Newsletter: Pizza Chain Launches Nonprofit-Less Cause Marketing 🍕; Meals on Wheels, Public Partner for ‘Give a Little Bit’ 🍲 ; What’s the Most Popular Fundraising Channel for Giving Tuesday? 📧

First, I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. 🦃 I'm very thankful that YOU read my newsletter every week. 🙏

Second, watch this video👆from creative agency Public for Meals on Wheels America. It will definitely warm your heart ❤️ and might just encourage you to 'Give a Little Bit' over the holiday.

Finally, I want to use this week to answer some of the frequently asked questions I get from readers. Maybe you've had similar questions, but you just haven't had a chance to ask. Now you know the answers!

Q. Why do I get your newsletter on Wednesdays AND Fridays?

My email service provider (ESP) is ConvertKit and it gives me the option to resend my newsletter to subscribers that didn't open it on Wednesday. So, if you didn't open my newsletter on Wednesday, you'll get it a second time on Friday. SOME OF YOU who open my Wednesday newsletter still get the Friday newsletter too. I have no idea why. I apologize! 🙃

Lesson for You: Send your newsletter out twice a week. It works - even if you do piss-off a few people. The open rate on my Friday newsletter adds an additional 15-25 percent to my overall open rate, and I bet it will boost your open rate too!

Q. How big is your email list?

I keep my list around 3,000 subscribers. A few things you should know. First, if you don't open my newsletter for six weeks in a row, I dump you from my list (Sorry, mom! I still ❤️ you). I only want subscribers who are active readers. That's why my open rate is over 50 percent! Second, keeping my list small and active keeps me motivated to deliver the very best content every week. Finally, having a smaller list means paying less money to my ESP. Why spend money sending emails to people who haven't opened an email in months?

Lesson for You: A huge list is not a sign of success. A great open and click-through rate are better indicators. The biggest signs of success for me are when readers reply to say how much they enjoy my newsletter and/or they hire me because they respect my expertise in corporate partnerships.

Q. At the top of your newsletter you used to share how many people signed up for your newsletter the previous week. Why did you stop? Are you getting fewer signups?

A. First, I stopped doing this because a fellow newsletter expert suggested I mix it up and not do it all the time. So I dropped it. However, I may bring it back - especially since I get so many questions on why I don't include it anymore.

Second, in terms of newsletter growth, things have slowed *a bit* since 2020.

Why the lag?

First, I like to think that I already have many of the corporate partnership people out there on my list. Let's face it, it's not a huge group of people. Second, historically I get a big boost in signups first quarter. But the world was an uncertain place in early 2021 and people were fretting, cutting staff or delaying hiring so I didn't get that first quarter bump! My prediction is that things will come roaring back next year.🤞

Lesson for You: Getting newsletter signups is a constant challenge. Most newsletters have an annual attrition of 40 percent or more! This means that people are always dropping off and you need to prioritize new signups. That's why you should make email your #1 lead generation channel and focus on it more than anything else - especially social media.

✍️ Partnership Notes

1. What you are doing well - and badly - when you sell virtually, according to prospects.

2. Domino's Pizza shows us that cause marketing doesn't always include a nonprofit partner; it just needs to support a cause.

3. Adding social proof to your partnership web page is a powerful motivator for prospects. Here are seven ways to do it right.

🤑 Marketing Your Cause

1. This hospice nurse is building an audience on TikTok by teaching people about death. Death is difficult topic, but curiosity is powerful. What are people curious about when it comes to your nonprofit's work?

2. And the most popular fundraising channel for Giving Tuesday next week is...

3. To learn more about your target audience, I recommend surveys. But you can also use focus groups. Here's how to organize one.

😎 Cool Jobs in Cause

1. Officer, Employee Engagement & Workplace Giving, International Rescue Committee, NYC

2. Officer, Gifts in Kind, International Rescue Committee, NYC

3. Manager, Corporate Engagement, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC ($100k - $130k)

4. Director, Corporate Partnerships, Feeding America, Chicago ($100k - $125k)

5. Marketing/Partnerships Coordinator, Currently, Remote ($50k)

Do you have a partnership position you are trying to fill? Hit reply and share the job posting with me! I'm happy to post it here for FREE.

🧠🍌 Brain Food

1. Charities see more crypto donations. Who's really benefiting?

2. Until the four major social media brands are 'safer,' cosmetic brand Lush is deactivating its accounts. Instead, they plan to focus on email, Twitter, and Pinterest.

3. Do yourself a favor and assume that everyone else is stupid, lazy, and possibly insane. (I've always assumed this about myself, but others???)