Blog - Page 48 of 59 - Bob Cargill

14Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Two DM Trade Publications Launch New Blogs

It was inevitable that both DIRECT and DM News would eventually establish a presence in the blogosphere, but what’s the chance of two of my favorite trade publications launching their own respective blogs just days apart? As a dyed-in-the-wool direct marketer who just so happens to write a blog, I can’t help but be beside myself. Yes, as if it wasn’t exciting enough to see that DIRECT was finally blogging on Wednesday, I almost fell off my chair when less than 24 hours later DM News announced that its blog was now “open for business.” Of course, the near simultaneous debut of these two blogs is more than just a coincidence. Both promise to provide extensive, live coverage of DMA.05, The Direct Marketing Association’s Conference & Exhibition taking place this…

11Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

This Conversation Made Possible by Convio

Direct Marketing, Fundraising

Convio, the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofit organizations use the Internet for driving support, recently announced the release of Convio Tributes, a “constituent-led fundraising solution” that lets a nonprofit effectively leverage supporters and take, as the company says, “Internet fundraising to a new level.” With Convio Tributes, a nonprofit can provide its constituents with online tools to quickly and easily create their own highly personalized Web sites for fundraising in honor or memory of a friend or relative. Supporters also can use their Web pages to help recruit new constituents and put a personal face on the nonprofit’s mission. Although many nonprofits provide such tools to people participating in events such as walks and races, Convio Tributes lets supporters raise money, generate awareness and recruit others…

10Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Everyone’s An Expert, Writes Seth Godin

Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations

Seth Godin has just announced the release of his next free ebook, Everyone’s An Expert, which you can download here. The book, he says, “is for anyone who wants more online traffic, more revenue, more followers, more attention, more interest, more donations or more influence.” It’s a short book – you can read it in about ten minutes – about his exciting, new online company, Squidoo, and, as Seth says, “more important, about a new sort of online tool that might very well change the way you discover (and publish) information.” This new tool (which has to do with the development of a “lens,” described by Seth as a “a page, a single page, that highlights one person’s view of the Web – not the whole Web, just one tiny…

04Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Training Blogs for Runners

Blogging

“Instead of detailing workouts in a private training diary, runners are now logging their workouts on the Web for friends, teammates, and long-distance training partners to read and respond to,” writes Chaddus Bruce in the October 2005 issue of Runner’s World (“Today I Ran Fast – Keeping A Training Blog Can Help You Get Fit And Focused”). This is something I myself experimented with a little of last spring when I blogged a few times about running the Boston Marathon for charity. This is also something I have suggested to my fellow runners and friends at the Greater Framingham Running Club. A blog – as companion to a more traditional Web site – would be the ideal online self-publishing platform for any club for that matter, running-related or not. To…

29Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Make A Difference Day is Just Around the Corner

Fundraising

If you’re looking for a way to give back to your community, then look no further than Make A Difference Day. Sponsored by USA WEEKEND Magazine and its more than 600 carrier newspapers, Make A Difference Day is billed as “the most encompassing national day of helping others -- a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors.” Make A Difference Day is held in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation and supported by Paul Newman, who donates $10,000 each on behalf of 10 of the participating charitable initiatives. Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. This year, that would be October 22, 2005. If you want to take part in this very special day devoted to volunteerism, but you don’t…

23Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Yvonne DiVita’s Lip-Sticking

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Marketing

If you’ve ever read Yvonne DiVita’s Lip-Sticking, you know what I mean when I say it’s arguably one of the best blogs in the blogosphere. It’s a prolific, practical account of what’s what and who’s who in online marketing to women – and much, much more. Yvonne – as Jane, her alter ego – is able to provide her readers with almost as much humor as business insight and intelligence, and as she herself would say, what’s not to like about that? I was very fortunate – and honored – to have just been interviewed by Yvonne for a series of profiles she posts regularly of online marketing professionals. In this interview, Jane asked me if I thought that blogging could really be as personal as, say, a phone call,…

15Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Blogging on Behalf of Women’s Legal Rights

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Fundraising

If you’re interested in monitoring the confirmation hearing of Chief Justice nominee John G. Roberts, you may be interested in monitoring NominationWatch.org. But that’s not the only reason to check out this relatively new blog published by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), a group dedicated to advancing and protecting women’s legal rights. NominationWatch.org is also an excellent example of how a nonprofit organization can use a blog to get the word out about its cause. Take it from Nancy Schwartz, editor and publisher of Getting Attention, a monthly e-newsletter that helps nonprofits succeed through effective communications. She’s just written and posted an insightful case study of NominationWatch.org called "Three Steps to Launching Your Nonprofit Blog." According to Schwartz’s article, “Ranit Schmelzer, NWLC vice president for communications, says that for…

12Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

A Great Opportunity for Shoestring Direct Marketers

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Fundraising

From the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), I recently learned about Word of Blog, a free service that “enables blog owners to spread ideas and influence throughout the blogosphere, promote causes or services that they believe in, recommend products and organizations they like, and create communities of like-minded blog owners, all through blog word of mouth.” To use this service, all a blogger needs to do is select any ad appearing on the Word of Blog site, then copy and paste the corresponding code into your template – like I did with ads for both The American Red Cross and Feed the Children, just two of the many organizations that are helping victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. On the other hand, if you yourself want to get the…

04Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

How to Help the Victims of the Hurricane Katrina Disaster

Fundraising

Survivors of Hurricane Katrina are being evacuated away from the devastated Gulf Coast and food, water and thousands of National Guard troops have finally arrived on the scene, but a complete recovery from this disaster is going to take months, if not years, and an unprecedented outpouring of benevolence. Yes, we Americans are going to have to give more than we ever have before to help our brothers and sisters in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the surrounding area get back on their own feet. In the next few weeks alone, we’ll likely part with more of our charitable dollars than we ever have before towards one single cause. And, as a result, those nonprofit organizations that are not related to the hurricane relief efforts could very well see a decrease…