About Stephanie_F

Stephanie_F · ‎11-13-2024

“It’s timeeee…” *queue Mariah Carey* Share an idea and earn this badge! Happy holidays! We're thrilled to have you join us for this festive exchange of marketing ideas. Just like a traditional cookie swap, we're here to share, inspire, and indulge – but instead of cookies, we'll be swapping creative and innovative marketing strategies baked to perfection for the holiday season (however, cookie recipes are also encouraged). The holiday season is a wonderful opportunity to connect with your audiences, spread joy, and drive meaningful engagement. So, no matter what industry you’re in, there is room for every brand to spread some holiday cheer. Share a brief overview of one or two marketing ideas that have worked well for you in the past or new strategies you’re excited to implement this year. Remember, there's no such thing as a silly idea – the more creative, the better! We encourage you to embrace the holiday spirit, think outside the box, and most importantly, have fun! Need some inspiration? Here’s a few ideas to bake up: Send an email campaign with an eye-catching and festive subject line. You want to stand out in the inbox and provide a little joy along the way. Think of a play on words like, “Sleigh The Day With a BOGO offer,” “Deck the Halls With These Tips,” or “Don’t Be a Grinch, Come Join us for our Live event!” Create a social post for a holiday check list. Each day share what you checked off and encourage your followers to share the post with a friend or add it to their stories to see what they’re checking off their list. Grow your list and offer personalized discounts for customers who give you their email on a first-time purchase or show gratitude to your loyal fan base and send them an offer they can’t refuse! Print or create a digital QR code and promote it in a place that doesn’t go unnoticed. Think of windows, doors, tables, stickers, you name it! Feeling a little creative? Pop it in an image editing software or Canva and add some holiday theme elements around the QR code, like a garland or candy canes! So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, get cozy, and let's get this virtual cookie swap started! We can't wait to hear what you've got baking. Plus, for sharing an idea you can earn the badge pictured above!

Stephanie_F · ‎09-04-2024

Hi everyone! I'm so glad you joined the group to connect with other nonprofits, learn from (and with) each other, and get inspired. We received so much great feedback from the webinar itself, and I'd love to hear which nuggets of information you plan to implement this year. One of the biggest takeaways for me was Julia's statement that "your audience does not think about you as much as you think about yourself." We often get stuck in the "I don't want to send too much" mindset. To you, sending 3 emails and posting 3 or more times on social media may feel like a lot, but your audience isn't going to see everything every time. The power comes down to using various channels and tactics, such as social media, email, and text. But other things can be powerful too, like direct mail, blog posts on your website, videos across your channels, and more. This also reminds your supporters about your fundraising needs and reaches people where they are when they are ready to give. That might sound overwhelming, but did you know that you can plan it all out ✨automagically✨ to include your social posts, emails, events, and text messages? Try out the new Campaign Builder so you don’t have to think about which reminders to include and when. Let it do the work for you. What new things are you going to try out?

Stephanie_F · ‎05-24-2024

Hi Stacie, Thanks so much for submitting your email. I like the white background for the main text area contrasting with the darker grey background on the outside of the template. If possible, I would simplify the color palette a bit more. I see the maroonish color in the logo, a light blue, green, a gold and more of a yellow color at the bottom. I would suggest 3 colors from your palette to build in more of your branding. I would suggest making your logo and other images clickable within each section. This FAQ will walk you through the steps. All of your text has great contrast, which makes it easy to read. I do see you've added some social media buttons at the bottom, which is great. They don't however appear to be linked to your own pages. You can use this FAQ to help you link up those buttons. Make sure you're going to each of those pages and then copying the URL so it goes to the right place.

Stephanie_F · ‎05-24-2024

Hi Susan, Thanks so much for sharing your email campaign! Your template is very easy on the eyes and it's calming. Great job! I would suggest moving your Maritime Museum logo up above the image. That makes your brand easily recognizable from the moment they open the email. If your organization has a website, I would suggest linking the logo to your website. This FAQ will walk you through the steps. Both of the cover images are great and very relate to what it is you do. If possible, I would make those cover images clickable to the main thing you want people to do from each email. You've got some great contrast with your text, but I would double-check the size of the body text font, it looks a bit small. This text should be 14 - 16 point. Overall, the email does feel a bit long. Most people in today's world have short attention spans. If possible, you could shorten this up by splitting it into a few emails over the course of the month. You could even give a shorter snippet for each article and then provide a "read more" link. All of this with the caveat that some older folks do enjoy reading. But I imagine you might have a mix of younger folks in there as well. Those people are more likely to appreciate shorter emails. I did noticed at least one URL that includes the HTTP:// before the URL (example: http://tru-earth.sjv.io/NewLondonMaritimeSociety ). Including it this way could cause some problems with spam filter, plus it can make your email more visually appealing. You can change this to a hyperlink to say something like "Find out more about True Earth" and then hyperlink it. This FAQ will walk you through the steps. I see you've got a mention of social media at the bottom. I suggest adding in a social media block with the buttons/logos that people are so familiar with to make them stand out a bit. This FAQ will walk you through the steps. Be sure to insert the direct links to each of your profiles. It's also a good idea to simply ask them to follow you on those channels.

Stephanie_F · ‎05-24-2024

Hi Linda, Thanks for submitting your email. I love the picture at the top with the birds—it's a great visual aid. However, since it's the first thing in the email, it makes all of the content of your email be below the fold or where people have to scroll a bit to see what you've written. If possible, I might move that down a bit and just have your organization's logo at the very top so they get into the content quicker. From a personal perspective, I might change out the darker green color in the background of the template to maybe a grey color. From a readability perspective, centered paragraphs of text can be harder for some people to read, especially when the sentence continues on to the next line. In most cases, I would suggest left-aligning the paragraphs of text. You've got URLs listed throughout your text, where it includes the HTTP and www. which can sometimes cause deliverabilty issues. A best practice is to turn those into hyperlinks where you say something like "View more on birds on the Cornell website" and turn that text into a link. This article will walk you through the steps to do that in your account. This will also clean up your template a bit and make it all easier to read. It could also help to break up the larger chunks of text by adding imagery to each block. You could put the image on the left or right and maybe even alternate them to create a "z" pattern. Does your organization use social media? If so, it can be helpful to add a social media block in the footer information of your email with your location. Ask people to follow you on your social media channels to build those as well. This article will walk you through the steps.

Stephanie_F · ‎05-24-2024

Hi Heather, Thanks for submitting your email. This a great-looking email. When clicking the Tupperware logo at the top right, it takes me to a page to select a rep. If possible, I would suggest driving them to the site that has your information already selected. That will save your audience a set. For your headshot, I would suggest making it clickable to the same page as the visit your site link, or if you have an "about me" page on the website. That way, people can learn more about you. I would also suggest adding your name under the text that says "your consultant". That way, people can get to know you, and it makes everything feel more personal. Even just your first name would create a connection with y our audience. For each product image, it is a best practice to drive to the exact page of that product. That way, they can click on the image as well. At the bottom of the email, there is another logo and on the right, it says, "get in touch." With the logo, it is appearing further down than the other side of the block. Moving it up will create a better balance.

Stephanie_F · ‎05-24-2024

Hello! This is a great-looking email that feels on point with your brand, and its elements. I feel like your template could benefit visually from the use of a border around or even just a background color that gives the illusion of that border. So it doesn't look just like it's floating in a sea of white when it's opened up on a desktop screen that is bigger. Even a lighter grey that's pulled in from behind the logo would look great and add more visual interest. I'm wondering whether the image that includes the logo at the top is included in every email. If so, you could benefit from just the logo at the top and some other related imagery pertaining to each email topic. That way, when they see multiple emails from you, especially on a small screen, it doesn't start to look like it will be the same email, and then they start to tune it out. You've got some great contrast in all of your buttons and text. I would suggest making the image with the "September 30" within it clickable to the same place as your main call to action to get a quote. Towards the bottom of your email, under the 3 buttons, if they are less important than your main call to action, I might feature them as just hyperlink text in one row across the template to make them smaller. That way you can visually drive more people to your call to action at the top. Down below the buttons, you have the GSA Contract holder left aligned. I would suggest balancing that block out by right aligning this text "47QSWA19D001J SMALL BUSINESS." Great idea adding in the links to your social media profiles and overall a great looking email. Thanks for submitting it! In that same area, I see an email address, but it appears off center. It looks like there is some text before and after that is formatted to be white. That is what's making it appear off center. I would make the rest of that text the same color as you have the rest of your body text and probably center the sentence.

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