Award Winning Blog

How To Inspire

Terry Barber, "chief inspirator" at Grizzard Communications, recently offered some critical advice in Forbes.com to business readers. His article was called Your Business Can inspire People the Way Nonprofits Do. It’s not often you see consultants telling businesses to model themselves after nonprofits. In this case, he’s dead right. Here are the four key nonprofit […]

Learn More June 4, 2009

Most Important Rule in Marketing?

My vote goes to Pareto’s 80/20 rule — 80% of the value or activity tends to come from 20% (or less) of customers, or whatever the active universe. The rule is confirmed in marketing scenario after scenario, including fundraising. Most recently, a Harvard Business Review study, reported here in Business Insider, finds that 90% of […]

Learn More June 3, 2009

Digital Friendships

Here, from Stephen Baker at Business Week, is a superb article on the psychology, sociology and anthropology of "digital friendships" — you know, all those online relationships you have on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc, etc. I liked this passage: "Now we’re swimming in information. We can call up nearly every bit of news, music, […]

Learn More June 2, 2009

Direct Mail Is Dying. Again!

Here’s another prediction of the death of direct mail, as reported on frogloop. Says research firm Borrell, spending on direct mail will decline by 40% over the next five years. Get a move on direct mail fundraisers! In five years your medium will be dead. Just like radio. Forget this prediction. In fact, ignore all […]

Learn More June 1, 2009

IFC Online Is Huge Success

Earlier this month, the same folks who sponsor the International Fundraising Congress in Holland conducted the first global viirtual fundraising congress, IFC Online. Focused on online fundraising, the internet event attracted 1800 "delegates" from 399 organizations in 42 countries. WOW! And three times more women than men participated, obliterating any remaining "internet is for guys" […]

Learn More May 29, 2009

Who Gets The Most Loyalty?

This week, a brand you’ve all heard of — and probably enjoyed — announced it was beginning its first ever loyalty program. Here are some quotes from the brand’s spokesman, Mike Giresi, as reported in DM News. Try to guess the brand. "We’ve been talking about this for quite some time." "Creating a loyalty program […]

Learn More May 28, 2009