#afpcongress: By the hashtags, scribbles, photos and vids

Here are the highlights from our scribbled notes and tweets from Congress. We heartily encourage all fundraisers to check out the #afpcongress hashtag to review the highlights from all tweeps in attendance. Scribbles: Wendy Mesley: “Trust is not being given to institutions but to individuals.” Sean Triner (@seantriner) on “witnessing”. This is brilliant. Sean insists [...]

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Innovation & Stupidity: In Defence of John Lepp

Always good to hear from you, Dear Readers. And we’ve been hearing from many of you in response to John’s blogs on Innovation and Stupidity. You challenged us (well, John, but I agree with him) about spouting off without knowing the results of the mailings. Busted. But that wasn’t the point. This is direct marketing, [...]

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RE: Fightin’ Words!

Here we go. Nothing like waking up and over your morning coffee, tucking into a blog post that instantly makes your blood boil. In case you doing want to read The Agitator article, let me nutshell it for you. Wikipedia is in the midst of conducting its annual fundraising campaign – which has been collaboratively [...]

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Are we innovative?

Innovation is a funny thing. Everyone says they want to be but are afraid to do so when they get the chance. As someone who is creative, I see opportunities to be innovative all the time but have had clients who swear they want it – and then at the last minute chicken out. As [...]

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Direct Mail Stupidity

I promise this will be the last time I rant for a while. My darling wife questions my sanity when I get so upset over something as innocuous (at times) as direct mail. But I’m sorry, I can’t help it. When charities and consultants start treating donors all the same, without thought, appreciation, like a [...]

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more john bethel tips

For those long time readers, you’ll recall that I’ve done John Bethel Tips posts before – here… I don’t really give John an option, I just copy his tweets as he posts them and then publish it as one larger post! So thanks John for these great times and giving me an easy post… If [...]

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This is boring

Ive heard it more than I would like to admit but I’ve had clients tell me my design is boring. “We are paying for 4 colours why aren’t we using them?” “Why can’t you cram more photographs in?” “Can you add more fonts?” “This looks pretty plain…” I’ve wrote before about being appropriate. Did you [...]

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Pop quiz, hotshot…

What starts with “s”, ends with “n” and can immediately improve your fundraising results and your donor/prospect/community engagement? Nope, it’s not seclusion. Or seduction, secretion, sexualisation, sanitization, sentimentialization, septuagenarian or sesquipedalian. Gold star for anyone who got it. Segmentation. Seriously – I’m starting to wonder whether some charities think the $70,000 database whirring away in [...]

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Add some positive value

For those of you who follow me or Agents of Good on twitter, you may have noticed an increase in frustration with people who don’t add positive value to our daily working lives. And, strangely enough, those who seem to add the most negative value, seem to be the most popular. And that’s fine. Anyone [...]

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Direct Mail Tips from @johnbethel

One (just one of many!) cool things about twitter is following people who provide constant inspiration to the work we do every day. Inspiration can come in many forms of course but when it arrives in bits of useful tips – well – it can be priceless. I’ve been following John Bethel for some time [...]

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