Nonprofit Radio for December 18, 2015: Tips From Maria

Big Nonprofit Ideas for the Other 95%

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Maria Semple: Tips From Maria

Maria Semple

Maria Semple is our prospect research contributor and
The Prospect Finder, and has a new book: “Magnify Your Business.” She shares her wisdom for your nonprofit.

 

 


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Good lo and welcome to tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. I’m your aptly named host animal said good afternoon, but it was that applies to, but hello, i’m glad you’re with me. I didn’t do the agony of austin pieces if you leak to the idea that you missed today’s show tips from maria maria semple is our prospect research contributor, the prospect finder and has a new book magnify your business. She shares her wisdom for your non-profit on tony’s, take two new non-profit technology conference video interviews still up we’re sponsored by pursuant full service fund-raising data driven and technology enabled, you’ll raise more money pursuant dot com maria simple the prospect find her she’s a trainer and speaker on prospect research her website is the prospect finder dot com, and her new book is magnify your business tips, tools and strategies for growing your business or your non-profit she’s our doi end of dirt cheap and free, you’ll find her on twitter at maria simple. Welcome back to the studio! Thanks so much for having me and excited to be here. We’re here we’re by phone so often and you’ve been to the studio before, but it’s been a while? Yeah. It’s been a while. I think i was here for one of your recent celebratory fifty. Every that’s, right. Every july, we hit a fiftieth show. Milestone july this year. Next year will be three hundred. But you’re here for the two fiftieth that’s, right? Yep. Um, congratulations. Thank you, magarri. Exciting. Magnify your business. It has a magnifying glass on the cover. Not unlike your logo. Your prospect find a research logo has is ah, kapin kept that theme girl has a magnifying glass embedded in it. Um, so how does this book relate to your work and prospects research? Because there’s only one chapter that’s specifically about finding new prospects. How does the work overall relate to what you do? Specifically? So, you know, prospect research is really one component of you know what? You would call business development or donordigital elopement or fund-raising right on the non-profit side. And so it is definitely a very important component. But my business is, you know, really morphed it in and of itself over the last several years to really, um b not just about the prospecting part. But about connecting as well. So it’s one thing to have, you know, that great list of prospects. But then how do you connect those dots? How do you go from just building a list, or or even having a great list of donors that you’re maybe, um researching because you already know they donate to you? But then how do you make it happen so that they get more engaged with you? How do you keep that engagement going? So that’s really? More of a communications and marketing element. And so this book tries to address all of that cool that’s, ovary, ovary, concise and articulate recitation of the need for the book and how that’s all of it was very good. You start with you’re. Ah, you know what? I should have said? Happy holidays. Merry christmas, happy hanukkah. Happy new year and t was i wouldn’t open with that. And this is going to be our last show of the year before for non affiliates for the podcast listeners. So lots of good wishes, i would say at the end too. But, um, wishing that to you, maria. Something tina’s. Well, right here in the studio. How? Could i not, sam? You too. Sam gives thumbs up. Everybody’s taken care of. Now. Now, it’s, back to me. You start with the unique selling proposition r u s p i i think that’s pretty well understood, but let’s, make sure just in case there are people not so familiar with the u s p what is this? So, really it’s a way to distinguish you from all of the other people that do something similar to what your organization does. Right? So if you live in a community and there are, um, you know, multiple organizations that are social service agencies, right? Well, how does yours differ from another? Where? How do you collaborate? Even with the other one? So we’ll talk a little bit more about that. But you know what sets you apart? What is it you do better differently? Um, is it your you know, how does your mission toe differ from other people? So it’s important that organizations understand that? And so that they’ll be able to position themselves to attract the right types of volunteers, attract the right types of donors. Eso messaging, you know, it’s very important that your niche, your niche. But unique, right? But but, you know, a lot of lots of organizations. I mean, anybody listening who was already in an organization, one of the first things they do is their mission statement, right? So that mission statements already set right? But that mission statement could be long, right? It could be something that that is typically is going to be on all their printed materials. It’s going to be something that’s going to be on their website. Eso it’s going to be articulated? Perhaps in sometimes i’ve seen mission statements that could be, you know, a paragraph long, right? Rather than just think what’s preferred like a a sentence or two a sentence or two? Yes, but go ahead. So you have along if you have a long. So if you have a long one, how do you then to still that down? Can you take a look at your current mission statement? Is your entire board when they are out in doing there networking and so forth and they’re acting as ambassadors for your organization? How are they able to articulate what you do in one or two concise sentences? And some of the mission statements are you know, really bold, you know, in terms of you know what their their overall goals are on dh sometimes it’s it’s a bit of a stretch even, but it’s it’s really it’s showing in a very concise one or two sentences where that organization wants to be, you know, eradicate poverty. Ok, if that’s your bold statement than that’s it you know eso it’s, it’s it’s important for everybody. Not only staff, but bored to be able to articulate it. Okay, so if it’s eradicate poverty, how are you going to do that? Uniquely right? There are thousands of organizations working tens of thousands working on poverty alleviation throughout the world. But what’s your again your niche what’s your usp. How do you do it? Different than everybody else, right? Exactly. Yeah, i like bringing in the idea the board do. How do they describe your work? You know what? I’ve even had a guest recently. I remember who was now but recommending that there be bored training and conversation around the messaging and the keywords that you’re bored should be using when they’re out talking about your organization? Absolutely. How do you tell that stories to simply you? Know, and if you want, i can share just one or two that i thought that i have actually as examples in my book of organisations, i thought had a really great u s p yeah, we have just about two minutes before a break, but it was a go ahead. Okay, so one of them is make a wish, right? So i think most of us are familiar with the make a wish foundation and we make a wish group so here’s their their mission statement, they’re here they’re us pay their vision statement. Our vision is that people everywhere will share the power of a wish. All right, very short, very concise. Is that there is that their stated mission that’s that that’s what they’re calling their vision state vision, vision statement so that that so from that, you know, you can see how that that’s showing their unique selling proposition power of a wish, right? Absolutely don’t know if you know another one is save the children, right? So we envision a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation, right? Very clear, very succinct. So yes. So if if your organization doesn’t have that, you know might be might be time for youto to think about doing something like that for the new year. Okay, that sounds like this could be valuable to you if you’re developing a business plan or a plan for the well strategic plan. Ah right, yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely, yeah, absolutely, because if you’re as you’re doing that type of planning, you know, ifyou’re, especially if you’re articulating this to your your funders, whether they be donors or perhaps you’re you’re getting alone for something seed funding, you know, it’s going to be important thatyou articulated in that way? Yeah, okay, usp, i’m not sure too many non-profits think about that really, they think mission statement, but we’re talking about distilling it down, all right? We’re gonna take a break, and when we come back, we’re going to keep talking. Marie has got lots of tips should be back next in january do we’ll talk some butt today about your ideal clients and your presence online? Stay with us. You’re tuned to non-profit radio. Tony martignetti also hosts a podcast for the chronicle of philanthropy fund-raising fundamentals is a quick ten minute burst of fund-raising insights, published once a month. Tony’s guests are expert in crowdfunding, mobile giving event fund-raising direct mail and donor cultivation. Really, all the fund-raising issues that make you wonder, am i doing this right? Is there a better way there is? Find the fund-raising fundamentals archive it. Tony martignetti dot com that’s marketmesuite n e t t i remember there’s, a g before the end, thousands of listeners have subscribed on itunes. You can also learn maura, the chronicle website philanthropy dot com fund-raising fundamentals the better way. Welcome back to big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent let’s take care of them live listener love we got asia checking in i love it always, always loyal, really start with beijing, beijing, china knee how also, seoul, south korea so loyal in seoul unbelievable on your haserot and in japan we got tokyo also incredibly loyal. Konichiwa mexico city, mexico when a star days and i don’t know how to welcome correctly. Sharjah, united arab emirates i would just say live listener love, let’s, come back domestic st, louis, missouri, florida! We can’t see your city and we got some other masked us ah presence, we don’t know we can’t even city or state, so that could apply to just any anybody was listening, but we’ll we’ll catch up with mohr city and state live listener love always thinking about our podcast listeners pleasantries podcast pleasantries to the over ten thousand listening in the time shift, whatever you’re doing while you listen very glad you’re with us and all our am and am and fm affiliate stations equally grateful that you are with us throughout the country affiliate affections to our am and fm listeners. Buy-in i love i just i love knowing that there’s people out there live even if it’s even when it’s only a dozen or fifteen, i don’t care. I just like knowing that there’s people out there listening live and it’s so cool that they’re all the way around the world to indeed and you have no idea what time it is in any of this. Country’s leon is a twelve hour beijing i know was twelve hours. No china’s twelve hours. So it ze midnight it’s one one am there? Ah, great loyalty coming out of beijing. Absolutely. Um, your you know what kind of tracking your chapters through your book, which is which is excellent mind doing it that way. You go on, teo, talk about ideal clients, what we’re talking about, the people who are benefiting from our work. Right? So? So, people benefiting from your work and, um, you know, also you have to think about, you know, getting targeted in terms of who are the people that you want to attract as volunteers and donors. So, yeah, there’s definitely that the beneficiaries of your services, right? The people that you serve, but broader? Yeah, but you know, you want to think, you know, client could mean could mean a number of things, right? So when we’re talking in the business world, client is pretty specific, you don’t want to say i interrupt all the time when you’re in studio c this is the benefit of being on the phone. I can’t get away with that. You don’t know, i’m doing it. I cut in, but you can hear me sometimes eso yourself you’re suffering with us, but so you don’t want the ideal constituents that doesn’t really constituents and its end. So, uh, no clinical does third party. It sounds like something terrestrial, right? You want to use it, but i don’t care for you. But we call them ideal people. Then people i feel people to bring into your world right clients is good. All right. I’m sure you spent a lot more time thinking about the night that then i have. I tend to be a little shallow about these things. But you put some thought into it. So i interrupted you blatantly, brazenly. All are different constituencies, right? That that’s, right. So you do you know you need teo. Really get you. Know, laser focused as as much as you can, and you know it. I know for me, even as i look to grow my own business that to which i gave focus is what expands right. And you hear a lot about this right there. Lots of writings that you can find, definitely true. Yeah, you start to focus on something and it gets done right. It gets done notice thing, right? Or or like if if you buy a red car, then suddenly or if you’re thinking about buying a red car, right, then suddenly you’re driving down the road and where there’s red cars all around you. Whereas before maybe you just never noticed them before. It’s. Your perception. Yeah, they’re right there, not just all out of the woodwork. Now, suddenly you know the way to do that siren coming down seventy seconds i did. This is our this is our state of the art soundproof studio. Nothing. Nothing gets in except street noise. All right, so identifying we’ve got so let’s let’s think about volunteers. I mean, that’s it that that could be a struggle, not necessarily board members, but they’re just, you know, your garden variety volunteers, the ones we’re going to come in and they’re going to stuff lunch packages or their maybe gonna do some office work for you. Although we know from jean takagi months ago, you can’t have volunteers doing the same labor that you’re paid employees are doing that’s illegal. We know about that. You could search jeanne takagi on my site and go back a couple of months, and he and i talked about that, um, but volunteers that are doing other kinds of work volunteers are we going, like, find the right one? Yeah, but that’s always a challenge for organizations, you know, certainly there there’s so many ways that you can employ online strategies right? To try and find the right type of volunteers there’s often volunteermatch type of organizations that exist within communities. So make sure if you have a gala coming up and you have some very specific tasks around that, for example, that you list those opportunities with those organizations because there will be people who will say, you know, i want to do something for my community. I only have one or two hours a week to give um or you know, i know i’m going to have some time off of work, so i only will have time during that stated week or two period of time. So it’s, great to have these volunteermatch clearing houses in the communities that will be able to match all of that up for people, of course, there’s always the bigger sites nationwide. Volunteermatch dot com catch a fire is one we’ve had rachel cheung on ceo of catching fire where might you find the you’re the diet of dirt cheap and free, which i love we’re in the local community might you find volunteermatch opportunities locally? So i think it’s a good idea to start with those two websites that you just mentioned and see if they have those local affiliates. Another good way to to find out is to contact your local united way office because they they very often will serve as that sort of clearinghouse capacity as well to match up volunteer opportunities. S o that’s one good way you know, to do that if you don’t feel like you have another separate organization handling that in your community, might a chamber of commerce or or no? Um yes and no, it you know, it really depends. It depends on how large of a chamber it is. I know the chamber that i belong to in new jersey, we launched a non-profit council within that chamber, and that sort of thing exists in other chambers in new jersey, where i’m from s o it’s great when you when you have that because you you do some programming that are specific to the needs of nonprofit organizations. But then there are also created opportunities to make sure that the for-profit and non-profit worlds have an opportunity to mix. And i know with with our events were always looking to make sure that we are including people who are board members, right? So to get their skillsets up in terms of their boardmember ships, including them where at the events that we do for the non-profit council within the chamber. So so if you have ah, larger chamber, then yes, definitely approached them and see, you know, does it make sense? For your organization to join, what events do they have specifically around non-profits do they list? Sometimes they will, you know, perhaps facilitate, you know, they might have a certain section in their online newsletter or something like that that will list specific opportunities that exist within our community and of course, you know, these a sze yu and i go through, you know, talking about your book now and the next one’s gonna be january fifteenth, the next show that you’ll we’re continuing the conversation, you know? These things all blend together. I mean, we’re going to kind of cover, um, discreet topics, but one of them is in person networking, right? You know, we’re going to talk about you have lots of tips around that, and so obviously, when you’re meeting people face to face, you always want to be thinking potential volunteer, maybe even potential boardmember potential employees, if you have an opening, you know, so obviously these things all meld together, right? And that’s, why it’s so important to have that u s p clear in your head and to really be living and breathing so that when you you know, your organization, whether here that i’m just living and breathing, right? I mean, you have to be thinking about it all the time, like, you know, in terms of upcoming needs or, you know, what air cem specific wish lists you have in the organization right now? So, you know, maybe maybe the van just broke down, right? That you that you’re using to transport the children back and forth to events, right? So you’re thinking to yourself, you know, how are we going to do this? We don’t have the funds to replace this van it’s going to be expensive to repair the van, so suddenly you’re thinking about the van all the time when you go to a networking event, right? And so of course, that is in your psyche, right? That to which you give focused, right? So suddenly, if if you really and truly are just thinking about that a lot and you go to a networking event, for example, with the intention set that it be really great if i met with somebody here today that could connect me to a great opportunity that would get us near closer to a van, you know, it’s amazing how those things could end up coming to fruition suddenly. It’s, you know, there there might be a car dealer who’s who’s in attendance at that event or somebody that you’re talking to his brother in law is a car dealer, and suddenly, you know you’re you’re just you’re making the right connections, but you have to have it as really part of your psyche. Cool. And sometimes people will just ask, you know what? What is it the organization does, you know, and that’s that’s a natural question. But, you know, you kind of morph that into what the organization needs, you know? Yeah, we do this and, you know, and you know, and i was just telling you about this program we have for children and wouldn’t you know, just earlier this week, our van i was i’m the only guy in america i wish i knew enough about cars to able to say what happened to the van, but no more than a flat tyre that’s all that and change the windshield washer axle broke up. Okay, axel that’s. Perfect. Here we go. You getting technical now? Actual axel that’s a technical. Okay, if it’s not windshield washer fluid, i don’t have change, but through a through a through a, uh, piston rod camshaft, you know? And just all of a sudden, this just happened. And, you know, wouldn’t it be nice if you know, you got any, you know, lisa lee, any leads in that direction or anything? Maybe maybe even low cost repair now, but okay, you know, you want to find out more for the conversation to what you need. Yeah. No, no, no. Absolutely. Absolutely. So if you know you, but you have, you have to be clear. You know, when you’re attending that event at the chamber or other types of community events, you have to be clear about what the needs are of the organization. And then on the flip side, i think it’s super important for you to be ableto approach those events and approach other people in the community with how your organization can help them, right? Yeah. You have a lot of you have a lot of mutuality recommendations, right? How can i be of help to you? How can i be of help to you? Right? So, it’s, you know, you don’t always want to just be seen like that organization. That’s constantly got their hand out and okay, here’s that person again? Oh, yeah, they’re you know, they’re always hitting us up for this. Are we selling us the tickets? Always this that the bake sales or, you know, whatever. But you want to be seen as a partner in the community and, you know, what is it that you can give to the business community? So if your organization, for example, ah, does have programming for children, okay? And you’re at a networking event. Well, maybe there are some people that you’re going to be talking to. Hu have young children who all of a sudden, you know, they need an after school program. And so when it be great to be able to talk about what the re sources are that you have for the local business community, um, jumping back teo, the ideal client topic, you have some ideas about measuring and listening and monitoring what your clients are talking about. What we share some tips so some of those tips would include obviously seeing what you know what’s being said about you. I think some of these tips we’ve shared in more of the prospect research world, but they’re equally is applicable in in this situation too. So google alerts um and then the other two sites that i’ve been having tremendous success with since i reviewed it for your show is matter-ness remember, because we talked about google lorts not being so good so much anymore. And and you know what? I have seen it go down, isn’t that so? That was like a year ago that was yeah, you were you were saying they were declining because you were measuring side by side and google was not coming, so maybe we shouldn’t be so yeah, enthusiastic. Yeah, the the ones that i am getting great success with our talk walker dot com and mentioned dot net, i do the exact same, too. Since, since, you know, that review was a year year and a half ago, i use those exact same, too, and i find them really valuable. Yeah, and they pick up it’s interesting because they pick up on the social mentions. Not just what’s. No. Maybe a blogger article or a news article. Tweets and whatnot. So, it’s it’s great. So so here’s a way that a non-profit could could use this. In terms of especially in terms of fund-raising and so forth, so why not take your top ten, um, donors, right? And you’re bored and put alerts on their names so that if there is some interesting mention about them, maybe there’s some success that they’ve had, um, you know, maybe they’re company did something fantastic or whatever it’s an opportunity for you to have that point of engagement that touch. That touchpoint that that isn’t just take, you know, calling them up and asking them to get involved in an event or ask for money. Now you’re being like a friend. Yeah, i saw this mention of you, you know, and they may not. Even if they’re not having alerts for their own name, they may not know about it or think they do if they’re quoted or something in newspaper piece. But whatever you know, you want to be proactive, just like a friend. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you don’t need to tell them, gino, i’ve got on alert. Having to see this in the local paper and, you know, congratulations, that’s all has to be absolute brats, you know, great quote, great mentioned for the company. Your work, you know, we have a great day. No that’s it that’s it just you show that you’re thinking about the person. Exactly. I just want to say those against its talk walker, dot com and mention dot net, i get alerts every day. Sometimes you can say whether you want it as it happens or daily digest or weekly digest, you know, there’s different options, right? And i would do your non-profit name, right? Yeah. You mentioned boardmember tze maybe the ceo i have one set for at tony martignetti. So my twitter is my twitter id, right? Any other suggestions? What? You should be checking. I think that those air probably the primary ones because it’s it’s just it’s that technology is going to be, um, that push technology is going to be helping you, right? So you set the alert up once and then you just let let the thing go and just it’s just going to push you the results so you get to sit back and just watch it come in just thinking your twitter id because a lot of people, you know, the twitter ideas, not the exact name of the organization. So if there’s a variation or if it’s you personally, you know, a lot of people have different ideas than their names. So you want to you want to be able to capture both, um, let’s see? Oh, you yeah. About your tribe finding your tribe, right? Is that all what we’re talking about here? Is that something different? What was that? So, yeah, a little bit different. So yes. So you’ve heard of seth goldenburg baizman argast heard of him. He’s been on the show when there’s no years ago? Yeah, i captured him until view with him. It’s on the youtube channel? Yes. Oh, my goodness. We’re gonna have to look that one up. I missed that one myself, but, you know, so he he’s done a lot of he’s a talker. Speakers, you know, an author and he his book, you know, tribes we need you to lead us was, you know, it was an interesting book for me, right as a business owner in terms of trying to figure out how to grow my own business, and i started thinking about that in terms of non-profit organization. So you know what we’re talking about? Tribe, we’re talking about, you know, who are those collaborators in the community that we should be looking to do more with, you know, who are the people that ah, well, really rally around you and help you? And they’re kind of like your ambassadors in away, right? Help you and are very concerned and want to see you stay successful in the community. So, you know, who are those tribe members? Certainly you’re you’re bored, right? Obviously should be your tribe, and if they’re not, you better get a better try because they should be your your your your biggest tribe. But then, you know, start thinking, you know, outward from there in those concentric circles, right? You know, who do they know? Who else can they bring to the table and and really, you know, become part of your tribe? It some in an online world? It’s, it’s, it’s super important, especially if you’re going to do any type of like a crowdfunding campaign, you need that tribe of people that is going to get out there and help push that crowd funding strategy out to their own to their own peered networks and so forth. Or your tribe is your loyalists? Yeah, most loyal people, yeah, yeah, and and, you know, they could be people to that. Maybe they just have certain skillsets that that the that the nonprofit organization occasionally needs, right? So maybe, um, maybe it’s an advisory panel or a focus group that comes together twice a year t measure, you know, the perception of the organization in the community and maybe there it’s, you know, somebody that maybe you can get ah, focus group together, like i said, that meets twice a year just to give you their feedback and and, you know as to what they’re hearing about the organization, the community, and maybe their feedback as to how a new program is being implemented, um and they may look at it a little bit differently, right? Because they’re not as entrenched as staff and board would be in in a new program, for example, so they might be able to kind of step back and say, you know, well, we you know, we’ve heard this is working really well or word on the street is it’s not working so well? So, you know, you need people who are going to be able to give you that honest feedback. Yeah. Okay. Uh, sound sounds a lot like what peter shankman would call zombie loyalists. He was on the show to his book zombie loyalists. And the family wants to hear that you could just search the word zombie at tony martignetti dot com and my interview with peter will come up but similar, you know, the people who are doing there’s so committed to you that they just want to see you. They want to see you soar and they do a lot of work for you marketing in your pr and all the stuff you’re not talking about, you know, whether online or face-to-face, right? Right. And they will help you. You know that that’s why i built that into this book, you know, magnify your business because they are there going to be part of what’s going to help you get magnified. Yes. Okay, we get ah, lot more tips from maria coming up first. I want to say little about pursuing one of their online tools is velocity makes your gift officers a lot more productive and efficient because it’s helping them manage their work flow. You import prospect data from your own constituent database, and in fact, ah, marie and i are gonna be talking about your c r m in the next next time. She’s on january eighteenth. Ah, but you bring data and from your own database, and then this velocity tool has a personalized dashboard for each fundraiser so that they’re tracking their progress. And of course, if you have multiple fundraisers that you’re supervising, you khun see each of their progress or if you’re the fundraiser, you know, you’re tracking your own, um, you know, access it, whether it’s by phone or tablet, et cetera, you know? So you cross platform. The point is, you know, it’s it’s a tool that is going to help you just raise more money, and of course, that leads me to think that you’re going to raise seat back pockets, more money, and i’m not talking about those foldout ones. They’re like file folders glued to the back of a seat that don’t even hold a small bottle of water on the airplane. I’m talking about those deep ones in business and first class on the boeing seven eighty seven that is stuffed with the toiletry kits and the socks and the remote controls, and they still have room for a leader bottle of water filled with money. That’s what pursuing dot com is going to do for you now. It’s time for tony’s take two the new non-profit technology conference videos are still up they’re on storytelling and content strategy links to those and my video that introduces them or at tony martignetti dot com, you don’t need to go anywhere else. I mean, for god’s sake. Well, you know it’s, just no point that’s the only sight you need if it’s about tony martignetti or non-profit radio. Of course, if it’s about maria simple, then you go to the prospect finder dot com but for me, please. Tony martignetti dot com take a look at ntc twenty sixteen it’s hosted by you know who and ten the non-profit technology network it’s going to be, uh twenty sixteen march, twenty third through twenty fifth in san jose, california. I’m going to be there getting non-profit radio interviews and i’ll be hosting their live audio stream for those who can’t get there but get there. But if you can check it out either way, whether you want the stream or you want to be there live in march twenty, thirty, twenty fifth and ten dot or ge and that’s tony’s take two for friday, eighteenth of december forty seventh show of twenty fifteen. Okay, maria, you’re thankyou for little patients. Thank you very much. Let’s let’s talk about some of your online tips about online presence. I guess we should start with the website, right? So so the web site one of the super important things to remember right now about websites is, um, is that earlier this year in twenty fifteen ah, google came out and announced that websites that were not mobile responsive are actually going to get penalized right in the search results. So if any of you listening on the show are thinking about revamping the site, make sure you’re talking to the web master. They should be well versed in this, but, you know you should be on educated consumer. So you make sure that you you request that your website have a mobile, responsive ability. Tio it’s super important, we talked about that on dh what was going to happen was if the person was doing their search by phone and i believe it was sixty percent of searches on google are by phone, then your site wasn’t going to rank if it wasn’t deemed mobile responsive by google pushed down or it wasn’t going to rank it all right, when phones air when phones were used for certain right and now they just came out with something else yesterday, i’m not sure if you heard about this, but just yesterday they announced that sites that didn’t have the https the secure site, right? Ah, the same thing is gonna happen. They’re going to be penalized in search results. So google really wants to start seeing organisations have secured sites now, you know i don’t do websites, i’m not mine. No, mine doesn’t have an s on it. So if you’re not a commerce site, you know you’re not sharing any data. I mean what’s the i hope that’s only for sites that collect data from well wouldn’t non-profit though, if they’re well they’re like, well, yeah oh, yeah, yeah, right, yeah. So they’re thinking about suspect finder dot com right? Yeah. Okay, so i’m not sure, but i may be even i have to do it anyway. Someday something else for me to put on my twenty sixteen to do list and ah, certainly. Anybody listening on this show might want to take a look at it. So that announcement just came out yesterday, november seventeenth, so i’m sure that you’ll see i saw a number of articles on it online. So there’s data out there there’s something like december. I’m sorry. December. Okay, yeah, i think we’re don’t people to think i’m foisting this as a live show when it’s actually pretty good. You know, you don’t i don’t do that. I’m very up front when it’s pre recorded. Yeah, no, no, we’re in december if i must i must wish it was still november so i still have a month to go do some shopping because i’m a little behind you’re screwed if you don’t get christmas it’s a week from today yeah, i know. All right, what else? Online? You’re well, let’s. Think of the website you got more, more advice for the web site should have and how it should have it come on, amglobal back now, right? So so the website should definitely have, you know, obviously all the programs and services that your organization does, it makes me crazy when i go to a website and i don’t see who the board is listed out not i want to know who’s running that organization. So, you know, put your boardmember its name on bio file. Yeah, yeah. Lengthy. Just their corporate affiliation. And may you know, maybe a hyperlink to that person’s website. You know, i’m sure you know, if there are business owner, they would love to have, you know, hyper linked to their site. But yes. Oh, so that and then clear distinction is too how to donate online. That’s very important for non-profits tio have on there, um and ah, their social media presence, i think, should be on every page of the website. Yeah. Concierge header. You know, footer something, something that static on every page. And an email sign up form, i think, should be on every page. Sometimes. I noticed that when i go to visit an organization’s website and they asked me to kind of, you know, doing a quick overview assessment, um you know, i start poking around going well, there must be some way for me to leave my email address and get news about their upcoming events or volunteer opportunities or whatever, and i’m amazed it some sometimes i have to hunt around now i’m doing it because, you know, i’m being asked to write, and i’m thinking, no, now somebody who’s just happens toa land there because maybe they’ve done a google search. They’re not going to hunt around as much as i have, so or they came from one of your social sites where they came. All your social sites ought to be pointing to your website for people want more than just what you what you share on twitter or facebook, whatever. Yes, so they might very well be directed by your own work, and now they want to be more engaged and you’re making it hard by not making your email sign up obvious. Yeah, yeah. So it should be very obvious. And one thing i noticed that they do sometimes when they do have that sign up, sometimes they ask for too much information. You know, nobody wants to teo give their home address and phone number, you know baizman mandatory fields should be minimum many, mike, i mean, i’ll i think first and last name is okay. You definitely want first because you want to build a personalized emails, right? I think first and last is okay. Uh, besides the email address and i’ll give zip code, i’ll do that. But beyond that, i don’t want to put a phone number your friend’s address, even state. I mean, i think that’s just i think that goes too far. It’s just, you know, we’re just getting started here, right? No, i like tio, i like to kiss before i sleep together, you know, or whatever hold hands before we sleep or whatever it’s supposed to be. I don’t know i’d like to jump right in bed, but i’m trying to keep it clean, but but now, i mean, it gets too carried away, you know, minimal required fields, and you could put another optional fields, but keep that get that required stuff to a minimum. Yeah, absolutely. And so don’t make it hard to find and don’t ask for too much information, am i? Okay? You have some have some interesting advice about head shots. I don’t never where it is in the book, but doesn’t matter, but you have some really cool headshot tips, and i see some really crummy ones. Yeah, well, what do you got around there? S o if if there you’re going to have any head shots of your your border, your staff on your website on your social sites on your linked in um definitely it’s got to be a professional head shot. This is not the place for your you know your fun weekend photos that you take and put up on facebook. There’s a place for that and that’s for your family and friends ilsen selfies, even even a professional looking selfie it you know it’s it’s just doesn’t do it anymore. No, not for head shots on your you know, on the website i mean, you could have fun with them. Jean takagi are legal contributor he’s got a picture of him playing volleyball on the beach in a suit. You know that’s great it’s. Because he’s just diving and you know the next shot after that was him face down, planted in the sand. But you know that’s fun. You could have fun with it. But no, not the not the cheap selfie is not not on a professional. Yeah, so there’s a place for that. So you got some other headshot tips in turn move yet for women, especially i want one of the things that i’ve noticed you sometimes that i’ve seen these head shots where women have they taken them at a place called glamour shots. I don’t even know that that place even exists anymore. Be basically it’s like this airbrushed look ok to a head shot. And i swear to you, tony, one time i was meeting somebody for for a cup of coffee that we had first connected on linkedin. Um, and we said, okay, so we, you know, going to meet for a cup of coffee, and so i knew in my mind what i was looking for because i had literally looked up the linked in profile before we met, and this woman came up to me and she said, hi, maria, you know, you know, i’m so and so and i hope she didn’t see the shock on my face because i thought to myself, that’s not you like, oh, you know, i mean, it was so so drastically different. So, you know, your headshot should should look like you, you know, like bad plastic surgery, right? And and and it should be a somewhat current head shot, right? So this is not the place to pull out your college photo as much as you might have loved. The way you look back in college, you know, you are who you are, your experience level is, you know, i remember when my photographer was taking my head shot, he said, you know, ah, don’t ask me to erase too many wrinkles, he said, because you earned them all and he said, you know, it’s it’s, you’re experienced and, you know, let let’s not let’s not erase that, yeah, yeah, my the head shot’s story was i my most retouched one, which wasn’t much, it was like around my smile or something, and it got really got bad reviews, good friends are the only ones were going to say anything, and i put it up and i used it for, like, six months or so, but a couple of good friends over those six months said, you know, that that’s just not really a good photo of you and and as i scrutinized, you know, the smile looked a little false, and that picture has gone. Now you’d have to dig. You’d have to dig to web archives to find that was your tribe, wasn’t it? That was your tribe. Who gave you that feedback? Yeah. Yeah, those were those were two good friends, actually. Even my own wife didn’t. She thought, you know, i don’t know what you don’t remember. I don’t disparage what she thought of it, but i don’t disparage her opinion of my crummy photo. Uh, she probably was brilliant. No, but no. Yeah, they were. They were. They were good friends. Those are the ones we’re gonna tell you the truth, you know? Yeah, i’ve seen some out there and, uh, depending on my relationship with the person of all oliver, with them or not, you know, it’s, not your place. If you’re not real close to the person i don’t write, littlefield, but anyway, i buried that very that one it’s the one if you want to go look it’s. The one with me in a black turtleneck and eh, i remember that once you do a camel, i’m wearing a camel colored jacket and there’s lance there’s not landscapes, there’s, buildings in the back building, fire escapes, landscapes, fire scapes in new york, they’re the same thing fire scapes in the background, beautiful setting. I didn’t love the photo. Okay, maur anything more about the web site or you want to go a little broader than than just a website where you wanna go next for your online presence? Yes, so of course then, you know beyond that, then people start thinking about social media, right is sort of like, you know, you gotta have that that great centralized websites that’s thing you’re going to point everybody to even from your social sites, then you start thinking about, well, what social media sites should we be on? And that can really vary most non-profits love to have a presence on facebook, it’s a given, you know that, you know, so damn annoying, right? And they keep changing their algorithm, you know, the boosted posts they’d want they want to, you know, put some money behind it and so forth, and yeah, they’re for-profit company and they have shareholders to pay, you know, it says whatever a billion and a half. People there were two billion right you need facebook is pretty much right, right? Um but then you have to think about, you know, your your audience, your demographics, um, and who you serve and and who your volunteer bases. I mean, i’ve had some non-profits asked me, you know, maria, you know, is there is there any way, any reason we should be on pinterest or any reason, we should be on instagram? And my answer is always, well, you know, who are you catering to for the people serving, you know, universal answer to that question, no, there isn’t there really is would you do on it? Who would you talk to on it? Exactly? You know, but if you’re a known organizations serving women and and the primary, you know, the people you’re serving or women, you have a lot of women donating to you then, yeah, you know, you really should be on pinterest the other things to keep in mind is the mind set of people when they come and sit down in front of each one of their social media sites, right? I mean, i think of my own activities, right? So when i won, linked in it’s you know i’m on there and and my mind set is around business. When i’m on facebook, i’m a little bit more relaxed and i’m thinking about interacting with friends, seeing what people are up to, socializing, if you will when i’m on pinterest my mind set is completely different. My mindset is, you know, i’m i’m almost looking to shop when i’m on pinterest and and that’s and that’s, the key thing there is that non-profits sometimes fall short and dont and will develop a site like pinterest but don’t realize the mindset of the person sitting in front of the pinterest boards and they’re losing opportunities because they haven’t created boards of wish lists, for example, and and photos vibrant photos of their work in action and really using those photos to tell their stories. Um, because when most people are on pinterest, their credit cards are really not that far away from them. All right, let’s, go out for our last break when we come back, maria and i’m going to move teo the in person networking strategies that she’s got hang in there. Like what you’re hearing a non-profit radio tony’s got more on youtube, you’ll find clips from stand up comedy tv spots and exclusive interviews catch guests like seth gordon. Craig newmark, the founder of craigslist marquis of eco enterprises, charles best from donors choose dot org’s aria finger, do something that worked neo-sage levine from new york universities heimans center on philantech tony tweets to he finds the best content from the most knowledgeable, interesting people in and around non-profits to share on his stream. If you have valuable info, he wants to re tweet you during the show. You can join the conversation on twitter using hashtag non-profit radio twitter is an easy way to reach tony he’s at tony martignetti narasimhan t i g e n e t t i remember there’s a g before the end he hosts a podcast for the chronicle of philanthropy fund-raising fundamentals is a short monthly show devoted to getting over your fund-raising hartals just like non-profit radio, toni talks to leading thinkers, experts and cool people with great ideas. As one fan said, tony picks their brains and i don’t have to leave my office fund-raising fundamentals was recently dubbed the most helpful non-profit podcast you have ever heard. You can also join the conversation on facebook, where you can ask questions before or after the show. The guests were there, too. Get insider show alerts by email, tony tells you who’s on each week and always includes link so that you can contact guests directly. To sign up, visit the facebook page for tony martignetti dot com. Hi, i’m kate piela, executive director of dance, new amsterdam. And you’re listening to tony martignetti non-profit radio. Big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. Oppcoll what a luxury it is to spend the whole hour with you, maria. You know not, we’ll have to squeeze it into just a second segment, which is what we usually do. I know this is great. Isn’t it wonderful. I told you i don’t take carrier remains the city. I’ll take care of you. All right, let’s, move. Face-to-face now, first, you got some ideas about how to find good places to go, to be doing your networking. Right? So you want to be somewhat targeted, right? Cause you know, some people hate to network personally, i love to network so i could spend every last hour of the day and every last dollar i have on and networking groups. Right. So you so you do have teo be more targeted. On the other hand, if you’re more of an introvert, then you do need to figure out a way to get yourself out there. Stop hiding behind the social media stoploss hiding behind your desk. You know, you you are a part of the community. And so you really need to figure out a way to get over your anxieties around, meeting new people and meeting and greeting. And so forth. And you could get lots of, um, you know, that chambers, for example, will often run, like, sort of a networking one o one where it’s a safe environment and it’s, a group of people who are all sort of newbies to networking. So it’s a great place to get those tips. Um, so make sure you go with plenty of business cards, right? Yes, i always have that. I’m amazed when somebody says to me, oh, i forgot my business card. I know, officer, i was just yeah, we’re going to talk in a few minutes about conferences, but coming up, but i was just i was in the nielsen audiocasting prince and people, you know, they ran out of business cards. But, you know, it’s like, ten in the morning or so it was i know is before lunch, you know, i i don’t have many. I ran out. Well, you carry two for the dae hee. You like your pocket. Should be stuffed with business cards, but no more in the hotel room. Yeah, yeah, you should have run up right, it’s worth it, especially because i was a speaker at the time. So he doesn’t miss. Miss, miss plenty of my content. Go get your business card. No, i don’t speak it that but, you know, let’s focus on business cards for second because they are an important part of networking. And one of the things that people fall short on is they don’t use the back side of their business card. Yeah, they don’t put on their their social media sites, right? So why not put your linked in profile? You know, customized that that that linked in earl, you’re cut your public profile, earle, put it on the back of your business card. Make it is easy as possible for somebody after you’ve met an exchange business cards to go back to their office, find you one linked in and stay connected and engage that way, right? So so it is super important to do that and actually started using my photo on the back of my business card as well. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, i don’t. I wouldn’t that’s pretty when you put that on the front. Um, well, my logo was on the front and, you know, the pertinent information is on the front and i decided to use the backside or my photo and my social sites and so, you know, but i think a lot of people don’t take advantage of that back side real estate on a business card. I also find it particularly annoying when somebody hands me a business card that’s you know, that really, really shiny card stock right on right on, right? So you can’t even write a note like, you know, send them the white paper they asked for whatever it is and glasses, doc, yeah, yeah, when you when you say to somebody, well, let me send a t afterward, then you go to jot it down on the back of their card and you can’t so so personally not a fan of the glossy stock of myself because i can’t write on them. I think in some some countries is a japan where you’re actually not supposed to write on anybody’s card, i think that might be the case. Um, it’s kind of considered quite rude if you do that. So i’m saying do that if you’re in the us, but our japanese listeners might be taking offense to what i’m telling them to d’oh okay, thank you. Qualifying how about some other places where you can go? Besides, i know you’re a big fan chambers of commerce. Ah, professional associations air good one professional associations or a good one and think about those professional associations where, like, this is a perfect example junior achievement, right? So they one of their their, you know, things that they focus on this financial literacy programs for children, youth, right? So and they have a lot of programming around that and, you know, commerce park and all the stuff. So one of the things that you want to think about is, well, where are we going to be able to network with more people who are in financial services, right? So it’s important to network for your own professional development, but then thinking about where we’re going to network so that we’re going to be able to attract volunteers and donors. So it’s it’s a perfect fit for them to be networking in financial planning association type of meeting’s financial women’s association so, you know, find out where that that counterbalance is so that you can go ahead and start networking and some of those environments and you don’t have to join. The association’s, very many of them will will let you actually attend meetings for a nominal surcharge. On top of with the regular ticket prices for members. Eso it’s something that you can sort of float in and out of and not commit hundreds of dollars a year to join a professional association. And this relates to what we talked about earlier with german ideal clients. You know those related fields to yours? That’s, another constituent group? If you don’t mind that word that groups that can be helping you find resource is make referrals to you, to whom you can make referrals and again be helpful to them. So these sort of allied professions, you know, that’s. Another one of your groups of good clients? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So it’s, really important for you too. To think a little bit more broadly. And, you know, ask your board. You know what? What groups do you belong to? Where you doing? Some networking. You know, if it’s you know there’s, some groups like b and i and ll a tip, maybe you have your boardmember czar are part of some of those organizations and ask them, can i come? Is your guest some of the meetings, those air formal networking organization unionize business network international. Brian like tip i don’t know what they’re trying to be french, but it’s ellie abila tip may i say what you’re not saying you’re saying with the new jersey? Let you’re saying late tip now, it’s no good let’s tip tip we’ll get you have that new jersey. I was, but i was born and, you know, i majored in french, so oh, you did. Did you know you should be telling me. Well, but you say i do something once it makes me an expert. So i’ve said i spoke french once sometimes. So now i’m an expert. So late. Look, it is loose. So it looks here importing the new jersey. Know why it was a slip on work. Okay. All right. We’ve got just a couple minutes left. You have some ideas. Specific teo conferences. Maybe if you’re a little introverted. George joining a group that’s chatting at a conference, you know, to share some ideas there. Yeah. So, you know, i mean, for the most part, people are there to network, right? So, you know, there there. You definitely don’t. Hesitate to approach a group of people who are talking, you know, don’t be rude about it, but if you just sort of stand, you know, they usually will be very inclusive and invite you into the conversation. Um, i gotta hover. You have around the group a little, yeah, you just gotta mingle in and, you know, people are welcoming. Yeah, people are welcoming. I mean, you’re there for networking purposes, so, you know, this is you know, where this isn’t, you know, middle school, right? Right. Flix, right? This isn’t a collector in that respect, so, you know, but by the same token, you need to know when to remove and extricate yourself from situations as well. I like to use the bathroom for that. I excuse me, i gotta use the men’s room or the food line. I’m going to get some food. You have another ways of getting yourself out of a group. Um, well, i think it’s, i think you can very nicely say, you know, you know, it was great to meet you. I know you’re here to meet a lot of other people, so i’m going to let you go ahead and do. That and, you know, hope hopefully we’ll see each other before the evening is over something like that. So, you know, you’re not there to talkto one person for an hour, and everybody, i think, realizes that so another good thing that i like to do, uh, you see somebody standing alone or sitting alone, go in or stand with that person, you know, introduce yourself. I mean, they’re probably feeling the same anxiety. Like she’s everybody’s got everybody’s got something around them except me. I feel like, you know, outcast, yeah, go up to the single people. Yeah, and sometimes particularly chambers will make available a list in advance of who the all the registrants are, like sometimes it’s on the website like where you’ve signed upto actually ten and that’s. So that’s really good to check out who’s going to be there? We gotta leave it there. Very simple, but she’s going to back january eighteenth, we’re going to continue this conversation about her book, which is growing your business. I’m sorry, it’s called magnify your business tips, tools and strategies for growing your business or your non-profit and on twitter, of course she’s at maria simple, thanks. So much for being in the studio. Thank you so much for having me. I can’t wait to come back my pleasure next week. We don’t have a live show or a podcast show or the week after, however, of course we will have affiliate shows both of those two weeks. So that’s, we’re talking about the twenty fifth of december and the first of january. No podcast or live shows, but affiliate shows those weeks live an affiliate podcast shows return friday, january eighth twenty sixteen if you missed any part of today’s show here in twenty fifteen, finding on tony martignetti dot com, where in the world else would you go? Not sure if i’m going to continue that in twenty sixteen. We might, though i’m not saying it’s going away, responsive by pursuing online tools for small and midsize non-profits whatever type of work you do to improve our world pursuant dot com, our creative producer is claire meyer off. Sam liebowitz is the line producer gavin dollars are am and fm outreach director. The show’s social media is by dino russell on our music is by scott stein. Thank you, scotty, for that information with me. Next week for non-profit radio. Big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. Go out and be great. Dahna what’s not to love about non-profit radio tony gets the best guests check this out from seth godin this’s the first revolution since tv nineteen fifty and henry ford nineteen twenty it’s the revolution of our lifetime here’s a smart, simple idea from craigslist founder craig newmark yeah insights, orn presentation or anything? People don’t really need the fancy stuff they need something which is simple and fast. When’s the best time to post on facebook facebook’s andrew noise nose at traffic is at an all time hyre on nine a, m or p m so that’s when you should be posting your most meaningful post here’s aria finger ceo of do something dot or ge young people are not going to be involved in social change if it’s boring and they don’t see the impact of what they’re doing. So you got to make it fun applicable to these young people look so otherwise a fifteen and sixteen year old they have better things to do if they have xbox, they have tv, they have their cell phones me dar is the founder of idealist took two or three years for foundation staff to sort of dane toe add an email address their card it was like it was phone. This email thing is fired-up that’s why should i give it away? Charles best founded donors choose dot or ge somehow they’ve gotten in touch kind of off line as it were and and no two exchanges of brownies and visits and physical gift. Mark echo is the founder and ceo of eco enterprises. You may be wearing his hoodies and shirts. Tony talked to him. Yeah, you know, i just i’m a big believer that’s not what you make in life. It sze, you know, tell you make people feel this is public radio host majora carter. Innovation is in the power of understanding that you don’t just do it. You put money on a situation expected to hell, you put money in a situation and invested and expect it to grow and savvy advice for success from eric sabiston. What separates those who achieve from those who do not is in direct proportion to one’s ability to ask others for help. The smartest experts and leading thinkers air on tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent.

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