From the daily archives: Saturday, March 13, 2010
In the middle of the recession of 2009, I found myself unable to find a job in sales. I ceased publication of a local lifestyle magazine that I launched in 2007 due to the cratering of advertising revenue.   With my new found spare time I stumbled across a listing for a Community Account Manager position at a local non-profit.  Being the queen of new business I thought this would be a great opportunity to expand my sales repertoire and contribute to my community. What I found was a culture that was averse to basic sales principles.  Contrary to the prevalent non-profit attitude, the foundation of fundraising is sales.   Here are three tips that can enhance a nonprofitâ??s donor base.
In these tough economic times, non-profit fundraisers and development directors are competing for far fewer available resources to meet an unprecedented need.  Many organizations make the same classic sales mistakes such as calling on the same donors every year and not expanding their reach, hiring the same â??non-profitâ? type instead of innovative thinkers with diverse backgrounds, and failure to implement proven sales techniques when soliciting donors. Saying that you think outside the box is one thing, but actually implementing creative ways to increase donations is another.Â
1)Â Â Â Â Â Have a sense of urgency
Non-profit organizations have a reputation of working â??slowerâ? than their for-profit counterparts. The main motivator of sales is to close the deal before your competitor does. Youâ??ve heard of the mantra, â??ABC: Always Be Closing,â? this means take advantage of every opportunity. For example, when you get a lead, follow up immediately. Believe me most largest donors give to more than one organization per year and due to the economy are downsizing the size of their gifts and the number of recipients. So stay on their radar.                                                Â
2) Stop thinking of sales as being â??badâ?
Most non-profits view their services as a non-tangible product and therefore donâ??t view their fundraiser efforts as sales. However, there is nothing more tangible than feeding a hungry child, educating at-risk teens, or providing refuge for a victim of domestic violence.  You may not be selling DVD players or auto insurance, however the same basic sales principles apply to solicit a gift from a donor: relate to your customer, find the need, meet the need and finallyâ??the ask.
3)Â Learn to CLOSE
Get over your uncomfortableness of asking for money. Simply put you have to ask the donor for their gift.Â
We all benefit when non-profits do their jobs of distributing money to agencies that help the community. By adopting some simple sales principles they can maximize their base and use relationships to grow lifelong donors.
Nia Gray is currently working as a temporary Community Account Manager for a local non-profit. She is a native Portlander with 8+ years of media sales experience selling television, online, and print advertising, and is one of the owners of Grassroot News a family owned media and video production company. Ms. Gray has launched several projects including renewBEAUTY, a beauty and wellness publication in Portland and Seattle, and in 2005 she produced Portland Style a 30-minute local style and fashion television show.
Ebook writing needs you to clarify who your audience is, what they are likely to be looking for, what your ebook is guiding them to do and convert them to carry out the action. For instance, an immigration lawyer who is guiding the reader to use his services may write an ebook that gives the reader a highlight of the legal implications of a few cases. Once the reader’s interest is raised, the website is available for the customer to start up a communication with the lawyer.
1. Know What Your Audience Wants
You want to attract attention to your ebook writing efforts by saying enough to direct the reader to want to know more. What are the most common questions that come up in the mind of your potential audience? Allow your ebook to answer these questions partially so that the customer gets interested in your services.
2. Make Salient Points
What are the main points of information that you are willing to share? You do not want to provide enough information in your ebook writing to enable the reader to function independently without buying any more products from you. What are the important aspects that are on the reader’s mind when browsing the net on the subject of your ebook?
3. Starting A Conversation
Provide your contact details, email id, office address and fax number. Make it possible for a potential customer to start a conversation without having to search for your details. If you are directing potential attention to your website, ensure that your website is well designed with information regarding the services that you offer.
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Even if there is not a valued property in your name as you are a tenant or non-homeowner, you can have access to a loan. You should search the marketplace for unsecured non-homeowner loans that do not require any property for collateral. This means that these are risk-free loans for non-homeowners as well as homeowners as they too can take out these loans.
However, due to lack of collateral, the lenders will scrutinize your existing repayment capacity through your documents of employment and annual income. Your good credit history will be helpful in getting a quick approval of your loan application. But you can borrow the money even if your credit record is poor due to late payments, CCJs and payment defaults. You will be approved an amount that is smaller and well within your easier repayment capability.
Unsecured non-homeowner loans can fetch you £3000 to £25000 for its repayment in a year to 15 years depending on your credit history and repayment capability. You can use the loan for purchasing a car, paying off old debts, holiday tour and other expenses.
These loans are little expensive as interest rates are kept on higher side. You should compare as many lenders as you can on Internet in order to find some competitive offers. Online lenders should be extensively compared before you settle for making the application.
Unsecured non-homeowner loans are useful if you can repay them in timely manner. If you carry a bad credit history, you are able to improve your credit rating in few months on timely repaying the loan installments.
Ronald Reagan is a well known author and offering loan advice for quite some time. Apply For Non Homeowner Loans has a vast network of lenders who provide loans to the borrowers at lower APR. To find Unsecured Non-Homeowner Loans, bad credit non homeowner loans, personal non homeowner loans, non home owner loans visit http://www.nonhomeownerloans.org.uk/
I need some answers for book list. PLZ HELP!
A young adult novel plz.
1. Know what you are trying to say
What is your message? Are you trying to sell something? Are you just providing information? Knowing your purpose will help you write web content that conveys the message you intended.
2. Know your audience
Make sure the content is tailored to your readers. Who are you trying to attract? What age group are they in? What is their employment status? Are they browsers or readers? Once you evaluate this, you will be able to write your web content for the appropriate reader.
3. Be prepared and do research.
Take the time to do research. Know the topic you are writing about. Find out useful resources for your reader. Gather a list of the websites you want to link to from your web content. Keep your information organized so you can quickly refer to it as you write. This will save you time, and keep you focused on your writing.
4. Do SEO research
If you are trying to increase your visibility in the search engines, make sure your web content is SEO optimized. Research the best keywords to get your ranking higher in the search engines. Research your competition. Make sure you have quality sites that link to your site. If you know what keywords you need to use, you can write your web content accordingly.
5. Create templates to speed your work
Finally, create some basic templates to speed the web content writing process. Make templates of the common types of web content you need for your site. Make templates for gathering your research findings. These templates will make writing web content like filling in a form.
Would you like to get more information on Web Content Writing Tips? Visit us online at Article Directory Online
Why do people buy non-fiction books? Most readers buy books to solve problems or help with fulfilling a need. For example, when I started speaking for a fee I went out and bought a couple of popular books about speaking. Browsing in the bookstore, I was attracted to Lilyan Wilder’s book “7 Steps to Fearless Speaking” I read the back cover. I noticed she could help with 7 easy steps. I skimmed the table of contents, read a few lines and immediately liked her easy to read style. It went in my purchase basket.
Because I wanted to hear from several authorities on the subject, I picked up another book by Nido R. Qubein, “How to Be a Great Communicator: In Person on Paper, and on the Podium.” His cover design was white with clean lines and a personable picture of him on the front. His style of writing was not as easy to read but it still went in my purchase basket as well. Which brings us back to my original point; people buy non-fiction books to solve problems. To identify your targeted market, pinpoint a problem they have and the solution of course.
Problems come in all shapes and sizes. Usually a general category problem applies to all types of markets.
HOBBIES. Is your tennis game, golf game, bridge game as good as you’d like? Are you considering taking up horse-back riding? Want to improve your computer skills? What ever the case may be, your desire to improve or change your level of performance is considered the problem.
HEALTH. The first thing you do when your doctor diagnose your cholesterol is high and you need to lose 20 pounds. You go look for a book that will walk you through step by step to lose weight or lower cholesterol. You turn to someone that has solved the problem to learn from their experience.
MENTAL STATE. Are you feeling stressful about the economy? Are you noticing unexplained physical symptoms possibly related to stress? Once again, you have a problem and you are looking for a solution in book form. Someone who has outlined easy steps or ways to de-stress in our society.
PERSONAL FINANCE. Worried about lay-offs, down-sizing, retirement? Books that offer financial solutions to economic problems during shaky times are guaranteed to succeed.
MARKETING. We live in a competitive society. Small business owners and managers everywhere need a growing database of customers and clients. Therefore, they seek out how to books that offers solutions on improving their advertising copy, improving their business image or their website.
Each of the problem categories describes a problem and a need for a solution. The main goal of your marketing plan is to identify the problem your book solves and then present the solution. The more intense the problem and the easier you can make your solution, the more readers will seek out your book.
Your task becomes to re-structure your knowledge into bite-size reader solutions. Appeal to the masses, by letting them know what’s in it for them and how easy the solution is with your book. For example, let’s consider the book title I mentioned earlier about speaking. The title could have been: “How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking” instead of “7 Steps to Fearless Speaking” The latter is more appealing because it alludes to only 7 steps to my solution.
Don’t put it off any longer. If you wait, you can be this time next year without fulfilling your dream of writing a successful book. You have the solution. Now write it down. While you’re at use the tips above and write a book that sells well. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.
Earma Brown, 11 year author and business owner
helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Earma mentors other writers and business professionals through her bi-monthly ezine “iScribe.” Send any email to iscribe@bookwritinghelp.com for free 7 lesson mini-course “Jumpstart Writing Your Book” or visit her at http://www.bookwritinghelp.com
Non-alcoholic drinks have emerged as one of the most dynamic segments of the beverages industry in Brazil. Rapid product development, rising consumer awareness, busier lifestyle and growing health concerns have been fueling the demand of non-alcoholic drinks in Brazil since the past few years. Juices, energy and isotonic drinks, and mineral water are the most preferred choices among the non-alcoholic beverages segment. ( http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Non-Alcoholic-Drinks-Market-Opportunities-Brazil.html )
Unlike carbonated drinks segment, that is experiencing a slowdown in sales, health and energy drinks segment has been growing strongly in the Latin American country. Driven by changing consumer behavior and other factors, the health and energy drinks market can be viewed as the most promising segment of non-alcoholic beverages industry in the country, says “Non-Alcoholic Drinks Market: Opportunities Brazil”, our new research study. This report provides an in depth analysis of the non-alcoholic beverages market in Brazil. Segment-wise market trends and analysis given in the report will help the client to identify potential segments in the overall market. The past, current and future outlook on various product segments will help in analyzing the consumption and sales scenario.
The future outlook of the industry is not determined using any econometric or statistical model or evaluation, rather, it depends upon the past and the current market trends. The changing consumer preferences and behavior, and market trends have been thoroughly evaluated while identifying the future direction of the market.
To know more and to buy a copy of your report feel free to visit : http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Non-Alcoholic-Drinks-Market-Opportunities-Brazil.html
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Most lenders require homeowners applying for a short sale to write a hardship letter. A hardship letter is a written explanation describing why a borrower is not able to make his or her mortgage payments. The thought of writing a hardship letter sometimes causes fear and anxiety in homeowners, but it’s really quite simple and if written properly, a good hardship letter can help a homeowner make a powerful case to their lender.  Certain elements written into your hardship letter can help make your case to the bank while others can hurt your chances of getting a short sale approval. Here are 7 tips to writing a persuasive hardship letter:
Write it yourself. This is your story, only you can tell it convincingly, so make sure you write it.
Explain the events and personal circumstances that contributed to your inability to make your mortgage payments. Examples include: tenant problems, a medical condition or illness, job loss, job relocation, death in the family, divorce etc. Â Also, describe any additional circumstances currently making your financial situation difficult.
Describe all attempts previously made to sell your home either by you personally or through a real estate agent. Be sure to include all previous price adjustments. The fact that you’ve already tried to sell your home helps make a more compelling case to your lender that your financial hardship is real and that you are not just trying to walk away from your financial obligation.
Don’t blame the bank for your financial trouble in your hardship letter. Scapegoating the people that you are trying to convince to reduce your mortgage does not work to your advantage, so don’t do it!
Make sure your hardship letter makes logical sense. More specifically, make certain your hardship letter does not contradict any of the other personal documents your bank is examining as part of your short sale application (i.e. your bank statements, personal financial worksheet, pay stubs, tax returns).
Tell your lender that you want to avoid bankruptcy. If the bank believes that you intend to file bankruptcy, it will be less likely to seriously consider your short sale application.
Tell the bank what you want them to do. Although your ultimate goal in pursuing a short sale may seem obvious to you, it may not be to your bank. In your hardship letter, don’t forget to ask your lender to accept your buyer’s sales contract, approve your short sale application and forgive any deficiency that may arise as a result of the short sale.
Gerald Lucas is Managing Director of Performance Property, LLC (http://www.performancepropertyllc.com/) Mr. Lucas shares his extensive experience as an investor, guest speaker, coach, and college lecturer. Mr. Lucas holds business degrees from Howard University and MIT. Contact Gerald directly at gerald@performanceproperty.biz
Your story, be it novel, short story or novelette, is finished. Or is it? Before you send it to a publisher, check firstly that your story makes sense!
Maybe you read my article about The Final Draft. Well, before you reach that stage there’s this one to go through. It can be hard and you need to be tough with yourself, castings an editor’s eye – not that of a writer – over your work. So what is there to look for when editing and how do you go about it?
The first thing to do is to print your story out onto paper. Don’t ask me why but editing just doesn’t seem to work the same if you do it on your computer or word-processor. Then read your story. You might think this a waste of time – after all, you wrote it! – but I assure you that you’ll find mistakes, typos and a host of other little mistakes.
They’re easy to correct. Mark them in pencil as you go along. When you have finished your read through it’s time to begin editing in earnest. You will have almost certainly noticed plotting errors and the usual howlers present in every first draft (I speak from experience!) but here’s a rundown of vital points to check off during the editing process.
1. Do your characters behave as they should? Remember that, in fiction, people seldom if ever act ‘out of character’ – if your character has changed, this needs attention.
2. Do your characters react to each other as they should? Events in your story may well change the feelings and emotions your characters display towards each other. Do they mention events that have happened to them within the story? Real people would – your characters should follow suit.
3. Will it be obvious to the reader what the characters are doing – and why they are doing it? This needs to be made clear to the reader otherwise the ‘thread’ of the story may be lost altogether, your reader will become confused – and the story, for them, is over.
4. Do your characters react believably to circumstances? Again, this goes back to character action – don’t have a character brush off a situation if their character sheet says they would go berserk with rage at a given event – if this is evident, your plotting needs to be looked at. Don’t change your character’s reactions to paper over cracks in the plot!
5. Does your story timeline run true? It’s very easy to have someone in two places at once if you’re not in control of this critical thread. If you have a sub-plot, or, worse still, several sub-plots running, this can rapidly spiral out of control. Use a timeline record to help you control event timing, i.e. ’10 pm Monday – Jake and Sally at Harry’s bar. Big Mike robbing bank.’ This ensures that Jake and Big Mike don’t ‘meet up’ somewhere at that hour!
Checking the above points will take time, effort and dedication. However, if you do not ensure that your story makes sense according to the points above, the only time you waste will be your own. Why? Simple. Editors today do not expect – and indeed will not tolerate – stories that simply don’t ‘hang together’. The days of droves of sub-editors making good your sloppy work are well and truly gone.
So – edit and re-edit. Be brutal. Be honest with yourself and your work and you will be streets ahead of those who do not take the time and effort that you do. Writing fiction is hard work – it’s up to you to make certain your work is the best it can be. I look forward to seeing you in print!
Steve Dempster writes fiction, copy and informative articles such as the above. He also ghostwrites. If you would like more information and advice on writing in general, click here
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