Communication that is seen - read - heard

Communicating with constituents and donors is considered a "must do" and rightly so. There is no substitute for keeping your constituents and supporters well informed. Effective communication is a tie that binds.

Because of rising postal costs many organizations are taking a fresh look at the effectiveness and "return on investment" of the printed newsletter and magazine-type mailing pieces. The rush to gather email addresses is underway to take advantage of the more economical email versions of newsletter. 

The question is how to communicate in a way that is cost effective - and gets read! 

You might investigate Constant Contact, Mail Chimp or Vertical Response  to mention a few. You can use each of these to reach out to constituents via standard text email. Using these same vendors you can also easily create attractive HTML newsletter formats - I don't know about you, but I'd rather get information that is pleasing to the eye, with pictures than a standard, run of the mill email.

Simplebooklet makes it easy to create a basic "page turning" effect and even provide a link that you can post in emails or add the HTML code to your website or blog! Still others use various forms of "home grown" solutions. 

The point is, creating visually appealing email messages can be done quickly, cheaply, easily, and often. Anybody can do it! If you are not using these or similar products - get on the stick. If you are using them great! Now get ready to take another step.

Now you can give supporters voices - your voice - the voice of a board member - a message delivered by a grateful recipient.   A familiar voice! A thankful voice!  Imagine the impact that voice and video can have on how your supporters know and understand your organization.

Thanks to the availability of internet technologies you can communicate in ways that are meaningful, cost effective, gets read and now - HEARD!  A collection of words, colorful visuals and audio - a winning combination.

YouTube , Present.me, and Movenote and others can allow you to use video with audio, some use split screens allowing live narration of a slide presentation or other visual aids. To talk to your donors in a more personal, meaningful way invest a few minutes in a Google search for free video and audio postings and you will find solutions - most require very little or no technical skill. Free and no technical skill is a winning combination.

Share the steps have you taken to better communicate with your constituents below.