False spring has struck Nashville! I’ve spent the last 2 days on my front porch, starting seeds and planting the garlic I stratified this winter. Even with more cold temperatures to come, I’m excited about the growth my garden will have over the next few months. Your email list is like a garden, Reader. (I love a good garden analogy 😆) Over the past 2 months, I’ve talked to you about re-engaging lapsed donors, improving your call-to-actions, and your overall email marketing strategy. Now...

We had a wildly successful EOY fundraiser, but I'm not sure what to do right now. How do I keep donors engaged, and what do I say to lapsed donors? 👆 A friend asked me this question recently. She just became a director in a nonprofit that is growing EXTREMELY fast, but she felt stuck. Her background is in corporate America, and she struggled to transfer her knowledge and skills into the nonprofit space. She knew what made good customers - but donors and volunteers? She started to panic. So we...

I'm going to ask you a bit of a controversial question. The podcast host laughed. Alright. I agreed, leaning forward. I was at a conference recently, and one of the keynote speakers said that email marketing for nonprofits is dead. Do you agree? I don't think any singular marketing avenue is "dead" - but I DO think that people aren't using these avenues effectively. That's why they (you?) aren't seeing the results they hoped for. And I often hear nonprofit leaders say this about email... ❌ We...

We know we should be sending more emails, but we just don't have the capacity to write them consistently. We usually send one blast out per month. How can we write better emails to connect with our email list? 👆 A nonprofit leader asked me this question the other day. My answer, in short: It's not about just writing emails. It's the strategy behind them. Stories are powerful and absolutely can connect with your prospects, donors, and volunteers. But a well-written email alone won't bring you...

"You changed platforms again?? 😂" A client sent me this message after I sent them the final invoice from a platform... because I've switched platforms for the third time this year. 😅 Not as a result of being indecisive, but from a quest for simplicity. When I started my copywriting business, I subscribed to platforms I felt like I "should" use. Other copywriters were using them. Google told me which ones are highest rated. So I paid for them. For nearly 4 years. This spring, I realized they...

What are your thoughts on Giving Tuesday, Reader? Not gonna lie, I was quite surprised to see so much Giving Tuesday bashing on LinkedIn this year from others in the social impact and nonprofit space. And I get it - there's seemingly a lot of pressure for ONE day of the year. But Giving Tuesday was never meant to be a part of the transactional nature of Black Friday/Cyber Monday - it was meant to be an alternative. To put money where our values are and support causes instead of consumerism....

Hold on, you can’t just chase people! But I see friends! My 4-year-old breathlessly retorts. She runs off and introduces herself to a set of twins and their dad. Later, both of their dads sit at the table next to me in the courtyard. We wave and sit quietly for a while, taking shifts following our kids around. I begin chatting with the dads. We hit it off immediately and talked and laughed for nearly an hour. I’m Michael, by the way. One of the dads reaches for my hand. And I’m Lance! The...

Reader, have you ever entered a room you knew you didn’t belong in? A few years ago, I had a job interview at a local wellness company for a copywriter position. I wasn’t looking for a job at the time, but it popped up and sounded like the perfect fit. I was one of the final 2 candidates and was invited for an in-person interview. I was super excited because it was also a 7-minute drive from the school I had just gotten my daughter into. It felt like everything was falling into place! …Until...

Giving Tuesday isn't worth it for us. We hardly ever raise enough. Someone said that to me recently. And it got me thinking... how many more nonprofit leaders feel that way? Is it truly not worth the effort? For those who reach campaign goals, do they feel burnt out getting there? So I did a little digging. Turns out, Giving Tuesday is still effective. It's the springboard for Expanding visibility and attracting new donors. Incentivizing donation matching. Inspiring varied giving, so you can...