Image Talk is hosted by Joann Dobrowolski of YPI Consultants and Brian Cohen of Strategies of Success who will be talking with local, National and International Professionals on many areas on Image. Guests include business owners, Professionals, Politicians and public figures. They will discuss Personal Image, Corporate Image, Image in the Media and the impact each has on your life and many other issues.
Part I: Apply Techniques of “Major Gifts” Asks & Business Sales Successes to Your Fundraising Event!
a) Target your prospects.
All too often, event sponsorships are solicited by a one time letter and, perhaps, a follow up call. Instead of using a "shotgun" method of sending lots of unsupported letters to a large number of prospective sponsors, selectively target a "Top 10" list of prospective sponsors and donors and dig in.
i) Talk to board members, community supporters and even existing event sponsors to ask who else they know who you can approach. These people already support you… ask them for referrals! Remember, you’re not asking them to do the "ask" … just for recommendations. You do the heavy lifting, making it more likely they’ll participate with suggestions.
ii) Then, do your research of that company’s past community giving and see if there are any patterns. Make your case for why it should add your organization to its limited list of community agencies or institutions it supports.
iii) Communicate regularly! Add these prospects to your newsletter lists, mailings, holiday appeal letters, etc. That way, they’ll have some awareness of the work you do by the time you reach out to them for a substantive contribution.
b) Talk to the potential sponsor!
In Major Gifts, "asks" are in person and personalized. To acquire major corporate sponsors, do the same by asking for an appointment, either in person (preferable) or by phone. Remember - your contact at the sponsor is a "person" and people give to people!
i) When you meet, know your statistics and the impact of your mission’s work on their own employee base. For example, if you work in a mental health agency, you might cite the statistic that up to 1/3 of Americans report they’ve struggled with mental health issues … break this down to the number in the company who may be affected and possibly helped by your agency. Make the case that your agency helps their company be more stable by providing valuable service to the community.
ii) Ask questions to find out their "sweet spots" and motivations.
Do they have any direct connections to your work?
What do they look to gain from supporting your organization?
What can you offer them to make supporting you more appealing?
Is it in their interest to engage their employees to volunteer for your agency?
Can you plan a day on site to discuss your work and get employees behind the mission?
c) Propose a multiple year commitment!
Let the company know that the problems your organization tackles are not a "quick fix." Ask for a 3-5 year base commitment of annual sponsorship dollars. Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get and any good business person should understand that successful ventures are not realized without a multi-year investment. This is good business and a "major gifts" and "annual giving" strategy that has been proven to work.
Link to BlogSpot Email Marketing for Events
HubSpot (Event Journal's marketing partner) and Constant Contact recently partnered to release Fascinating Event Marketing Stats, an insightful, data-filled ebook on how businesses conduct marketing for their live events. The research is based on the survey results of more than 900 respondents from a mix of businesses (B2B, B2C, and nonprofit). One of the key findings was around which tactics marketers rely on most...and what they rely on least.
Participants were asked to share, “Which of the following methods or locations do you currently use to market or promote your events?”
The results revealed that:
- On average, businesses use 5.5 different methods to promote their events.
- 'Email marketing' was most frequently cited; 76% use email.
- 'Word of mouth' and 'website' were the 2nd and 3rd most frequently cited.
- 47% still mail postal invitations.
- 46% still call individuals by telephone.
- 40% of respondents used social media sites.
- Only 11% use blogging for event marketing.
- Less than 10% use TV and radio ads.
- Less than 7% use magazine ads.
Marketing Takeaway:
These results show an interesting mix of usage of both inbound and outbound tactics. Although over 50% of marketers indicated they use their website, a surprising percentage of marketers continue to use labor intensive tactics, like postal mail and phone calls. These methods are not only outbound clutter and interruptions, but they are also more expensive. HubSpot’s "2011 State of Inbound Marketing Report" revealed that inbound tactics are not only more effective than outbound tactics; they are also 62% less expensive. The report also showed trends that indicate marketers are gradually shifting their budgets from outbound methods to inbound.
What methods have you found are most effective for marketing your events? Are you incorporating more inbound tactics into your event marketing strategies?
Download our newest ebook for even more fascinating event marketing stats!
Read more:
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/23895/76-of-Businesses-Use-Email-for-Event-Marketing-New-Data.aspx#ixzz1WjtWHWM4
Mount Sinai Medical Center, The American Liver Foundation, and St. John’s University, are among an increasing list of organizations that have turned to an on-line ad journal to support their fall 2011 events. Fundraising professionals have become more demanding in their expectations and are eschewing the passive paper journal for the dynamic outreach capabilities and added fundraising opportunities of the online e-journal.
As you are likely aware, the ad journal is part of the formula for raising funds with special events, offering sponsors recognition in print and supporters a way to channel their donation dollar while receiving some acknowledgement. However, this tried-and-true fundraising practice may raise money, but is extremely wasteful as event guests quickly flip through the booklets and toss them aside.
In 2002, Long Island businesswoman, Karen Perry, as journal chairperson for a large fundraising event, looked for a better way. Finding none readily available, she drew on her own rich marketing and non-profit experience to develop an original web-based alternative. In consultation with professional fundraisers and event planners, she designed specialty software and a system of on and off-line components that brought the concept to an entirely new level. The resulting EVENTjournal.com system offered benefits and advantages to all involved; the sponsors, the guests, the honorees and the organizations.
Today, Event Journal, Inc. offers fundraisers an interactive, e-journal website with event information, color ads that link to sponsor websites, a photo gallery, embedded video and more. Online, secure registration for purchasing tickets, ads and sponsorships make it easy and interactive for sponsors and more profitable and easier to manage for fundraisers. An available email marketing option adds exposure for the event and drives traffic to the e-journal, where viewers find all they need at their fingertips. The service also includes an elegant e-journal presentation at the event and, if required, companion printed material for a comfortable transition. The company’s full-service approach includes design of all the materials required and implementation and organization of the entire process; supporting non-profits in a time when staffs are traditionally overstretched.
EVENTjournal.com exponentially increases the outreach for the event and the journal, reaching a broader audience for more potential participation. A “Share” feature on each page allows participants to spread word to their own social media networks and the software automatically feeds keywords into search engines for prominent optimization of search terms related to the event. According to Google Analytics, the typical e-journal reaches 5-10 times the viewership than the total attendance at the event! And, with the site live for several months pre-event and a full year post-event, the organization, its honorees and its sponsors receive goodwill far beyond the shelf life of the printed book.
Each year since the company’s inception, revenues have increased, as a growing group of nonprofits embraced the idea and renewed annually. In 2010-2011, the company has experienced record growth, as “going green” has become an imperative, and organizations are hard-pressed to be creative and to offer more in a difficult economy.
As originator and leader of the e-journal revolution, Event Journal, Inc. has incorporated many innovations and enhancements into its system versus outdated printed journals and program books and other copycat journal sites.
Not the least of these is the proprietary “Online Ad Submission System” built into the shopping cart feature of Event Journal client sites. When checking out, donors are prompted to submit their ad directly or click to learn more about submitting online. They are taken to a landing page where data fields are pre-filled with the name of the event and their order number.
Users may click a link provided to review particular elements that come with their purchase. The page explains that they may submit materials that are “web-ready” or the Event Journal team can create original ads from information they provide. If they chose to submit a “web-ready” ad, ad specs are easily accessed. For returning advertisers, users may indicate if they wish to use last year’s ad, with or without modifications. For new materials, easy “browse and click” capabilities and a text box for personal or congratulatory messages are included.
To accommodate corporate ad purchases, instructions are included to guide the purchaser to forward the appropriate link to his or her marketing department or ad agency. That way, the marketing staff has all the specs needed and the ads can be expedited directly to the journal team.
Event Journal, Inc. provides extensive and comprehensive service, from its unique online innovations to its outstanding support team and procedures. Event Journal’s clients benefit by the extension of their limited staff with proven systems and a dedicated, experienced support team for the project.
As a member of the Blackbaud Resource Partner Network since 2009, Event Journal, Inc. will participate in the 2010 Conference for Nonprofits on October 20-22 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
This three-day conference for development professionals will feature intensive educational sessions on the use of Blackbaud software, seminars on best practices in fundraising and non-profit marketing, and extensive networking opportunities. Event Journal, Inc. will be participating in the exhibition area, to demonstrate and explain how its offerings can enhance results achieved by organizations running major fundraising events. The Event Journal system can function as a stand-alone event marketing and fundraising system and/or can coordinate with Blackbaud’s Net Community and Net Solutions products to provide more value and ease of use for the organization, the sponsors and the event guests than traditionally printed ad journals and program books and/or event websites.
Keeping Event Journal “cutting-edge” in its application of technology for online fundraising is a matter of staying attuned to the needs of our non-profit clients’ and guiding them to best-practice solutions to streamline online giving via their e-journal websites.
This month, Event Journal upgraded functionality of the online donations module for e-commerce in collaboration with e-Giving, a company specializing in merchant processing for non-profits via its affiliation with industry leader, NetDeposit. NetDeposit enables organizations to streamline revenue collection and management with proven payment technologies. NetDeposit provides single-source solutions for payment acceptance, processing, and management across market segments. With NetDeposit's secure processing solutions, businesses accelerate receivables, reduce risk, and save time and money. And, in cooperation with e-Giving, Event Journal, Inc. is able to extend specially discounted not-for-profit rates to its clients.
Event Journal, Inc.’s PCI-compliant and certified e-commerce module is also compatible with Authorize.net, Your Pay, First Data Global Gateway, Sage, BluePay, PayFlow Pro, PlugNPay and PayPal.
Event Journal streamlines the process of ad copy and content collection with its uniquely sophisticated, yet easy-to-use online ad submission feature. Purchasers of e-journal ads and sponsorship packages that include journal ads are prompted to browse and click to submit web-ready ads or elements for their ads such as logos and photos. An ad copy box provides an open field for the entry of custom text to be submitted to Event Journal’s creative team for production of a custom ad.
New for June 2010, is a function that allows submissions to be entered in English and Hebrew, with the purchaser toggling between the two online keyboards, as needed to submit their particular message. The journal ads, themselves, are designed by Event Journal’s production department and are posted online within a few days of receipt.
Event Journal’s state of the art ad submission system, in English and Hebrew, allows event supporters to express themselves fully in recognition of the special event, Gala, Golf Outing or benefit event of the non-profit organization they support.