And, last Saturday morning, before I got up and on with my day, I watched his short film entitled ‘Guthrie Beach Raft’ and it got me thinking about the power of storytelling in marketing.

Yes, successful marketing is all about emotions — not facts.

There are two videos to view here that make the author’s point. The first video is OK — for whatever reason it didn’t really grab me.

But the second video about Google Chrome is a hit! That’s because it tells a very engaging story about how someone uses Google’s integrated suite of tools. It’s brilliant.

Enjoy both of these — and take these lessons to heart. When creating your content, decide which emotions you want to evoke in your audience and then craft your material to evoke those.

As the author says,

Sometimes, facts and figures are great, but if you’re really looking to create loyalty and build a relationship with your audience then creating an emotional bond is the way forward.

P.S. This review was written by Karen Dietz for her Just Story It Scoops at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

Read the full article at www.ashread.com.

The post The Power of Storytelling; What Marketers Can Learn From Casey Neistat and Google appeared first on White Paper Writer | Columbus - Ohio.

It was still pretty early in the day, and not being a coffee drinker, I wasn’t quite ready for such an intense conversation.

Thankfully, I rose to the occasion with the help of some nearly flat Mountain Dew.

A Nonprofit Storytelling Convert

This potential client had obviously done some homework on nonprofit storytelling.

When I started talking about heroes, she was very adamant that the protagonist of the story must be the audience — the donor, the grantmaker, the volunteer.

She objected to my hero team-up technique.

I believe that every story nonprofits tell should have co-heroes to be most effective. One hero is an individual representing the organization. The second hero is the audience.

I tend to stumble over terms like protagonist and antagonist, so I used the terms hero and villain to explain how my story characters function within the story.

Here is how I explained my hero team-up technique.

The Lone Hero

First we meet the lone hero in the proper context.

This hero is a representative of the organization. Depending on the story, this person could be the founder, the current executive director, a board member, a volunteer, or a member of the staff.

Simply choose the best person to represent the organization in the story.

The Villain

Then, we meet the villain. The villain is the issue the organization was formed to resolve. The more malignant the villain appears, the better the story.

The villain in our conversation was food insecurity. The nature of the villain is characterized by its impact on an individual — a client of the organization.

The hero, then, is the founder of a food pantry targeting hunger and seeking to improve the life of one particular client.

Now, our hero is in a pitched battle against the villain. The villain throws up obstacle after obstacle for our hero to overcome. Then natural disasters strike. Then the economy takes a dive. Our hero is reeling. The client’s future hangs in the balance. Great drama.

The Hero Team-Up

The music crescendos and we meet our co-hero. The audience.

This is the person, or group of people, who can help our organization’s hero — in a very specific way — vanquish the villain. This help might be in the form of a donation, awarding a grant, volunteering time, or spreading your organization’s story.

Now we have a proper hero team-up. Only with the combination of resources of both heroes can the day be saved.

By using this hero team-up technique, members of any nonprofit organization can tell stories that resonate with a target audience, initiate engagement, and begin to create lasting partnerships.

Today, Mountain Dew was my co-hero. And that potential client is now my newest client.

The post Who’s the Hero in Your Nonprofit Storytelling? appeared first on White Paper Writer | Columbus - Ohio.

His call for the end of racism was presented to more than 200,000 civil rights supporters and advocates from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom.

There is no better guide for captivating an audience with an ideal that resonates so deeply with all of humanity.

When you structure your presentation, grant proposal, or solicitation letter, take a tip from Dr. King. Clearly identify the future your organization plans to create. Then wrap that ideal in emotion.

 I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

~Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963, Washington, DC

The post The Martin Luther King, Jr. Guide to Storytelling appeared first on White Paper Writer | Columbus - Ohio.

The trick is learning how to ask for it.

Search for the Exceptions

If you are looking for money for an existing or new enterprise, you’re likely to encounter difficulties finding grant funding, but it’s not impossible.

Grants are generally given to non-profit organizations for programs and services that benefit the community or specific group of the general public.

Most funding institutions don’t provide grants to individuals who will use the proceeds to start or develop a for-profit business.

As with any rule, there are exceptions.

But usually when an individual does secure a grant that assists his or her enterprise, it is typically for a very specific objective — such as developing products that improve the quality of healthcare — and not general operating purposes, says John G. Porter, Ph.D., executive director of the American Grant Writers Association.

Here are 8 tips for small business grant writing from Inc. Magazine.

Read the entire article.

1. Don’t Chase the Money

Make sure your mission and purpose fits closely with the funding entity’s mission and purpose.

2. Prepare to Do Extensive Legwork

Identifying state agencies, private foundations, and other organizations that give grants to individuals or small businesses requires considerable time, effort, and research.

3. Determine Your Approach

Once you identify potential funders, determine how you intend to approach them.

4. Get to Know the Funder

Don’t write the proposal first and then go looking for funders.

5. Do Whatever the RFP Says

Follow the requirements of the funding notice or application to the letter.

6. State Measurable Not Fluffy Objectives

A common mistake in writing a proposal is failing to distinguish between a goal and objective.

7. Spell Out How You Intend to Spend the Money

The person giving you the money has to make sure you know how to spend it.

8. Consult a Professional Grant Writer

Expect to pay from $1,000 to $3,000 for a grant proposal for private or foundation funding and $4,000 to $15,000 for a grant proposal for government funding, since such grant applications tend to be more intricate.

Read the entire article.

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Storytelling is at the core of all marketing.

That’s how Christina Kelly, Director of Integrated Media Fundraising at CharityAccelerator.org begins her post.

Of course she’s right.

The Power Is in the Story

It is the story that captures the donor’s attention and motivates both giving and loyalty.

The decision a donor makes to give to your organization is based on many factors. Most of which you don’t know.

What you do know is that when you tell a true story — one from the heart — that story has the power to push all other considerations aside.

Your Online Fundraising Needs a Good Story

If you aren’t getting the results you need with your current online fundraising efforts,  tell an emotional story.  Show how your organization has changed the life of 1 person thanks to generous donors.

As Christina says,

The story is what lands in the heart of the audience and makes the cause real.

This review was written by Wilton Blake for his Storytelling = Nonprofit Sustainability scoops.

Read the full article at CharityAccelerator.org.

The post Storytelling Is the Path to Powerful Online Fundraising appeared first on White Paper Writer | Columbus - Ohio.