Cause Marketing For Dummies [Paperback]

Joe Waters (Author), Joanna MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2011

Create a mutually beneficial partnership between nonprofit and for-profit enterprises

Cause marketing creates a partnership with benefits for both a nonprofit entity and a business. Written by an expert on cause marketing whose blog, SelfishGiving.com, is a key resource on the subject, this friendly guide shows both business owners and marketers for nonprofits how to build and sustain such a partnership using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. It covers new online tools, how to identify potential partners, tips on engaging your fans, and how to model a campaign on proven successes.

• Cause marketing is not marketing a cause, but a partnership between business and nonprofit that benefits both
• This guide offers an easy-to-understand blueprint for finding appropriate partners, planning and setting up a campaign using Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, measuring campaign success, and more
• Explains online tools such as Quick Response Codes, services like Causon and The Point, and location marketing services including Foursquare, Whrrl, and Gowalla
• Features case studies that illustrate successful campaign techniques

Cause Marketing For Dummies helps both businesses and nonprofits reap the benefits of effective cause marketing.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Cause marketing benefits nonprofit and for-profit enterprises alike —make it work for you!

At the intersection of marketing, philanthropy, and business lies the exciting and rewarding field of cause marketing. Maybeyou've been doing cause marketing for awhile and didn't know it had a name. Maybe you're ready to explore a new technique. Maybe you're seeking support for your cause or a competitive edge for your business. You'll find the answers here!

• For nonprofits — discover new and effective ways to raise funds and build awareness for your cause

• For companies — see how supporting a good cause provides a powerful competitive edge

• Choose your partner — learn strategies for finding that perfect partner

• Close the deal — brush up on your closing skills, give your prospect plenty of reasons to say "yes," and learn to handle "no"

• Traditional and more — explore such techniques as point-of-sale, purchase-triggered donations, employee volunteer programs, and texting promotions

• Make it mobile — examine the opportunities offered by smartphones, QR codes, and location-based services like Foursquare and Facebook Places

• Keep building — learn how to measure and build on the success of your first cause marketing plan

Open the book and find:

• Components of a successful cause marketing plan

• What cause marketing is not

• Tips for finding the best partner for your cause

• How to approach the different types of decision-makers

• Hints for maximizing social media

• How to create a powerful campaign message

• Ten great low-budget campaign ideas

• Common mistakes to avoid

Learn to:

• Identify and secure a partner

• Increase the success of your campaign with social media

• Use location-based services like Foursquare to build awareness

• Measure and build on your cause marketing success

About the Author

Joe Waters is a well-respected authority on cause marketing and social media for companies and causes. He writes the web's leading cause marketing blog Selfish Giving (http://selfishgiving.com).

Joanna MacDonald leads a cause marketing team at a Boston hospital. With Joe, she is founder of the Six Figure Cause Marketing training program (http://sixfigurecausemarketing.com).

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (August 9, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1118011309
• ISBN-13: 978-1118011300
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cause Marketing for Smarties August 6, 2011

By Mazarine Treyz

Format:Paperback

Let me just say that until I read this book, I had NO IDEA how to do Cause Marketing, despite being involved in fundraising for over seven years. It was a combination of 'Cause marketing=pink breast cancer flavored chicken + yuck" and "But we could NEVER do that, we don't have the money/staff/time/insert excuse here" when the REAL reason was, "I don't know how to do this, and I'm scared."

After reading this book, doing a cause marketing campaign for my nonprofit actually seems realistic. It seems... do-able. I think the title should really read: "Cause Marketing for Smarties" because there are some complicated concepts introduced in this very readable book, and some advanced case studies too.

I learned about Pinups, those things you might see in the coffeeshop, donut shop, or grocery store. I learned how easy they are to make, and this will probably be where I start when I start our cause marketing campaign.

I also learned that when you're doing your first cause marketing campaign, some people start with coin jars. One of the pieces of this is that it's easy to walk off with the coin jars, so you need to have a way to tether them to the cashier stand. And it's better to put them in a place where people are regularly using cash. So if they're at the supermarket and not using cash, this wouldn't work, but maybe a festival or a food cart would be better.

These are just TWO of the many "a-HA" moments I had as I read this book. I'm sure it will pay for itself many times over.

Mazarine
[...]

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn from the best cause marketers anywhere August 8, 2011

By J. Nations

Format:Paperback

Authors Joe and Joanna know their stuff from a decade of hard work in the trenches and convey it in a meaningful, effective and entertaining way. I took their cause marketing class as well and was so impressed with what I learned, even with a few years of experience already under my belt. They are just that good - their knowledge is deep and their creativity is proven. I highly recommend the book and the class they offer. It is time and money very well spent!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The book to read when you don't know where to start. August 9, 2011

By Eileen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A membership organization that I belong to through work, recently formed a media/development work group. At our kick off meeting, it quickly became evident that there were huge differences in knowledge and experiences around media and development work. All of us want to learn more, but where to start? This book is the place to start. For many of the non-profits that are part of this group, there are not enough people on staff who have the time and resources to really think about an organizations image, its partners and how to use social media effectively. Cause Marketing for Dummies provides clear, concise, realistic tips to help organizations reevaluate how media can be used to build ones image, partnerships and the bottom line. The case studies highlight many levels of marketing - coupons, triggered donation programs, group-buying sites and location-based marketing and stress the importance of Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and other social media options. Do you know what a hashtag is? If not, this book will teach you what it is and how one non-profit's hashtag helped it to raise awareness and $25,000 in one day. Want to know what a QR code is and how to use one? This book will tell you what it is and how it can help to make interactions with customers, clients, patients....more meaningful. Isn't that what we all want to do?