More than 75% of donors want newsletters from the organizations they support. In fact, they are the one of the most valuable donor relations you have for keeping supporters connected to your work. Yet, surveys show that donors aren’t reading them. Why? Because a compelling newsletter is hard to find. Come hear what makes a great newsletter and how to avoid the most common mistakes. In this session, we’ll cover: * How to make your newsletter “donor centered” * What counts as news and what doesn’t * The importance of headlines * What your designer probably doesn’t know about design * And more… You’ll leave with concrete strategies for decreasing the odds that your newsletter will go straight from the mailbox to the recycling bin.

1. How to Keep Your Newsletter Out
of the Recycling Bin
Tina Cincotti
Founder of Funding Change Training & Consulting
Sept. 8, 2010 | Use Twitter Hashtag #npweb
Special Thanks To Our Sponsors

2. How This Webinar Works
• Slides and recording will be sent out post event and will be
available at www.nonprofitwebinars.com/downloads
• If you’d like to ask a question during the webinar, you can type
it in the little box on the right side of your screen
• Chat with us on twitter using the hashtag -- #npweb

3. Upcoming Webinars
Next Wednesday’s Webinars:
Cultivating Stakeholders: Inclusiveness as a
Planning Strategy @ 1pm eastern
Planned Giving Strategies that Work @ 2:30
www.NonprofitWebinars.com for a complete list

4. How to Keep Your Newsletter Out
of the Recycling Bin
Tina Cincotti
Founder of Funding Change Training & Consulting
Sept. 8, 2010 | Use Twitter Hashtag #npweb
Special Thanks To Our Sponsors

5. Helping ordinary people raise extraordinary amounts for nonprofits is all we do, and we love it.
A Proud Sponsor of NonprofitWebinars.com

6. Today’s Speaker
Tina Cincotti
Founder, Funding Change
Training & Consulting
Hosting: Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership
Assisting with chat questions: Chris Dumas, FirstGiving

7. What your
newsletter is not…

8. The cold, hard truth…
Nonprofit newsletters need improvement.
Nonprofit newsletters should be better.
Nonprofit newsletters could be more
effective.
Nonprofit newsletters aren’t so good.
Nonprofit newsletters need some serious
help.
Nonprofit newsletters…umm… SUCK.

9. What your
newsletter is…

10. Before we continue…
Let’s get a few things out of the way:
• e-news vs. paper?
• length & frequency?
• self-mailer or not?
• include gift envelope?

11. The Seven Deadly Sins
of Nonprofit
Newsletters

12. 7 Deadly Sins of Newsletters
#1 – There is no actual
“news” in your newsletter.

13. Real news looks like this…

14. 7 Deadly Sins of Newsletters
#2 – It’s all about you. Your
donors are nowhere to be
found!

15. Here are some donors…

16. 7 Deadly Sins of Newsletters
#3 – The word “you” is used
rarely, if at all.

17. This is how you use the
word you…

18. 7 Deadly Sins of Newsletters
#4 – You don’t tell stories
and everything is written in
an “institutional voice.”

19. Let me tell you a story…

20. 7 Deadly Sins of Newsletters
#5 – Your headlines are
meaningless.

21. The headlines coming up
tell the whole story…

22. 7 Deadly Sins of Newsletters
#6 – It’s not written and
designed to be skimmed.

23. How fast can you get the
point of these?

24. 7 Deadly Sins of Newsletters
#7 – Best practices for
“readability” are totally
ignored.

25. Colin Wheildon, Type & Layout: How typography and
design can get your message across -- or get in the way
Design Choice How Easy is it to Comprehend?
Article in black ink on white paper Good: 70% Fair: 19% Poor: 11%
Article in black ink on pale blue Good: 38% Fair: 19% Poor: 43%
paper
Article in purple ink on white paper Good: 51% Fair: 13% Poor: 36%
Article in white ink on black Good: 0% Fair: 12% Poor: 88%
background
Article in serif type Good: 67% Fair: 19% Poor: 14%
Article in sans serif type Good: 12% Fair: 23% Poor: 65%
Headlines in black Good: 67% Fair: 19% Poor: 14%
Headlines in dark color ink – Good: 52% Fair: 28% Poor: 20%
purple, green
Headline in bright color ink – Good: 17% Fair: 18% Poor: 65%
orange, red

26. Here are some that are
easier on the eyes…

27. Remember…
1. News is the first word in NEWSletter.
2. Make your donors the hero.
3. “You” is your most powerful word.
4. Tell stories.
5. Headlines should summarize the articles.
6. Prepare to be skimmed, not read.
7. Make it easy on the eyes.

28. Questions?
Submit your questions using the
questions box.

29. Thank you!
Want more advice?
Sign up for my FREE e-newsletter…
Subscribe at
www.fundingchangeconsulting.com

30. Upcoming Webinars
Register at NonprofitWebinars.com
Date Topic
9/15: 1pm ET Cultivating Stakeholders: Inclusiveness as a Planning Strategy
9/15: 2:30 ET Planned Giving Strategies that Work
9/22: 1pm ET Ten Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Nonprofit Consultant
9/22: 2:30 ET Big Brand Impact On A Small Brand Budget
9/29: 1pm ET Peeling Back The Covers On Your Finance Organization
9/29: 2:30 ET Finding The Perfect Donor Database In An Imperfect World
10/6: 1pm ET Common Pitfalls in Recruiting, and How to Avoid Them!

31. Thank you!
Please complete the post event survey.
Chris Dumas, Chris@NonprofitWebinars.com, 707-812-1234
Special Thanks To Our Sponsors