by Ian Haisley | Aug 29, 2021 | +Good Newsletter
1. Why video 🎥 is leading the content marketing revolution.
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, how many are videos worth? 🤔 Here’s what we’ve learned recently about visual content marketing: 1) Successful media is getting more video-centered, and 2) one-size-fits-all content making isn’t cutting it anymore. That means personalized videos are the new frontier of cutting-edge marketing!
The what, why, and how of using personalized video. [via the Content Marketing Institute]
2. I’ve got a blank space, baby, and I’ll boost your page. 🎵
Any other T-Swift fans out there? Just us? But seriously, sometimes less is more. And one of the best ways to dial up your site’s landing page quality is learning how to get the most out of your (limited) real estate—including fighting to keep as much white space on a page as possible.
How white space can boost your landing page conversions. [via unbounce]
3. The magic ✨ is in the experience.
There’s a reason kids’ birthday parties are even more awesome with paintball or a piñata—because the best events are designed around experiences! This is especially true for your nonprofit events. Experiences can transform a fundraising event from a box to a check to an exciting memory for your guests. Need help taking your event to the next level? Let us know! We’d love to help!
How to design an experience-first event. [via Bizzabo]
4. Jump back into the QR code 🤳 game.
Remember when QR codes came out and we all tried to put them on…everything? If your experience was anything like ours, they didn’t work—but maybe we were just ahead of our time! Thanks to the pandemic (QR code menus, anyone??) and advances in cell phone technology, these days we are all super familiar with scanning for more info. So maybe it’s time to give them another shot.
Why (and how) you should try using QR codes. [via Nonprofit Marketing Guide]
5. Get that Google ❤️ love.
We all want to be at the top of the search engine pile, but raking on SEO without a budget can feel impossible. Lucky for us, there are content tricks you can implement right now to take advantage of Search Engine Result Page (SERP) features—and reach more of your donors and prospects than ever.
Learn how to hack your SERP. [via Moz]
by Allison Kooser | Jul 15, 2021 | +Good Newsletter, The Intro
Last week, I wrote to you about Carlos Whittaker’s (@loswhit) day-by-day coverage of Brooklyn to Alaska on Instagram — and the $255,000 he raised from his followers in support of this small organization.
Many of you were just as inspired by Carlos’s social media as I was, which got me thinking about the power of creative storytelling — and made me remember some of the other campaigns, essays, and videos that have stopped me in my tracks.
As a marketer and storyteller, I am constantly looking for inspiration and examples of content done right. And thankfully, there are so many creative people (including all of you!) who are doing good, beautiful, hard, incredible work — which means my collection of inspiring content is big and always growing.
At the top of this list: World Vision’s World Refugee Day video.
Whoa.
About a month ago, World Vision produced a short video for World Refugee Day that I stumbled upon on Instagram. The 3-minute video completely captivated me. So creative. So compelling. Honest, raw, and motivating. It was everything a video should be.
I immediately forwarded it to my marketing friends.
“Look at this,” I wrote. “This is how it’s done.”
As marketers, fundraisers, and creatives, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We get to borrow ideas and inspiration from everyone around us — whether that’s other nonprofits, big companies, performers, musicians, or the latest trending posts on Pinterest. As Pablo Picasso famously said, “Great artists steal.”
So here’s what we want to know from you: What is inspiring you these days? What campaigns, videos, and stories are capturing your attention? Who is doing impressive work that you love following?
We want to see it!
Comment below with a link to a video, story, or campaign that you loved — we can’t wait to be inspired by what is inspiring you!
by Allison Kooser | Feb 4, 2021 | +Good Newsletter
1. A secret photo-editing 📷 weapon.
If you’re a Photoshop user, you know what a pain it can be to cut around a person in an image to remove the background. Doable, of course, but very time consuming and particular. Enter Removal.ai — an artificial intelligence app that does it for you. Your photo cropping just got WAY easier.
Remove image backgrounds with ease. [via Removal.ai]
2. You need a monthly giving program. 📅
Conceptually, we all know that monthly giving is a good idea. But all too often, it falls down the priority list in favor of major giving or other “critical” initiatives. But here’s the deal: “one-time donors renew, on average, at a rate of 45%. Monthly donors renew, on average, at a rate of nearly 90%.” Moral of the story: It’s time to ramp up your monthly giving program.
Why (and how) to cultivate monthly donors. [via Clarification]
3. Some of the best blog 🗒️ advice we’ve ever read.
When smart, talented writers reflect on their processes and lessons learned, we listen. This insight from CXL blogger Derek Gleeson hit so many nails on the head: from not wasting time on things that are good enough, to building in time to think, to updating old content because people are still reading it. (Yes, yes, and yes.) If you’re writing on the internet, this is worth the read.
How to make your blog better. [via CXL]
4. How to create variable ✍️ fonts.
Design nerds, raise your hands. This one is for you. Check out this helpful video tutorial and article about variable web fonts and learn how you can modify axes on a single font file (we told you this was for the design nerds…). Upside for everyone: fewer uploads, more readable websites, and less work. Wins all around.
A free tutorial on web fonts. [via Envato Tuts+]
5. Let’s talk about 🤯 burnout.
In a conversation with a friend recently, one of our team members put words to how we’re all feeling (whether we acknowledge it or not), noting that “right now, we are all in a constant and perpetually fragile emotional state.” Welcome to life in a pandemic! What this also means is that we’re all at risk of burnout. Luckily, one of our favorite thinkers, Adam Grant, has some insights on the scary (and very real) feeling of work being just too much. (Once you listen to this episode, check out all of the WorkLife podcast. We’re big fans.)
How to cope with burnout. [via The WorkLife Podcast from TED]
