It will be a dark and stormy night before Elizabeth Doyle forgets how she got her start in creative writing. Many years ago, after having her romantic manuscript pulled from a “slush pile” at Random House during somebody’s coffee break, prompting a phone call that she suspected at first was a prank, she soon had… Learn More
What if, instead of battling the madness at the mall this year, you spent the day after Thanksgiving with the ones who warm your soul? What if, instead of calling it Black Friday… we called it Pet Friday? Sound good? We sure think so! That’s why this year you’ll find us applauding REI Outfitters and… Learn More
When animal shelters and rescue groups talk about “promoting” pets available for adoption, or adopting “two for the price of one,” does that choice of language reduce pets to the level of a commodity? At a daylong workshop presented by Maddie’s Fund® at Animal Care Expo several years ago, Bonney Brown, then Director of the… Learn More
Do animal welfare organizations need to worry about “branding”? Isn’t that just for big business, chain stores and fast-food outlets? Despite its business buzzword feel, “branding” is something no organization that needs volunteers, donors, adopters, publicity and supporters can ignore, even if they hate the term itself. In the proverbial nutshell, branding refers to an… Learn More
You can give your shelter or rescue group’s Facebook posts a big jump-start on reach and engagement by posting the first comment yourself. And yes, you can even do that on scheduled posts! Facebook’s algorithm analyzes activity on every Facebook post, and uses that activity to increase or decrease the number of your followers they’ll… Learn More
The next time your animal organization sends out an email or publishes a blog post, take a long, hard look at the subject line. Writing headlines people will want to click on and subject lines that will get people to open your email is, or course, a skill much exploited by clickbait websites and people… Learn More
If your shelter or rescue group needs to improve its online fundraising and cause awareness — and who doesn’t? — then they can’t afford to turn their back on the science of social media. If your only exposure to social media is sharing pets who need help, family photos and rants about issues of the… Learn More
Is your shelter or rescue group’s “urgent pets” page on Facebook doing more harm than good? That’s what Don Jennings wondered when he took over as Executive Director of San Antonio Pets Alive! (SAPA!), and saw the chaotic, often disruptive nature of the comments on the organization’s “SAPA Urgents and Adoptables” page. “SAPA! was formed… Learn More
You probably consider your shelter or rescue group to be a nonprofit organization. But when you identify what category your Facebook page should be listed in, is that the designation you choose? The first reason you might want to list yourself as a nonprofit rather than a pet service, community or animal shelter is this:… Learn More
In 2012, a new charitable event exploded on the scene: Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to the power of grassroots philanthropy and cause support. More than 10,000 organizations participated last year. Find out how your organization can take advantage of the donation power of this worldwide event in a free webinar from CharityHowTo on Wednesday,… Learn More