Your questions are? We’ve got videos
You asked … and my fumbling answer came….
Has this ever happened to you?
“They never got to my question!”
We think we have a remedy.
In the past, with other producers, I’d finish a 1.5 hour “master” webinar … and we’d have maybe 10 minutes to spare at the end for questions. If there were a lot of questions in the queue, sometimes we’d go longer … to 20 minutes maybe.
At most.
It was a small window of opportunity for the customer. But that’s the way my early producers did things. People paid for the content; Q&A was sorta extra.
Then in 2022 I got new producers: the Coopers.
They suggested a wrinkle: that we add an unlimited Q&A period at the end of each master-webinar. Julie Cooper would moderate the questions.
Sounded good to me. We tried it.
I offer four master-webinars a year: on (1) cases for support, (2) donor newsletters, (3) direct mail appeals (coming in September) and (4) charitable-bequest marketing [late in 2022].
Each master-webby gathers up everything I know to date about a topic.
Proof is all that matters; opinions (including mine) are forbidden. I’m usually editing each show until the morning of delivery, swapping in fresh samples and new research.
Each is (pleasantly, satisfyingly, rewardingly) exhausting for attendees and me.
Each is a long, rich soak in secrets to fundraising success and core communications principles, gathered from top practitioners around the world.
Each is heavily illustrated with proven examples, digital and print.
And NOW (cheesy drum-roll please) … we’ve added unlimited Q&A on top of all that.
Unlimited Q&A was an experiment for the audience. So what happened next?
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We did the master-webby about cases in March 2022. Attendance was good. Our first-time Q&A continued for an hour thereafter.
We did a master-webby about donor newsletters in early June 2022. Attendance was good. Q&A went on for 2.5 hours thereafter. Holy smokes! To CONFIRM, yes:
This Q&A went on for 2.5 hours after the June master-webby concluded.
I.e., we answered questions until attendees ran out of questions. Every question was answered. Something happened.
So you might be wondering….
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What were those Q&As like? Want a taste? Right now YOU can watch and listen. At no cost….
For your learning pleasure: A fun selection of the Q&As are now freely available (and blessedly brief) as YouTube videos. See below.
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[Julie starts] Kathy asks: How many newsletters should you send out in a year? [click image below to hear relevant YouTube Q&A]
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[Julie chews through the Q&A pile] Jewanna asks: You mentioned not going over 8 pages. We [a major hospital system] produce a printed magazine, 6 pages, no envelope. Can these methods work for us?
[click image below to hear relevant YouTube Q&A]
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[Julie wonders, too] Anonymous asks: How do you balance the cost of printing and cost of mailing against the ROI (donations)? Is there a percentage goal to set, like donations should, on average, cover the cost of the mailing, plus or minus 20%? [click image below to hear relevant YouTube Q&A]
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[Julie digs in] Brook asks: Should we talk about projects that are not actually supported by donors? That are supported instead by grants or contracts ... with the same kind of donor-centered language we use when sending to constituents? [click image below to hear relevant YouTube Q&A]
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[Julie, a donor-comm veteran, erupts in kind laughter] Susan asks: What is the maximum word count relative to the overall newsletter length that the CEO column should be? Tom’s answer begins: “Permit me to be a jerk...”
[click image below to hear relevant YouTube Q&A]
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Last words go to my chief spiritual/marketing GURU GODFATHER Seth Godin, June 24, 2022:
“When people feel seen and respected, they’re more likely to focus on what needs to be done....”
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Dear Reader: This is an excerpt from Tom Ahern’s e-newsletter. Did you miss crucial back issues of this how-to e-news? Immediately available! Just GO here. (And scroll down just a bit to sign up for Tom’s revenue-boosting tips and insights. In your inbox regularly. It’s free.)