Best Links: Content Ideas, Landing Pages, Social Media for Volunteers

Nonprofit Blog Carnival

Kivi Leroux Miller organized the August Nonprofit Blog Carnival around all things kooky. Read the "out there" ideas she got from nonprofit pros in Quirky, Kooky, and Off-Beat Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising. They may inspire your own bravery as well as creativity.

For the September Nonprofit Blog Carnival, Elizabeth Ricca over at The Duck Call is setting up a Multi-channel bootcamp. You can join in by sending your blog posts. Liz writes, "Whether you want to raise funds or raise your profile, weaving your communications together across different channels (websites, direct mail, events, social media, and more) is key to making an impact."

Fundraising, Social Media, Volunteers

Kivi Leroux Miller shares her 20 Favorite Formats for Nonprofit Content. These go beyond articles and blog posts. A great checklist to have handy when you ask yourself, "what was I going to do?"

Steve MacLaughlin, at Nonprofit Trends, explains the 5 Donation Form Bad Practices. Don't be guilty of these mistakes, just fix them. For instance, Steve says of one of my bugaboos, "... requiring registration can be a big turn off to first time or episodic donors."

From the Neuromarketing blog, comes this terrific article about story telling. It is Vivid Stories Change Donor Behavior and discusses donors, death, and what turns altruism on or off.

I loved 5 Sensational Social Media Ideas for PTA & PTOs from Volunteer Spot. These are aimed at school volunteers, but they work for any volunteers anywhere. Great Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube examples too.

John Haydon hits the spot again with his Why isn't anyone sharing your nonprofit's content? Hard hitting but true. John presents the problems, the solutions and plenty of examples. Also, don't miss John's 29 Ways to Get More From Your Nonprofit Website's Landing Pages that turned up on the HuffingtonPost.

Redina Kolaneci, from Fundraising Trend Spotter, details the Four simple steps to get a second gift from a new direct mail donor. Redina writes, "...a typical charity loses over 60% of their first time donors acquired via direct mail. Often charities put a lot of money and effort in acquiring first time donors and somehow they lose most of them through the 'back door.'"

Great news! LinkedIn has made it easier for people to add volunteer experience to their online resumes. Cody Switzer, writing at Philanthropy.com, explains how and why social networks are awakening to the benefits of volunteer work. Cody notes that, according to LinkedIn, "... 41 percent of people who make hiring decisions consider volunteer work as valuable as paid work when evaluating job candidates, and 20 percent made a hiring decision based on volunteer experience."

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