Use this directory to share your marketing & communications examples, best practices and questions.

OK, so its not a YMCA, but the attached is a GREAT example of effective communication using the internet. 

Note that the email opens with a success story, citing a specific example of donors impacting their mission.

Another best practice in the email is the repeated opportunities for the reader to engage & interact (vote for the photo contest, register today, click to learn more, etc).

Again, like the Y-Toronto example above, WWF is using the email to draw their audience back to their website. 

Here's the eNewsletter from YMCA of Greater Providence.  It has a clean, professional look and feel.  And like the examples above, it keeps the content brief, inviting the reader to click through to their website for the rest of the story.

In contrast to the above examples, Greater Providence uses a gym & swim photo for the newsletter header as opposed to mission or impact related images.    They also chose to not include any options for donating...the other Y examples put the 'give now' message front and center.

Based on the content of the newsletter (health seeker/activate america), I'm wondering if there was any segmenting done or if this was sent to everyone they have an email address for??

Kudos to Greater Providence for getting their message out there!

Great article on making your email more effective at:

http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30884#

Jeff

I stumbled onto a time machine (sort of) that shows just how far some Y's have come in their utilization of the internet.

Go way back to to the 90's at check out YMCA San Diego: http://web.archive.org/web/19961230082847/http://www.ymca.org/

Look at them today:  www.ymca.org/   What a beautiful site!!

By the way, here's what Blackbaud.com looked like in the 90's: 

http://web.archive.org/web/19961030085300/http://www.blackbaud.com/

Were the 90's really that long ago??

J 

The Right Message, The Right People, The Right Time — Making the Most of Email Marketing 

Great session by Allison Van Diest at the Charleston BB Delivers event.  Downloadable session materials at http://www.blackbaud.com/events/delivers/charleston.aspx

Wow!  See attached for one of the classiest appeals I've seen this holiday season.  Clean, elegant, concise....and appropriate messaging for the season and the economy.  Thank you, Y-Toronto for not using Gym & Swim imagery in your holiday appeal.

Here's another good one...

http://unsubscribe.wwf.ca/inxmail3/html_mail.jsp?params=46680+jeffrey.terry%40blackbaud.com+0+v40q000d0000bzj6

....does a great job of reminding me of the specific programs that my previous contributions helped to fund and the importance of ongoing support.  Kudos, WWF for putting NetCommunity to great use!

The Tacoma Y (NAYDO Eagle Award Winner 2008) does a great job with thier email marketing.  The attached example finds a great balance in communicating the increased needs for financial assistance with the increase in support their community has already shown in the current campaign.  Note the positive/encouraging tone of the ask...and the use of real stories to communicate the goodness of the YMCA.  

Also worth noting:  They make it super easy to take action.  If you click through the email's 'donate' link, you are immediately dropped onto the donation page of their website...no searching or navigating multiple pages needed..very nice!

Tacoma's most recent enewsletter can be viewed at: https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:21428.1818404796/rid:e4dcd91047abb16b2b9ef2690bc9d817

Great job, Sarah/Bob/Ronn!

A question came up today in our Marketing Roundtable today about Y-USA's graphic and logo standards.  You can find thier formal guidelines at http://www.ymcaexchange.org/front/communications/logos/.

Jeff

Also from the Marketing Roundtable today, a question came up about incorporating direct mail into existing marketing/communications plans.  There is a good presentation on 'Multi-channel Marketing' at http://www.blackbaud.com/events/delivers/archive.aspx.    It is worth a read!!

Jeff

 Good article: Social Networking Can Help Nonprofits in a Down Economy in the most recent Fundraising Well newsletter.  Most recent issue also has a round-up of social media resources.  Read the newsletter at:  http://www.blackbaud.com/files/Newsletters/FundraisingWell/2009/FW_April2009.htm

Jeff

Here is a link to the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s communications resources (NAYDO winning to boot!).

Thanks to Jamie Slater for sharing... and congrats on the NAYDO nod this year!

 Kevin  

Explaining Twitter to your Grandmother...and other great teachings related to using Twitter as a communications and campaign tool in John Haydon's recent Network for Good web session titled 'Twitter Fundraising: Holy Grail or Fail Whale?'

Slides, Q/A and other resources at: http://www.fundraising123.org/files/NP911_042809_Slides.pdf

Jeff