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

Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential

Ep 60: Big Changes Are A'coming!

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

Ep 59: Having Trouble with Facebook and Instagram? Are Your Basics Covered?

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

Ep 58: How to Get Reviews

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

Ep 57: Remembering WHY Keeps You Going

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

Ep 56: Let's Check In - Are You Following Through?

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

Ep 55: The #1 Thing Your Virtual Event Needs

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

Ep 54: The REAL Purpose of Facebook and Instagram

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

Ep 53: How to Tell Facebook Who Should See Your Posts

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

Ep 52: Recharge and Re-Inspire Your Spirit with 5 Tips

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

Ep 51: Your Facebook Questions Answered!

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

Ep 50: How to Run a Facebook Ad

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

Ep 49: Get Decisive with These 3 Steps

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

Ep 48: Blog Better with These 6 Tips

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

Ep 47: Is your Facebook post missing THIS?

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

Ep 46: Fundraising Tips from the Best of the Best with Martin Leifeld

Step-by-step, easy to follow tips on using Facebook and Instagram from the nonprofit point of view. Hosted by writer and social media entrepreneur Lauren Creagan, Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential covers topics like how to create quality posts and managing three audiences: your volunteers, donors and the people you serve - all on a shoestring budget. Lauren walks with you all along the way as you implement new strategies for your organization and use social media as tools to manage and promote your mission, events and fundraisers. If you lead or work in a nonprofit and want to spread the word about the good work it does in your community with greater results, Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential is the podcast for you.

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Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential

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