This week the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants has its home here, with a focus on marketing for nonprofits. Luckily my computer didn’t melt this weekend, like everything else in my house, when my end of the San Fernando Valley hit 119 degrees and had a 24-hour power outage. So with that in mind, here are the seven hottest posts from this week (*groan*, I know…):
Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Communications tells us How to Get Top Mileage Out of Your Best Stories by recycling your best case studies for use in different formats. Storytelling is an important part of helping your audience connect with your cause.
Is Leila at Data-Scribe Blog shooting her consulting business in the foot when she advises nonprofits on Why You Shouldn’t Outsource Your Marketing? Not necessarily – nobody else knows as much about your organization as you do and you need to make sure you retain some control over your own marketing.
Jeff at Donor Power Blog reveals the one word that can destroy your marketing, that you should “never, never use” when talking about or evaluating a marketing effort. What is that word? See if you can guess before clicking the link.
Stephan at Changes for Good has a great idea for an affiliate network in which all of the proceeds go to charity. Who wants to build it?
Nancy at Getting Attention says that now that you’ve got people talking about your organization, it’s time to Listen, and Listen Hard. Make sure that you click through to the full article to get all of her great methods for doing that.
Craig writes On Social Marketing and Social Change about the social marketing possibilities in advergaming and beyond. He also mentions the American Cancer Society’s virtual Relay for Life that just took place this weekend in Second Life. For a fun view into what the course that the walkers/runners followed looked like, check out Hamlet Au’s video of his avatar running the course.
Finally, John of the Digital Influence Mapping Project proposes that museums should encourage the creation of user-generated tours by bloggers and vloggers to create a social museum. He’s convinced that the people who are most enthusiastic about the displays are likely to create something of interest to others. This idea could be extended to other types of nonprofits as well — historical monuments, zoos, orchestras.
And now the bonus host post: I am offering you a Handy-Dandy Guide to Social Marketing Books in case you are inspired by this week’s Carnival focusing on marketing for nonprofits.
Thanks to all of this week’s participants. Next week the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants will be hosted by Data-Scribe Blog, with a focus on working with consultants. If you want to submit a post to be considered for next week, send an email to npc.carnival AT yahoo DOT com with your name, your blog’s name and the URL of the post (not your blog homepage).
Technorati Tags: carnival, nonprofit, consultants, marketing
Nedra helps nonprofits and public agencies create positive change on health and social issues through social marketing and transmedia storytelling strategies at Weinreich Communications since founding the company in 1995. She helps organizations make a difference for the populations they serve by strategically designing programs that draw on state-of-the-art behavior change techniques, digital media approaches and the power of stories. 
Great selects, Nedra. Thanks for including my post on listening hard.