Online marketing

They say all good things must come to an end, friends, and as it turns out, that time has come for Nyman Ink. After countless newsletters, websites, brochures and fundraising campaigns (not to mention all the other stuff we’ve done), more than 60 awards and a full 22 years in business, we’re creatively exhausted and ready for a break. Two decades is a long time to keep going at full speed, and while we’ve loved every minute of it, we think it’s time to give it a rest.

Nyman Ink’s doors will officially close on Friday, August 31, 2012. In the meantime, we’ll be wrapping up our final projects and tying up loose ends.

But, fear not. We don’t plan to leave you high and dry. Though our physical office will be no more, our website, www.nymanink.com, will remain up and running to allow you to keep accessing all of our free resources, from whitepapers to blog posts. And though we’re getting out the design and marketing biz, we know you’ll still need great marketing professionals to help you with your future communications needs. With that in mind, Judy Nyman, our founder and fearless leader, will also remain available in case you need a referral or have any questions. When the doors close, Judy will be reachable via email at jnyman [at] nymanink [dot] com and by phone at 416-587-5847.

We sincerely thank you for 22 wonderful years of business, friendship and referrals. We don’t know where we’ll end up next, but we wish you all the best of luck with your future businesses, ventures and plans.

It's been grand.

Sincerely,

Judy Nyman, Bonnie Jackson, Nicola McHughen, Jen Selk, Scott Hamel

The Team at Nyman Ink

P.S. For the time being, our blog, website and social media accounts will remain available online, but we will not be updating them.

Infographics are neat. They're in. And lately, they're everywhere. But they've never been particularly easy to create. Even if you are a designer, or have access to one, a good infographic requires both a great idea and solid design skills to produce. Or at least, it did. Now, with the emergence of a couple of DIY infographic tools, fun and informative infographics are becoming something you might be able to create yourself, in no time at all.

I have a friend who volunteers for a not-for-profit organization. When I asked her if she felt that achieving that NFP’s goals (that is, living up to the organization’s mission statement) was as important as it might be at a for-profit corporation, she laughed. “That’s a no-brainer! What kind of organization doesn’t want to accomplish its mission?”

Then I asked her what her non-profit’s mission statement was.  She was stumped. Not a good sign. I’m sure she had and has a good idea of what her chosen not-for-profit does, but she wasn’t really able to put it into words in a clear and concise way.

Recently, Jen blogged about what visitors want to see on the homepage of your not-for-profit’s website. She told us about a great study that says that if you want to encourage donations, you need to be explicit about who you are and what you do. What better way to communicate this than through your not-for-profit’s mission statement?

Step one: You need to have a mission statement.

One of the catchwords of the last few years with regards to not-for-profits has been “transparency.” The government is looking for charities to be meticulous with their financial reporting (and who can blame them with continual reports about fraudulent charities?).  Financial information is also one of the two most significant pieces of information that donators want to see upfront on an organization’s website (the other being what the organization is all about).

Bad news, not-for-profit friends. When it comes to your website (despite all our advice), what donors want and what you're giving them still aren't quite matching up.

Two of the items users most want to see upfront on a not-for-profit website are your goals and how you use donation dollars. In other words, potential donors want to know what you're trying to do and how you spend your money. And sadly, most nonprofits aren't doing a great job sharing this vital information.

Fact: the best information doesn't always rank high in search engine results. In other words, when you Google something, the top results aren't always the best results.

Every January, I start thinking about the Super Bowl. Not because I enjoy American football (I don't), but because I enjoy seeing the commercials that run during the Super Bowl broadcast. In the marketing/advertising world, these commercials make a major impact, and it's always smart for those in our business to keep an eye on what runs, and what works on Super Bowl Sunday.

I recently attended the Canadian Marketing Association's Not-For-Profit Roundtable, where the discussion focused on “Top Trends in Direct Response, Events and Major Gifts.”

While I could write a hundred blogs on all the ideas thrown out, one particular discussion caught my attention.

How do you make it cost-effective to solicit donations from those Canadians who are inclined to give smaller amounts such as $5 or $10? As the cost of postage and printing goes up, direct mail isn’t cost effective for smaller donations, and you can only have so many volunteers standing in malls with daffodils or poppy pins.