy!  You’re just helping the person who needs your help cross the bridge to a better place.  Imagine your organization is a beautiful glowing island in the middle of the ocean with white sandy beaches and palm trees swaying in the cool tropical breezes – tell people how to get a boat ticket there! Tell people how they can get to the island! Your island is relief for them. Your island is where they want and need to go. So, use a call to action – every single time in your Facebook and Instagram posts. You’re not being pushy or salesy.  You’re helping. You’re validating them and telling them it’s OK to call – and you’re making it easy for them by giving them the phone number or your website right then and there.  You might be like, “Lauren, I already know what a call to action is.” But here’s my question for you – are you using one in ALL of your Facebook or Instagram posts? Ask yourself, what is the point of your posting? Is it just to post for the sake of posting?  Or is it for something else… Something MORE MEANINGFUL? Is it to encourage people to use your services? To showcase your service or product so people will be better after they get help from you?  If you are posting meaningful things that describe your services – that are telling people about your organization - on Facebook and Instagram, that’s the first part! Great!  Now, you need to let people know what to do next when they find out you can help them. Give them that phone number! Give them that website! It will be a welcomed relief for the person who is searching for help. Remember – they might be feeling lost, overwhelmed, tired, hopeless – they need your help. Don’t make them hunt for the details about how to contact you. Make it easy!  They will be so grateful they found you and you’ll feel fulfilled that you helped another person! Let’s talk about how to come up with a good call to action. A good call to action has to satisfy these two requirements: It has to be easy to use for the person you want to serve – your simple phone number, or your website. Don’t make them send you a carrier pigeon or smoke signals to contact you. It has to be a method that you are going to monitor. If you tell people to call you and you give them your phone number, you have to answer the phone, check the messages, and return calls. If you tell people to make an appointment online on your website or email, then you need to check your emails and confirm those appointments. You have to pay close attention to the outlet that you are giving people to contact you. Come up with ONE call to action, and then use it repeatedly! Here’s my favorite call to action that I use all the time for one of my clients… I’m going to give it to you so you can just copy it. It works. Ready? This is what I write at the end of every Facebook and Instagram post for this client: We're here - how can we help? Call us at *Agatha’s Angels at 555-555-1234 or make an appointment online at *agathasangels.org *Name changed Now see? That doesn’t feel salesy, or slimy or pushy, does it? Just tell people the truth – you’re here for them and this is the best way to get ahold of you. That’s all a call to action is! Make it easy for people to use your service. Don’t make them hunt to figure out the details. It is so frustrating when we want to buy something or go somewhere or use a service, but we can’t figure out HOW! We need direction! If we don’t have direction, we won’t take action. We’ll just keep scrolling.  Challenge: Come up with a call to action and then use that same one for your next 3 Facebook or Instagram posts. I just want you to remember, you have such a good heart for serving others who need you, and you are making a difference in their lives. You can take on these challenges because it’s worth it to see people’s lives changed for the better. You are strong enough, you are smart enough, and you have the courage. Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it is acting IN SPITE OF IT! YOU ARE DOING GREAT! If you have those feelings of “feeling pushy,” be courageous my friend – take one small step out of your comfort zone today – do it for the person who needs your help.  And you’ll both feel good about it! Remember to subscribe to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential wherever you get your podcasts. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/47

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who was just so good at their job, and who has made such a difference in the world, when you finish chatting, you just pray some of their skill, experience and overall goodness has somehow rubbed off on you? That pretty much sums up my conversation this week with Martin Leifeld. Martin has spent more than 40 years in senior fundraising leadership roles. In working with a number of different organizations in his career, Martin and his teams have raised a staggering $500 million dollars. Martin is also the author of the book, Five Minutes for Fundraising: A collection of Expert Advice from Gifted Fundraisers. If you’ve ever wanted to gain insight from someone who has been around the block a time or 10 in the world of fundraising, this is it.  Here are just a few of the things Martin and I talked about in this episode: [5:58] How to prepare for fundraising [10:00] What you should know about fundraising during COVID-19 [12:50] How to become a successful and effective fundraiser [15:50] Giving the great gift to your donors [19:03] Advice to begin building lasting and life-giving relationships with your donors [20:17] Powerful but simple tools to help you as a fundraiser  You can find Martin’s book, Five Minutes for Fundraising, and his collection of free videos on his website, MartinLeifeld.com. Martin was an incredible guest, and I’m so happy I get to share his expertise and insight with you. Want something fun to do? Check out the brand new personality quiz, “What’s Your Secret Spice?” It will help you become more confident in yourself and as a leader in your organization with its personalized results. Click here to take the quiz now Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts “Thank you beyond words for this free knowledge…I learned soo much within just ONE hour!!” If that’s something you’d say…please rate and review this show today.  You’ll help me reach more people - like you - with tools to help nonprofits reach more people, raise more money and change communities for the good. Click here, scroll to the bottom and tap to rate five stars, then select “Write a Review.”  Let me know what you like best about the podcast! Links I mentioned in this episode:  MartinLeifeld.com Martin Leifeld's Retirement Video Remember to subscribe to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential wherever you get your podcasts. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/46

As a nonprofit organization, you deal with multiple audiences – your staff and volunteers, your donors, and the people you serve. In today’s episode, I’ve got three quick tips to help you with ALL of them! The conversation you need to have with your staff and volunteers before your organization opens back up in these coronavirus times Giving Tuesday coming up May 5th and your feelings about asking for money at this time And a little trick that you can use every day to get more of the people you want to serve or people who support you to like your Facebook page… It’s so simple, but SO GOOD.  Let’s start with that conversation with your staff and volunteers. A lot of states are opening back up again… It’s SUCH a confusing time with what we’re all supposed to do with this coronavirus stuff…some states are opening back up for business, while others are on lockdown until June. There are conflicting instructions on what we’re supposed to actually do, it’s hard to… well… KNOW WHAT WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO! Everyone – including the government and health officials – are all just figuring it out.  Disclaimer – I am not a doctor or an expert on the coronavirus. I do not work for the CDC. Follow the recommendations for your state. What is your state doing? What are the recommendations of your governor? Those are the guidelines you should be following. If going back to work and opening back up at your nonprofit is on the table, the first thing you need to do is have a conversation with your staff and volunteers. I read a statistic this week that said 1 in 3 volunteers is 55 years old and over. I know a lot of nonprofits have a lot of volunteers that are over 60. So, if you’re the leader of your organization, you have to take this into consideration – if your volunteers cannot, should not or don’t want to come to serve at your organization, how will you adjust the way you serve, how will you adapt? Get the pulse of your volunteers and staff. A great way to get honest feedback is by asking them to all weigh in with SurveyMonkey. You can sign up for a free plan. The beauty of using SurveyMonkey is you can get clear honest feedback from your volunteers and staff to your clear questions. You can ask them questions like: when will you be ready to volunteer? Next week, in a month, or decide later. Then you can adjust your services based on how many volunteers will come in, and how you can incorporate social distancing. It’s not going to be business as usual, but you can start inching a little closer to normal. You know your organization’s specific situation. Get feedback from your volunteers and staff, pay attention to what your governor is recommending, and take into consideration the details of how you nonprofit can operate – if you think about those things, you’ll feel a lot more confident about what to do and how you’re supposed to do it.  Ok let’s shift gears and talk about your donors… This year, there will be not one, but TWO Giving Tuesdays. In addition to the original Giving Tuesday in November, there will be another Giving Tuesday May 5th, which is next week at the time of the release of this episode. I’ve been hearing a lot of nonprofit leaders voicing concerns and feeling conflicted over the idea of asking for money right now, especially if they don’t necessarily need it.  First of all, I just want to say, yes, a lot of people have lost their jobs or have had to shut down their businesses. But not everyone. Not everyone is out of a job. On top of that, people realize that now more than ever, nonprofits need support. That’s why there are two days of giving this year on the calendar!  It’s OKAY to ask for money right now during these “giving events.” and here’s the truth about it all: If you don’t ask, somebody else is going to. You might not be on the brink of closing your nonprofit’s doors, but you don’t have to wait until you’re on the edge to ask for money. Remember what you do! You are helping your community. You are helping people in need. You do good for others! Nonprofits help so many people in every community and at this time lots of people need help. So yes, absolutely, you should participate in Giving Tuesday and any other local day of giving event coming up in your area. Those donations will help you to continue to help people in your community. Here’s what you’re going to do to make it successful for your organization: Tell people the facts about your organization. Make sure your website, your Facebook page, and if you have an actual profile with your local day of giving event states clearly what your organization does. That first sentence in the “about” section should state in the plainest of terms what you do.  For example, “We are an after-school mentoring program.” Make it SO easy for people to understand how you serve your community. Lay out the facts. Use your Facebook, Instagram and email list to prepare your donors for the day of giving.  Start warming up your donors – you don’t have much time if you are just getting started, but a few social media posts and a couple emails to your donors can go a long way. Let them know when to donate and give them the link to where they can donate. Remember when talking to your donors, make them the hero – let them know your organization couldn’t do it without them. In your social media posts, use a picture, a sentence and a call to action with a link to the donation page. This is an absolute MUST.  Check out this episode for a deeper dive. Even if you only raise a few hundred dollars – that’s a few hundred dollars more than you had yesterday! OK, so we’ve touched on how to get a pulse on what your staff and volunteers are able to do and about your donors.  Let’s focus on the people you serve. This is a little Facebook trick that you can use every day to get more of the people you want to serve to like your Facebook page… It’s so simple, but SO GOOD. It’s a tiny thing you can do that over time, can pack a big punch. Have you ever gotten a notification on Facebook – that little bell at the top of the screen on Facebook – and it says “Wilma Jones liked your organization’s Facebook post. Help her to see future posts by inviting her to like your page” – you’ve seen that one, right? Have you ever DONE IT? Have you ever invited someone to like your page through one of those notifications? Here’s what you do… I find it easier to do this on a computer rather than your phone, so get to a computer to try this. Next time you get one of those notifications, click on it. This will bring up the post that Wilma Jones, or whoever, liked. When you see the post load, click on the little number next to the reactions – the little number next to the thumbs up or the hearts reactions. A list of Facebook users that have liked your post will pop up. Next to their name, you will see a button – if that button says “Invite” – I want you to click it! Invite everyone on that list to like your Facebook page.  If the button says, “Liked” or “Invited” that means, they either already like your page, or you already invited them and they haven’t accepted your invitation to like the page yet, and you won’t be able to invite them again. Now, here’s the next level…where you can REALLY grow your organization’s Facebook page. Get a really good post on your organization’s page and boost it so that more people in your area will like it. Then, during the boost, invite people who like your post to like your page. If someone likes your page, send them a message to say, “Thanks for liking our page! Let us know if you have any questions!” You can start building a relationship with them right away with this simple little trick – and build your Facebook audience. It’s such a small thing to do – but before you know it, you can grow your Facebook followers exponentially. Try it! Try it one time this week and see what happens! Links I mentioned in this episode:  Stats on Senior Volunteers SurveyMonkey Episode 2:  Anatomy of a Good Post QUIZ: What’s Your Secret Spice?   For additional help, listen to these episodes: Episode 10:  Three Step Plan for Event Marketing Episode 44: It's Never Too Late to Start a Facebook Page Episode 13:  5 Things You NEED to Know About Email Newsletters   Remember to subscribe to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential wherever you get your podcasts. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/45

A week ago, a small business owner called me to ask for help setting up a Facebook page. Normally she doesn’t rely on Facebook to keep her business going. But in these times of staying home and self-quarantining, she realized that Facebook is the easiest way to stay connected with her customers and her community - even new customers she’s never served before.  She saw the example of the other restaurants selling out of food every day and small businesses that are still operating. They are still bringing in income, and still open for business. That wasn’t happening for her. She saw their example and knew it was time for her to get on the social media train, too. If you are a small business owner or a nonprofit leader who hasn’t gotten on that train yet – I’m telling you – IT IS NOT TOO LATE! You might be thinking… “What good is it? Nothing’s going to happen if I do the Facebook thing.”  The only way nothing is going to happen is if you don’t do anything. Imagine you and I are walking down Main Street in your town. As we walk down the street, we see that every organization or business is holding up a billboard with a big giant neon arrow pointing to their front door. If it’s a restaurant, there’s a sandwich board sign yelling out that they’re open. Every nonprofit organization and business has their specials, services, and sales on display in a big beautiful glass case on the sidewalk.  And then we get to a storefront that’s bare. There’s no sandwich board. There’s no neon arrow. There’s no billboard. There’s not so much as a menu or the hours of operation Scotch taped to the front window. We can’t tell if the lights are on.  So, what do we do? We keep walking.  Why would we try to go in when we don’t even know if they’re open, when we could go to the place next door that is lit up and beckoning for us to come in?  Which business or organization do you want to be?  Do you want people to KNOW you’re open? Do you want people to be attracted to your business or organization? Do you want people to use your services, or buy your products, or donate to your cause? Then you have to tell them! People aren’t going to seek you out to beg you to serve them. They will pick what’s easiest to use.  And right now, because of the coronavirus, a real-life sign in front of your business is not enough. Everyone is at home. On their computer, or on their phone. THAT IS WHERE YOU NEED TO PUT A SIGN. Where everyone is looking! It’s not too late to start a Facebook page for your business or organization. It’s not hard, you just have to start with one step at a time. And here’s more good news – Facebook is free. I always hear people say, “I don’t use Facebook personally – I stay away from it. It’s too much drama.” If you feel that way too, I know exactly what you mean! But here’s the truth – you don’t have to use Facebook personally in order to have a Facebook page for your business or organization. You do have to have a personal account to set it up, but you don’t even have to put a picture of yourself, or a single bit of personal information besides your name and your email address – and your email address doesn’t even have to be public. The purpose of your Facebook business page is to talk about your business or your nonprofit. You don’t have to put your personal life on your business or nonprofit Facebook page. If you don’t have a page yet, I know it’s uncomfortable, I know it’s scary – but nothing ventured, nothing gained. You can do this. Now, if you’re just starting a Facebook page for your business or organization, it’s not going to be business as usual right off the bat – it takes a little time but you’re opening the door to the possibility of business now, and more business later. You’re warming up your customers, patients, or clients. You’re getting the word out that you’re open for business! If you’re a church administrator – you still have bills to pay, but your congregation is out of sight. Get them involved, you can speak to them directly, you can remind them the church needs their support. You can minister to them through Facebook – that’s what they’re looking at all day, they could be hearing from you! If you’re a restaurant – you need to let people know that you’re still open (because not every restaurant is), what your hours are, what food you’re serving and how you’re serving it (is it carry out, or drive thru?) Show pictures of your food to remind people of how delicious it is! Maybe you have to do something different to bring in money these days. Here’s a good example of how social media helped a daycare owner who had to close her business.  Before Easter she started posting on Facebook about her new service. People could pay her to sneak into their yards a day or so before Easter and hide dozens of Easter eggs filled with candy so families could enjoy an Easter egg hunt together without any of the work. Her daycare business might be closed right now, but she saw a need, pivoted, and found a way to make money. Why was it successful? Because she put it on Facebook! She was able to get the word out about it.  My mom told me about how she and my dad were going to get Chinese food the other night, but they couldn’t figure out if their usual restaurant was open or not – so do you know what they did? They looked on Facebook and ordered Chinese food from a different place they knew was open. How did they know? Because of Facebook. Their menu was even on the page! It was easy for customers to see what they wanted and place an order. I just saw on Facebook a seasonal pizza restaurant in our town is about to re-open, even though there’s a pandemic going on. And do you know what I did as soon as I saw the Facebook post? I sent it to my husband and told him to get ready for pizza night!  But how would I have known if I didn’t see it on Facebook? I wouldn’t have known because I never drive to that part of town – I’m hardly driving anywhere right now with a pandemic – I’m at home on Facebook with everyone else! Hopefully by now, you’re convinced that you need to get on Facebook. So how do you start? Well, first, you have to understand, there is a method. Use the method. This is what businesses that make money do – this is what nonprofits that are still serving and financially stable are doing.  This is the method: Post twice a week. With every post include a picture, have at least one sentence about your service, sale, event, or item, and tell people what to do next – a call to action. So, for example, if you sell sandwiches, I want you to take a picture of your best, most delicious looking sandwich, add words like, “Yum! Chicken Cashew Sandwiches available for pickup today!” and then tell the customer what to do next with a call to action, “Call 555-5555 to order.” Remember, you need to make it easy for people to understand that you’re open. You need to make it easy to understand what you’re selling. You need to make it easy to understand what people should do next if they want your service, or your product. And you have to make it visual – Facebook is all about the visual.  So take a picture. Write a sentence. Give your phone number or how to contact you. Make it easy to understand what’s going on.  Just like on our imaginary walk down Main Street – if you don’t make it clear that you’re open for business, people are going to keep on walking by. Open that door to the possibility of business! Get that “billboard” up on Facebook Avenue! Get seen! Get people’s attention! Here’s what I want you to do THIS WEEK: Start a page, if you haven’t already – include a brief “ABOUT” section for your business or organization. Use a short sentence about one thing you offer. You also NEED to fill out the contact information section with at least a phone number for how people can reach your business. There’s a link to step-by-step instructions on how to do this at the bottom of this page. Start posting. Here are 2 post ideas:  If you’re a nonprofit, post one informational post about how you are serving THIS WEEK. And for the other one, use an inspirational post – maybe you’re thanking volunteers, maybe it’s an inspirational quote.  If you’re a business, create one post about one product you sell. And for the second post, do the same thing for another product you sell. It’s that simple.  Just tell the people what you do, sell, or how you help. Remember to include a picture, a sentence, and your phone number. Invite your friends in your area to like your page. Even if you aren’t Facebook friends with anyone, use the phone to call and ask your friends to like your business or organization’s Facebook page. And also ask them to ask their friends to like your business or organization’s Facebook page. It’ll be a great time to catch up with them too. The only way nothing is going to happen, is if you don’t do anything.  It’s not too late. Start now! YOU CAN DO THIS. I want you to be successful. I will help you. Email me your questions! Get in touch at nonprofitpotential.com/contact Please share this episode with anyone you know who might be feeling stuck. I appreciate it – and they will too! Resources to help you get started with the FIRST STEP to becoming Facebook savvy! Episode 2:  Anatomy of a Good Post  Episode 5:  What to Post and When? Episode 6:  Handling Comments Episode 18:  Need Ideas for Posts? Here They Are. Episode 36: 3 Things People Should Know About Your NonprofitDownload the free guide: How to Set Up a Facebook Page Download the free guide: How to Interact as Your Organization’s Facebook Page Remember to subscribe to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential wherever you get your podcasts. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/44

As I'm recording this, there’s a pandemic going on. Still. It’s Good Friday – Easter weekend is here, and a few weeks ago, I thought, OH FOR SURE we are going to be in church on Easter Sunday – everything is going to be open up again, and this whole social distancing thing will be over.  Well, it’s not. There is not a single Mass or church service scheduled at one single church in our town this weekend. Everything is still closed. It’s not safe yet to be in big crowds. Things aren’t back to normal.  So how, when our normal way of life is ANYTHING BUT NORMAL – how are we supposed to do things like run a nonprofit organization that can’t serve in a normal way? Whether your nonprofit is open and you’re wearing a facemask, gloves and PPE every day, or your organization is closed for the time being, there is still a very important thing you can, and must be doing right now. Something that will help you now, and it will give you a MAJOR advantage for the future. What is it? Email. Email your donors, supporters and board members. Yes, send out an email to these people once a week. Maybe you’re thinking - LAUREN, I don’t know what to write in an email – I hate it, that’s why I only do it once a quarter…or once a year!  Or maybe you’re thinking… I don’t know what to say to these people IN PERSON, much less what to say in an email. Or maybe you’re thinking… I only send out emails when we’re about to have a fundraiser or an end of the year appeal. Or maybe you’re thinking… I only have email addresses for 5 people. I can’t start with that. I’m telling you, START. The email I’m talking about is not the same as writing a quarterly newsletter sent by US Mail… It’s not a two-page letter. It’s not an overview of everything you’re doing. Your email is simply saying, “We’re still here and serving!” You’re not sitting down for a long visit and a cup of coffee. You’re just checking in with a high five. Here’s the thing. If you want to have a robust group of donors – people who support you financially – you have to have a relationship with them. A relationship built over time and consistently. Consistency means you email them REGULARLY. Think of your emails as a really long breadcrumb trail to your next fundraiser. If you’re at home right now because of COVID-19, you can begin to reach out every week to your donors by email. Add to the email list any people who support and love your organization but haven’t given money – YET – and add your board members too. Use this time to your advantage! You might not be serving in your normal capacity, or your normal way. Maybe you’ve had to shut down operations all together – but that doesn’t mean you have to stop growing your nonprofit.  Even if you haven’t sent emails before on a regular basis, start now. They will help you build relationships. You CAN keep reminding your donors that your organization is STILL HERE. You can tell them how you’re finding new ways to serve, that you’re using this time wisely, and that their support means everything to you and the people you serve. So – here’s the game plan. Are you ready? This is my challenge to you. Send an email to your donors and supporters once a week – start this week! Here’s how to do it: First, use a free email hosting system like Mailchimp or Constant Contact  It will allow you to build a professional-looking email It will keep track of your email list in an organized way They are both super easy and user friendly. Either one you choose is easy to set up. Set up a free account today so you can send that email this week. Second, what goes in the email? Every email needs: Your logo, or at least a picture of something that represents your organization. Put it in the header and also link the logo to your website or Facebook page. A short letter of 3-5 sentences talking to your donors. Tell a story, describe something that happened. Don’t get too lengthy – keep your entire email to less than 200 words or 20 lines. And remember what everyone thinks: “What’s in this for me?” when you’re writing your email. Links – This is where you say “Follow us on Facebook!” and put a link to your Facebook page or “Learn more about our organization” and put a link to your website, or give some kind of call to action that will encourage the reader to do more. An interesting, punchy subject line – You can save writing the subject line for last, then you can take some ideas from your email and turn it into something that will make someone want to open your email. The most important thing - make your emails about your donors and supporters.  WHAT? Yes, make it about them.  For example, let’s just say you’re writing a quick email to touch base with your donors and update them this week on the fact that you’re still closed… How could you possibly make it about THEM? First, thank them for supporting and praying for your organization in this difficult time. Second, update them on what’s going on with your organization this week – be sure to say thanks for any support you’ve received whether it was donations of items or the card they sent. Third, serve them. Think about your donors – what are they doing? How are they coping? What are their challenges and struggles right now? What can you do to serve them?  I’ve been getting some good emails from nonprofits doing this lately – they’ve served their supporters by sharing links to free classical music on YouTube, a link to the 5 Love Languages quiz for people to take while they’re staying at home, a link to the CARES Act information for small business owners and links to Small Business Survival Guides from the US Chamber of Commerce. Those are just a few examples. YOU don’t have to come up with the content to share – you don’t have to write a whole article on your blog about the CARES Act or record a video of yourself singing songs for entertainment. Just share with them a little something that will let them know that you’re thinking of them. By doing this, you’re cultivating positive, good feelings with them.  Every time they see your email in their inbox, they’ll know that something good is waiting for them inside. If you show them gratitude and grace by serving them, they will remember. Their loyalty and support of your organization will grow. If you start now, by the time your next fundraiser event comes around, you’ll be ready to reach out to your donors and supporters to ask them to attend because you’ve been cultivating your relationship with them, giving to them.  They’ve been hearing from you. Their positive feelings toward your organization have been growing because every time they see your email, they know it’s you touching base, checking in, quickly letting them know what’s up and supporting them.  Don’t let them forget about you in this crazy time. They want to know what’s going on with your organization. Give them that quick weekly update, say thank you, and serve them with something helpful or entertaining for them. During this COVID-19 pandemic, you have the choice to crumble under the circumstances and lie down in the face of adversity, or you have the opportunity to show everyone just how amazing and strong your organization is. Keep showing up. Send out that weekly email! Use this time to your advantage! Your donors will take notice.  You are doing an amazing job! Keep going! Thank you for not giving up! Remember to subscribe to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential wherever you get your podcasts. Links mentioned in this episode: Mailchimp https://mailchimp.com/ Constant Contact https://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/43

With this crazy COVID-19 stuff going on, have you suddenly found yourself filling the role of teacher, principal AND janitor of your child’s new at-home school?  How’s that going so far? In this episode, I sat down with MY MOM, who schooled me and my two brothers AT HOME for more than a decade. Before the days of Google, iPads, and online learning programs, my mom figured out how to manage the crazy dynamic of having kids at home all day and instill a love of learning in all of us. If your child is out of school and they have to do schoolwork to turn in – go with what’s expected by the school but enhance it by creating an atmosphere of love of learning at your house. Understanding how a child or anyone learns and watching that process can be a happy experience for everyone.   Four General types of Learning Strengths Visual strength:  They like to see charts, diagrams, flowcharts.  These things make concepts in their mind become real.  Reading, art, learning things by seeing them. Some favorite things they like to use are colored post it notes, flashcards, colored markers and pencils  Auditory strength:  Do you have a talker in your house? They like to talk out loud about concepts they’re thinking about as they work through ideas.  They aren’t thinking first and then speaking the conclusion, they’re thinking about something and talking to help them figure it out. Some things they like are having someone listen and discuss.  They also like someone reading aloud, audio books, singing aloud the musical alphabet and multiplication tables Read and Write strength: Many children who do well in school have this strength.  They like reading anything - books, articles, reading online, making notes about what they find.  This is the kind of learner traditional classrooms rely on. If you went to a regular school, you know what this is…maybe you struggled with it, but you know what it is. Kinesthetic strength:  All young children learn kinesthetically.  But as they get older, many of the other strengths surface.  Kinesthetic learners like real world examples, they like when someone shows them “how-to” do something.  They use their bodies and learn by doing, seeing, tasting and touching things. Things like dressing up as historical characters, building things, watching ants in the sand, sports, hands on experiences. Knowing how you learn is a big help. No one only has one kind of strength. Understanding the four kinds of strengths helps with learning. It helps the child be successful and you be less frustrated. The basic skills to learn and succeed with are reading, writing and math! If your child is out of school and they have to do schoolwork to turn in – go with what’s expected but enhance the learning by using some of these ideas or making up your own ideas. For early childhood ages: unload the dishwasher and sorting silverware, counting, sing the ABC song while washing hands, pull out the chalk and markers to teach colors, how two colors put together make a new color. Counting songs for math - counting to a hundred, multiplication tables.  Starting a story and each person adds the next sentence making up the story as you go along. READ, read, read out loud.  Are there various ages of children? Read a good book at the level of the oldest child. Give everyone quiet toys to play with while reading (blocks, coloring, drawing). Goodreads for children can help you choose good books to read together. Ideas for things to do at home: Watch bugs, ants or other creepy crawly things – where do they go, what are they doing? Dressing up as characters in a book and retelling a chapter  Acting out a fairy tale or folk tale Easy science experiments How do things work – do you have old small appliances or things to take apart? Listen to your child when he/she talks about or finds something interesting  Remember, this is a special time we’ve been granted to be with our children. Find joy in this stay at- home event. You’ll be making memories forever! Tell a friend about this podcast! Subscribe so you never accidentally miss an episode. Thank you for all you do for your family and community.  You make all the difference to so many people. Keep it up and know we’re all in this together and we WILL BE successful! Links mentioned in this episode: Goodreads for Popular Children’s Books   If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/42

If you’ve had one toe in the nonprofit swimming pool in the past few weeks, since the coronavirus pandemic situation has been unfolding, you’ve likely heard the words “online fundraising” about a million times by now. Lots of nonprofits have had to cancel or postpone their fundraising events because people are practicing social distancing, and they’re not allowed to gather in big groups… I know here in Wyoming, pretty much only the grocery store is open, food is available for pickup only at a handful of restaurants that are still open… and that’s it. That’s how it is in a lot of areas in the country. So, on top of all of the closures and cancelations, a lot of nonprofits have had to stop serving for the time being.  They’re serving in limited capacities or they’ve had to re-invent because they saw a need. I just want to take this opportunity to say – I see you all, I know those of you who are making a drastic pivot and figuring out how to keep serving even in these challenging times are working so hard. I see how you are doing everything you can to help and to take care of people in any way possible, and I just want to say thank you.  Right now, you have the choice to crumble under the circumstances and lie down in the face of adversity, or you can show everyone just how amazing and strong your organization is. Keep showing up. Keep posting, keep emailing, keep serving in any way possible. Your donors and the people you serve will take notice. You are doing an amazing job! Thank you for not giving up! OK – SO – in this challenging time when we’re all trying to figure out our next step, let’s talk about online fundraisers – are they hot? Or are they not? In the past couple weeks, I have heard so many different versions of what an online fundraiser could be… It could be an online auction, it could be a live streamed event where you have speakers call in like on a Zoom call, or some kind of video chat --- I saw one fundraiser banquet that was actually going to take place, but the organization was going to live stream it so people could also watch it online. Other kinds of online fundraisers could be an online appeal, or a donation drive. But first, is it right for your organization?  The first question you have to ask yourself is, is an online fundraiser right for you? For your organization? Let’s use an example… If you’re a school and your donors are already highly invested because they’re the parents and grandparents of your students, then you might be able to have a great online fundraiser. If you’re a new or newer organization and you don’t have a strong, established relationship with your donors, it might be more challenging to have an online fundraiser. But here’s the good news, you can just start where you are! How can you pivot and still raise money? What fundraiser have you done in the past that worked – how can you make it work in your current circumstances?  Do you feel skeptical?  If you’re resistant to the idea of an online fundraiser, and you just feel like this is not right for your organization… listen to your gut. Brainstorm and think of another way to fundraise. Pivot. Start where you are… Send weekly emails - Use this time to build your relationship with your donors by storytelling, talk about what you do, and the value you bring to the lives of the people you serve. Bring value to your donor’s lives – send them a positive, feel good email! Use social media – post 2 times a week with a picture, and text and a call to action – THIS WORKS. I have built an entire business on this method. It works. It gets the most results. Send handwritten thank you notes that tell the story of one person they’re helping because they donated.  Remind them of what your mission is. You know it, but they might not be so clear about it. Tell them over and over in a few concise, clear words what your mission is.  Ask people to give. One of the main reasons people don’t donate is because they haven’t been asked.  So, at the end of your weekly email, put a link to where they can donate. Just start there! Here are a few ideas for online fundraisers to get you started brainstorming:  Do you have an end of the year appeal? Do it now, but without the cost.  Start sending emails every week for two or three weeks in advance to prepare your donors for your appeal. (This is your runway to get people prepared to give.) Remind them, do a countdown. Prep them with information about why you are doing the appeal, who the money will be helping. Let them know you need their help!  Then, at the end of that three week “runway,” kick off a week of giving. Send a link, or post a link where they can donate, or give them a phone number they can call to donate. Do this every day during your week of giving. Update your Instagram Story, build excitement around it, tell them stories. If you have a little extra money to boost a Facebook post, do it – Boost a post. Even $5 makes a difference in who sees your post.  Make sure everyone of your donors sees your post and don’t forget that other people in your local area can see your post when you choose the specific audience for your post. Remember you’re building your relationship with your donors when they see your posts. Have a walk or a fitness challenge to raise money  Get people to pledge or sponsor people who walk around their neighborhood for one week, or count steps with their fitness tracker or Fitbit, or work out with the Peloton app – by the way, the Peloton fitness app is free for 90 days right now when you sign up – you don’t need workout equipment or a credit card to sign up – it’s amazing, I’m totally hooked. It’s important that with these “virtual” events to be SO CRYSTAL CLEAR that you’re hosting a virtual, online event. Online fundraisers or online events can get confusing – people don’t know if they need to attend the event in person, or on their computer or what, so make sure you include those details for folks. For example, if you’re going to have a virtual 5K walk for your nonprofit. Make sure you express in plain and simple words that every participant is going to walk the 5K on their own, in their neighborhood or at a park or on their treadmill or whatever. Give them a deadline or a time span – encourage them to walk their 5K during April 12-17th, if that’s your week of giving or whatever date span. Give them ideas on where to walk or encourage them to participate with their whole family. Tell them to post photos on Facebook and Instagram and give them an easy, unique hashtag to use like #Walk4Life2020, and encourage them to tag your organization in their pictures, so then YOU can share their photos on your organization’s social media pages, and in your emails and on your blog. Treat it like you would a normal fundraising walk, but make sure it’s CRYSTAL CLEAR so everyone knows it’s online.  There are so many different types of fundraisers that you can do and pivot – make them work online. Here’s another idea. Plan an in-person fundraiser for August  Organizations are always concerned about having fundraisers in the summer because they’re worried people are going to be on vacation, but in August, kids will be back in school. For this special time, when your fundraiser has been postponed, have your event in August. That’s far enough away so that you can have your regularly scheduled fundraiser again in March or April 2021. Live stream an event Having the capabilities for live streaming can be an advantage. Take note that people’s attention span is SHORT. I recently heard that attention span was 22 minutes for online videos or streaming … Your “ask” will need to be really early in the live stream event. Remember to give advance notice that is very clear to your people that they can attend your event online and how to tune in.  Some things to think about with all your online fundraisers… Who are your donors? Will they go to YouTube? Is this what they would like? Is this how they want to spend their time? For example, will they engage with an online auction? Live streaming - If you’re going to have speakers get on a Facebook Live, the first thing you must think about is who are your donors – will they like this?  And second, you have to keep it short. If you have short videos to send out to your donors or post on social media, keep them under 10 minutes.  Auction online – Do you already have the items lined up? Can you order the items online?   Remember to tell them who you are… Tell them who your organization is and what you do – you must remind them over and over who you are in a clear, short message. You know it, but they don’t know it like you know it. Don’t take it for granted. Explain that you have bills, and there is still a need for your nonprofit. Tell them how you are making a difference together. Last week, my Pastor sent out an email with encouragement – and a simple ask. (Listen to the episode if you want to hear the email – it’s a great example of an appeal!) If you don’t ask, people don’t know what you want them to do.  Ask your donors to give. Ask clearly! Tell a friend about this podcast!  If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!  Remember to subscribe to this podcast, leave a review and tell a friend!Thank you for all you do for your community, and thanks for listening. I have been getting the most amazing notes and DM’s from y’all this week – and it means THE WORLD TO ME. Thank you. Links I mentioned in this episode: Extra help with your emails: Episode 33: Unlock the Potential of Your Email List Peloton App Grant Search Resources: Grants.gov GrantWatch Google Ad Grants GuideStarIf links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/41

Hello! We’re still in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak of 2020…  I don’t have to give you an update or a play by play of what that means – chances are, you know exactly what that means for your community. Across the world right now, there are a lot of things shut down, or canceled – and there are a lot of people staying home. I don’t know about you, but I’m always wishing I had more time. I’m always saying, “I would do this thing or that thing – if I had more time!” “I could get so much more done if I just had a little extra time!” And for a lot of us right now – that’s what we’re getting.  Time. More time. Time, we didn’t plan on taking off from work, or time we didn’t plan on spending working from home, or not working from home. Time, we didn’t plan on spending teaching kids at home, or suddenly becoming office mates with your spouse. This is a time of waiting. A time of rolling with the punches. A time of unknowns. In this time of unknowns, there are a few things we do know: We know that we can use this time as a gift – using it for things that can help us down the road. We know that if we stay flexible and faithful, every day’s headlines and guidelines will all be easier to digest. We know that if we just focus on today and be grateful for all that we have right now, life will be a lot better for each of us. So in line with what we know, let’s talk about some things you can do for your nonprofit right now, today, at home, or in your empty office or wherever you are – some things that will help your nonprofit continue to grow, keep momentum, and ways to keep building your relationship with your donors and the people you serve in your community. Train – If you are in complete isolation – hop on a conference call, or a video call – Skype or Zoom are great tools for this – and train your volunteers. You can use this time to enrich your volunteers’ understanding of your organization, and really take their knowledge and caring to the next level.  If you have a little bit of flexibility, you and a couple volunteers can train at your nonprofit’s office. Take advantage of this quiet time to do it.  Investigate – Look for new grants to apply for, apply for familiar ones – you can always work on grant research to find who new grant makers might be for your nonprofit organization.  Here are a few   Grant Search Resources: Grants.gov GrantWatch Google Ad Grants GuideStar Read, research and learn – listen to podcasts, read articles.  About what? About anything that will make your nonprofit better. What is something you’ve wanted to improve on with your nonprofit? Is there a better way to serve people? A better, more effective way to do something in your organization? Look at other organizations similar to yours as a model – research them, take notes, even write them an email and ask questions!  Create – work on your blog and email newsletter – stock up, implement new ideas, make templates.  You can even learn how to segment your email list into different categories – the people you serve, your donors, volunteers, potential donors. Learn to use Canva.com to create graphics for your nonprofit – you can create social media posts, letterheads, programs, invitations – anything! If you already know how to use it, then practice using it more, or teach a volunteer how to. Plan out your social media posts: Episode 5 of this podcast - What to Post and When and Episode 18 - Need Ideas for Posts?  Listen to more episodes of Nonprofit Potential – check out the website for episodes you haven’t listened to for topics you want to learn more about. Keep serving any way you can: Is it business as usual?   Use Facebook, Instagram and all your social media like you normally do.  Post twice a week but make especially sure that you’re using a strong call to action. People like you to tell them exactly what they should do. If you have had to close or are open limited hours, tell people.   Post all the details about your hours, opening and closing and keep posting like you normally do. Use a call to action to tell people where to find more details about what is helpful and then update the details.  Keep posting – it connects your audience to you.  It’s something familiar. Don’t overload people with bits of news.  Stay steady and consistent by serving them what they need. What lies behind your posts is this:  you’re thinking about the people you serve.  What would specifically benefit them?   Are they people with kids at home for a few weeks?  Give them ideas for activities, games and crafts. Are they elderly and in need of cheering up?  Post helpful hints or ideas for people to use in this time, like writing letters, listening to music, read and do crossword puzzles.  Sometimes people just need to be reminded of things to do when their regular schedule changes.  Send anyone a card, deliver a healthy snack, share a feel-good movie or CD.  The point is – think of the people you serve and if you were in their shoes, what would help you? Make them feel loved and remembered.  If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!  Remember to subscribe to this podcast, leave a review and tell a friend!   Links I mentioned in this episode: Canva.com Episode 5 - What to Post and When Episode 18 - Need Ideas for Posts? Here they are Episode 36: 3 Things People Should Know About Your Nonprofit Episode 34: Video Tutorial Part 1: Lighting, Angles & Sound Episode 35: Video Tutorial Part 2: What to Say in Your Video Episode 33: Unlock the Potential of Your Email List More Podcast Episodes    Grant Research Links  Grants.gov GrantWatch Google Ad Grants GuideStar If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/40

How are you holding up with all this COVID-19 stuff going on? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Anxious? Scared? Somewhere in between? How has coronavirus affected your nonprofit? Is it business as usual? Have you had to change the way your organization serves people? Have you shut down operations for the time being? A pandemic is not something many of us spend a lot of time thinking about or preparing for, so these times of cancelations, closures, social distancing, and toilet paper shortages can be difficult to navigate. That’s what we’re talking about in this candid and impromptu episode of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential – how to deal with a crisis. Let’s look at how we can handle things personally first, then ideas for how to cope with things on the nonprofit level. Five ideas came to mind for a start on how to live through this crisis personally - Rely on the old-fashioned Serenity Prayer.  It goes like this: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”  Trust God, use common sense and an abundance of caution. Alleviate anxiety.  You know how there are birds in a tree and one of them starts chirping, say, at a cat strolling beneath the tree?  Then a couple more start chirping and in just a few minutes the whole tree of birds and more are making a racket of noise at the cat.  That’s what fear does – it spreads and sometimes it gets loud. We can eliminate anxiety by limiting our exposure to so much noise. Instead of “feeding” on fear, try increasing the amount of peace you take in by doing something positive, making a household “bucket list” of things you’ve been wanting to change, do puzzles with your kids or try a new recipe.  Reduce things that bring you anxiety. Remember that a lot can change in a week or even in a day and the we human beings are resilient. God’s got this – you know the saying about letting God take the steering wheel?  That’s good, but don’t throw the steering wheel out the window. Use common sense and keep your faith in God too. Count your blessings – yes, make that gratitude list!  Start with making a list of 10 things you’re grateful for.  Turn your eyes away from your angst and put your mind on how many things we have to be grateful for. When we’re at peace inside, then we can function so much better in our nonprofit and how we help others. Let’s look at how to reach the people in your audience -  Is it business as usual where you are?  You’re still serving people? Then use Facebook, Instagram and all your social media as usual.  Post twice a week but make especially sure that you’re using a strong Call to Action. People like you to tell them exactly what they should do. If you have had to close some or are open limited hours, tell people.  Post all the details often. Use a Call to Action to tell people where to find more details about what is helpful and then update the details.  Keep posting – it connects your audience to you.  It’s something familiar. Don’t overload people with bits of news.  Stay steady and consistent by serving. What lies behind your posts is this:  you’re thinking about the people you serve.  What would specifically benefit them?   Are they people with kids at home for a few weeks?  Give them ideas for activities, games and crafts. Are they elderly and in need of cheering up?  Post helpful hints or ideas for people to use in this time, like writing letters, listening to music, read and do crossword puzzles.  Sometimes we just need to be reminded.  Send anyone a card, deliver a healthy snack, share a feel-good movie or CD. The point is – think of the people you serve and if you were in their shoes, what would help you? Make them feel loved and remembered.  Above all, remember this is TEMPORARY and if we all help one another, we’ll come through it well.  Human beings ARE resilient. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/39

In today’s episode I’m answering your questions about Snapchat, birthday fundraisers on Facebook…and more! If YOU have a question you’d like me to answer, send me an email– just click on contact, or you can always send me a message on Facebook or Instagram. Here’s the first question… Question: I know people have different opinions about this, but how many hashtags do you recommend an organization typically use on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linked In for our posts?  Answer: Well, you’re right - there are differences in opinion on the topic of hashtags! It varies depending on which platform you’re using. On Instagram, there is a 30-hashtag limit on a post. You’ll have to experiment to find out what works for you. Try using 10 hashtags, 20, or 30 hashtags and then look at the insights for that post to see what your numbers tell you. Every audience is different. Personally, I’ve seen using 30 hashtags gets me more engagement and more views on my Instagram posts.  TIP: Always use relevant hashtags to the topic to make it easier for your audience to find posts.  On Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn: you might use the “less is more” approach. Use 1 or 2 hashtags for those platforms.  Make them relevant to your post: For a post about Veterans Day, your hashtag could be #VeteransDay or if you’re posting about a festival, your hashtag could be a twist on the name of the festival like #SpringfieldFallFest. Using a hashtag specific to your organization or your brand? Be consistent and use the same hashtag repeatedly. That makes your hashtags effective.   Question: I have been asked to use certain sponsors’ hashtags in addition to all our own when posting. To be clear, the sponsor hashtags aren’t relevant to all posts, but I have been asked to use them. We have five of our own hashtags we currently reference on all posts without even including sponsors (which can add six to ten more. I feel all the hashtags are overkill and may bog the post down. I know you can use up to 30, some folks suggest just six at most, but Facebook says sometimes six is too much and it should not be more than two. What say you? Answer: Use as few of the sponsor hashtags as you can and put them at the very bottom of your post. For Instagram, leave your multitude of hashtags as a comment below your post – it’ll keep things looking clean. With your hashtags in the Instagram comment section when it posts to Facebook simultaneously all those hashtags don’t show.  If you want to see how well your hashtags are working for your posts, check out Episode 12: How Many People Have REALLY Seen Your Post?    Question: Lauren, how can we get more people to have birthday fundraisers on Facebook for our nonprofit? Answer: Birthday fundraisers on Facebook are a nice idea. Make sure you message the people setting up the fundraiser and get their address so you can send them a handwritten thank you note. Be grateful. There are two reasons you don’t want to depend on Birthday Fundraisers.  They don’t build a relationship with donors. Relationship is the most important thing for fundraising. In a birthday fundraiser on your behalf, you only form a real relationship with the host of the birthday fundraiser, but not with the people who donate to the fundraiser. The key to WHY people donate and continue to donate is that they know, like and trust you. Relationships build the “know, like and trust factor.” No customer service: Facebook doesn’t have a customer service hotline where you can just call and resolve an issue. Facebook has glitches. There are lots of stories out there about people not being able to receive their money from fundraisers. You wouldn’t want your donors to give thinking their money is being put to good use, but it winds up in Facebook limbo instead, would you? Here’s what you can do instead of a Facebook fundraiser - focus time planning and preparing for your next real-life, non-Facebook fundraiser. Stay in touch with your donors via your email newsletter. Nurturing that relationship with your donors over time will pay off in the end – better and more sustainably than any Facebook birthday fundraiser. Related: Episode 28: Raise More Money in 2020 With These Tips   Question: Lauren, I’ve seen pictures of you and your mom together on Instagram, both of your skin is amazing – what’s the secret?? Don’t say good genes.  Answer: Hahaha! Oh geez…I can’t speak for my mom, but for me… I just drink an utterly ridiculous amount of water. I live at high altitude where there are practically negative humidity levels year-round, and I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t constantly hydrating, I might shrivel up and blow away like a dried leaf.  I also take a daily multivitamin – just a women’s formula – and I try to get enough sleep and eat healthy.  I did just start using an oil and a moisturizer by a company called Pai – it’s made for super sensitive skin, which I have – and I really like it so far.  But really, I think water and sleep are probably the two most important factors. Since my skin is so sensitive - I can’t use a lot of products because almost everything causes a bad reaction, so I take care of my skin from “the inside out” and take a lifestyle-based approach. From my mom: Thanks to whoever made that comment!  Yes! Drinking lots of water is important.  But another thing is that I’ve always washed my face at night. When I was young, I used a soap like Dove and as we had more money, I used higher priced face cleansers-drug store and more upscale products. I think the important thing is having a clean face when you go to bed because it’s a great way to have a long time of rest for your face.  I live in the Deep South, so there’s lots of humidity and that always helps.  When I was a kid, we went water skiing every weekend with no sunscreen – yikes – but here I am with the skin I have, so I do have to say genes has some to do with it.  The main thing is to take basic care of your face – keep it clean, moisturized, drink lots of water.   Question: Hi Lauren – I manage Facebook and Instagram accounts for our nonprofit. Do I need to be on more social media platforms than that? People always say Snapchat is where the young people are and that’s who we’re trying to reach, but I have no idea how to use it and honestly, I don’t have time to do more than what I’m already doing with Facebook and Instagram. What do you think? Do I need to be on Snapchat or something else besides Facebook and Instagram? Answer: We’ve all heard people say “all the young people are on Snapchat” – and they might be, but most of them are also on Instagram and yes, even Facebook.  Your nonprofit should have an active presence on Facebook and Instagram, and if you have time for other platforms, that’s a bonus. It’s hard managing a multitude of social media platforms, and if you want to do it well, you want to make sure you’re not spreading yourself too thin. Do what you can focus on and do that well. Remember, showing up for your audience consistently and meaningfully – being extra clear about what you have for them and want them to do is what matters most.  TIP: Find out where your people spend time on social media and put your mind at rest. This will help you figure out where your social media priorities should be… On a little slip of paper, copy and paste the following question as many times as you can and cut it into strips. Repeat as often as necessary.  When the people you serve come through your door, give them a little survey. Here’s the question: “Which social media do you use the most?”  Then, collect survey responses for 6-8 weeks and tally the answers. You’ll get a great picture of what social media they’re using and where you need to be focusing your efforts.  Notice that the question isn’t “Do you use Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat?” Make sure to leave the survey an open-ended question so they can answer what comes to their mind first. This is the question: “Which social media do you use the most?”  You can do this at events or when you speak – you get the idea. Do this and I promise, it will help you find out where your people spend the most time on social media. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Or or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. Remember to subscribe to this podcast, leave a review and tell a friend! Links mentioned in this episode:  Episode 12: How Many People Have REALLY Seen Your Post?Episode 28: Raise More Money in 2020 With These Tips If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/38

Fundraising. Is that word thrilling to hear, or does it give you anxiety? For some people fundraising is their favorite part of being involved with a nonprofit, and for other people, it’s their number one cause of heartburn. I don’t have to tell you, fundraising is a huge part of running a nonprofit, and when it’s going well, you feel on top of the world… When it’s going not so great, you might feel like you’re inching closer and closer to the edge of the cliff and hoping you’re not going to fall off. Fundraising can be a trigger for anxiety because it’s never guaranteed.  The future of your mission is in the hands of your donors, and the image that your nonprofit gives your donors can make – or break your organization. Your relationship with your donors is so important – and here’s the great part – you have power over it! Not ALL the power, but you do have a lot of control – more than you think.  You have control of when you contact them, over the message you give them, and over what they know about your nonprofit. You are the gatekeeper of information about your organization so what you share with them is important.  What you put out on your nonprofit’s social media, in your email newsletters, in your blog posts, in all your channels of communication is crucial in building your relationships with your supporters.  They aren’t coming to work with you every day, they are on the sidelines. They only know what you put out there. Even if you are posting something on social media that is meant for the people you serve, guess what – your donors still see it. They are watching. And do you know what they expect? They expect you to only post things, and email things, and blog about things that all relate directly to your mission.  If you are confusing them with things that don’t make sense about your mission like pointless things about your plate of avocado toast on your nonprofit’s Instagram page, or wishing everyone a happy National Play the Kazoo at Work Day on Facebook, you’re making it hard for them to be inspired to give to your organization.  When your marketing message – and yes, a Facebook post counts as a piece of marketing material – doesn’t talk about services you offer or your nonprofit mission, you’re confusing your donors. As the marketing expert Donald Miller says, “If you confuse, you’ll lose.”  When a donor gives to your organization, they are asking and delegating to you what they wish they could do themselves, but don’t have time to do. Because your donors are busy working at the job that allows them to give you money. They are entrusting you with the responsibility to help the cause that they care about.  You’ve shown your donors that your nonprofit organization has a specific mission and you are striving to make a difference in your community. And that mission is something your donor cares enough about to give you their hard-earned money. They are trusting you to get it done.  They want the problem that your nonprofit is working to solve to go away, or for you to make it better or improve the situation. Your donor believes your nonprofit can make a difference and since they don’t have time and can’t do it by themselves, they entrust the work to you.  Their financial gift enables you to make a difference on their behalf. If you are posting about your avocado toast on your nonprofit’s social media page, what kind of message is that sending to your donors? If you are posting about things that aren’t in line with your mission, or that are distracting and confusing, what are you telling your donors? If you’re posting one day about how you serve the homeless, and the next day your post is wishing everyone a happy National Coffee Day, what kind of message is that sending to your donors? It’s cheery, but what if it’s the only post they saw from you that week? It’s fluff. It has no purpose. It does not relate to your mission at all.  This is some tough love, but I’m telling you because I care about you and your nonprofit’s success.  Being consistent in sharing your mission, your services, and showing up regularly are non-negotiable if you want to be successful with your marketing.  What your donors might assume from posts that are not consistent with your mission is that you don’t know what you’re doing. You are telling them that you don’t have a plan and aren’t sure of what to post. You are telling them that you’re not taking this seriously.  You can’t just show up on social media, you have to show up meaningfully, if you want results.  It’s not just posting for the sake of posting, or emailing for the sake of emailing, or blogging for the sake of blogging. Your message has to be meaningful, and it has to be repeated. Make your donors sure that they are doing the best thing with their money.  Make them sure what your nonprofit organization does. When your donors start doubting, and another nonprofit comes around asking for support with a clearer message, your donors will be tempted if they aren’t sure about what you do. Don’t make it hard for your donors to support you! I know, you get tired of repeating yourself.  You feel like every email is the same, or every social media post is just a repeat of something you’ve already said.  I’ve been there. I totally know how you feel. But here’s the thing – just because you’ve said it a hundred, or a thousand, or a few thousand times, doesn’t mean everyone’s HEARD it that many times.  And if they’ve heard your consistent, focused marketing message a thousand times, then you are doing it right, and that person is probably one of your donors or supporters. If you own a television, I know you’ve seen the Humane Society commercials with the dogs, or the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital commercial with all the children. You might think it’s the sadness and the emotion that those commercials show that are the reason why people give to those organizations – and yes that’s part of it – but the REAL reason is because those two organizations keep showing up in the same way, with the same focused message – and have you noticed?  They each only have ONE COMMERCIAL EACH!  Do you know how much money St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital raises every year with just ONE COMMERCIAL? Millions. Millions of dollars in contributions. Using the same commercial they have been using for years. Do you know why they are always at the top of the list of highest earning nonprofits? They are helping children, but also because they are good at talking about their mission – that’s marketing. They have a laser focused message, and they keep repeating it over and over and over. So the next time you think you’ve said what you have to say about your nonprofit too many times and you’re tired of hearing the same ol’ message and you’ve repeated yourself for the last time – think of those shivering dogs and those sick children in each of those organization’s ONE COMMERCIAL - and repeat yourself again. And here’s the best part about repeating yourself in your marketing – it saves you time. You don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel. Once you have a clear and easy to understand marketing message, you can literally keep repeating it over and over. This is going to make posting on social media so much easier, I promise.  Here are 3 things to do today to get focused on the message you want to give to your donors: Set aside time to think about four things: who you serve, how you serve them, why you serve them and what is the goal you’re working towards? Brainstorm and write down at least 12 ideas and words that come to mind as you think about those four things. Then cross off all but the strongest 3 or 4. Yes, make the list shorter and shorter - until there are only 3 or 4 words or phrases left that clearly - very clearly, so there’s no doubt, describe your mission – what you do, what your goal is. Look back. Look back at the past 3 months in your organization – what’s been working and what hasn’t? Think about this as it relates to your marketing and in your service to others and in your donor feedback. Use the things that have been working as ideas for content and what you are posting and talking about in your marketing. Boil it down. Ask everyone – your volunteers, employees, anyone you’ve served - what your organization does. Write down all of their words and pick out the strongest ones. Then, think of an easier way to say it. Keep whittling away until it describes your mission, what you do, who you serve and how you do it. Boil it down until it’s one or two short sentences. Make it easy to understand and be sure it tells exactly what your mission is and that it’s easy to say.  Then use this as your main marketing message.  And say it over and over again. Take it apart and use one phrase for one social media post or email or blog post at a time. You are always using the same words – your mission statement, but you’re breaking it down into little pieces for your donors to remember.   That’s how they come to know, like and trust you. That’s what keeps donors invested in your nonprofit organization.  They get to know you because you continue to give the same message on Facebook, Instagram, in emails and blog posts.  Then they start liking what you do because you’ve made them aware of your nonprofit by showing up consistently and having the same message about what you do – they don’t have to guess. And finally, they begin to trust you because you keep saying that you are on a mission and they know what that mission is – and of course you’re doing a great job fulfilling that mission!   I want you to remember, keep your marketing message short, and keep using the same words over and over again. By using the same language, you are helping people remember. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 4:  What's Your Brand? Episode 7:  Who Is Your Ideal Customer Portrait? Episode 14:  How to Make an Impact with Your Posts Episode 18:  Need Ideas for Posts? Here They Are Episode 36: 3 Things People Should Know About Your Nonprofit Follow on Facebook Follow on Instagram Ask Lauren a question at lauren@nonprofitpotential.com If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/37

Let me ask you a question – do people know what your nonprofit does?  This might sound like a silly question – your first reaction might be, “Of course people know what we do!”  But do they really? This is an all too common problem that nonprofits encounter. People might be aware that your organization exists, but what else do they know about you?  Do they know what your mission is, how you help people, and what services you actually provide? Maybe they just know you have something to do with helping the homeless, or teenage girls, or are a charity of some kind. The real facts are foggy to them. Meanwhile, day in and day out, you go to work and do all you can to keep things rolling along.  But how often do you take a step back and ask yourself, “Are we clearly telling people who we are and what we do?” Do your Facebook and Instagram posts, your emails, your blog – all your channels of communication to the outside world plainly tell people who your organization is and what you do? What do you want people to know about your nonprofit? That’s what we’re talking about in this episode. I’m going to help you decide what are the most important things to share about your organization and how to get laser focused in your marketing so that people will never wonder again what your nonprofit does. As an added bonus, in this episode, there is a quick but oh-so-helpful worksheet to guide you to the most important things you do. Download it here so you can work on it while you’re reading through these show notes.  The problem we all have is that we’re very close to our organizations.  You spend hours of your day thinking about it. You know all the ins and outs. You’re familiar with everything your nonprofit does. When you’re so close to your organization, it’s wonderful because you bring so much heart, knowledge and experience to the table, but it can be tricky to remember that to the outside world, your organization is a mystery.  There are two ways people learn about your nonprofit: What you tell them What they assume If you don’t tell people clearly about your nonprofit, they will make assumptions. If you don’t tell them specific things, they will never know what’s accurate. Your organization will just exist in a fog for the people you want to serve, donors and supporters. What you tell them in your Facebook and Instagram posts, your email newsletter, your blog posts, your radio ads, your Google ads – in everything – needs to be so clear and so specific – “snackable facts” as I like to call it.  Giving a “snackable fact” is when you give someone one piece of information about your nonprofit.  Use one snackable fact for one Facebook and Instagram post. One snackable fact for an email to your donors. One snackable fact for a blog post. Use one piece of information, one fact, and make that the focus of your communication. For example, let’s say your nonprofit is a community center – a snackable fact would be that your community center has a great room with a dance floor. That’s just one fact! It tells the audience clearly about one thing the community center has to offer. If your audience has a need to rent a venue or an interest in attending community events, do you know what they’re going to do next? Find out more. It’s just like with crackers or pretzels or Cheez-its – you are never going to eat JUST ONE. If you like it, if it interests you, you’re going back for more. It works the same way with your audience. The community center has a great room with a dance floor.  The community center has a great room with a dance floor.  The community center has a great room with a dance floor.  What does the community center have? The community center has a great room with a dance floor.  I know it’s tempting to give more detail than that – but that’s what your website is for. That’s what your phone number is for. If people want more information, you can tell them what to do to get more information with a call to action.  You might be tempted to think, why not tell them all the information about your facility up front? Why not post on Facebook in one big post that the community center has…  “A great room that is big enough to host a concert with a dance floor, plus we have meeting rooms, plus we offer classes about cooking on Tuesdays, fly-tying Fridays, memoir writing every other Sunday, sewing and early childhood development on alternate Mondays, plus we have a kitchen for catering events such as weddings and high school graduation parties, plus we just redid the taxidermy in our mezzanine, plus, plus, plus…”  What happens to the message? If your audience remembers any of it, what they did retain probably isn’t going to be accurate.  It’s like playing the game of telephone where you pass on a message from one person to another and then they pass it on to the next person and so on. The longer the message, the more distorted it gets.  Do you remember that first snackable fact I gave you a minute ago?  Yes! You do! The community center has a great room with a dance floor.  And how many times did I repeat it? A lot. I know.  It worked, didn’t it?  You remembered that the community center has a great room with a dance floor. At the pregnancy care center where my mom is the executive director, she says she gets questions like, “how long do the girls live there?” or “do they come here to deliver their babies?” Actually, the center provides free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling and help getting a doctor. People know it has something to do with pregnancy, but to the outside world, it can be foggy. That’s why being clear and specific in your posts, emails and ALL communication is important – AND so is repeating your message again and again. There is so much noise vying for attention in a million different ways, people are going to have a hard time remembering everything about your nonprofit. That’s why it’s so important to give out those snackable facts – and repeat them over and over. Here’s an easy exercise you’ll love:  Write down three things – three snackable facts that you want people to know about your organization. Maybe it’s the services you offer that they’re free, and  that you’re open on the weekends.  Or you can highlight your biggest, most popular service as a stand-alone item. For a pregnancy care center, an example would be: You offer pregnancy tests, limited ultrasounds, and help getting a doctor. All your services are free of charge and confidential. Your trained counselors are here to provide resources for pregnancy. Ok, now it’s time to get out that worksheet. You can download the worksheet right here. Let’s work through this quick worksheet together. There are four squares:  In the first square, make a list of three products or services that your organization offers. If you have more than three, awesome, but I want you to put a star next to the three most important or popular ones.  Then, in the second square, answer the question, what problem are you solving for the people you serve? You might have more than one answer for this, but it’s important for you to answer this question because it will help you determine what are the most important things that you do. In the third square, write two examples of calls to action that tell people what to do next. If “call to action” sends chills down your spine and makes you cringe, understand that giving a call to action is NOT “SALESY” or slimy or bossy in any way.  You have to tell people where they can learn more, or where they can sign up, or where they can make an appointment. If you don’t tell people what’s the next step, how are they supposed to move forward if they are interested or need your service?  Your audience needs to know what to do next. Tell them. In our example about the community center, people were given a snackable fact: The community center has a great room with a dance floor. The follow up call to action would be this: The community center has a great room with a dance floor. Reserve it now at communitycenter.org. Finally, in the fourth square, after you’ve answered the questions in squares one, two and three, you’ll write down three things you want people to know about your nonprofit. You’ve gone through the entire thought process on the worksheet.  You’ve identified what your nonprofit’s biggest assets are, what problem you solve for people and how to tell them where they can learn more.  Now, it should be easier to think of three things you want people to know about your nonprofit.  For example, we can go back to those three things the pregnancy care center wanted people to know about its nonprofit organization: It offers pregnancy tests, limited ultrasounds, and help getting a doctor. All the services are free of charge and confidential. Trained counselors are there to provide resources. Once you’ve determined those three things that you want people to know about your nonprofit, repeat them over and over in your posts, emails, blogs - everything. You might feel like it’s annoying, but I’ll let you in on a little secret – by the time it starts to feel annoying to you, it’s JUST STARTING to make a dent in your audience’s minds.  If you’re annoyed with hearing your own radio commercial, or you feel like you’ve posted the same thing on Facebook or Instagram over and over – you’re doing it right. You can freshen up the way the message comes across. You can change pictures, you can change the way you say things, but don’t change the point. Know clearly what you do; say clearly what you do, then the people you serve will learn and know what you do. One last thing – I think this is a great idea, my mom does this at her nonprofit – write down one or two of the products or services your nonprofit offers – “your mission” and why you offer them - “your vision statement.” Then, print it out on slips of paper, and hand them out to your team. Read and repeat this statement every single day. Make it a part of your morning ritual when everyone gets to work. This will help you and your team know clearly who your organization is and what you do. It all starts with you and your team knowing.  It’s super important to fill this out today or tomorrow so people can learn what your nonprofit offers. Get clear on those snackable facts and what you want people to know about your nonprofit.  This is going to be SO helpful to you and make a huge difference for your organization, so download the worksheet today or tomorrow and fill it out while this is fresh in your mind. If you haven’t downloaded the worksheet from this episode yet, grab it now  If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. Links mentioned in this episode: Worksheet: What do you want people to know about your nonprofit?  Follow on Facebook: Facebook.com/NonprofitPotential Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/NonprofitPotential Ask Lauren a question at lauren@nonprofitpotential.com If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/36

Welcome to Part 2 of the video tutorial series! If you’re just getting on board now, I want to remind you about our last episode, Episode 34, where we went over all of the nuts and bolts of the technical part of recording a video for Facebook or Instagram. That was Part 1 of this series, and now that we’ve talked about things like lighting, angles and sound quality in video, we’re going to build on that and discuss what to actually say in your video. It’s great to know how to hold your phone to record a video, and have awesome lighting, but it’s all for nothing if you don’t have anything meaningful to say. When you put some thought into your videos, you can build your audience and your relationship with them – not to mention, it’ll make your time in front of the camera much more enjoyable! In the last episode of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential, we talked about why we all need to get better at video – it’s quickly becoming a vital way to get the message out about your nonprofit and your mission.  Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, as opposed to remembering only 10% when reading it in text, so you have an extremely powerful tool at your fingertips with video. You can introduce people to your organization, and your video can help them retain clearly who your nonprofit is and what you do. It’s so important to not just slap a video up on your nonprofit’s Facebook or Instagram page – because you can leave the viewer with a bad impression and that’s not the reaction you wanted.  When you put some thought into it, you can build your audience and your relationship with them and that’s what we’re talking about in this episode. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know every single type of Facebook or Instagram post, email, or blog post should only have one topic. It’s no different with video. Before you start recording a video for social media, take a few minutes to sit down and think about that one topic for your video. What is the point of your video? What is the one thing you want people to learn from watching?  Jotting down some notes ahead of time will help you stay focused in your video on one topic and it will help you remember the valuable things you want to say in your video, too. You won’t ramble. A little behind-the-scenes trick to help you stay on track with one topic is writing down two or three bullet points or keywords on a little post-it note. Stick the post-it on your phone so you can look at it without breaking eye contact with the camera too much. It’s a handy little trick that keeps you looking natural, and on track with what you want to say – like a makeshift cue card! Another thing you can do to warm up before you start recording or going live on Facebook and Instagram is to video chat with someone you are comfortable with – a friend or a family member.  This is a great trick to getting comfortable talking on camera and talking to your phone! Plus, talking to someone you like can release endorphins in the brain, making you feel good. This good mood will continue after your video call ends, making it a great time to record a video. Click here for my cheat sheet about all the different types of video  Your personality is so important in a video! Yes, your video is about your nonprofit, but you are acting as the face of the organization when you go live or record a video. It’s important for you to feel relaxed, confident and smile, so getting those positive endorphins going in your brain is going to help you. The endorphins in your brain aren’t the only bit of chemistry you need to keep in mind. Studies show that great stories release oxytocin in our brains. Oxytocin is the chemical that leads to feeling bonded with someone or something. This means, when the person viewing your video watches you tell a story, they feel more bonded with you and your nonprofit.  It makes sense if you think about it. Your friends and family that you share stories with are the people you feel most closely bonded with, right? Parents read to their children and bond through that experience. About 65 percent of our daily conversations have to do with us telling stories.  If you’re trying to think of what you’re going to talk about in your video, try thinking about how you can tell a story. If you have a professionally produced video telling the story of someone impacted by your nonprofit, that’s wonderful, but not every organization has that available to them. So, think about how YOU can talk about your organization in the form of a story. Here’s an example to get you started: Let’s say your nonprofit is a healthcare clinic – you can share the facts about your organization’s services in the form of a story. Take that deep breath, smile, hit record while you’re still smiling, then: Say hi, introduce yourself and create some context. I always like to say something like, “Hi, I’m Lauren Creagan, host of the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential podcast and I just want to share with you_________________” or something close to that. Say your name, your title and follow it up with an “AND.” Let that “and” lead the viewer to why you’re talking to them. Get to the point quickly though – you don’t have to spill the beans on how long you’ve worked there or what beautiful weather you’re having. Remember, they’re thinking, “What’s in this for me?” Then, get into the story. Your “AND” could be “and I just wanted to share with you what it’s like when a new patient comes into our office.” As if you are telling a story, walk the viewer through step by step what happens next. By telling them about the experience, you’re storytelling, which is great, and you’re also making them feel comfortable and confident in your services because they can imagine what their experience will be like with your organization. Keep it short. Until you’re feeling VERY comfortable and you feel dialed into what you have to say, try to keep your videos less than a minute. If you feel good, go longer - but most of the time, you’ll want to go no longer than about 3 minutes and 30 seconds.  Click here for my cheat sheet about all the different types of video  Bring it home with a call to action. No matter if you’re telling a story or just sharing information in a straightforward way, always have a call to action with your video. Tell your viewer what to do next – you’re not bossing them around, you’re telling them where they can learn more! Direct them to make an appointment on your website. Sign up for a class. Tell them what to do and how to do it. It’s OKAY to tell people how to take the next step after watching your video – it’s not “salesy”. It’s just clearly sharing information for people who are interested. If you don’t tell them how to take the next step, then who will? One last thing – don’t get distracted! Take care of all those little things that might happen…Put your phone on silent. Close the door to the room where you’re recording. Put your pets in another part of the house. Things like that…limit interruptions.  The more times you have to start over, the more frustrated and defeated you’ll begin to feel. So, prepare what you’re going to say, practice, and shut out as much of the outside world as possible. Bonus tips for you: Storytelling: Another great way to use storytelling in video is to show your donors how they are making an impact. If you have a conference room table full of donations or things you were able to purchase with donated funds, or if you have new equipment that was purchased with fundraising dollars, tell a story about it. What does their donation do? How is it helping? How has it improved your services?  Tell your viewers about how people are being helped in your community, or what an improvement their donation or gift has made in the operation of your organization. By sharing this type of story, you are letting your donors know you are responsibly using their dollars, and as a byproduct, letting the people you serve know about your services.  Another way to leave a lasting impression using video is to show people the “personality” of your organization by letting viewers peek behind the scenes. Let the outside world see your volunteers weeding the flower beds outside your building, assembling care packages, or unloading a car. These types of short, informal videos can help build your nonprofit’s identity and build trust with your viewers.  Just be sure you don’t overdo it with this type of content – only dip into this pool every so often. Remember, your videos need to be focused on serving the viewer, not focused on yourself and your staff. Let’s talk about going live on Instagram and Facebook - LIVE, as in you don’t get to edit what you say, what you look like – there is no blooper reel, it’s LIVE. Everything you say and do goes out into the world. If you are going to go live on Facebook or Instagram, I just want you to be a pro at recorded videos first. Once you can handle recorded videos without messing up, and you feel super comfortable, then try doing a short live broadcast. There are no “do-overs” live. When I first started in radio, I had a recorded show that would air on my drive home from work. I would listen to that show on my commute and I realized what I needed to edit, and what my strengths were. Try doing that for yourself – watch your own videos and learn from them too.  Don’t we wish we would be able to turn on the camera and have a wonderful natural presence and a great message? But it’s not as easy as so many famous people and celebrities make it seem.  It’s work. It takes practice. It’s not going to be perfect right away, but the more you practice, the more comfortable you will become and the better you’ll get. Don’t get discouraged. Just think if you practice in front of the mirror every day for 60 seconds after you brush your teeth, you could become your best self on video before you know it! It’s perfectly OKAY to never go live and only post recorded videos if you’re not comfortable with it. Recording a video takes the pressure off being live. Give them advance notice. If you are passionate about going live and it’s something you really want to do, I highly recommend letting people know that you’ll be live days ahead of actually doing it.  If you want people to watch your live video, it’s best to build excitement around it and build momentum before you go live. Let people know what day and time you’ll be going live, why you’re going live, and if you REALLY want people to show up for it, give something away while you’re live.  Some great ideas for live content are hosting a question and answer session, where people can ask you questions and yes, you answer them live! You could also try giving a live tour of your facility – if you follow any realtors on Facebook or Instagram, you might have seen this a time or two already. And again, you can give things away during a live session - always a popular option with audiences.  Here’s what I want you to remember above all – YOU CAN DO THIS! Start by taking one small step and now you have some tips to get you started!  Take a tiny baby step forward! Try creating a video. Wade into the water, and you’ll find it’s not as intimidating as you think. You will feel comfortable with a little practice. You can do it – and you need to do it. Video is quickly becoming the preferred method of how people are taking in information, especially on social media. I would LOVE to see your videos! Tag me in a comment on your video post on Facebook or Instagram and I will go watch your video and I promise to be your absolute BIGGEST CHEERLEADER EVER! If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Do you know what would really make my day? If you left me a review on Apple podcasts or on Facebook, or tell a friend about this podcast. It really does make a difference and it helps more people find this resource. Remember to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to you by signing up for my weekly email. Links mentioned in this episode: Cheat Sheet for Live and Recorded Videos – What’s the Difference? Episode 34: Video Tutorial Part 1: Lighting, Angles & Sound Follow on Facebook Follow on Instagram Ask Lauren a question at lauren@nonprofitpotential.com or at Nonprofitpotential.com If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/35

Have you recorded a little video with your phone to post on Facebook or Instagram and thought, “NO WAY am I posting that on the internet!”  I know it happens to me ALL THE TIME. Or are you afraid to even try to record and post a video on the internet?  Not only does an unflattering video take the wind out of your sails, it also eats up a bunch of time! When I record videos, I first spend time planning what I’m going to say, then it takes me a few tries to actually get all my words out right, and THEN, when I look at the final version, I realize, I hate the way I look in the video! Can you relate? Today we’re going to go over the do’s and don’ts of the technical aspects of shooting a video for social media.  Next week’s episode will be all about content and what you should actually say in your Facebook and Instagram videos. That’s right, a special two-part episode that’s going to walk you step by step for shooting your next video or going live on social media, so you can avoid frustration and feel confident. In part one of this series, I’m sharing a few tips and tricks on some of the technical things I’ve learned in the past year about lighting, angles, and all those things that can make or break a video. I’m going to help you avoid the stumbling blocks I’ve encountered, so you can get your beautiful self out there to talk to your audience through video and feel good about it! If you follow me on Facebook and Instagram, you know that while I do love posting video, I am certainly no Steven Spielberg when it comes to camera work. And you don’t have to be either!  I’m going to share with you what I HAVE learned and give you realistic, tangible advice that you can put into action right away, so you can deliver your content in a way that is entertaining and appealing to your audience. Recent research shows that video is quickly becoming the most popular and effective way to get a message out on social media, so we all need to be working on our video skills.  Here are some quick facts about social media video: - Social media posts featuring video have 48% more views. (HubSpot)  - Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, as opposed to 10% when reading it in text. (Insivia) - Facebook has more than 8 billion video views per day. (TechCrunch) - 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. (HubSpot) So, you see why it’s important to get on the social media video stage, right? Let’s start with three important things to remember BEFORE you get started filming or going live on Facebook and Instagram: Pick ONE TOPIC and think about what you’re going to say about it. Ask yourself, what’s the point? What do you want your viewers to learn? Writing out what you want to say can help you retain the information in an organized fashion more easily. Insider tip: Write 3 bullet points on a post-it note and attach it to your phone near the lens so you can sneak a quick peek while you’re recording if you need to. Practice, practice, practice out loud. Try to speak aloud what you want to say in your video before you start recording. This will help you feel more confident when you do start recording, help you identify anything you should leave out, and your mouth and vocal cords will be warmed up as well. Insider tip: A great time to record is right after you’ve had a lively conversation with another person. It’s even better if you’ve just talked about a topic related to your video. Choose the right time. Try not to record when you are pressed for time. Knowing you have to get your video finished in only a few minutes can add stress to the situation and make it harder to succeed. You’ll feel even more frustrated if it takes multiple tries, so try to record when you have time to spare.Insider tip: Are you a morning person? At your best in the afternoon or evening? Try to record when you feel at your best. I just want to remind you, we’ll talk more about what to say in your videos next week in part two of this series, so be sure you catch that episode next week! Whether you’re going live on Facebook or Instagram, or recording a video and uploading it later, the technical aspects of filming are pretty much the same. Are you confused about the differences between IGTV and regular Facebook and Instagram videos? I made a great little cheat sheet for you that will explain everything.  Also, if you want to learn how to upload an IGTV video, check out this tutorial video I posted. You can be successful at video and feel comfortable doing it – I’ll guide you every step of the way! Now that you have a cheat sheet and a video to help you navigate all the different types of video, here’s what you need to know about making it look good: Angle is everything. This is an unfortunate lesson I learned the hard way. In fact, I think I already KNEW better than to have the camera pointed up my nose, but it wasn’t until my uncle pointed it out at a family gathering that I realized the camera angle was something I couldn’t be lazy about ever again. To get a great angle without severely fatiguing your arm and shoulder by holding your phone as far away from your face as possible, I recommend investing in a stand. You can get a great mobile phone stand online – they are relatively inexpensive. They make models that sit on your desk, if you want to be sitting in all of your videos, or they make them with more adjustable heights so you can stand in front of it. If you get a larger stand-up model, it’ll be a bit more expensive.  I put links to a couple of mobile phone stands at the end of these show notes. The ultimate goal is to get a straight-on shot of your face as if you were sitting or standing eye to eye with someone. I personally have a Neewer Ring Light Kit – we’ll talk more about lighting in a minute – which cost about $90 from Amazon. It’s a stand that holds my phone and it also has a large halo-looking light around it which I have to say, makes my face and skin look amazing even if I’m not wearing a stitch of makeup. I actually have the whole stand and light kit set up behind my desk so I can sit, but I also have the option to make it taller so I can stand in front of it too. I have found that a stand is one of the most important keys to success when recording video. It’s amazing how much less distracted I am when I don’t have to hold my phone. I’m also more comfortable physically, which makes my video less awkward. Another great thing about the Neewer Ring Light Kit, is that it has a remote control, so I can actually start recording or take a picture without having to reach up and touch my phone, which almost completely eliminates the need to edit my videos. I definitely recommend investing in a stand if you plan on recording videos regularly.  Lighting is also everything. Angle and lighting can be the difference between someone on social media watching your video, or completely ignoring it. Too many shadows can be unflattering and make your video seem unprofessional, or even creepy – and that’s the last thing you want! For lighting, like I said, I have a ring light attached to my stand, but I’ll tell you about a free light source that you already have access to that is AMAZING!  The sun! Natural lighting is just about as flattering as a magical ring light. Find a window and have a seat. Try to face the window if possible to avoid shadows across your face. If it’s so bright that you’re squinting, try recording when the sun is not as intense, or experiment with sitting at a different angle. If you don’t have access to a ring light or natural light, simply try to find a room with flattering – or at least an abundance – of lighting.  Pay attention to sound quality. If you’re in a room that echoes badly, or your co-worker is microwaving popcorn, or you’re in a crowded place, consider relocating to a quieter setting, or using a set of headphones with a microphone on them. Yes, it’s totally OKAY to wear headphones to record a video in the social media world. Edit if necessary. Most mobile phones allow you to edit and trim off the ends of your videos. You’ll need to make these edits before you upload your videos to Facebook and Instagram. Cut out any awkward silence before you start talking or after you finish. Trim your video so that it begins right before you start speaking. I recommend taking a deep breath and smiling BEFORE you start recording, so your editing will be minimal. Unless you are already a whiz at editing videos, it will likely be faster for you to just start a video over if you mess up than to spend a bunch of time editing and splicing pieces together. “What happens if I mess up?” It’s not IF, it’s WHEN it will happen!  Take a deep breath and shake it off. Here’s a radio trick for you: If you can’t get through a certain sentence or word, stop recording and read it until you can get through it without any bloopers – twice!Try not to get frustrated. How you are feeling will come through in the video, so try to just laugh at yourself and start over. To keep things lighthearted, listen to a song that makes you feel good, have a dance party or take a quick walk. Keep a glass of water nearby, too. Here’s what I want you to remember above all – YOU CAN DO THIS! And now you have five tips to get you started - Angle, Lighting, Sound, Editing & for Bloopers. AND part two of this episode is coming up next week to help you feel even more confident. Sign up for my weekly email so you don’t miss Part Two.I would LOVE to see your videos! Tag me in a comment on your video post on Facebook or Instagram and I’ll watch your video. I promise to be your absolute BIGGEST CHEERLEADER EVER! By the way, if you know someone in the nonprofit world who is struggling, or feeling stuck, tell them about this podcast! Send them an email about it and say, “Hey! I’ve been listening to this podcast and I’ve been getting a lot out of it – just thought I’d share!” Everyone needs a little encouragement and help sometimes.  If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to you by signing up for my weekly email.  Follow Nonprofit Potential on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for special content released throughout the week, too. Links mentioned in this episode: Cheat Sheet for Live and Recorded Videos – What’s the Difference? Video tutorial for adding an IGTV video to Instagram Desk stands to hold your phone while you shoot a video: GripTight GorillaPod Stand JOBY - HandyPod Mobile Lock for Mobile Phones Neewer Ring Light Kit If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/34

In this episode, we are talking about the power of email.  I know, you might think you need to put all of your eggs in the social media basket but let me tell you why you should give your email list – or lists – the attention they deserve. Email is a quick and easy way to get your nonprofit’s name right in front of your donors and supporters, or the people you want to serve. Even if they don’t OPEN your email, they are still seeing your nonprofit’s name. You are reminding them about your organization, and showing them that your nonprofit is alive and active. Second, email is pretty dang easy! Think about it – all you need is a short paragraph or two with a picture or your nonprofit’s logo and BAM! You’ve got an email that you can send right to a targeted audience. Email is starting to sound better and better right?  Email should absolutely be part of your focus for your nonprofit’s marketing plan. Today, we’re going in-depth about how to grow and use your email list to its full potential. And I’m sharing my favorite free email tools so you can send out great looking emails easily, plus, you’ll get a few tips for ways to keep growing your list and actually get people to open your emails. Five hours a day. FIVE. A recent survey found that in 2019, most consumers reported that they spent about five hours a day checking email. If you’re thinking that’s just a certain crowd of an older generation, let’s blow your mind with this – almost 1/3 of Millennials and Gen Z say they check their personal email accounts multiple times per hour. They are looking at their inbox while in bed in the morning and at night, at work, while eating, driving, in the bathroom, watching TV – basically, all the time. So if you thought social media is the only way to reach young people, think again. Email has an incredible presence in the lives of people of all generations.  That’s all great news for marketing, right? But what if you don’t have an email list or you have one but it’s not very big? Start building. Here’s the simplest, most straightforward way to start building your email lists: Gather email addresses at your events – no matter how big or small.  Get a clipboard and a spreadsheet where people can fill in their name and email address. That’s it.  Asking for too much information will scare people off.  Have one of your volunteers be in charge of asking people if they’d like to keep in touch and hear about your nonprofit’s upcoming events via email, No volunteer? At least have the clipboard in an obvious, easily accessible place for people to sign up by themselves. It sounds simple but gathering email addresses at your events can grow your email list overnight! Another way to grow your list is to have an opt-in or sign up option on your website or your blog.  Use social media to encourage people to sign up on your website to receive email updates about the latest news and updates with your nonprofit.  Make sure to get the email addresses of the people you serve as they come in your door Absolutely collect the email addresses of your donors, potential donors, supporters and volunteers. There are lots of different ways to start gathering email addresses, but I’ll tell you one way to get people to unsubscribe FAST – using phrases like “Sign up for our e-blasts!” No one wants to feel like they’re being spammed. Here are a few ways to keep growing your list and actually get people to open your emails: Use great attention to detail. One of the most reported reasons people choose to unsubscribe from email lists is because the emails feel spammy or like the sender just doesn’t care. Make sure your organization’s name is spelled correctly and clearly and with proper grammar and capitalization. Same goes for your subject line, as well as the actual body of the email. Your attention to detail is one of the best ways to show the people on your email list that you care. Use a great subject line. This might take a little experimentation to figure out what gets the attention of your audience. Be creative and keep it short. Take note of the subject lines you get in your inbox from thriving nonprofits or successful businesses – even national brands. Look at who’s “doing it right” and be inspired to make their ideas your own. Use more than one email list. Have one email list for your donors, and another for the people you serve. If you separate the two groups of people, you can better customize the type of email and its content for each audience. For example, you can let the people you serve know about an upcoming class.  You can send your donors emails about a touching story that might help illustrate how important their support is to your organization. Keep in mind who your audience is – what’s their age range, what’s their income, education, do they understand what your organization does? What is their relationship with your nonprofit? Put yourself in their shoes – how are they going to feel when they read your email? What is in it for them? Check out Episode 7 of this podcast for a great exercise that can help you determine who your audience is. Repurpose content. If you’re thinking, what on earth am I going to write to my donors about? Or, how am I ever going to know what to say in an email to the people we serve? Relax – you already know the answer! Take your social media posts or your blog posts, and reshape them into an email. Make it readable, expand on the idea if necessary, and – use a great subject line. If you’re worried that people are seeing your content twice, let me ask you this – how many times a day do you see the same pizza commercial on TV? Or hear the same radio ad? Repetition is how you build recognition with your audience. Keep your goal in mind. What is the point of your email? Are you increasing awareness about your organization? Are you promoting a specific event or service? Are you asking your audience to do something or take action? Ask yourself, “What is my goal?” and let that guide you as you’re writing your email. If you want more tips on how to write a great email, or ideas on how it should look, listen to Episode 13 of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential.  One last thing to remember – keep that email short. Avoid wordy emails, write well, use proper grammar, and use just a paragraph or two with plenty of spacing between paragraphs so it’s easily readable.  I want you to know that not everyone is going to open every single one of your emails. It’s just not going to happen - but if they see your emails consistently every week, then when they see something that you sent that they’re interested in, they’ll open it!  Listen to this – the average open rate for most industries is about 21%. That means, if 21% of people are opening your emails, you are right on the money. If you have a higher rate, you are doing excellent, and if you have a lower rate – don’t sweat it – just keep consistently sending out emails once a week, or every other week, and you’ll get there.  You can view your open rate on email platforms like MailChimp. I like MailChimp – I think it’s pretty user-friendly and intuitive – and free for as long as you have 2,000 subscribers or less. You can also have multiple lists using MailChimp. You can schedule emails to send out at a later time and see what time of day and what days have more successful open rates.  Let all your platforms feed into each other – communication from all angles leads to more people seeing your brand – your nonprofit. Then they become more and more familiar with it. They recognize your logo, your colors, your organization’s name. And what does familiarity lead to? Trust. If people trust you because they’ve seen you across Facebook, Instagram and their email – consistently showing up with a uniform message, making an effort, and consistently staying focused on your mission, they will begin to trust you.  Building those “know, like, and trust” feelings with your audience is key, especially when it comes to fundraising but you can’t do it overnight. You have to build those “know, like and trust” feelings over time, and email is a great way to do that. If you keep consistently showing up and building those “know, like and trust” feelings, people will begin to support you. People will utilize your services. They will tell their friends about you. This is how you grow your nonprofit! By using every tool you have in your tool box to show up consistently and show everyone you are focused on your mission, and you’re here to make a difference. You are doing a great job. I just want you to know that! If you don’t have your email game dialed in yet – just make a goal of sending out one email a month. Then, aim for once a week, or every other week if possible. Do the best that you can and keep going – be consistent! Tell someone you know about this podcast! Send them an email about it and say, “Hey! I’ve been listening to this podcast and I’ve been getting a lot out of it – just thought I’d share!” The more you share this podcast, the more you are helping people who have so much to give to the world, but might feel stuck in trying to figure it all out on their own. So help them out! Tell them about this podcast so you can help someone with a great mission get “unstuck” and move forward in helping make the world a better place with their nonprofit. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. That’s NonprofitPotential.com. Follow Nonprofit Potential on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for special content released throughout the week, too. Links mentioned in this episode: MailChimp Email PlatformEpisode 13:  5 Things You NEED to Know About Email Newsletters Episode 4:  What's Your Brand?Episode 7:  Who Is Your Ideal Customer Portrait?Sign up for MY email list! Just go to my homepage at Nonprofitpotential.com and fill in your first name and email address, then click "Sign Up". Follow on Facebook Follow on Instagram If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/33

Hi there!  Isn’t life a little easier when you have a little support? It’s nice to have someone to do the dishes while you’re cooking dinner. It’s great when your neighbor can keep an eye on your house when you go out of town. And it’s amazing when your friend brings you a coffee, right? Having support not only lifts our spirits, but it helps us to feel more confident! When we know someone has our back, we feel good! When you put effort into relationships, both new and old, not only does it make you feel happier and more confident, it can actually benefit your nonprofit organization! Today, we’re talking about how to get more support for your nonprofit organization so that you feel more confident, better connected with your donors and supporters, and on top of all that – so that your nonprofit can grow with the help of a new network of people who will want to support you – but they just haven’t met your organization yet! We’ll cover how to identify new relationships to build, how to use social media as a “virtual handshake” to break the ice and grow your relationships, and I’ve got tons of real-life examples I’m going to share about these types of supportive relationships that are going to make you feel like you’ve got a support system throughout your community. So, when I say supportive relationships, what exactly do I mean? A supportive relationship means a relationship with a business, another organization, or a person or group of people that will be there for your nonprofit as a cheerleader, as a promoter, as a helping hand, and sometimes, even as a partner.  Let’s talk about identifying new relationships to build… Depending on what kind of nonprofit organization you have, there are different places you can start looking for support and to build relationships. In order to do that, you have to have a plan and a place to start.  Here’s how you can do that. I want you to sit down for 5 or 10 minutes today, and I want you to get out a piece of paper and pen and start brainstorming. Make a list of organizations or businesses or people that can help you in some way, or that are relevant to your nonprofit.  Just write them down as fast they come to mind and DON’T judge whether they would or wouldn’t help you. Just write them down as they come to mind – 20 of them, even if they seem ridiculously impossible. If you are a faith-based nonprofit, you can immediately start making a list of the churches in your local area that you can build relationships with. Add other nonprofits or things that relate to your organization, too. Remember this is just brainstorming list – so get really bold and creative here. Let’s say your nonprofit organization is a pregnancy care center – ah yes, surprise, surprise, one of my favorite examples! Not only can you make a list of churches in your area to start building relationships with, but you can also add to your list things like emergency rooms, hospitals, urgent care clinics – why? Because not only can they send you referrals, you are actually helping them by taking care of patients they don’t want to see yet! When a woman goes into an ER for a pregnancy test – she not only spends in the neighborhood of $1,000 on a pregnancy test, she also takes up the time and space of other patients, the doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and all the other people that make a hospital function. They want her to get help, but the ER isn’t the right place.  Your pregnancy care center is the right place for her to find out if she’s pregnant. The ER doesn’t know about you and neither does the young woman – but both of them could benefit from knowing you…see how you could easily start a relationship with the ER? It can go beyond ER’s, too. Make a handout that can briefly explain how your pregnancy resource center can help any OB/GYN office, or high school based clinic or college campus clinic – anywhere that deals with this type of situation and spell it out for each of them exactly how you can help lighten their load. Let them know exactly how you can be a resource for all of them. You won’t use the same handout for OB/GYNs, school- based clinics or colleges – you’ll vary it according to how you can help.   See how far and wide the scope of your organization can go? That’s why I want you to make that list – write down any and all ideas, no matter how crazy. You see in this example, the types of businesses and organizations that you should be targeting to forge relationships with aren’t just about getting donations – it’s about supporting each other. Helping each other be the best you can be. Helping each other make your community better. Let’s use another example – let’s say your nonprofit is an animal shelter. On your list of relationships to build, you could add any local dog trainers that could come in and work with your volunteers so they can help your organization’s dogs be better behaved and therefore more adoptable. And as for the dog trainer, they can benefit by you handing out their business card to everyone who adopts a dog. I always love the animal shelters that partner with photographers, so they have great photos taken of their adoptable animals to capture their full cuteness and attract potential adopters. And the takeaway for the photographer is they put their logo in the corner of the photo, or maybe you thank them publicly in a social media post, so it helps their business. One more example – let’s say your organization is a school. You have so many opportunities to get creative here – find local writers, artists, successful businesses and community members and have them come in and give presentations to classrooms. And then, as a benefit to that person or organization or business, you can thank them on your social media page, or include a link to their website in your email newsletter. All of these relationships will only help grow your support system in your community. When you start partnering with people for one common goal, you will start to see more and more support. You’ll gain more and more supporters and more donors. Your involvement with other organizations and people helps build your nonprofit’s reputation and credibility – and that is what brings in consistent support. Now, once you have that list written down – your list of 20 organizations or businesses or people that you’ve thought of, or that are relevant to your nonprofit – I want you to pick one or two of them, and make a plan for how you are going to help them. How could you be of service to them? What is their pain point, and how could your organization come to the rescue? Notice it’s about how you can help them, give something to them, be of service.  I know – it’s hard. But I want you to just get the ideas going on this. Because once you do, you’ll feel more confident in approaching them and starting your relationship.   So, let’s talk about HOW to start new relationships and expand your community support. The most basic thing you can do is to get on Facebook and Instagram and start liking posts and pages AS YOUR NONPROFIT. Now what does that mean, “as your nonprofit?” It means, don’t like or follow the Facebook page for Sally’s Clip n’ Curl Salon as yourself – like it as your nonprofit’s Facebook account. If you don’t know how to do that, you can get step by step instructions on how to interact as your page right here: How to Interact as Your Nonprofit Facebook Page To like a page as your nonprofit’s page, get on a computer – not your phone – and go to any business or organization’s page. Then, click the three little dots next to Like, Follow and Share. Click “Like As Your Page.” Then select your nonprofit’s page when the menu appears. It’s important to interact on Facebook and Instagram as your page because when you do, that business or organization will get a little notification that your nonprofit liked their post or that you followed their page. You get to raise a little bit of attention towards your nonprofit and build their awareness that you exist! As soon as you start interacting with them, you are starting to build your relationship. Don’t be afraid to leave comments as your page – even if it’s on a business page that doesn’t really directly relate to your organization but it’s still in your local area. For example, leave a comment on a local car wash’s Facebook post with a picture of a clean car they just washed – just something simple like, “Wow! That a car is spotless!” Why? Because you are getting your nonprofit’s name out there. You are building your nonprofit’s reputation. And – who knows, maybe someone will see your nonprofit’s comment and then use your services. Or maybe one day you’ll have a fundraiser and need silent auction items and look – you’ve already got a relationship with a great local car wash who would be happy to return the support to your organization with a gift certificate donation. Just remember – interact as your page so you are building your nonprofit’s reputation! Another thing you can do – this works especially well on Instagram – is start interacting with other organizations’ or business’ followers. For example, if a great local church has followers on Instagram, start following them as your nonprofit’s account. Try “liking” one or two of their pictures, if their account is public. Again, it’s kind of like a “virtual handshake” – you’re getting your nonprofit’s name out there and when you start following them, or liking their photos, Instagram will give them a notification about it.  Don’t spam anyone and like ALL their photos or anything like that – be genuine. It’s a great way to help get your organization’s name out there and expand your community support. I know – it’s kind of scary to start liking a stranger’s photos or follow them – but remember, you’re doing this all as your nonprofit’s page! They don’t even know it’s you – so be brave! Experiment! You got this! If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. Follow Nonprofit Potential on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for special content released throughout the week, too. Tell someone you know about this podcast! Send them an email about it and say, “Hey! I’ve been listening to this podcast and I’ve been getting a lot out of it – just thought I’d share!” The more you share this podcast, the more you are helping people who have so much to give to the world but might feel stuck trying to figure it all out on their own. So, help them out! Tell them about this podcast so you can help someone with a great mission get “unstuck” and move forward to make the world a better place with their nonprofit. REMEMBER – You have so much to share that is of value! What you have to say matters! Your opinions, your instincts, your insights – they all matter! God gave you a unique life and a unique personality – that means, nobody has the same exact insight as you do. Nobody else does what you do the way you do it. God made you totally special and one of a kind, and you bring an amazing point of view to the world – be brave and share it! You are amazing! Alright my friend, until next time! - Lauren Links mentioned in this episode: Cheat Sheet on How to Interact as Your Organization's Page - Not Your Personal Profile Episode 6 - Handling Comments as your organization’s page If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/32

I just have to warn you – in today’s episode, we are talking about something that is super fun and can possibly become very addicting. I’m not joking – it’s Instagram Stories. In this episode, we are talking about how to dress up your Instagram Story with text and stickers. Yes, as if Instagram Stories weren’t fun enough on their own, today, we are talking specifically how to make them even better. We’ll go over how to add a written message, how to add a sticker or one of those fun little animations – if you follow me on Instagram, you know I LOVE to dress up a Story with this kind of stuff. We’ll also talk about how to get rid of things you DON’T want in your Story, and a few other tips and tricks that will help you make your Instagram Stories amazing, fun and the absolute best they can be. If Instagram is kind of scary, and you’re not really sure how to create stories or dress them up, I have LOTS of resources for you.  Do you need to get familiar with the basics?  Listen to Episode 8.  You can also listen to Episode 16 and Episode 21 to learn even more about Instagram. That’s episodes 8, 16 and 21. Instagram is an app that’s meant to be used on your phone, so you might find it useful to open up your Instagram app on your phone.  Okay, let’s jump in! So, first of all – why dress up an Instagram Story with text and stickers? Instagram is about entertainment. Yes, you’re using it to spread the word about your nonprofit organization and to build relationships with your donors and the people you serve, but wouldn’t you rather hear a message that is compelling and entertaining?  Here are some reasons to use text and stickers in your story: Dressing up your Instagram Story is an opportunity to make it entertaining. To make it pop. Stand out. Memorable.  Since a lot of people view Instagram Stories without sound, stickers or text could inspire them to listen or alert them that they need to turn their sound on to hear your message. You can add a call to action. For example, if you’re having a fundraiser, you can tell people they can donate using by adding the text “link in bio” or “link in profile” You can also add a couple sentences of text to help describe your fundraiser, or the name of your fundraiser.  There are hundreds of stickers you can use on Instagram Stories - like animated arrows, squiggly lines, sparkling stars… You can add these to guide the eyes of your Story viewers where you want them to look.  Engage with your followers with stickers! There are stickers you can use to ask your audience questions or to participate in a poll. You can also have a countdown to a specific event coming up. If you have a compelling, entertaining story, you are more likely to get reactions from your audience. They can send you a quick emoji reaction to let you know how they feel, or they can send you a whole written message. It’s a great opportunity to get feedback from your audience when you use Instagram Stories. Okay so, now that you know the basics of why we should dress up an Instagram Story with text and stickers… Let’s talk about how to put text and stickers into your story. Open up your Instagram app on your phone and start creating a new Story – tap that little camera at the top left corner of your feed. You’ll see the camera open up and already, you’ve got options. You can add a picture you’ve saved on your phone or take a new picture or film a new video.  Let’s use an example: Let’s pretend we have a picture of Pamela on our camera, our pretend receptionist at our pretend nonprofit. In the picture, Pamela is sitting at her desk and this is going to be a post encouraging people to make appointments at our organization this week. So, we add this picture of Pamela at the front desk but as soon as it pops up on the screen where you can edit the Story, there is a big date across the picture – the date the picture was taken. Instagram automatically adds the date, so let’s get rid of that date before moving on to the next step. To remove the date, simply tap and hold down on it with your finger and start sliding it to the bottom of the screen. A trash can will appear – simply drag the date into the trash can.  Next, we’ll add some text.  Tap the two A’s (Aa) in the top right corner. Now you can start typing, or you can paste in text from a note in your phone, or that you’ve emailed to yourself.  To grab something you’ve already written, just open up your Notes app on your phone, or your email app, and for most smartphones, you just tap or hold down on the text you want to copy – a little button will show up that says COPY. Just tap COPY and go back to Instagram and paste it into the Story like this: just tap the two A’s in the top right corner, and tap where you want to put the text, then select PASTE when it appears. Don’t worry – if you open up your email or your Notes app while the Instagram app is open, you won’t lose the work you’ve done so far on your brand-new Story. Since in our example, we want people to make appointments, type in “Appointments available this week!” Experiment with trying out the different fonts, highlighting text or justifying it right, left or center by using the tools at the top of the screen. You can also adjust the font size by using the little slider bar on the left. When you’re finished writing, tap “Done.” Don’t worry – you can go back and edit it by simply tapping on the text again once you’ve closed out of it. To move things around on the screen, like text or anything else you add to a Story, just tap and hold down on it with your finger. Then you can slide it around wherever you want on the screen. Next, we’ll dress up our post with a sticker. Just to add a little pizazz to Pamela’s desk. Try this - tap on the little square smiley face at the top and a menu will pop up. Try searching for something in the search bar at the top – we’ll type in “sunshine” for our example. Depending on what word you search for, you see a bunch of results. You scroll through different stickers and emojis – I like to scroll all the way down to what is called the GIF or the GIPHY section.  These are my favorite things to add to Instagram Stories.  We’ll pick out a little animated sun with a smiley face to add above Pamela’s desk… and let’s add some flowers – so we’ll search for spring, or flowers. We’ll select a couple flowers that we like and put them in front of Pamela’s desk. Okay, so next, we’ll want to add something very important that I highly recommend adding to all your Instagram Stories – the location tag.  Tap that little square smiley face again, and this time, when that menu pops up, select the little icon that says “Location.” Then, type in the town or city that your nonprofit is in. By adding a location, your Story will be found more easily by people in your local area who are looking at posts near their location – even if they aren’t following you. It’s a pretty handy little tool to reach a brand-new audience! Again, I just want to remind you – if you don’t like something that you’ve added or you made a mistake, or you feel like you’ve added too many things – just tap and hold down on any of the text or stickers and drag it to the trash can that appears. You can also tap and hold down on any item to move it to a different area. You can change the size of the item by pinching it with two fingers into a bigger or smaller size. Play around with it and see what looks good! You can add hashtags to your Instagram Story, so it can be seen by more people. We talked all about hashtags in Episode 8 if you need a refresher on what a hashtag is and how to use it. You can add hashtags in a couple of ways, but I suggest just typing them in with their own little line of text. The “Instagram rules” today say you can use up to 10 hashtags in an Instagram Story. If I am using more than 1 or 2 hashtags, I usually opt to shrink them down – you can make text bigger or smaller by pinching them with two fingers. I shrink them down and hide them behind a sticker or highlighted text or sometimes I make them the same color as some other area of the Story.  The goal is to add things to your Story to make it entertaining and compelling and get people’s attention – but it can be easy to overdo it. Don’t add so many things that your audience’s eyes don’t know where to look. That’s why I like to hide things like hashtags, so my audience isn’t distracted by it. Hashtags still do their job even if you can’t see them. Okay, so far, we’ve added text, stickers, a location and hashtags. And we’ve saved the best for last – the little games for engagement! So, you have a few options for these fun engagement games. You’ll find them in the menu that pops up when you tap that little square smiley face. There’s the slider poll – this looks like the white bar with an emoji sliding back and forth. If you tap that, you will be prompted to ask a question. For example, you could ask, “How much do you love Fridays?” Then your audience will slide the emoji left or right on the scale as their answer. The more they move the emoji to the right, the more they agree. Try to make your poll question relevant to what your post is about. It’s meant to be a fun little game and it’s easy to use – so experiment and see what happens! You can allow people to give you open ended answers by going back to the square smiley menu and tapping the questions icon. This will bring up a box where you can type in a question and your viewers will respond by typing in an answer. That is always helpful for gathering feedback, or just for fun, too. And finally, the last quiz game that is the most helpful for a nonprofit is actually depicted by a little white box that says “Poll.” Here you can type in a short poll question and give people 2 answers to choose from. For example, you could ask, “How do you like to book appointments?” One answer could be “online” and the other answer could be “phone.” Your viewers can vote based on the choices you’ve given them. It’s just another fun little way to engage with them. Now, if you are looking at all your options on the square smiley menu, I’m sure you’ve noticed there is an icon for donations.  Yes, you can raise money through donations in Instagram Stories – you have to be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the US, have approval from Facebook to use their charitable giving tools, and have an Instagram business account. If you want to go through the trouble of setting up your nonprofit to accept donations through Instagram Stories, I’ll put a link to instructions on how to do that in the show notes for this episode. I’m going to tell you though – most donations to your nonprofit are going to be earned over time and through relationships you build with your donors. And if you want to give them a place to donate online, direct them to your website by adding the text “link in profile” or “link in bio.” One last thing – if you accidentally post a Story you didn’t mean to, just go to your nonprofit’s profile, view your story by tapping on the profile picture, and then when your Story appears, tap the three little dots on the bottom right corner and hit DELETE.  There you have it!  Experiment. Have fun!  Instagram Stories are a great way to stay in the forefront of your audience’s mind and grow your relationships with them. It’s also a great way to be discovered by new people. and a fun way to pull back the curtain and let people see your organization This might be a little out of your comfort zone, but that is where the most growth takes place! You can do it! You are capable of far more than you think! I know you can get the hang of all this – and you’ll have fun learning! If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com.  Follow Nonprofit Potential on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for special content released throughout the week, too. Until next time, my friend Links Mentioned in This Episode Episode 8 - Instagram 101 Episode 16 - How to Use Instagram Stories Episode 21 - Your Questions Answered! How to set up your nonprofit to receive donations through Instagram Stories: How can my nonprofit raise money on Instagram? If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/31

YA’LL. It is episode 30. I know - this is not a big deal. It ranks maybe a little lower than celebrating a half birthday, but it feels good to have 30 episodes under my belt! You KNOW how much I love to celebrate little victories. So that’s what we’re doing today! I’m celebrating by giving you some really good stuff! Let me tell you about the episode first… Then, we’ll get to the freebies. Today, we are talking about real life results of Facebook and Instagram and how sometimes, the number of “likes” or followers you have doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, the impact you make by having a consistent and purposeful presence on social media can actually extend WAY BEYOND the numbers you see as “likes.”  How many times have you spent a bunch of time on a Facebook or Instagram post finding the perfect picture to use, crafting something great to say in a caption, and you even go the extra mile and add your location tag, and maybe some hashtags on Instagram – you do EVERYTHING you’re supposed to do, and you eagerly check back a few hours later, and see that only ONE PERSON has “liked” your post.  Total deflated balloon, right?  Well, here’s the good news. Facebook and Instagram “likes” don’t tell the whole story. Sure, it’s nice to have a lot of “likes.”  And they can even help your posts be seen by an even wider audience, but sometimes nonprofits have to post about things that are… SENSITIVE! And in case you didn’t know, if someone “LIKES” ANY POST on Facebook or Instagram, their reaction – the “like” – is public. When they hit that little thumbs up or tap that heart button, it is public. Everyone in the world can see it.  So, think about it… If your organization has to do with ANYTHING medical or health-related, you can expect that not everyone is going to be “liking” your posts. Medical situations are sensitive, and frankly, not everyone wants the world to know that they need to see a doctor. Or go to a free clinic. Or whatever! There are a lot of people out there who like to keep any and all medical issues and services they might need totally confidential. So, if you’re posting about anything health or medically related, don’t get discouraged if the “likes” aren’t pouring in on your posts. If your organization has anything to do with helping people in need – say a food pantry. You might not get a lot of “likes” from the people that need your services because again, by “liking” your post, they might feel like they are making themselves vulnerable.  And let’s be honest here, nobody likes to feel vulnerable. So don’t fret if you’re not racking up the “likes” on every post. IT’S OKAY!  Here’s what you DO need to be looking for… Look at how many people are coming to you for your services and through the door. You might not see the “likes” on Facebook and Instagram, but are you asking the people you serve how they found you? There might be an uptick in the number of people that come through your door that is related to social media. They might not have “liked” your post – but if they saw it, they still learned about you and took action! And if that’s the case, you are using social media to your advantage! Now, I told you I was going to give you a present because it’s the 30th episode – here it is!   Knowing how people found you is SUCH AN IMPORTANT piece of information for you to have, that I am giving you TWO templates you can use to ask the people you serve to fill out as they come through your door.  You can download them as Microsoft Word documents, so you can actually go in and tailor them to your organization. You can add your logo, you can change the answers if you don’t like the ones I already wrote in. There are check boxes and fill in the blanks already made and ready to go – so you can hand this form to one of the people your nonprofit is serving and gather information from them. But what’s VERY IMPORTANT is HOW THEY HEARD ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION! Did they hear about you on Facebook? Instagram? Maybe you have a radio ad or an advertisement at a church.  There are plenty of checkboxes on the forms, so you can find out HOW people are finding you.  You can tweak and change these templates so you can ask the questions and get the information you want to find out. When you compile the data from these forms, it will help you learn about your audience and how to talk to them, so they can find you.  You can also use this information to present to your board and your donors.  I mentioned there are TWO templates – one is very generic – the Information Sheet – it can be used how it is or you can tailor it more specifically to fit your organization. It can even be used to gather information from volunteers, or new people that show up to your events. The second template form is an Intake Sheet – it’s geared towards a pregnancy resource center – because you know how I love my PRC’s – So, I’m giving you a template you can use at your center – or if you have any type of medical organization, or your organization offers multiple types of services, you can easily alter this template to work for your situation. SO – how do you get these? You’ll find the link to download these templates at the bottom of these show notes. I’m so excited for you because these forms are going to GIVE YOU SO MUCH VALUABLE INFORMATION! You can find your marketing strengths when it comes to getting people in the door, and what areas you need to work on for marketing your nonprofit organization to people you serve, your supporters and donors.  If you’re not seeing those “likes” on social media AND you aren’t seeing good numbers come through your doors… Then consider these two things: Do your posts have a good clear message + a good picture + one call to action? This free download – How to create really good Facebook & Instagram posts – will help you check your posts. And listen to Episode 2 to refresh yourself about how to create a good quality social media post. If you’re posting about a sensitive service, consider boosting a post from time to time. The more money you spend on boosting a post, the more people you can reach, but if you’re operating on a tight budget, $5 is enough to boost a post for 5 days.  Boosting posts puts your post in front of people you might not normally reach because you get to choose the demographics the post reaches  THEN keep track to see if the number of people coming in the door of your nonprofit is affected. To boost a post:  create a new post and then a button that says “Boost Post” comes up.  Click that and it will take you through a couple short little steps and you’ve boosted your post. To boost a recent post, view it and you’ll see on the bottom right corner of the post, a button that says, “Boost Post,” then it takes you through the same steps to boost that post. Boosting a post results in more people seeing your post. And don’t underestimate the power of even $5. It works! You can get hundreds of people to see your post with just a little budget.  Be sure to choose your audience – once you click on that “Boost Post” button, you’ll have the option of choosing the audience for your post – age, location, interests. If you’re brand new to boosting your posts, you can start out by just selecting the audience in your geographic area. That way, your post will be shown to local people.  Just start, if it’s your first time! Take the first step, boost a post with $5 for 5 days and in no time you’ll be comfortable with it.   And as a bonus tip, go back and listen to Episode 12 – you’ll learn how to read the statistics and insights that Facebook and Instagram show you besides “likes.”  It’s a good episode for understanding a little more about Facebook and Instagram numbers.  Remember, the goal of having a consistent social media presence is to build credibility for your organization, and to help get the word out. You’re not trying to become Internet famous. You’re trying to get people in the door.  People might not react to your post by “liking” it on social media because of their associated feelings or emotions or the risk of embarrassment, so it’s a good idea to survey them when they come through your door to see where they heard about you.  Social media is a tool to get people in the door – it is NOT the official tally of how well your organization is doing but it’s an important tool for you to know how to use well and use to your advantage. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. Follow Nonprofit Potential on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for special content released throughout the week, too. Until next time, my friend! Links mentioned in This Episode Episode 2 - The Anatomy of a Good Post Episode 12 - How Many People Have REALLY Seen Your Post Information Sheet and Intake Sheet Downloads How to create really good Facebook & Instagram posts If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/30

In Episode 29, we’re talking about goals and why it’s important for you to actually write them down. I know, I know, if you’re like me, you might be thinking, why take the time to write down goals? I don’t have time. I’ll remember them. I’m busy right now. I’ll do it tomorrow. What’s the point? Or maybe, you’re one of those people who loves to sit down and make a list of goals…  Either way, today, I’m going to tell you why you should ABSOLUTELY spend the time writing down your goals, plus how to do it in such a way that is proven to be the most effective in actually helping you accomplish your goals - there’s more to it than just jotting down things like “I want to raise more money for my nonprofit” or “I want to lose 10 pounds.” We’ll talk about what to do and how to do it today. Whether you want to meet personal goals or you’ve got goals for your nonprofit organization, listen up, because this episode is going to help you start off – and stay strong along the path to meeting your goals in 2020.  In 2019, I decided my goal was going to be to take better care of myself. I wanted to be less stressed, feel good and healthy in my body, and feel happier – which, anyone will tell you, happiness is correlated with how you’re feeling physically.  Here’s an example for you - I used to exercise and train this horse, and he was always so cranky. He almost seemed mad. He had a permanent unpleasant expression – he was grimacing all the time! One day, we brought in a special vet who did some x-rays and a few other tests, and we found out he had a serious foot problem that was causing him pain. We got him a new kind of fancy horseshoes – the Air Jordan’s of horseshoes - and it wasn’t long before he turned into this sweet gentleman of a horse! His expression and attitude totally changed for the better. It’s the same for us - if you feel good in your body, you feel good in your mind. In 2019, I decided I was going to take better care of myself and put more effort into caring for my body. Now, to meet this goal, I had to think about how I was going to do it. What steps did I need to take to achieve this goal? Eating well and exercising were definitely part of the plan, but I knew I had to catch up on some of those regular appointments we all put off.  I needed to go to the dentist, go to the doctor and get a physical, go to the eye doctor, plus do things like get my hair cut on a regular basis (not just twice a year like I had been), and also regularly see a chiropractor. (By the way, for almost my entire life, I thought chiropractic was a lot of hooey, but after suffering a back injury, I’m into it. It helps me feel better.) All these things had been hanging over my head FOREVER.  For example, I was still wearing the SAME EYEGLASSES I got 18 years ago. In 2019, I decided this was going to be the year where I was going to make those appointments. Since I’ve moved across the country since my last appointment, I had to find a new optometrist – and four other new doctors, plus a hair stylist! I had to find out what my insurance covered, I had to find someone I thought I would like – and I had to do all of this for ALL of these doctors and for the other service people I was going to make appointments with. I made the appointments, I adjusted my schedule so I could actually go to the appointments, I made any necessary follow up appointments – yes! I actually went to the dentist TWICE last year and I have another appointment already scheduled!  And you know what? I feel great about it! I feel on top of one of the simplest, yet easiest to neglect parts of life – taking care of my body. The takeaway from this is, I set a specific, measurable, realistic goal of taking better care of my body.  I wrote down my goals and made sure they were... Specific – I was going to take care of my body – physically and emotionally. Clear –  I was going to eat well, exercise, catch up on doctors’ appointments and take care of my outward appearance. Goal Had a Timeline – I would finish this goal in 12 months. What that did for me was propel me into action. I knew what my next step was going to be throughout the whole plan. It gave me energy and a “next step” to get started and to keep going.  When I finished one appointment, I felt proud because I’d achieved a little more success and then I made the next appointment. I could see I was achieving my goal a step at a time. I gave myself a deadline of 12 months to make all the appointments – which was probably longer than I actually needed, but I wanted to spread it out because I was dreading all of it. I am kind of a wimp about that stuff – but it’s good that I recognized that and took the steps to reach my goal in a reasonable amount of time! All along the way, I kept in mind, the reason why I wanted to accomplish this goal. I wanted to take care of myself, I wanted to go to sleep at night knowing I was doing the best I could to take care of the only body I have. I totally believe that by writing down my goal - and the specific details of it - helped me stay on track and ultimately succeed. I used to be one of those people who hated making New Year’s resolutions or thinking of new goals every January – because often times, I wasn’t meeting them. It wasn’t even just that I wasn’t meeting goals, I couldn’t even REMEMBER them a few months later.  Recent research says, however, that if you write down your goals – not just list them, but actually write them in specific, vivid detail, you can actually almost double your chances of succeeding.  Why?  First, if you write your detailed goals down on a piece of paper, and then hang it above your desk, or on your refrigerator, or on your closet door, or somewhere that you see it every day, it is easier for you to remember. Duh. Right? If you have a visual reminder of your goals – you SEE them every day – it helps you create the mindset and motivation you need every day to work towards meeting your goals. The second part of the science behind successfully meeting your goals, is called encoding. I’m no neuroscientist, but basically, it means, if you write something down, you have a much better chance of remembering it. Writing something down helps to store it in your long-term memory. Let’s talk specifically about how to set yourself up for success with your goals: Write down your goals - Be specific, detailed and vivid in your description and use a pen/pencil and paper. Spend 30 minutes or an hour, thinking about your goals for the year, writing them down, and what it looks like once your goals are achieved. Writing your goals out by hand on paper will help to cement them in your brain – typing or dictating them into your phone doesn’t have the same effect on your brain. Make sure that your goals are realistic and worthwhile. Saying, “I’m going to raise $1,000,000 this year!” is a great goal – but it’s likely not very realistic for most nonprofits. Setting a goal to become the World’s Fastest one-handed clapper is probably not a very worthwhile goal. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble if that was your goal. There’s just no money in one handed clapping. Make your goal measurable. Saying, “I want to grow my nonprofit” is nice, but HOW are you going to grow it? Are you going to raise more money – if so, how much? Give a dollar amount.  Are you going to grow your social media following – if so, how much? 300 new Facebook followers? Give yourself a measurable goal to aim for.    Give yourself a deadline. Tell yourself, for example, I will raise $100,000 by October 2020. Set the deadline to help keep you motivated and accountable, but also remember it’s OK to adjust if you need to. Unexpected things happen. Life happens. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t meet the deadline you set for yourself – focus on what you CAN do and what you HAVE already done (celebrate your success thus far) and adjust your next steps and your deadline. Most importantly of all: Ask yourself, “Why do I want to accomplish this goal?” It will help you stay focused on your priorities and motivate you to work hard to meet your goal. By following these tips and setting goals for yourself in the New Year, you are going to help yourself – and your nonprofit – be the best it can be!   Just start… Even if you’re not sure what goals you want to set, just start thinking, start scribbling down some ideas. Clarity will come to you once you get the ball rolling. You are capable of more than you even know!  I was watching a football game the other night and during the interview with the winning quarterback, he quoted Ephesians 3:20: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us...” Remember that! You are capable of more than you even know. Let God inspire your goals in 2020. If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer! Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com.   Also check out the free tools we have on NonprofitPotential.com like the easy-to-understand guide for how to make REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts. Get access to the free guide now at Nonprofit Potential.com Until next time, my friend! Links Mentioned in This Episode Forbes Magazine - Article about goals If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/29

How much money do you want to raise in 2020? A lot? More than last year? How are you going to do it? Do you have a tried and true fundraiser that is your go-to money maker every year? Or maybe you’re going to try something new and different? While there are lots of different ways to fundraise in the nonprofit world, there’s nothing quite like an event to get it done. Not only are events EXCELLENT for bringing in financial support for your organization, they are also great for building your relationships with your donors and supporters.  You get valuable facetime with them and they have a good time at your event – which cultivates positive feelings and positive associations with your organization… You can really take your relationship to the next level with them by showing them what your organization is all about and by showing them you are organized and professional enough to put on a quality event. Again – SO IMPORTANT in gaining and keeping their future support! SO, what event are you going to host in 2020?  Once you decide, the big challenge is getting people to actually show up. And that’s what we’re talking about today...how to market your event in three steps.  This Three Step Plan will help you get people to SHOW UP to your event, and also prime them so they’ll be ready to donate when they get there! I think we can all agree here, events are a big deal in the nonprofit world – whether it’s a class, a fun run, a fundraising banquet or gala – we all want as many people as possible to show up to support our cause and Facebook is the tool for that! Facebook is an INCREDIBLE tool to use to market your event. It’s great to get the word out, build excitement, engage with your audience before the event, and build that know, like and trust factor that is so important in having a successful organization. I know, there are some people who say people don’t use Facebook anymore, but friend, the numbers don’t lie.  One of the largest research studies to date on the status of the event industry showed that 52% of professional event planners said that Facebook is the most effective social media channel for event marketing. And 31% rate social media campaigns as very important and 53% as important… In case you missed that… that means EIGHTY FOUR PERCENT of professional event planners agree that social media campaigns are important or VERY IMPORTANT!  I’m going to boil it down to a basic Three Step Plan for Event Marketing. You can get started on it RIGHT AFTER THIS EPISODE! Number one… Create the event on Facebook ASAP. Be sure to add all the BASIC important info – the who, what, when, where, why and add a link where people can buy tickets or register if you have that available – look for the little box where you can add that in on Facebook when you’re building the event.  BASIC INFORMATION Event Name or Title:  Note that the box where you type in the name of the event must be BRIEF, yet descriptive… it’s OK to shorten it for social media marketing purposes like “Agatha’s Angels Fun Run” and you can put the full name and more details in the actual event description itself… Your EVENT TITLE, however, needs to be short and sweet. And keep using that same Event Title over and over.  Stick with the same title. Event Description:  I know it’s very tempting to put a WHOLE lot of information in here, but again, I want you to whittle it down to the very basics. If you overload this box with words, people won’t read it. It overwhelms people who may be interested in your event, and the last thing you want to do is give someone a reason NOT to be interested anymore. WHEN should you create the event? I’m a big believer in a LONG runway.  For a bigger event where you’re selling tickets or sponsorship tables and you need commitment from people as early as possible, create the Facebook event about 15-18 weeks ahead of the day of the event.  If you don’t have that long, that’s OK – just create it right now! Even if you are only 10 weeks out from your event right now, or even TWO weeks out from your event, you can still draw attention to it and potentially draw in more people to attend. For smaller events – let’s say, a half day class that you’re teaching, or a community park cleanup day, you can scale the timeline down… Create your Facebook event and start posting about it 6-8 weeks in advance. Think of it as a mini campaign. Don’t be shy - repetition and reminding people about your event is so important. Remember you might be tired of seeing things about your event because you’re close to it but that is not the case for your audience.  Okay. So of the three step social media event marketing plan… Number one was Create the event on Facebook. Number two… Plan Your Posts.  Typically, you’re posting for your organization a maximum of 2-3 posts a week. If you have less than 10,000 Facebook followers, it’s the best way to continuously grow your audience while also maintaining your sanity. So, when you have an event, use that third post of the week for your event. For example:  Post Number 1 on Monday - inspirational post with a short quote and a pretty picture. Post Number 2 on Wednesday - a clear and easy to understand post about a service you provide. Post Number 3 on Thursday or Friday will be about your event. If you want to only post twice a week, just make one post about your organization, and one about the event. You’ll repeat this cycle until about two weeks before your event… Ideas for event posts:  As soon as this episode is over, I want you to come up with 15-18 ideas for posts – or one for each week leading up to your event … How are you going to do that? Well, look at your entire event and imagine you’re slicing it up like an onion – super thin…. It has to be SO EASY for people to understand what you’re talking about – Don’t ever assume anyone has a clue of what you’re talking about! You have got to keep it simple for your audience. Think about the early stages of the event… First, you need to introduce people to it, so your first post, or first couple of posts will be just a basic who, what, when, where, why. Then, do you have a speaker or a band? Introduce them in a post… Use pictures, videos and graphics to make it even more exciting and generate buzz. If you’re selling early bird tickets – create a post about it. Create some FOMO –– you know, FEAR OF MISSING OUT! Are you hosting a banquet? Make a big deal about the menu – this is where pictures really come in handy. Ask your caterer for pictures, or if you can utilize some on their website…. Mention the caterer in your post – they’ll love it, your audience will be excited about it. Let’s be honest, people LOVE pictures of food… That’s all Food Network IS – Pictures of food.  Are you having a live or silent auction? Post about it! You can even make a few posts about this – remember, slice the onion thin. Don’t just post a list of every single auction item, choose a handful of big-ticket items and highlight those… and include a picture if possible. Another great post idea… let people know where their money is going…. What is fundraising for? One of my clients was a community center and we would do a post – or even a couple of posts – on all the things that were fixed or improved, like gym floors, new locker rooms, things like that… all because of the funds raised at their banquet. People like to know where their money is going. They want to know SPECIFICALLY what they’re supporting.  The two weeks leading up to the event will be all about URGENCY, telling people tickets are almost gone, and they’d better buy now, or they’ll be missing out! If they have tickets, they’ll be PRIMED for a good time, if they don’t have tickets, they’ll remember that they missed out and BUY FASTER next year! Also – regarding those 15-18 post topics, it’s OK to repeat posts. It’s OK to have multiple posts about your speaker or band… It’s OK to have multiple posts about early bird tickets, but I encourage you to come up with those 15-18 post topics because then you can pick and choose the STRONGEST ones to use… And remember CLARITY is everything… Slice the onion thin. Use ONE topic for ONE post. If you need a great reminder on how to do this, take a listen to Episode 2. Your post should be 1-2 sentences on whatever the topic is, and then a one sentence call to action… Buy tickets now at this link… Sign up now by calling this phone number. OK – So Number ONE in the plan is Create the event on Facebook… Number TWO is Plan Your Posts.  And Number Three is…Boost the Posts. I know, I know, part of the charm of social media is that you can get it to work for you for free… BUT, I’m here to tell you, if you want your event to get major attention, you need to put SOME MONEY INTO IT. Honestly, I’ve run social media event campaigns with a budget of zero dollars or just $20 dollars, and I’ve run them with $800 dollars. I’ve seen measurable success with both. If you’re curious where your budget falls in line with those professional event planners from the research study we were talking about before… 28% of event planners spend less than $200, 26% spend NOTHING, and 25% spend $200-$1,000. The other combined 21% spend more than $1,000. So, I recommend putting what you can towards boosting your event – and if you’re apprehensive, I encourage you to try it.  Choose a target audience that you want to reach – when you click on the boost button below your post – you’ll see a window pop up where you can customize the audience you want to reach – I recommend choosing the age range of the people you want to reach, and their location. Then, add a $5 budget and boost the post for a dollar a day for 5 days. If you start to see results - keep going! You can choose to boost your post about the event each week – I recommending boosting for 5 days at a time for a dollar a day on the low end… Or, you can try boosting your actual Facebook Event page itself to generate more interest… Experiment. Change the number of days you’re boosting – You can always re-boost your event, too. Try adding more money into your budget. See what makes a splash.  If you feel like you’re not making a splash… more like a flop… Then stop and check yourself. What are you posting? Who cares about it? Are your posts clear and to the point? Are you explaining what your event is about, or when it is, or why people should care? What about your pictures and graphics? Are they clear, or confusing? Take stock of what you’ve got going on and re-evaluate. Pretend like you’re new in town and you’ve never heard of this event – does that bring up any questions for you? If you don’t have a budget to spend on boosting your posts – that’s OK! You can still successfully market your event on Facebook. Just keep showing up, be consistent and clear, and make sure you never miss out on a chance to engage… share your organization’s event posts on your personal page. Invite people to the Facebook event. When someone comments or asks a question – make that a positive experience for them. All of these things are FREE and effective… AND Facebook even does you a few favors here and there by alerting people in your area about the event if Facebook thinks that person might be interested. Sometimes people will get a notification when their friend is interested in an event… There is still PLENTY of room for success in your social media event marketing, even if you don’t have a budget. If you have any questions, I’d love to hear them so we can answer them in an upcoming episode and help others who might have the same questions! I absolutely LOVE hearing from you. Get in touch by going to NonprofitPotential.com/contact and let me know what questions you have. Remember to subscribe to the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential Podcast…  And you can also listen directly on our website Nonprofit Potential.com …Also – find me on Facebook and Instagram – let me know you’re listening so I can say thanks… You can also check out pictures from my whacky life in Wyoming! And hey, I just want to remind you, especially if you’re just starting out, YOU GOT THIS! You CAN DO THIS! And I’m going to be here to help you along the way with tangible, do-able, step-by-step tips to help you get the word out about the good work your organization does! I’m Lauren Creagan, meet me back here next week as we continue Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential! Links Mentioned in This Episode Episode 2 - The Anatomy of a Great Post If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/28

It’s the end of the year – in fact, this episode is actually being released ON CHRISTMAS EVE… so Merry Christmas!  The end of the year is a GREAT time to check in with your donors with an email!  Truth be told, it’s ALWAYS a great time to check in with your donors – any time you have a good reason to check in with them, or give them an update on what’s going on with your nonprofit, you are growing your relationship with them. Your relationship with your donors is the BIGGEST part of them giving you money. If you have a good relationship with your donors – you keep in touch CONSISTENTLY, you make them feel good – like the hero.  You let them know their donation is making a difference – they will want to give you money! So really, this is a great time to send them an email… Think about it…at this time of year, you love hearing from people you care about…whether a card in the mail or with an email. So reach out and let your donors know you care. Now, maybe you over-achieved and your nonprofit actually did send out a Christmas card to your donors… But maybe you didn’t… and now, it’s too late for you to jump on that train this year.  But it isn’t too late! Even if you DID send out a Christmas card, sending out another email with a “little season’s greetings, thanks for your support this past year, here’s what we accomplished this year with your support” is still a GREAT idea!  And if you didn’t send out a greeting, now you can send out a warm, feel-good email to express your gratitude and say Merry Christmas to your donors, volunteers and the people you serve too! It is the EASIEST and FASTEST way to grow your relationships with the people that matter to your organization. Do it before the end of the first week of the New Year. That’s PLENTY of time to write 3 sentences – that’s all it has to be for this type of end of the year check-in email. Write 3 sentences and include a great picture. To make it easy for you in the future – so you have some in-depth direction of where to go with your emails to your donors, this week I’m sharing with you a replay of Episode 13: 5 Things You NEED to Know About Email Newsletters This episode is packed full of tips and tricks for writing the BEST EMAIL EVER!  Remember to keep in mind my little analogy -  that your donors and supporters are like plants growing in a garden.  They are getting watered with Facebook and Instagram and if you add EMAIL, it’s like giving these plants FERTILIZER!  The result? Your plants will be in full bloom year-round!  Why email? Because according to recent research, people prefer email for communicating with the brands they’re connected with – yes, that includes your nonprofit organization.  If your nonprofit has multiple audiences you’re talking to (donors and supporters, people you serve), you can use separate email lists to nurture your relationships with each group.  Here are the 5 Things You NEED to Know About Email Newsletters: Write a great subject line. Think about it – if you get an email with a weak or boring subject line, do you want to open that email? No… probably not! You might even just delete it without even opening it, especially if it’s a business or an organization. So, try to make your subject line genuine, interesting and of course, in-line with what your email is about. Use the right framework: A picture, a paragraph and a call to action. Why? Because it WORKS! The picture captures someone’s attention right off the bat, the paragraph goes into more detail, and the call to action clearly lets that person know what they should do after they read the email.  Put the most important information first. Pretend like you only have ONE SENTENCE to tell someone what your email is about. Make that the first sentence of your email. Start strong and tell them right away what your email is about in that first sentence. Keep it simple and short. Your emails should be a quick and easy read and about ONE TOPIC. Try to keep your emails to about 200 words, or about 20 lines - if it needs to be longer, or shorter, that’s OK – but just remember, take out anything that your audience doesn’t have to know about. If it’s not going to help your audience take action, then leave it out.   Give them something. Give them a reason to OPEN and read your email. Remember, they’re asking themselves:  ‘Why does this matter to me?” If you have two email lists – one list for your donors and supporters, and one for the people you serve, you’re going to give these two groups of people two different things.  You’re going to give your donors and supporters the uplifting, positive feelings they get because they are helping the community or a cause.  For the people you serve, you’re giving them resources in your emails - small, digestible pieces of information that can help them - like a class or list or freebie.  Serve your audiences with ONE TOPIC in every email. It’s all part of building that know, like and trust factor.  Again, be consistent with when you email your people  – at the beginning, try sending out an email just once a month.  Then work up to once a week, but again, the most important thing is that you are consistent. So, commit to a goal you can achieve. And finally, always remember WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS! There is so much day to day stuff that can be overwhelming and distracting from your purpose and your mission, but always remember your WHY. What was it that first inspired you to get involved with your nonprofit organization? Take ownership of that! Keep that fire burning in your heart! You are making a difference in the world. A big difference is the culmination of a lot of little steps. So, take that next little step today, and get to work on your next email! You ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! What you’re doing MATTERS.  Remember to check out the free tools we have on NonprofitPotential.com like the easy-to-understand guide for how to make REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts. Get access to the free guide now at Nonprofit Potential.com Episode 7: NonprofitPotential.com/7 Email me your “how do I…” questions about Facebook or Instagram – I’d love to answer you on the podcast. nonprofitpotential.com/contact Let’s be friends… Find me on social media and let me know what kind of nonprofit or business you’re working with! Here’s where to find me: Facebook.com/NonprofitPotential Instagram.com/NonprofitPotential If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/27

Well, here we are… Christmas is next week, and the year has come and gone – it seems like they go by faster and faster each year, doesn’t it? The end of the year is always a good time to look back and reflect. Just like at the end of a long walk, when you look behind you and see how far you’ve come, all that you’ve been through. You’ve seen beautiful and inspiring things – you’ve overcome obstacles and challenges. Good or bad, it’s all part of the journey. It’s all part of life, and what makes you who you are. In addition to a time of reflection, this time of year can be busy, and stressful, and even difficult. But I want you to do something for me… I want you to think of all the people you made an impact on this year.  I want you to think of the lives you touched. Whether it’s someone your nonprofit organization helped, or maybe it was just someone you saw in your life that needed a bit of kindness. You never know when something as simple as a kind word can change someone’s life. It might not always be so obvious, but your words and actions can have a huge impact on the life of someone else. So, think…think back over the past year... Who did you help?  Whose life did you make better? Who did you make smile? What was something you did to help someone else?  I want you to think about all of those people, because I want it to remind you of the effect that you have on other people. I want you to look back at all you did, and let that motivate you to keep moving forward today, tomorrow, and next year. Think of the all the differences you’ve made in people’s lives, and keep going. Remember all the good. It’s easy to get lost in the grind.  Let me tell you a story… I used to be in charge of a program that gave Christmases to families in need. Now, when I say, “Gave Christmas” I mean, we found families that were having a hard time financially, and some of them had problems that went far beyond not having money to spare around the holidays… Some of them had a family member with cancer, some of them were unemployed, some of them had overcome addiction, some of them were just struggling to keep their heads above water. We would find out from their friends or family what they needed. Maybe it was paying off a utility bill. Maybe it was presents under the tree for their children to open. Maybe they didn’t have a Christmas tree at all, and we’d bring them one of those too! I remember there was one little girl who didn’t have a bed to sleep in at night. She had to sleep on the couch in her living room. Another family didn’t have a refrigerator. We’d find out what they needed – and we even found out what they liked, too!  One night in the weeks leading up to Christmas, a whole bunch of us would show up and surprise them. We’d knock on their door, wearing Santa hats and jingling bells, and yell “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” just like George in It’s A Wonderful Life… The surprise on these people’s faces was priceless… They had no idea what was going on, but they got the picture pretty quick when they saw a train of people with armloads of presents lined up along the sidewalk. Now here’s the thing – in order to make this magic moment this happen it took a TON of work. It took fundraising and sponsorships, advertising, a huge toy drive – which also included yours truly spending hours rifling through piles and piles of toys picking out what to give to the children in these families, recruiting and coordinating people to help make the surprise deliveries, vetting and researching these families in need, talking to their family and friends and finding out what they needed, shopping for them, and all of it on top of my regular job… you get the idea. It literally took up every waking moment of my life, and when I would sleep at night, I would dream about everything I had left to do. You know that Nelson Mandela saying, “It always seems impossible until it’s done?” That was my mantra. At times, it seemed like there was too much to do – it was an impossible amount of work to accomplish but then, one day, it would be done. If I put my head down, work and persevere, then everything would get done. And you know what? All of the blood, sweat and tears were worth it every time I saw that priceless look of surprise, followed by gratitude and emotion on the face of the person who needed help at Christmas. There are probably times throughout the year – or maybe all year! – that you feel overwhelmed with everything you have to do with your nonprofit. Don’t get lost in the grind. Remember who you’re helping. Take this time to really sit back and look at all you’re doing. Take inventory. Look at how many lives you’ve impacted. The more you recognize the impact you make on others, the more rewarding your life will become.  Even though it’s been years since I finished working on that Christmas program, every Christmas morning, I think of that little girl who didn’t have a bed to sleep in. And the look on her face when we brought a brand new bed into her house, just for her. With sheets decorated with characters from Frozen. She was so excited. Her mom cried. Her grandmother cried. We all cried. Every Christmas morning when I wake up thinking of that little girl, I don’t care what presents are waiting for me under my own tree – I feel like I already got the best gift by giving to someone else and making an impact on someone else’s life.  So, take a minute today and take stock of what you’ve given to someone else. And the more you recognize the impact you have on others, the more rewarding your life will become.  Merry Christmas. If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/26

One challenge that many nonprofit organizations face is trying to reach two or more audiences, primarily: People they want to serve Donors and supporters It’s a complicated situation because usually, these two audiences look very different.  Because these two crowds look very different, you might think you need to have separate Facebook and Instagram pages to talk to each audience, but the problem with that is – that takes time you don’t have!  Even though these crowds look very different, you can talk to BOTH of them and grow your relationships with them by using just ONE Facebook page and ONE Instagram page really well.  In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about a few different ways you can grow your relationships with your two audiences without doubling your workload.  Here’s why this matters… The less you have on your plate, the better you can accomplish your goals. If your day is loaded down with a million things to do – what happens? You have a hard time accomplishing everything AND then you have that cloud over your head remembering how many of those things are done half-way, or that you cut corners to get them finished. If your goal is to have a really great Facebook and Instagram presence for your nonprofit organization, then focus on having ONE really great main page for your organization. If you put all of your energy, all of your time, and all of your focus on your nonprofit’s single Facebook and Instagram pages, you can make it that much better! Don’t do two pages badly, focus your efforts on doing one page really well! You won’t be spreading yourself thin by trying to show up consistently for two pages – one specifically for your supporters, and one for the people you’re trying to serve.  You’ll be spending less time with more reward for your efforts if you focus on having one central location where people can find your organization on social media. Another reason why you should just focus on having one central page, is because your donors and supporters want to see your mission in action. They want to see where their money and support is being used. So if you train your donors and supporters to like, follow and share on your organization’s one and only Facebook page where you are posting things aimed at the people you want to serve, they can see – and support – your mission in action. Your nonprofit’s ONE Facebook page and ONE Instagram page are letting your donors see what you’re doing. You’re letting them be on the front lines with you – and they’ll love it! They’ll feel more involved and more supportive and see the need for their role in supporting you. Ok so let’s talk for a minute about the actual logistics of how this is going to work. It all sounds great, but there are a few tips I want you to know that are going to help you do this well and then be successful. 1. Focus your posts. Make sure your posts are talking to the audience you want to reach. If you’re talking to the people you want to reach, then write that post and pick out the photo you’re going to use with it as if you were laser focused on that person you want to serve. If you are talking to your donors – talk to your donors like they are the only ones you’re talking to.  Here’s an example: If you’re a community food pantry and you need canned food – ask for it from your donors. Don’t ask for canned food, and then squeeze in a bunch of information trying to attract people that you want to serve too. Don’t confuse both of your audiences by making your post about more than one thing and talking to more than one audience. Zero in on what you want to say, and who you want to say it to and save everything else for another post. 2. Aim to post twice a week talking to the people you want to serve in your community. If you have a fundraiser, or an event for your donors, or you need something from that donor and supporter audience – add that as a third post in the week. So that’s 2 posts per week for the people you want to serve, and if you need it, add in a third post per week for your donors. 3. Maintain your relationships with your donors via your email list. Email is a wonderful tool for giving your donors updates and information that they might want to know, and maybe isn’t a good fit for a social media post. Also, if you email your donors consistently – once a month or more – that’ll help to grow your relationship with them even more. 4. Train your donors and supporters to like, follow and share on your nonprofit’s social media pages. In your emails to your donors, encourage them to follow your nonprofit on Facebook and Instagram and include links so they can find your pages easily! Let them know that by supporting your nonprofit on social media, they are helping your pages reach more people – AND they can have a front row seat to seeing your important mission in action! Remember, they want to help – they believe in your mission! So let them be out on the front lines with you and see the need for your organization play out on your nonprofit’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Ok – so there are some tactical tips on how to manage two audiences and one Facebook or Instagram page.  Now, let’s talk about a real life example of handling not just two, but THREE audiences and how to make something like that situation work! I’ve talked about this before in this podcast – back in the early days – there’s a wildly popular sport here in Wyoming, and really, the Rocky Mountains, Canada, and basically anywhere else that it snows 8 months a year so you have to find ways to entertain yourself. I’m talking about skijoring. If you haven’t heard of it – it’s a competition where a person rides a horse as fast as they can while pulling a skier behind them through an obstacle course. There are moguls, and jumps and sometimes there are rings the skier has to grab from a post… It’s pretty much crazy. Google a video of it after you finish listening to this. Anyway, every year in my community, a local nonprofit hosts a skijoring race to raise money for local causes. Last year, they asked me to take care of marketing the entire event from start to finish on social media. There wasn’t even a Facebook page in existence when they asked me to start – so it was a big uphill climb!  In order for the event to be a success, I needed to zero in on three different audiences: Horseback riders, skiers and spectators. All of those people are very different, and have very different priorities, concerns, and different things that attract them. So in order to manage all these relationships with these audiences – I looked at the timeline of the weeks leading up to the event. I realized that the horseback riders were making the BIGGEST commitment because loading up a horse in a trailer and driving anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 hours is a lot to ask of a person.  The horseback riders would need to know about the event the farthest in advance, so I started talking to them first. I made sure the posts that were talking to them zeroed in on their concerns and priorities – free boarding for their horse, a safe dirt track to race on, a cash prize and belt buckles, and the fact that they didn’t have to have a partner – we could pair them up. Whenever I wrote a post for that first stretch of the marketing, I made sure to address those things and talk to that one specific audience. The thing is, even though I wasn’t necessarily TRYING to talk to a skier or a spectator, if one of those people saw the post – they still understood that a skijoring race was happening soon and they could still be interested, they could sign up, buy tickets, and make plans. They had general information and knew the event was going to happen even though the post was not specifically focused on skiers or spectators. After a few weeks of aiming my posts at the horseback riders, I moved on to targeting the skiers, and then in the two weeks leading up to the event, I focused 100 percent of my efforts on getting spectators to show up.  Remember, just because your post is aimed at one audience, doesn’t mean your other audience won’t get something out of it too. The same is true for your audiences.  The people you serve are learning about your services, and your donors are seeing what your nonprofit does in the community.  When it’s time to reach out for a specific event or fundraiser, your donors and supporters will already have a good idea about what your nonprofit organization has been doing for others throughout the year.  They’ll be ready to listen when you start talking to them specifically. Alright – I think that’s enough to think about for today! I hope this was some food for thought for you – as always, if you have any questions – I’m here for you! Write me an email at NonprofitPotential.com or send me a message on Facebook or Instagram.  You are doing an amazing job. What you are doing matters! No one can do what you are doing like you do it.  Your donors and supporters think so too! I want you to think of ONE PERSON you have impacted with your work. Think of that person and how you made their life better. Feels good, doesn’t it? Let that motivate you and keep you going! You are doing great! Remember to subscribe to this podcast – it’s the best and easiest way to support the show. If you want us to keep going, we need your support! You can subscribe through email at NonprofitPotential.com or through your favorite podcast player like Apple Podcasts or Google podcasts. Get access to the guide that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s free and yours to keep forever. It’s available now at NonprofitPotential.com Thanks for listening. I’m Lauren Creagan. Meet me back here next week as we keep Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential. Links I mentioned in this episode: The Guide to REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram Posts If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/25

I hope you are enjoying this special time of year – it can be a lot to handle with Christmas parties, end of the year gatherings, visits with family and friends, and on top of all that you might be trying to meet some end of the year goals at your nonprofit organization. When things get busy like this, it might seem like a good idea to make some drastic cuts on your to-do list - like taking a break from posting to your nonprofit’s Facebook and Instagram.  It’s low hanging fruit that seems perfect for cutting from your to-do list… But don’t be fooled – it’s not!  Consider this: Have you ever had a new friend that you really enjoyed and liked hanging out with, but then, you got busy and stopped seeing each other for a few weeks or even maybe a couple months? Then, after a while, you don’t really feel the need to reach out to them because, well, they’re not reaching out to you, and eventually, they fade to the back of your mind, and you kind of stop thinking about them altogether. Has that ever happened to you? This same idea applies to your nonprofit’s social media. Don’t lose touch with your audience just because you’re busy! Don’t let your audience think you forgot about them, and don’t let them forget about your nonprofit! Also, consistent posting shows your audience that you are an active nonprofit organization who doesn’t disappear off the radar just because it’s the holidays.  What if someone is considering using your services and they check out your Facebook page and your last post was from weeks or months ago?  What if someone is considering volunteering with your nonprofit – maybe it’s part of their New Year’s Resolution – and they check out your social media and see you’re not trying very hard to stay relevant, so they move on to the next nonprofit in need of a volunteer. What if someone is checking out your nonprofit because they want to write your nonprofit a big huge Christmas donation and the last thing you posted was from a month ago?  You’re not earning anyone’s trust by disappearing from social media. Consistent posting is your #1 secret weapon to keeping, growing and building trust with your audience on social media. You can’t abandon ship just because it’s the holidays – but you’re busy… SO – what are we going to do about this? Here are FIVE post ideas to get you through the holidays. That’s right – use these ideas to post for your nonprofit on social media for the next 5 weeks. That’s one post idea to use per week.  Yes, it’s ideal that you post twice a week – but honestly, if you’re so busy that you just can’t possibly muster 2 posts per week, use one of these post ideas once a week and they’ll get you through until the beginning of the new year. It’s my Christmas present to you! Topic ideas to help you keep posting: Say thanks to your volunteers. It never hurts to go overboard with the gratitude you show for a volunteer. Let them know how valuable they are to your organization and that you couldn’t do it without them.  Say thanks to your donors. The holidays are a time when your donors are being asked for a lot of things. So, why not do the opposite? Instead of asking them to give you something, give THEM thanks!  You will stand out and make them feel recognized and appreciated – like a breath of fresh air. Take it a step further and let them know some specific goals they’ve helped your nonprofit reach in the past year. What did their donation help pay for? Post a picture of your staff and volunteers enjoying the season. Having an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party? Did someone bring decorated sugar cookies to share? Setting up a Christmas tree at your front desk? Doing a toy drive? Take a picture!  Post it with a caption that says something like:  Our volunteers had a blast at this year’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!  Or another caption could be: Nothing like cookies and decorations to get our volunteers into the Christmas spirit! (Feel free to copy and paste these captions as your own!) You get the idea! Remember, you’re just trying to keep in touch with your audience! Post a quote. Posting a quote on social media is not only easy, it’s inspirational and shareable by your audience. I love to use Canva.com – which is a free website or app you can download on your phone – all you have to do is choose a background and add some text and then you’ve got a big beautiful quote graphic to post on social media. One liners make the best quotes on Facebook and Instagram. Post a testimonial. Have you received a testimonial from someone your organization has served, a thank you note, a glowing Google review? Post it to your social media! Just make sure you keep in mind any privacy concerns or rules your organization might need to consider. Also leave out any personal information.  There you have it! Five post ideas to get you through the New Year!  Remember, your audience needs to hear from you! Keep in touch with them during this busy time – you won’t regret it. Bonus tips:  On Facebook, you can schedule a post so that it will post at a later date.    Note: Your post won’t automatically go to your nonprofit’s Instagram. If it’s dire that you schedule an Instagram post, you can download an extra app (example: Later app) to help you schedule Instagram posts. Sound intimidating? Email the text and picture to yourself so you can access it on your phone and then you can post it to Instagram more easily. Here’s the most important thing I want you to remember – just do the best that you can! It doesn’t have to be perfect! Showing up consistently is what counts!  Remember, you’re just trying to keep in touch with your audience. Don’t stress about it, just use these post ideas to remind them that your nonprofit is alive and well in the holiday season. Keep going! Look how far you’ve come in the past year! Look at all you’ve accomplished! If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email and I’ll answer it on the show! Remember to download the PDF guide that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s free and yours to keep forever. Click here to get it now. Links I mentioned in this episode: Create your own quote graphics on Canva.com How to schedule a post on Facebook Instagram post scheduling app, Later Write Lauren Nonprofit Potential Instagram Nonprofit Potential Facebook PDF Guide:  What makes a good social media post If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/24

Sometimes, the best gift you can give yourself over the holidays is an extra hand to help you get things done! So I’m re-releasing the episode of Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential that is going to help you find and train that extra set of hands to help you keep up with your nonprofit’s social media posting during this crazy busy time of year. Why not just take a hiatus from posting during the holidays? Because consistent posting is your #1 secret weapon to keeping – AND GROWING – your social media presence! Don’t stop because you’re busy – it’s more important than ever to keep going! So here it is… The special re-release of How to Train a Volunteer to Help You Post! First things first – taking care of your organization’s social media is not a job for just any warm body. There are three qualities to look for in that person. They have to have a passion for your cause It’s important that they are not intimidated by social media  They are a person you like working with Does anyone you know come to mind? Then, you might have found the right person to help you with social media. “Help” is the key word there - you’re looking for help, not someone to do it all for you. No one knows your organization better than you, and no one is more passionate about your organization than you are. You are the heart and soul of it. You can have someone help you with social media and help you come up with ideas, but it’s a good idea to stay involved in what is being posted, at least until your volunteer is fully trained. Be sure to set expectations. Show examples of the kind of posts you want. Decide your “call to action.” Have your new social media helper listen to this podcast - it will help them understand your strategy, mission, and how to communicate that to others through social media.  Keys to making things effective and efficient: Give your volunteer a clear picture of who your audience is by sharing your notes from the ideal customer quiz from Episode 7. Your helper needs to know who the post is being written for - that makes all the difference. Come up with a schedule. For example, tell them you want to have posts go out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Practice in a Word document. On Monday, the volunteer can sit down and plan out what those two posts will be. By creating posts in Word, changes can be made and you can approve or edit them before they go out. Have your volunteer save the large sized photos/graphics for posts in a file for easy uploading to Facebook and Instagram. Remember, you are making a difference in your community, don’t shortchange that! Don’t pass off your social media to someone who doesn’t care – social media matters.  Your consistent presence and clear message are often times a first impression to your community. This is YOUR MISSION. You have a passion for this, and Facebook and Instagram can expand your reach to more people. Use social media as a tool. Be bigger and better with the help of a volunteer! Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 2 Anatomy of a Good Post   Episode 4 What’s Your Brand?   Episode 7 Who’s Your Ideal Customer Portrait?  Click here to download Step-By-Step Instructions on how to add a page admin or editor on Facebook  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/23

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that I never miss out on the chance to talk about the three things that every good social media post needs – a picture, a caption and a call to action.  Now, even though we talk about these three things all the time in this podcast, I think it’s time we zoom in on one of these pieces that may be the most intimidating, possibly confusing, but definitely SO IMPORTANT. I’m talking about a call to action. In today’s episode, we’re talking about what a call to action actually is, how to use one in your Facebook and Instagram posts, how to write a meaningful call to action, and I’ve got the most crucial tip on what your nonprofit’s BEST call to action is. By the end of this episode, you’re going to be on fire about using these game changing tips to make your social media posts more effective than ever as we zoom in on the call to action! A call to action is when you tell someone to do something.  For example, in your nonprofit’s Facebook post, when you say “call us to volunteer,” or “make an appointment today,” or “register now.” Those are each a call to action. A call to action is when you are urging your audience to take action after seeing your post. Now, why does a good nonprofit social media post need a call to action? Because your nonprofit’s social media post is meant to increase support for your organization, or inform and inspire people to take advantage of your services.  To do any of those things, you need to ask your audience to follow through. You need to give people direction on what to do next. Think about it, if you and I were standing in your kitchen, and I showed you a cup that I was holding in my hand, and then, without saying a word, I just handed it to you and walked away…  What would you be thinking?  You’d probably be kind of confused right?  You’d be thinking, “What do you want me to do with this? Hold it? Drink it? Put it down?” The main purpose of a call to action is to avoid this kind of confusion and drive your audience to the next step – clicking your link, reading your blog, signing up for something, learning more about your mission or your services on your website.  You have to direct their next step after they see your post.  If you don’t, do you know what’s most likely going to happen? Nothing. This is why you need a call to action in your nonprofit’s Facebook and Instagram posts. Now that you know what a call to action is and why it’s important in social media, let’s talk about what your nonprofit’s BEST call to action is… This is the most crucial tip on what your nonprofit’s BEST call to action is… The best call to action to use for your nonprofit’s social media posts is the one you can monitor.  You have to pay attention to the thing that you just directed people to do.  If you told people to call your nonprofit on the phone, you have to answer their calls, or at least return their calls within 24 hours. If you told people to send you a Facebook message or email or contact you through your website, you have to keep up with your inbox and respond within 24 hours – that’s what most people expect nowadays. If you told people to register for something, follow up with them to confirm. In addition to choosing a call to action you can monitor, make sure that call to action is easy for your audience to use. It has to be one click, or one call, simple, straightforward and easy to understand. Here are some tips on using a great call to action in your nonprofit’s social media post: 1. Use only one call to action per post.  Think of your call to action as the only door in a room. If there’s only one door, which one is your audience going to choose? The only one that is available to them. If you put more than one door in the room, then they have to make a decision, and that’s where things get complicated. That’s where people back out. It takes too much energy to make decisions, so they choose not to make one at all. So don’t make your audience make a decision, guide them to where you want them. Give them one door to go through. 2. Make it stand out and easy to read.  Make your call to action its own paragraph or line so there is white space around it. This will help it to stand out more and easier to read, so even if your audience is just scanning your Facebook or Instagram post, their eye will be drawn to your call to action. 3. Use action words and phrases For example: Learn more, register now, read more, sign up, call today, make an appointment, join us, click the link, support, donate, fight, transform, act. These are just some of my favorite examples to help get you started. You can even take it a step further if you want and add in some inspiration and emotion to those action words and phrases. You can do this by adding identity to your call to action – tell your audience who or what they’ll be helping or doing by using a call to action like, “Support a child,” or “Help a family in need today,” or “Save a dog from spending Christmas in a shelter.”  4. Make it urgent. Use words like “now” or “today.” Instead of saying, “Call to make an appointment” say, “Call now to make an appointment.” It’s a little word with big power. You’re not only telling your audience what to do, you’re telling them to do it right away! 5. Keep it short.  The more words you add to your call to action, the more likely it is to become confusing. Keep it short – one sentence, for example: “Make an appointment today, call 555-4321 or online at agathasangels.com.”You can give people more than one option for contacting you (like a website and a phone number), but stick to just one or two. 6. Save it for last.  Have you ever watched an infomercial? The other night, I found myself watching the infomercial about the steel nonstick frying pan - you know, the one where the chef melts a handful of peppermints, still in the plastic wrappers, in the frying pan and then easily wipes up the mess with just one swipe (I need to get rid of my TV). Every infomercial works the same. They present the problem, and their solution for it, and then, they hammer it all home with a call to action… “Call now to order your frying pan.”  They do that because they know they can’t just ask you to buy the frying pan without seeing how it works first. They make you recognize the need for the product first, then they show you the solution to the need, and then, they tell you how to easily get on board. You’re using those same principals in your nonprofit’s social media posts with a call to action. For example, if you’re creating a Facebook post for your nonprofit pregnancy care center… In your post, you will identify the need or the issue – which is generally a pregnancy in which the woman needs care or support – then you spell out the solution, which would be your nonprofit’s services, and follow it up with a call to action – telling your audience to call you or visit your website.  Here’s a sample post to give you an example of a call to action. (If the image is not visible, click here to view image of sample post.) Remember, make it easy for your audience to act on the call to action you’ve given them, and to pay attention to them when they do follow through with it. I hope this has been a big confidence boost to your call to action skills. This is just one more thing you can add to your tool kit in marketing your nonprofit organization.  You are doing a fantastic job – look at you right now, listening to this podcast, and taking steps to learn how to propel your organization forward and keep unlocking your nonprofit potential! You are doing amazing and I am so proud of you. I truly love hearing from you and what you’re working on, so please don’t be shy, send me an email, or find me on Facebook and Instagram using the links below and send me a message. Let me know what your organization is all about so I can be your biggest cheerleader. If you have a question for me – be brave and ask! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll answer it on the show! Get access to the guide that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s free and yours to keep forever. Get access to that guide now and other great tools here.  Links I mentioned in this episode: Sample Post Write Lauren Nonprofit Potential Instagram Nonprofit Potential Facebook If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/22

I love the quote, “The first step to receiving an answer is being brave enough to ask a question,” because sometimes, it does take bravery to admit you don’t have all the answers! And you know what, that’s OK! No one has 100% of the answers 100% of the time.  Here’s the good news. We all have different knowledge about different things. Life is like one big information-swap. But you can’t start learning new things until you start asking questions… And that’s what we’re doing today… Answering your questions! A big thank you to everyone who wrote in with a question for today’s episode. Buckle up, we’re covering a lot of ground in this episode – from how to share an Instagram post, to what’s the difference between Facebook ads and boosting a post… and everywhere in between! Answersville, here we come! Question: Any tips on making a good website? Answer: Less is more. You need way less text than you think, especially on the home page – the first page people see when they go to your website.  If people are overwhelmed by the amount of information they see, especially right off the bat, they are less likely to stick around and read it. It’s like trying to give someone a sip of water from a fire hose – it just doesn’t work. Whittle your message down to just a few sentences – 3-5 sentences or less – and work with that.  Think of 2 or 3 nonprofits, or businesses that you LOVE. You love their style, you love how they present themselves. Go to their website and look at how much text they have, especially on their front page.  Example: I’m obsessed with Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper. Her Magnolia Market website has two sentences in the main part of the front page, plus the company’s manifesto and a few links.    Example: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. One of the biggest nonprofits out there. It costs $2.3 million dollars a day to run the hospital -- they definitely know what they’re doing in terms of marketing and fundraising. They have 4 sentences on the page.  You don’t need a lot of words, you just need your words to mean a lot. Challenge: Find 2 or 3 businesses or nonprofits that you want to emulate – you like their style and you want your website to resemble theirs. Use their styles as a guide, and work to get the most important details about your nonprofit into less than 5 sentences on your nonprofit’s website front page. If you have a big story or important details that might be important to your donors, you can absolutely include that stuff – just give it its own separate page where people can read it if they are interested.  Q: What are the websites with the free, good quality photos you always talk about? A: Unsplash.com and Pexels.com Q: What is the difference between a Facebook ad and boosting a post?  A: Facebook ads is a more advanced version of boosting a post. Basically, you have more options to choose from when it comes to where you ad appears – for example, if you boost a post, it will show up more in the News Feed. With Facebook ads, you can choose if it appears on the side of the News Feed, or in Messenger ads, Instagram Stories, things like that. With Facebook ads, you also have some different options in creating different audiences. To create a Facebook ad, you will use Facebook Ads Manager (facebook.com/adsmanager). From there, if you’re signed into Facebook on a computer, you’ll see your nonprofit’s ad account. If you manage more than one page, you might have to select the account for the page that you want to access from the dropdown bar in the middle of the menu at the top. You can get a lot of the same things accomplished with your advertising by simply boosting a Facebook post. Boosting a post or an event on Facebook is INFINITELY simpler and more user friendly.  If you’re a busy person and you want to get a lot of bang for your buck without putting a ton of time and effort in, boost a Facebook post and don’t mess with Facebook ads.  You can re-boost old Facebook posts that have worked for you in the past. You can still target your audience demographic and location. There’s lots of overlap between Facebook ads and boosting posts, so I recommend going with just boosting a post if you’ve got a lot on your plate. Q: I can’t figure out how to share or like Instagram posts from your podcast. Help! A: To LIKE a post on Instagram, all you have to do is double tap the picture you want to like.  Sharing on Instagram, is possibly the most complicated thing about Instagram. There is not currently a button you can just push to share a post in your feed. You CAN, however, share someone’s post to your Instagram Story…We went over how to use Instagram Stories back in Episode 16, if you need a tutorial (link below). All you have to do to share a post to your story is tap the little paper airplane and select “Add post to your story.”  It will let you preview it before you actually post it, plus you can add writing, stickers and things like that. I encourage you to try it – again, it will just send you to a preview before it posts, so there’s no harm in just seeing how it works! It is possible to repost someone else’s post to your feed, but you have to download a whole separate app for that. There are a number of apps out there like the Repost for Instagram app that you can use in addition to regular ol’ Instagram…. But I’m here to tell you, reposting apps like that are a time wasting machine, really hard to use, and not fun at all.  So if you truly want to support someone on Instagram, the easiest way to do that is to like their post, leave them a comment – even if it’s just an emoji - and share their post in your story. Q: What is a podcast? A: I get this question a lot… and if you’re listening to THIS podcast right now, you’re already ahead of the curve! There are a lot of people out there who A) don’t know what a podcast is, or B) have heard of podcasts but they don’t actually know how to access them. A podcast is basically, like a radio show you can listen to any time. It’s an audio file that lives out there on the internet and you can access it anytime you want on your phone or a computer or a tablet.  There are different apps you can use to access podcasts like Apple Podcasts – if you have an iPhone, you already have this app downloaded. Stitcher is another popular podcast app, iHeart, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Luminary are all the big ones… You can listen to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential on all of those apps - links to listen below. Podcasts are really interesting because there is a podcast for everybody… It’s literally a library of topics, and hosts, and genres. Health and fitness, self-improvement, gardening, podcasts that will teach you a foreign language, comedy, fiction, nonfiction, news, sports, entertainment and so much more.  I drive all the time – as you might know, I live in a very rural little corner of the world in Wyoming, so I regularly do things like, drive half an hour to get the mail. Or drive 100 miles one way to go to the dentist. So if I want to just zone out and be entertained or feel productive and learn something while I’ve got some windshield time, I listen to a podcast.  Q: Who are your favorite nonprofits to follow on social media? A: Holy Angels and the Humane Society of Central Oregon.  Holy Angels, is a nonprofit organization based in Louisiana that supports and empowers individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It’s an amazing organization and they also have a fabulous social media presence. It’s easy to see why they have more than 14,000 followers – their posts are clear and easy to understand, they often give a call to action that tells their audience what to do next when looking at their post like call or text a number, or visit a website or use a hashtag.  They also have a good blend of inspirational posts with educational posts and they showcase how they can be a resource to the community. They take lots of photos of their events and activities and it really puts a face to their organization and what they do, and it’s easy to scroll through and be inspired by their mission!  Another great example of a nonprofit organization that has a great social media presence is the Humane Society of Central Oregon. Not only are they one of the MOST consistently posting organizations I’ve ever seen, they do a mix of inspirational and informational posts, and they almost always use “THE FORMULA” which is a picture, a caption and a call to action.  These organizations have been around a long time, and have grown their following over a long time. Do you know how they grew their following? Posting consistently and always posting about their mission. They kept showing up. They put effort into their posts, they tell their audience what to do next – how to support them, how to get involved. And, everything they post ties in DIRECTLY to their mission.  If you’re brand new, or just starting out, or maybe your organization isn’t new, but your consistent presence on Facebook and Instagram is new, then I want you to focus on being consistent. Keep showing up. And if you are overwhelmed by it, remember – all you NEED is a picture, a 1-2 sentence caption to go with it, and a call to action. You can download my cheat sheet below. A HUGE thanks to Karen for writing in with her sweet note of encouragement – it made my day! I think everyone has days where they’re on the brink of quitting whatever it is that they're doing. But here’s the thing… We can’t quit. Now more than ever, we can’t quit. The world needs YOU to keep going, and keep helping people in your community. There is someone that needs you to encourage them, someone that needs you to help them, and someone that needs your nonprofit. So even if you feel like you’re just exhausted and you have no momentum, I want you to look at ONE THING you have accomplished this week. One step you took forward, no matter how tiny. I want you to look at that thing, and celebrate it. I want you to jump out of your chair and clap your hands because YOU MOVED FORWARD. Celebrate that!!! Then, I want you to build on it.  I love that quote that says: “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.”  So repeat that tiny little step you took forward! AND LOOK, there is your momentum.  Keep going! Keep going! Keep going! If you have a question for me – be brave and ask! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll answer it on the show! Remember to check out NonprofitPotential.com and get access to the guide that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s free and yours to keep forever. Get access to that guide now and other great tools at Nonprofit Potential.com Links I mentioned in this episode: Cheat sheet on really good Facebook and Instagram posts  Facebook Ads vs. Boosted posts Facebook Ads Manager  Instagram - Privacy settings for sharing stories Unsplash.com Pexels.com Episode 16: Instagram 101 Holy Angels on Facebook Humane Society of Central Oregon on Facebook Podcast Apps (Use one to listen to Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential!): iHeart Apple Podcasts Stitcher Spotify Luminary If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/21

Today, we’re taking a moment to slow down and talk about an everyday habit that will change your life. It will make you feel happier and healthier. It will help you reduce stress and feel good in your everyday life, which in turn will help you be a better, more confident person for yourself and those around you.  So what is this amazing habit that will help improve your life in such a way? Gratitude. Giving thanks every day in the form of a daily gratitude practice will change your life! There’s even scientific research that says gratitude can improve your psychological well-being. It can make people happier, improve their relationships, and potentially even counteract depression. Research even shows that gratitude may even have PHYSICAL health benefits too – like better sleep, fewer aches and pains and even better heart health.  So wait, the act of being GRATEFUL can help your mind and body to feel their best?  Yes! Just over a year ago, I started a daily gratitude practice… and it has changed my life!  I committed to taking the Last 90 Days challenge as part of Rachel and Dave Hollis’ Last 90 Days challenge – Rachel Hollis is a motivational speaker and author, and Dave is her husband and business partner.  The Last 90 Days challenge is a commitment to spend the last 90 days of the year (October 1 through December 31) eating well, exercising, and cultivating good habits by making an “end of the year” resolution, instead of just having a “New Year’s resolution.” Part of the challenge is that you commit to writing down 10 things that you are grateful for every day. Not like “a job” or “a house” or “my family” or big things like that… Obviously, those are wonderful things to be grateful for, but that’s not the point… It’s about looking around in your DAY, every day, and finding the little things that you are grateful for.  For example, I was really grateful this morning that I cut open the PERFECT avocado to put on my toast. My dog was really cute and snuggly and excited to see me when I got out of bed. I had a really great time doing yoga today. I had 10 extra minutes so I got to sit on the couch snuggled up in a blanket and drink coffee. It’s clean sheet day. I had an amazing walk with my dog in the sunshine. You get the idea. It’s all about looking around in your day to day life and recognizing 10 little things you are grateful for.  By recognizing and then actually WRITING these things down, you start to realize, “Oh my gosh, my life IS SO FULL OF BLESSINGS. I have even MORE to be grateful for than I thought!” So, I kept going with it – and I still keep doing it every day! Even on days in the past year where things have been difficult, or challenging, or some days I just don’t feel like being grateful, because I have made this practice part of my day, I still sit down, write down my 10 things, and as soon as I see those 10 things I’m grateful for on a piece of paper in front of me, I think, “Oh, you know what, I don’t have it as bad as I thought I did.” Or “Gee, you know what? Even when things are really challenging, I still have so much to be grateful for.”  Practicing being grateful has helped me appreciate things I used to overlook. For example, this morning, my husband went outside and started my car for me - it’s super cold, it snowed last night, and the windshield was frozen and covered in snow. Recognizing his kind actions makes me stop my morning madness of trying to get work done and think, “WOW, he really loves me to do that for me!”  The power of gratitude can enrich your relationships – when you start to recognize all the things the person you are in a relationship with does for you. It can make you a better leader at work when you recognize the value in the little things the people you work with are doing. It can make you a better friend, a better sibling, a better child to your parents. Gratitude can positively affect every single relationship you have in your life! Four things to help you start a daily gratitude practice – and stick to it: Get a journal or a notebook and a pen. Get a style that you WANT to write in, and a pen you like to write with. If you actually like the physical act of writing down your 10 things you’re grateful for every day, you’re more likely to keep doing it. Make sure you have something that you LIKE so you will WANT to write in it every day. Stick to the same time every day. For me, I like to make my list in the morning while I drink my coffee. I usually have a handful of things by that time that I’m already thankful for that day, but sometimes I also look back at the day before and reflect on anything that happened then, too. You might find that you like making your gratitude list in the evening so you can look back at your whole 12 hour day at once. Maybe you want to reset your mind and your mood during your lunch break. The point is, if you carve out 10 minutes or so to devote to your gratitude list at the same time every day, it becomes part of your routine. If it’s part of your routine – if it’s a habit that you have in your everyday life, you’re going to stick to it, just like brushing your teeth or drinking coffee. If you’re busy, do it anyway! If you’re traveling, or crazy busy, or you’re having a day where you DO NOT have 10 minutes to spare… Be grateful anyway. Find a way to think of 10 things you’re grateful for. That might mean you wake up 10 minutes early or jot it down before bed or find a couple minutes and make a list in your head. Find 100 seconds to yourself – that’s 10 seconds to think of each thing you’re thankful for.  Make it extra meaningful. If you want to take your daily gratitude practice deeper, consider adding a few minutes of reading, or prayer to it.  For me, all of my gratitude is centered on giving thanks to God, so prayer and my daily practice of giving thanks to God go hand-and-hand.  And after you get your habit of gratitude going…and you have extra minutes, you can write down things that you’ve accomplished…It might be as simple as, “I got out of bed without hitting snooze this morning.” Or “I listened to my friend when they needed support.” Celebrate your wins every day!   SO, there you have it. A daily gratitude practice can change your life, it can better your relationships, it can improve your mental health, and make you a happier, more confident person. Commit to taking a little bit of time out of your day to recognize your blessings and before you know it, you’ll have an entire year’s worth of evidence in your hands. Links I mentioned in this episode: Rachel and Dave Hollis’ Last 90 Days challenge My Walmart sketchbook  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/20

Rejection hurts. I don’t care who you are, or where you’re from or what you do, getting rejected by anything or anyone has a little – or sometimes a lot - of sting to it. And if you’re like a lot of people out there, you already have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. So, when it’s Facebook that’s doing the rejecting, after you’ve put a whole lot of time and effort into creating an ad or that perfect post that you’re going to boost… and you’ve finally worked up the courage to give Facebook your credit card information… you hit the BOOST POST button, and then… Facebook says “YOUR AD HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED,” you feel like one of those cartoon characters whose face turns beet red and then their whole head turns into a steam whistle until it explodes. I know. I’ve been there. I’ve experienced the same frustration and rage that comes along with that situation - when you’re ready to commit and take your marketing to the next level, and then rejection just deflates you like a popped balloon. Through years of experience, trial, research, and many a chat with a Facebook customer service representative, I’ve found a few tricks that will help you steer clear of Facebook ad rejection. In this episode, I’m sharing with you the things you can do – and the things you can’t do – that will help your Facebook ad get approved. For today’s episode, I want you to think about Facebook as a foreign country.  In this foreign country, at any time and for any reason, they can make up new rules to enforce, decide their own standards, how you should conduct yourself when you’re in their country, in other words, what’s appropriate for their country.  You thought you knew the lay of the land in this country, but the rules are ever changing and sometimes hard to understand, especially for Facebook ads or boosting posts for your nonprofit organization. The good news is that MOST of the things that Facebook won’t allow in ads or boosted posts are pretty common sense, and probably NOT something related to your nonprofit.  There are, however, a few exceptions to the rules that you should know about because they MIGHT actually relate to your nonprofit.  Here are a few types of ads that Facebook generally prohibits: Smoking, but anti-smoking campaigns are acceptable. You can’t use a picture of someone smoking though, but you can use the universal sign for NO SMOKING – the cigarette with a big red circle and a line through it…probably you’d be in the clear with that one.  Illegal drugs, pharmaceuticals or even products related to those things. Facebook will allow you to advertise about rehab programs and support groups for drug addiction. So, your picture might be of a person talking to a counselor and your text clearly spelling out that the ad is for a rehab or support group.  And a Laundry List of more topics…you can read the official policies from Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads If your nonprofit organization deals with anything on the long “prohibited list,” you have to figure out how to make your ads fit their guidelines.  You might feel like Facebook has something against you if you’re dealing with a hot-button issue, or something politically charged, but I’m telling you, you have to find a way to RISE ABOVE and play by their rules. Facebook is not personally victimizing you. This isn’t personal. This is Facebook’s land, and we have to play by their rules. When creating a Facebook ad or a post you want to boost, there are “little things” that can get that ad rejected for what seems like no reason at all.  Here are some of the most common mistakes: Using too much text IN your image. If you have a picture of a girl on a beach and add an entire list of the events for the year on the picture – that’s too much text in an image.  Keep your message on your image short and sweet. Targeting personal attributes. Basically, you can’t say “YOU” or an equivalent word, in your ad or post. Facebook says you can’t refer to any user’s “race, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs, age, sexual orientation or practices, gender identity, disability, medical condition (including physical or mental health), financial status, membership in a trade union, criminal record, or name.” You can say, “Pregnant?” but you can’t say “Are you pregnant?”  You can say, “Manage depression” but you can’t say “Manage YOUR depression.”  You can say, “Meet Christian students” but you CAN’T say “Meet other Christian students.” See what I mean? You can’t even HINT that you are targeting someone’s… well… anything! So next time you get a little flag from Facebook telling you that your ad or your post doesn’t meet community standards, take a look and see if your message is saying anything that could come across as targeting any kind of personal attribute. Poor writing or grammar. 72 exclamation points doesn’t get Facebook’s stamp of approval. Neither does misspelling, incorrect punctuation, or all caps. Relevancy. All the parts of your ad need to be related to each other, and to the audience you’re targeting. You need more time. Facebook advises that ads or boosted posts perform better if they run for at least 4 days. Don’t wait until the day before your event to boost a post, because they might let it run at all. Your landing page might need help. Facebook policy includes the right to deny an ad if the landing page, or the website you’re linking to is spammy, or it has those same 72 exclamation points, is a dead end, is defective, or has anything sketchy about it. If you have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to adhere to ALL of Facebook’s policies about ads, and you’re still getting denied, go over the landing page you’re linking to with a fine-tooth comb – that might be the problem. About that special authorization process… If Facebook has given you notice that you need to get special authorization to run ads, you have to do it.  Why?  Facebook is ensuring the authenticity of political ads or anything that has to do with political issues or issues of national importance. And when I say ANYTHING related to political issues, I mean ANYTHING. Even if it’s a local election in your county – Believe me, I asked. You might be able to get away without going through this authorization process for a while, but there will come a day that Facebook will say, “No more ads for you” until you do it.” What does this special authorization process entail? Well, the good news is - it’s less invasive than a trip to the dermatologist, but it is kind of a hassle.  The whole process involves: Uploading a picture of your ID to Facebook, Verifying your phone number, Then they send you a letter by SNAIL MAIL with a numeric code You enter that number into the Facebook page they give you The process takes about a week or so, and once you’ve completed it, the authorization is good for ALL the accounts you manage. Once you’ve got the green light, you’re good across the board for Facebook. I just want to encourage you – YOU CAN NAVIGATE THIS. Just follow the prompts from Facebook, use the tips I mentioned in this episode, and above all, don’t take it personally if Facebook rejects your ad. If you want “play,” these are the rules of the game that everybody has to play by. Be brave! This isn’t rocket science. It’s Facebook. YOU CAN CONQUER FACEBOOK! And when you do, I promise, you are going to feel SO ACCOMPLISHED! You can do this! Think of something scary you have done in the past – have you ever taken a big trip by yourself? Have you ever run a race? Gone on a big hike? Had a child? Adopted a dog? Bought a house? Moved to a new place? Quit your job? Figuring out how to use Facebook PALES IN COMPARISON to all the other amazing things you’ve already done! Look at all you’ve accomplished in your life already, and then look at Facebook. YOU CAN DO THIS! You’ve already done so much more. Links I mentioned in this episode: https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads Free Guide:  How to make really good Facebook and Instagram posts If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/19

In today’s episode, we’re talking about something that’s going to save you a lot of time and energy and make your life a lot easier! We’re talking about reworking and recycling just a few ideas to help you plan out NEW social media posts for weeks - or even months if you feel like reaching for the stars. First, let’s just say it - there might be times when you feel like you’ve said the same message over and over again, right?  You feel like you don’t have anything new to say and you constantly want to “freshen things up” and find a “new way” to say things, because you’re completely saturated with the message. Here’s the thing though – your audience, the people who are outside of your nonprofit organization, the people in your community that you aim to reach and serve – they aren’t so close to your message. You feel like you and your message are roommates and you get tired of each other. But your audience is not living with you and your message. Your audience doesn’t even live on the same STREET as you and your message. Your audience might be SO FAR removed from you and your message, they might not even be living in the same ZIP CODE. So remember, just because YOU might be tired of your message because you see it all the time, doesn’t mean your audience feels that way about your message. Years ago, I was a freelance writer and I used to cover big horse shows for equestrian magazines. I remember there was one show that was a month long in Oklahoma City. I wrote stories about the results of the horse show and at night, IN MY SLEEP, I would just keep repeating the horses’ show names over and over again in my dreams. I’d be in this hazy dreamy sleep saying their hilarious registered show names like “Photons All Around” and “Rooooooo Star” … I felt SO TIRED of talking about these same horses all the time. BUT to the people who were on the OUTSIDE, the audience, they weren’t being constantly saturated and exposed to every little thing that happened every second of the day.  They’d only catch bits and pieces of what was happening at the horse show - just a small percentage of the coverage that I was supplying about those horses. It’s the same principle in radio…When I was a full-time on-air personality at a radio station, I’d get SO TIRED of saying the radio station name ALL THE TIME, but again, the average listener is only tuning in a FEW MINUTES of the day. So, it was important to keep repeating that station name over and over again so that listener hears it maybe once – the audience is only hearing it a fraction of the time you’re saying it. So yes, here’s your validation. It’s OK to be tired of the message you are trying to get out to people! Now, what can we do to use this to your advantage? Well, we’re going to make it EASIER for you to get that message out to people by helping you take less effort to relay your message. You can spend LESS time thinking about it if you can streamline the whole process of getting your message out to people. How do we do that? Well first, you have to know what your message IS. Back in Episode 4 we talked about branding...if you haven’t listened to that episode yet, do it asap!  There’s a downloadable questionnaire that will help you develop your brand AND you’ll discover 5 topics that will be the cornerstone of your marketing strategy. After you have your brand and your message identified, you’re going to use those 5 topics and write them down on a calendar. Remember – you only need to be posting on Facebook and Instagram 2 to 3 times per week. So, you can write in your planner one of these topics for each day you need a post. You only need one topic for a post. So if you come up with 5 topics and spread them out over two weeks, then you have two and a half weeks of posting totally planned out! Here’s an example… Pretend your nonprofit organization is a community center. What would be the 5 things you want people to know about your community center? You have event space that people can rent for a variety of different things like conferences, weddings, concerts, business conventions. You have affordable prices for renting your facilities You have lots of amenities that make it easy for people to host events like a chef’s kitchen, lighting options, a PA, a business center You offer a space that’s in a desirable location You host events and fundraisers of your own There are your 5 topics to post about! You can illustrate these 5 ideas by sharing pictures of the different spaces, testimonials from people who have had events there, highlighting different attractions that are near your community center in that desirable area, and of course, promoting your own events that you host. Now, if you take all of those ideas and use one of them each time you need a post, you have 2 and a half weeks of posts planned out right there! Now, what happens when you get to the end of those 2 and a half weeks? You start the cycle over again. Remember, your audience is not spending as much time thinking or being saturated with these ideas as you are. You want to keep repeating your message to them over and over, so it becomes ingrained in their minds! As an added bonus to doing this, you’ll find it’s easier to post consistently because you can always pull from one of these 5 ideas to use for a new post! OK so how do we take these ideas and rework or recycle them into something that isn’t just a blatant copy of the original post? Here’s how! Change the picture. If you’re using the formula that works best – a picture, a caption and a call to action, change the picture first. Change up the caption. All you need to do is tweak those 1, 2 or 3 sentences of text that go with your picture. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel, just re-write a little bit. Ask a question and then answer it or use a different word that you think your audience would respond to. You’re just changing a couple words, not the idea. You can leave your call to action the same if you’re still driving people to your website or giving them a phone number to call if it still applies to your message. Use this strategy to plan out your next two months of posts. Write them in your planner, rework and repeat on those 5 ideas and then schedule them! You are going to feel like THE MOST productive person IN THE WORLD! Here is an extra tip if you have a board to report to or donors and supporters who ask questions about marketing for your nonprofit…  Write down those 2 and a half weeks of post ideas on a calendar for the month and pass it out to people in your meeting. That calendar will showcase your plan and your strategy. Explain the 5 principle ideas you want people in your community to know about your organization. Describe the active, consistent presence on social media. Having an answer for your board before they ask builds confidence for your board and donors or supporters that you are A) Someone who knows what they’re doing B) Someone who is organized and has a plan and are C) A confident person who has something of value to share If you tell someone about this plan that you have in place, it will grow their confidence IN YOU. And it will grow your confidence in yourself!  If you REALLY want to go the extra mile, you can provide your board with your actual statistics and analytics from your Facebook and Instagram posts. If you have positive numbers to share, you can really wow them by telling them how many people have seen your posts or taken action from your posts. We talked all about statistics and analytics on Facebook and Instagram posts in Episode 12. You can listen to it at NonprofitPotential.com/12.  Here’s a story for you…I used to have a standup meeting every week at a radio station where I worked, and we’d have to go around the room to report on what we’d accomplished that week. It felt like a plea not to get voted off the island sometimes.  If you have to go into that kind of meeting or situation of reporting to someone, take your plan for social media marketing and the positive numbers of the people you reached on Facebook and Instagram.  Then, not only are you NOT getting voted off the island, you might even win employee of the month! Remember, having a plan helps you understand and remember your strategy. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel – find a type of post that works best to reach the people you want to serve, and clearly explains what your organization is about, and then keep repeating it with a “fresh coat of paint.” Here’s the question of the week… Paige asked… Lauren, what is the website with the free, good quality photos you talked about in an old podcast? Thanks for asking Paige, and thank you so much for listening! The website I mentioned that has free, good quality photos is called Unsplash.com. It has one of the BEST collections of free high-quality photos. It really is a great resource if you need a nice photo to use for your nonprofit… I’m glad Paige wrote in and asked about it so now you know about it too! If you have a question for me – ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and your question just might make it to the show! Remember to download the free guide that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s yours to keep forever. Get access to that guide now and other great tools at NonprofitPotential.com And remember - Keep going my friend! You got this! Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 4: NonprofitPotential.com/4 Episode 12: NonprofitPotential.com/12 Free Guide for Facebook and Instagram posts Unsplash.com If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/18

Hi there! In today’s very special episode, we’re talking about the secret to getting attention from the people you want to reach online. Know what the secret is? You have to give, give, give and then give some more to everyone you want to reach. How do you do that? You use your online presence in a way that’s helpful to your audience. You become a resource for people in your local area through your social media whether it’s… Facebook or Instagram Emails Blog posts If you GIVE to your audience, they’ll give you their attention in return. Because they are getting something out of it. They have something to gain from giving you their attention. When they benefit from what you are telling them, you are creating the “know, like and trust” feeling in your audience. This helps: Form relationships with your audience Build your credibility as someone to go to People get to know what your organization is all about Illustrate how you help in your community So today, we’re talking about how to keep everything simple and easy to understand. and I have some real-life examples you can use to serve your community through your organization’s social media, emails and blog posts. By the end of this episode, you are going to be fired up with ideas of how to give to your audience online and get their attention… and you’ll be feeling like you can’t wait to start. Think about your social media like those free samples at Costco, or Sam’s or the grocery store. Whether you actually WANT the sample or not, you usually at least slow down and take a peek at what they’re offering. We like free samples because we get to try something without committing to it. All of this applies to giving to your audience through your nonprofit organization’s social media, emails and blog. By offering something that is a benefit to them, at the very least, they are going to slow down and survey what information you’re handing out. The main thing to remember before you offer anything is that above all, and most importantly, you have to stay true to your BRAND. If you only take ONE thing away from this episode, THIS IS IT. Stay true to your brand. Remember back in episode 4, we talked about your nonprofit organization’s BRAND? We talked about identifying 3-5 main things you want people to know about your organization. Those things need to be the focus when you talk about your nonprofit.  Check it out at NonprofitPotential.com/4. Social media, email, blog posts – it’s not just about having a presence, it’s about having a RELEVANT presence. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about… Creating a post that says “Happy October” or “Thank goodness it’s summer” doesn’t have to do with a brand or a mission. The post is not serving anyone. It has no meaning or purpose. Remember to ask yourself when you’re creating content for your audience – WHO CARES? Is it just to get something on social media, or does it actually have a purpose? Say it with me this time! Social media, email, blog posts – it’s not just about having a presence, it’s about having a RELEVANT presence. Here’s an example of giving to your audience using the month of October or fall, use that as a theme but not the point of your post. I just got this great email in my inbox this morning from a pregnancy care center that had the Top 5 Things To Do when You’re Pregnant this Fall… the email included some short and sweet ideas of pregnancy-friendly things to do in that nonprofit’s local area, including attending the State Fair – AND, it gave a brief reminder for pregnant women to stay off the rides on the midway. If you’re a pregnant woman checking her email with a whole list of unread emails vying for your attention, this is one that is talking to her. She has something to gain from it, so she’s more likely to read it. Pro-tip: That email can be repurposed into a social media post. And it can be repurposed into a blog post. You can use all of that great content and squeeze a bunch of different things out of it! Just make sure that you are staying in your lane with one of the 3-5 main points of your brand. OK, here are a few more examples from different types of nonprofit organizations to give you ideas for your nonprofit organization. Let’s say you’re a dog rescue or a fostering program or an animal shelter – obviously you have a lot of adorable pictures of dogs to post and stories to share, but you can take your relationship with your audience to the next level by offering tips to keep dogs active when the weather is bad outside with games and activities to do inside. how to keep dogs safe and healthy in winter weather signs your dog might have dental issues. If you know about these things, or you have the ability to research these topics just a little, you can be your own expert! Use the knowledge you have to serve your audience. If your nonprofit is a community garden, serve your audience by posting, emailing or blogging about… your top 3 tips for taking care of roses in the fall how to protect your plants from early season frost or choose a really specific topic, make it a short piece with a little bit of really good information, and share it with your audience Ask yourself, what are they going to get out of this? What is the point of this? And, most importantly, is this in line with my brand? Always remember to use the formula that works… On Facebook and Instagram, use: picture a caption and a call to action In an email or a blog post, it’s almost the same… a great subject line or blog title a picture a few paragraphs and a call to action Back in episode 13, I went really in depth about how to write a quality email newsletter and gave some specifics, if you want to listen to that go to NonprofitPotential.com/13 Here are a few tips for emails and blogs from that episode: Emails only need to be about 200 words, give or take Blog posts are good when you want to go in depth about something. Keep your blog post at 1,500 words or less – about a 7 minute read tops. Think of your marketing as a big 3-tiered cake. At the base of the cake, you have your blog post – it’s the biggest of all the tiers. Then the second tier is an email – it’s a little smaller, more condensed. And at the top, you have your social media posts – it’s the smallest part of the cake. Your blog is where you can go really in depth, your email is a slightly smaller version, and social media is the smallest version. It all has the same flavor, it’s just in different sizes. And – to keep going with the cake analogy, you don’t have to have all three tiers. If you only have one tier right now, you’re doing great. But working towards having all three tiers is an excellent goal to have. The most important thing to remember is to GIVE, GIVE, GIVE. Give information and let people know about your services – and keep repeating yourself with those 3 -5 things about your brand you want people to know about.  If you keep doing this, you’re going to see your relationships with donors and the people you serve grow. A note of encouragement… I know there are days where you might just feel like you’re on the verge of quitting. You might feel like you just can’t get traction, you’re just spinning your wheels. You might feel like you keep trying and trying and nothing is happening. If any of this sounds like you – I’m here to tell you – DON’T QUIT. You cannot quit. The difference between YOU and people that fail is that you haven’t quit. You kept going, even though it was hard. Even though you didn’t have overnight success. You didn’t quit. You can’t quit! If you feel down – because we ALL HAVE DOWN DAYS. We all have days where we’re on the verge of quitting! KEEP GOING. You’ve already come this far, and if you just hang in there, keep trying, keep using all the things you’re learning, keep taking steps forward, one at a time, I promise, you will get to the top of that hill! And if you get bucked off the horse – because everyone gets bucked off – getting back on is what matters. I have some free tools and resources for you that will help you, motivate you, and guide you through your next steps… Check out NonprofitPotential.com and get in on it now. You can download things like the FREE GUIDE that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s free and yours to keep forever. Get access to that free guide now and other great tools at NonprofitPotential.com Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 4: NonprofitPotential.com/4 Episode 13: NonprofitPotential.com/13 FREE GUIDE - What Makes a Good Facebook or Instagram Post Instagram.com/NonprofitPotential Facebook.com/NonprofitPotential If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/17

In today’s episode, we’re talking about Instagram Stories. I’m going to give you the nuts and bolts of how to create an Instagram Story, with real life examples and step by step instructions!  Don’t worry, you’re not alone if you’ve never heard of Instagram Stories, much less posted one!  They’re a great way to engage with your audience and keep up your nonprofit organization’s social media presence.  And Instagram Stories are FUN!  By the end of this episode, you’re going to feel confident about creating your Instagram Stories!   Today, we’re digging in deeper about Instagram.  Back in Episode 8: Instagram 101, we talked about the basics of Instagram.  But in this episode, you’ll learn step by step how to use Instagram Stories to make your nonprofit organization’s social media presence relevant and how you can reach more people in your local area. So, first of all, what are Instagram Stories? Instagram Stories are pictures or video posts that are available for 24 hours on your profile. Then, they disappear. The picture or video is shown as a short clip that lasts 15 seconds max. You can have just one little piece to your story – one image, or one little video – or you can string together multiple pieces of a story and have them play through in order so it’s like a little mini video lasting more than 15 seconds. Where can you see these Stories?  You have to be using the Instagram app on your phone to access them.  When you log on to Instagram, the first thing you see is your Feed, and at the very top of the Feed – there are little orange and pink circular pictures of the people you follow.  That’s where Instagram Stories live.  If you tap one of those circles, you will see that person’s Story. It will automatically play through the entire story and move on to the next person’s story until you hit the little X to exit. What’s neat about Instagram Stories is, whatever is most recent shows up at the front of the line of Stories. If you add something to your story, you get to go to the front of the line, which is why it’s important to update your stories! What’s FUN about Instagram Stories is that they are more casual, and you can use them to give a little fun peek into your nonprofit organization. So now that you know WHAT a story is, let’s talk about how to use it. Use your phone to create a story – here are two ways you can do this… Tap the little camera in the top left corner of your Instagram app. Your phone’s camera will open – you can either take a picture or hold down the circle button at the bottom to take a video and – boom! You have a story! You can import a picture from your phone by tapping the little picture icon on the bottom left. You can post the picture right from there. If you want to fancy it up a little bit, try these tricks.  They aren’t necessary, but they are a fun way to experiment and make your story more lighthearted and off-the-cuff. Try swiping left or right to add a filter – it’ll change the lighting and mood of your picture or video. You can add fun stickers – experiment with the options that come up when you tap the little square smiley face at the top right. Try searching a word like “Clapping” or “confetti” or “alarm clock” or some other word in the search bar of the menu that pops up to add fun little animations or emojis to your story. Adding a location helps people in your area to see your story – even if they’re not following you. Stories are also great for engaging with your followers and you can customize some things to engage with your audience Tap that square, smiley face to add things like a countdown, a poll, a quiz. You can add a message to your story by tapping the two little A’s in the top right corner. To move something around - a sticker, text, anything like that – just hold down on it with your finger and you can move it around the screen. If you accidentally added an element that you don’t like, just hold it down with your finger and drag it into the trash can that appears. Again, there’s a lot of room for experimentation – and the best part about it is that you can be creative and fun because it’s not a long-term commitment – your Instagram story is going to vanish in 24 hours.  Don’t like what you posted?  Delete it by viewing your story (just tap on your own circle picture) and then while your story is playing, tap the three little dots in the bottom right corner. You can delete it from there. The bottom line is, Instagram Stories are a fun and casual way to keep up your nonprofit’s social media presence. Here are some ideas for how to use those Stories you created! Use the Instagram Story to introduce your team… Just open up the Stories camera like we talked about, start filming, and have one of your staff or volunteers say hi, what they do and what they like about working with your nonprofit organization. Keep it short – stories are meant to be brief and casual. If video isn’t jiving with one of your team members, just post a picture of them (with their permission of course!) and type in a little fun fact and introduction about them. PRO-TIP for you – when you’re taking pictures or video, use your phone VERTICALLY. Not horizontally. Instagram Stories play in vertical – up and down – mode only. More ideas for using your Stories: If you have an event, or something where it would be fun to take a look “behind the scenes” snap some photos or a video and add them to your story – add a little bit of text or a location to let people know what exactly is going on so they can understand what’s happening! If you want to better explain something about your organization – to give people a peek inside your nonprofit’s facility, or what you can do for them – Instagram Stories are a GREAT place to do that! IF YOU’RE READY FOR MORE INSTAGRAM… A great feature about Instagram Stories is that you CAN SAVE them to your profile if you want to keep them longer than 24 hours. For example, if you gave a tour of your facility and it’s something you want people to be able to see permanently… You can HIGHLIGHT it:  Go to your nonprofit’s Instagram profile Tap the PLUS SIGN circle that says “HIGHLIGHT” underneath it. That will bring up an archive of your stories – past and present – yes, you’ll see the ones that aren’t even alive on Instagram anymore. Then, select in order segments from your archive – remember, choose a theme – like a tour of your facility, or pictures and videos from a specific event, or staff introductions – and then tap NEXT… Choose a cover photo, add a short title – it has to be REALLY SHORT – between 11 and 13 characters – and then tap ADD in the top right corner. You’ve created your first Story Highlight! This will appear just below your bio and above your image gallery on your nonprofit organization’s Instagram profile. If you want to delete a highlight, just hold down on it with your finger and select Delete Highlight. Really, I encourage you to experiment! Instagram Stories and Highlights are meant to be casual and the more you play around with it, the more fun it is, and the more confident you’ll be come. And if you mess up, it’s ok! If it’s truly something you don’t want on your Instagram profile, you can always delete it. One last fast fact about Instagram Stories – if your nonprofit organization’s Facebook is linked to your Instagram, your Instagram Story will show up on your Facebook Story too! So, there you have it – the nuts and bolts of how to create an Instagram Story! I hope you feel more confident trying out this fun and helpful feature that will help you build relationships with your social media audience. As always, remember WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS! Remember your mission! Remember that you are making a difference in your community. Celebrate your wins, no matter how small they are, and keep taking little steps forward with your social media and they’ll turn into bigger things! Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 8 - Instagram 101: NonprofitPotential.com/8 Free Guide: What Makes a Good Facebook and Instagram Post  If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/16

Ok raise your hand if you have ever opened Facebook or Instagram to do what was supposed to be just a quick little thing… and 20 or 30 minutes… or A WHOLE HOUR has gone by? Time you had planned to use productively has VANISHED and you can’t get it back! Your schedule is off now, and you have to start sacrificing important things you had planned to do. Now you feel stressed, you did have a plan.… at least until the moment you got sidetracked on social media and it all went down the drain. Can you relate to any of this?  If you can, you’re not alone, so don’t beat yourself up about time lost – just use it better going forward. In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to balance social media at work. I’m going to share with you my best tips on how to take control, and make the most out of the time you spend on social media and avoid wasting time!  Here are four tips I listed to help you balance social media at work: Plan your posts out ahead of time.  Keep the topics of your posts on topic – your brand and who you are talking to. Set a timer for 30 minutes to create a post and put it on Facebook and Instagram.  This mindset will keep you from going down rabbit holes and it creates accountability. Resist the temptation to look at your news feed. Not only is it a waste of time, it takes the wind out of your sails when you start comparing yourself to others! Know when to quit. If you can’t concentrate even when you’re trying hard, don’t try to force it.   Come back to it later and it will probably be a lot easier to finish and a better product. Everybody only gets 24 hours, and you get to choose how to spend it. So, take the stuff we talked about today and use that to help you balance your time on social media at work. Spend your 24 hours wisely! Remember to check out the free tools we have on NonprofitPotential.com like the free guide that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps What Makes a Good Facebook and Instagram post Oh and when you’re scrolling through social media later today, take a second and find Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential on Facebook and Instagram – just search for Nonprofit Potential. I post tips and tricks and inspiration throughout the week there, so don’t miss those!  And be sure to like Nonprofit Potential on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you!Links Mentioned in This Episode: Episode 4: NonprofitPotential.com/4   Episode 6: NonprofitPotential.com/6 If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/15

Have you ever heard that saying “Clear as mud?” You know, when you’re trying to explain something to someone, and you realize you’ve taken something that was simple and overcomplicated it?  Sometimes that’s what happens with Facebook and Instagram posts.  You’re afraid you might only have this one chance to tell them about your nonprofit organization, so you tell them everything!  But in this crazy, busy, distracting world we live in, it’s more important than ever to give people little bite sized pieces of information on Facebook and Instagram. In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to create those little bite sized pieces of information. By keeping things crystal clear, your followers can understand what you’re saying to them and have a good feeling about your nonprofit organization.  Then as they get to know, like and trust you, they will keep coming back for more. This is a skill, and if you practice it, you’ll be amazed at the crowd you’ll begin to attract with your Facebook and Instagram posts. You have to remember two things about your people on social media:   Your Facebook and Instagram audiences’ attention span is short. You have SECONDS to make an impression on someone on social media, and if they don’t understand what you’re saying right off the bat, they’ll just scroll on by to the next thing they see on Facebook and Instagram. They don’t know your nonprofit organization like you do. You might know every single detail about your nonprofit organization and how great your mission is. Seeing your organization’s Facebook and Instagram post might be the first time someone has ever heard of you, so get straight to the point with a bite sized message.   Here are four easy, doable tips to help you create ULTRA CRYSTAL CLEAR messages:   Focus on ONE TOPIC per post.Knowing your brand helps you be clear when you talk about your nonprofit organization. In Episode 4, there is a fun quiz to help you figure out what the 3 – 5 most important things your nonprofit does. Once you identified those, then you can make those things into little bite sized pieces of information for posts. Keep your posts simple. Try to give your audience a sip of water, not a drink from a firehose. You can do this by using the outline that WORKS!  Every post should have a picture, a caption and a call to action.  A picture can be an actual picture you have permission to use. A caption is 1-2 sentences with the main point of your post.  A call to action is when you tell your audience to call your phone number, or visit your website and you include the link.  Pretend you’re new in town. Don’t assume your audience knows anything about you. Talk to them like this is the first time they’re meeting you. Focus on keeping your posts simple and to one topic, and they will be able to learn about you a little at a time instead of just scrolling by because there is too much to read. Give only the “Need to know” information. I know you might be tempted to share lots of information because you think it might help someone make up their mind, but if they don’t even read your message because you’ve overloaded it with details, then what’s the point?  So there you have it, four things you can do today to help your message be crystal clear. Focus on one topic per post, keep it simple, pretend like you’re new in town and give only the “need to know” info. If you apply these four things to everything in your nonprofit – your website, your emails, your events, all your different kinds of advertising, your social media, you will be amazed at how much of an impact you can have. Your words will have more impact because you removed all the clutter! Over time, your messages will bring new people to your nonprofit.  Keep showing up with clear messages and consistently. And always keep in mind WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS! It’s easy to get bogged down in the day to day stuff, but always remember your WHY. You are making a difference in the world. A big difference is the culmination of a lot of little steps.  So take that next little step today and make your message clear so your audience can understand you!  Remember to check out the free tools we have on NonprofitPotential.com like the FREE GUIDE that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps What makes a good Facebook and Instagram Post I’d love to be friends and learn about what kind of nonprofit organization you work with so I can give you a shout out and use examples that apply to your situation – so keep in touch on Facebook and Instagram, just search for me under Nonprofit Potential. Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 4: NonprofitPotential.com/4 Episode 7: NonprofitPotential.com/7 Canva.com If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/14

Ok my friend, in today’s episode, we’re talking about 5 Things You NEED to Know About Email Newsletters! EMAIL newsletters grow your relationships with donors, supporters and the people your nonprofit organization serves in your community.  OK, you know, I LOVE a good metaphor… So, here’s another one for you. Imagine that your donors and supporters are like plants growing in a garden. These plants get watered regularly with Facebook and Instagram. If you add in sending out consistent EMAIL – it’s like giving these plants FERTILIZER! If you tend to these plants with water AND fertilizer – those babies are going to be in full bloom year-round!  Why? Because according to recent research, people prefer email for communicating with the brands they’re connected with – yes that includes your nonprofit organization.  If your nonprofit has multiple audiences you are talking to (donors, supporters, people you serve), you can use separate email lists to nurture your relationships with each group.  Here are the 5 Things You NEED to Know About Email Newsletters: Write a great subject line. Think about it – if you get an email with a weak or boring subject line, do you want to open that email? No… probably not! You might even just delete it without even opening it, especially if it’s a business or an organization. So, try to make your subject line genuine, interesting and of course, in-line with what your email is about. Use the right framework: A picture, a paragraph and a call to action. Why? Because it WORKS! The picture captures someone’s attention right off the bat, the paragraph goes into more detail, and the call to action clearly lets that person know what they should do after they read the email.  Put the most important information first. Pretend like you only have ONE SENTENCE to tell someone what your email is about. Make that the first sentence of your email. Start strong and tell them right away what your email is about in that first  sentence. Keep it simple and short. Your emails should be a quick and easy read and about ONE TOPIC. Try to keep your emails to about 200 words, or about 20 lines - if it needs to be longer, or shorter, that’s OK – but just remember, take out anything that your audience doesn’t have to know about. If it’s not going to help your audience take action, then leave it out.   Give them something. Give them a reason OPEN and read your email. Remember, they’re asking ‘Why does this matter to me?” Earlier I mentioned having two email lists – one list for your donors and your supporters, and one for the people that you serve. Why two lists? Because you’re going to give these two groups of people two different things.  You’re going to give your donors and supporters the uplifting, positive feelings they get because they are helping the community or a cause. But again, keep it ONE TOPIC to an email.  For the people you serve, you’re giving them resources in your emails - small, digestible pieces of information that can help them with like a class or a freebie.  Serve your audiences through email. It’s all part of building that know, like and trust factor.  Try committing to sending out an email newsletter just once a month. If you LOVE writing emails and you thrive at it, you can work up to once a week, but again, the most important thing is that you are consistent. So, commit to a goal you can achieve. And finally, always remember WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS! I know there is so much day to day stuff that can be overwhelming and distracting from your purpose and your mission, but always remember your WHY. What was it that first inspired you to get involved with your nonprofit organization? Take ownership of that! Keep that fire burning! You are making a difference in the world. A big difference is the culmination of a lot of little steps. So, take that next little step today, and get to work on your next email! You ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! What you’re doing MATTERS.  Remember to check out the free tools we have on NonprofitPotential.com like the easy-to-understand guide for how to make REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts. Get access to the free guide now at Nonprofit Potential.com Episode 7: NonprofitPotential.com/7 Email me your “how do I…” questions about Facebook or Instagram – I’d love to answer you on the podcast. nonprofitpotential.com/contact Let’s be friends… Find me on social media and let me know what kind of nonprofit or business you’re working with! Here’s where to find me: Facebook.com/NonprofitPotential Instagram.com/NonprofitPotential If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/13

Do you have a bookshelf? Have you read everything on it? Is there a book there that you’ve seen time and time again, but you’ve never read it because maybe you don’t know what it’s about, or maybe the title is a little intimidating?  Well, today, we’re taking that book off the shelf… And we’re diving into an area that might be a little out of your comfort zone – we’re talking about Facebook and Instagram analytics – also known as, your social media stats! This is definitely something you should care about and that you can use as an awesome tool to help you know what kind of things you should post about, what time of day, and what days to post. It can also help you understand how to better market the services your nonprofit organization offers and communicate better with your audience. So, get ready, we’re taking that unread book off the shelf and wading into the waters of this technology today. And I predict that you’re going to feel A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE with your Facebook and Instagram stats! SO – Let’s start with Facebook …  Right underneath your nonprofit’s Facebook posts there are numbers. Know that things look a little different if you’re on your phone or if you’re on a computer, but that’s ok, you can find out the same stats. Here’s how: If you’re looking at a post on your phone, it will say People Reached and if you’re on a computer, it will also say Engagements.  “People Reached” is the number of people who saw your post. It means, your post came across the screens of that number of different people.  A couple of ways to up this number is by posting consistently and always remember to ask yourself, “What is my audience going to get out of this post?” That will keep you on track for posting good content!  TIP: Two things that are popular across Facebook and Instagram accounts are how-to types of posts and inspirational quotes. Check out Episode 2 for a deeper dive into this.  Now, you might be like “Well, hey that’s all well and good, but what, is Facebook going to just KNOW if something is good or not and then make it show up on more people’s screens?”  That, my friend, brings us to the next little stat you should pay attention to…  Engagements is the number underneath your nonprofit’s post just to the right of People Reached on a computer. Engagements are any action someone takes on your post.  You’ll see a whole new world of information by clicking on Engagements or People Reached – try checking it out – especially on a computer because it really gets into detail. It’s like tracing your posts’ steps across the internet! You can see WHAT WORKS. You can see what your audience is interested in. You can see what action someone took when they saw your post – for example, comment, like, share, visit your link. This is important because the more Engagement, the more reach your post will have. When you have a post that works – KEEP DOING THAT!  Let that post inspire you to create other posts that are similar. One more thing about Facebook and then we are going to move on to Instagram… Click on the INSIGHTS tab at the top of your nonprofit’s page, scroll down on the Insights Page, you’ll see your most recent posts. That’s where you can actually SEE which ones have performed better than others. INSTAGRAM  Look at Instagram on your phone – make sure you are signed into your nonprofit organization’s account. AND if you need a refresher on that, there’s a link for a quick tutorial at the bottom of these show notes.  Once you’re logged onto your nonprofit’s Instagram account… - Go to your profile and click on one of your posts. -  Under the picture, you’ll see it says VIEW INSIGHTS in little blue words, right under the picture. If you don’t see it, double check to make sure you’re logged into your nonprofit’s Instagram account – not your personal account. -  Tap View Insights and a little window will pop up on the bottom of the screen, tap that and it will get bigger.  There, YOU CAN SEE ALL YOUR STATS for that post.  You’ll see reach, which is the same thing as it is on Facebook You’ll also see Interactions... Interactions means when someone went to your profile to see more of your posts and find out more about you. Insights on Instagram shows how many individual accounts you reached, what percentage weren’t following you – that’s a good number to know, because it will tell you if you’re reaching NEW people. You can also see Impressions and find out if your hashtags were effective.  If you want to practice with hashtags, check out Episode 8 – it’s full of step-by-step, easy to understand instructions for Instagram. Try exploring all these different stats on both Facebook and Instagram and use them to help you know what you’re doing right. If you just take a little time to look at these numbers, regularly you’ll feel more confident and you’ll be able to know what’s working and where you’re doing the right thing!  Three things to REMEMBER:  Keep your posts short and sweet Use good pictures Make your content worthwhile to your audience And hey, seriously… YOU CAN DO THIS! Keep your eye on the prize – you are using Facebook and Instagram, or the “new word of mouth” to reach the people you want to serve. Remember – you don’t have to do everything and learn everything in one day! Baby steps still move you forward! Just take it all ONE STEP AT A TIME, and remember, I am HERE with you every step of the way. You got this! Click here for a free tutorial on how to sign in to your nonprofit organization’s Instagram account. Links I mentioned in this episode: Episode 2: NonprofitPotential.com/2 Episode 8: NonprofitPotential.com/8 Send me an email! I’d love to hear what questions you have! nonprofitpotential.com/contact Let’s be friends… Find me on social media and let me know what kind of nonprofit or business you’re working with! Facebook.com/NonprofitPotential Instagram.com/NonprofitPotential Subscribe & Review in iTunes Subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss an episode that will be chock full of handy tips and tricks that will help you in growing your nonprofit organization. Click here to subscribe in iTunes or get new episodes in your email! If you’re feeling extra generous today, please leave me a review – I’d love to hear from you, plus you’ll be helping other nonprofits find this podcast, too! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and be sure to tell me what kind of nonprofit you work with! Thank you! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/12

In a special addition to last week’s episode about the Three Step Plan for Event Marketing (Episode 10) this week, we’re talking about what to do after your event and why it’s important to keep up the marketing with Facebook, Instagram and emails even after the big day has come and gone. If you’re like me, your favorite part of the event is after it’s over… The stress of all the planning and making sure everything happens the way it’s supposed to is over.  You want to sit back and smile at all the things that went right and make note of things that didn’t go as you planned.   But if you want to finish strong and take advantage of the opportunity you have to grow your next event; you can’t quit thinking about it just yet. You’ve got to bring it all full circle. Posting on Facebook and Instagram after the party lets everyone remember how great it was and feel like they were part of something special. And everyone who WASN’T there sees what they missed out on. Create some of that FOMO – that fear of missing out – and make them want to attend your next event! Posting about it on social media is also a great way to pour on the gratitude – something you can’t do enough of. And in this day and age, Facebook and Instagram have that INSTANT GRATIFICATION factor – people want to re-live what they experienced ASAP – so posting pictures and thank yous on social media within a day or two is a great way to cement people’s positive feelings about your event and make them want to be involved again next year. Now, I think we can all agree that the day after an event are all about recovery. You’re exhausted. You’re worn out. You don’t want to do anything. So that’s why if you take these 3 steps before the big event, you can make your life a whoooole lot easier afterwards. If you do these three things to do before the event – if you don’t, you’ll wish you had!  Ask two volunteers to take pictures with their phones at the event – even if you have a professional photographer Draft a thank you email to your attendees before the event. (don’t send it until after the event) Leave space in the email to add one of those pictures your volunteers took from the event. Pour on the thank yous to any and every one that helped you in anyway.  Write a short thank you note, add a piece of chocolate and leave it on their desk.  Bonus! Don’t forget to add all the names of the attendees to your database for next year. If you have any questions, I’d love to hear them so we can answer them in an upcoming episode, and you’ll be helping others who might have the same questions!  I absolutely LOVE hearing from you. Get in touch by going to NonprofitPotential.com/contact and let me know what questions you have. Remember to subscribe to the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast player… And you can also listen directly on website NonProfitPotential.com and sign up for email reminders there, too.  I want to know what kind of nonprofit you’re working with! So, find me on Facebook and Instagram – and tell me what your nonprofit is so I can thank you for listening! Just search for NonprofitPotential on Facebook and Instagram.  And hey, I just want to remind you, especially if you’re just starting out, YOU GOT THIS! You CAN DO THIS! And I’m going to be here to help you along the way with tangible, do-able, step-by-step tips to help your nonprofit reach more people in your area. Links I mentioned in this episode: Episode 10: NonprofitPotential.com/10 MailChimp: mailchimp.com Constant Contact: constantcontact.com Subscribe & Review in iTunes Subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss an episode that will be chock full of handy tips and tricks that will help you in growing your nonprofit organization. Click here to subscribe in iTunes or get new episodes in your email! If you’re feeling extra generous today, please leave me a review – I’d love to hear from you, plus you’ll be helping other nonprofits find this podcast, too! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and be sure to tell me what kind of nonprofit you work with! Thank you! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/11.

Have you ever tried to grow a lawn? No, not like paying someone to show up and throw sod down or put those perfectly pre-grown squares of grass across the ground… But have you actually spread out dirt yourself, and then tossed grass seed on the ground, raked it over, and prayed for it to start growing?  That’s what I’ve been doing at my house – trying to grow grass.  The other day, I was about to just quit. I had had enough. I was so tired of putting all this time and effort into trying to get something to grow that just wasn’t going to… and literally, as I was walking back to the house to turn the water back on, feeling hopeless and like I was pointlessly watering dirt, I looked down and saw… A BLADE OF GRASS. A single blade had popped up through the soil!  Immediately, my motivation was RENEWED. Since then, I have continued watering, and now, I have THOUSANDS of blades of grass coming up from the ground!! It gives me hope that it might actually turn into a lawn one day! I know this sounds cheesy, but I couldn’t help but feel like this was an analogy for SO MANY THINGS in our lives. Especially for getting the word out about your nonprofit.  There might be times where you feel like you are just wasting your time.  You feel discouraged and you just want to quit.  It may seem like there is NO POINT in continuing on.  I’m telling you – if you just keep showing up and clearly telling people what you do, it’s only a matter of time before you see growth. In today’s episode, I’m sharing with you my three step plan for marketing your next event. This is a short-term effort that can yield major growth for your organization especially in terms of support and donors - which is why it’s so important. Facebook is an INCREDIBLE tool to use to market your event. It’s a great way to get the word out, build excitement, engage with your audience before the event, and build that know, like and trust factor that is so important in having a successful organization. I know, there are some people who say, “people don’t use Facebook anymore,” but friend, the numbers don’t lie. One of the largest research studies to date on the status of the event industry showed that 52% of professional event planners said that Facebook is the most effective social media channel for event marketing. Your Facebook event page will be the place people can turn to for event details like start time, where to sign up or buy tickets, information about the speaker or performers. Plus, if you keep updating your Facebook page, it will only help your credibility and grow your online presence.  When your audience keeps seeing you active on Facebook, it helps them feel more confident about committing to going to your event. Here is my THREE-STEP PLAN for getting started with marketing your event on Facebook Create the event on Facebook ASAP Plan Your Posts Boost your post When you listen to Episode 10 today, you’ll hear tips and tricks about all three steps.  You’ll find out what to include on the Facebook event page, how to come up with 15 – 18 ideas for posts that you can use over and over again, and when you should begin to market your event.  Plus, we’ll talk about the very important topic of money and ideas for working within your budget – there are so many! Remember, the grass I talked about? You keep showing up to listen to this podcast, you are working smart on your nonprofit – it’s going to grow. You’ve got this! Every time you feel overwhelmed by something, especially if it’s new, just remind yourself of WHY you are doing this! Because you want to reach the people you want to serve! Because you want to make a difference! I know you might have questions, and I’d love to hear them so we can address them in future episodes! I absolutely LOVE hearing from you. Get in touch by going to https://www.nonprofitpotential.com/contact and email me your questions. Remember to subscribe to the Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential Podcast so you don’t miss any episode. They will be chock full of handy tips and tricks to help you grow your nonprofit organization. I just want to remind you one last time, especially if you’re just starting off, YOU CAN DO THIS! And I’m going to be here to help you along the way! Check out pictures of that grass I was telling you about! :-) Facebook: Facebook.com/NonprofitPotential Instagram: Instagram.com/NonprofitPotential Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 2 Anatomy of a Good Post   Subscribe & Review in iTunes Subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss an episode that will be chock full of handy tips and tricks that will help you in growing your nonprofit organization. Click here to subscribe in iTunes or get new episodes in your email! If you’re feeling extra generous today, please leave me a review – I’d love to hear from you, plus you’ll be helping other nonprofits find this podcast, too! Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and be sure to tell me what kind of nonprofit you work with! Thank you! If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/10.