Making Your Newsletters Remarkable: Be Yourself

Posted January 29, 2010 By Brent and has 1 comment.

Standing in tension with my last “newsletters” post, where I discussed speaking your audience’s language while creating newsletters, is the need to be yourself.

My favorite newsletters to read as a kid weren’t the pretty, glossy ones, but a black and white with cut-and-pasted photos newsletter from a relative living in Mongolia. It’s wasn’t professional or polished, but it was him. Honest and personal, he drew me into his world.

A friend and long-time non-profit worker told me today that “the biggest threat in ministry is the threat of not being yourself.” While this can be true in many areas of life where many people have many different (and often unrealistic) expectations of you, it is also true of your communication.

When you’re communicating with family, friends and partners, the most important thing you’re communicating is you.

Be personal.

Personally ;-) , when I sit down to write a newsletter, I often feel the pressure to err on the side of professional, rather than personal. After all, I’m writing to partners who pay our bills, surely they’ll want to know that we’re busy doing good things, making good “return” on their investment! And while it’s true that I must be accountable, I often find that people care more about how my wife and I are really doing as opposed to a hearing a bunch of stats about our good work.

Seth Godin, in his book Linchpin, talks about the growing importance of bringing humanity to your work. If you’re part of a ministry or non-profit, much of your work is probably human and personal by nature. Don’t lose that! We don’t need investing in people, changing lives and caring for people’s needs to start sounding like a job or a task, it must be personal! People will be drawn to you as you be yourself.

Find your voice.

Technology is a beautiful thing, but it must always serve your message, not the other way around. With all the technology available, it’s easy to get caught up in making fancy videos or HTML newsletters, but if you’re best at writing plain text emails, then for goodness sake, bless your readers with an amazing plain text email! For example, one of my friends is playing with creating an audio podcast to communicate with friends, because his most comfortable mode of communication is verbal.

That said, technology is constantly becoming more user-friendly and within reach for most people. For example, Mail Chimp, with it’s fresh and simple approach to HTML newsletters, makes sending cool-looking newsletters easier than ever. Check them out!

Of course, when considering method of communication, you must always consider your audience’s language. Considering your audience’s language and your own often presents some tension, but that’s a good thing as we consider honoring our audience and communicating effectively.

Hope this helps. Please comment on newsletters you enjoy and ways you try to be yourself in your communication.

Categories: Communication
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My look at Seth Godin’s newest book: Linchpin

Posted January 23, 2010 By Brent and has 3 comments.

I just finished my pre-release copy of Seth Godin’s newest book, “Linchpin”, which is my newest “must-read” recommendation. Here’s why.

LinchpinFirst, I have to admit that I was sold on this book before I even got it for one simple reason, notice above: “my pre-release copy.” Seth offered to give this book to 3000 people who would read it and tell the world about it. Of course, since I’ve been enjoying Seth’s blog and books for over a year now and love telling everyone about the things I’m reading (my poor wife knows this best), I immediately wanted in. But once I started reading I realized that the book would live up to my excitement.

“The indispensable employee brings humanity and connection and art to her organization.”

In “Linchpin,” Seth talks about the values essential for succeeding in this new economy. The post-industrial world no longer rewards the obedient, average, play-it-safe, cog-in-a-machine workers, but rewards those who bring creativity, generosity and humanity to their work. These are the extras, the things you don’t get paid for but make you valuable in an organization or a tribe. Interestingly enough, these extras are based largely on an individual choice, rather than external factors. They are also what brings you joy, enjoyment, and passion in your work.

“In the linchpin economy, the winners are once again the artists who give gifts.”

My favorite parts of this book were the discussions about art and giving. Seth defines “art” as “a personal gift that changes the recipient.” Though we may not be able to paint or draw, we all have the opportunity to be artists by giving gifts to people every day. We must do this, for the sake of our own souls and the sake of the world.

Seth pointed out that though our culture’s economical mindset has said that the one with the most stuff wins, this is a fairly recent development. “Power used to be about giving, not getting.” In the past, and now again, the only loser is the one who hoards stuff. When we give gifts, we create abundance and also generate income.

“Every successful organization is built around people. Humans who do art. People who interact with other people. Men and women who don’t merely shuffle money, but interact, give gifts, and connect.”

As I read, I realized that in working for a volunteer non-profit organization, I’m surrounded by many linchpins. People who are artists, who give gifts every day. Gifts of emotional labor, of caring about people and our mission, of exceeding expectations.

Read this book (which will be released Jan. 26), and join me in bringing your art and humanity to the table. We need you!

Categories: Books

Making Your Newsletters Remarkable: Speak Their Language

Posted January 16, 2010 By Brent and has 2 comments.

If you’re involved in fundraising or connecting friends and supporters with your mission, ministry or cause, writing newsletters is probably an important part of what you do. Among my friends here at YWAM Denver, it’s always “newsletter time” for someone. I’ve been writing newsletters for nearly 9 years, and would like to share a couple of the things I’ve learned in the process. I will be writing a series of posts about “Making Your Newsletters Remarkable.” I hope to help you make your next newsletter remarkable, and would love to hear (from writers and readers) what you’ve learned in your own process of communication.

Essential to great communication is connecting with your audience and sharing your message in a way they will understand. When you’re writing a newsletter, you must consider who you’re writing to and “language” they understand best.

When I got married to my Dutch wife, I faced for the first time the challenge of literally translating our newsletters into a different language. We received lots of great help from friends, but this was, and still is, a huge challenge. It takes effort. And that’s the thing, translating your message often isn’t easy, but it is worth it. When we made the effort to translate our communications into Dutch, we received great feedback from our Dutch friends and supporters (watch one of our Dutch updates here).

While you may not have to literally translate your communications into another language, you may experience the language gap in different ways. Here are a couple tips to consider as you craft your next newsletter.

D.U.A.T.Y.A.D.U. (Don’t use acronyms that your audience doesn’t understand)

Every community and workplace has a language of inside jokes, acronyms, and vocabulary of its own, which, for the uninitiated, might as well be Dutch. The issue we often run into is forgetting that not everyone understands our dialect. Chip Heath and Dan Heath, in Made to Stick, call this the “Curse of Knowledge.” Once you know a language, it’s hard to remember what it was like to not know that language.

When you write about your programs or community, remember that you’re audience isn’t immersed in your daily language. Personally, I find it inconvenient to write out “Worship, Intercession, Spiritual Warfare and Evangelism” school every time I mention it in our updates (kinda interrupts the flow), but I try to make the effort to write it out, or at least add a link to the W.I.S.E. school as a footnote for those who want to know more about it.

Consider your medium.

Your preferred method of communication, be it video, email, or pop-up-and-dance-around-the-room multimedia experiences, must come second to your audience’s preferences.

This is a hard one for me. I love using design-rich media, but find that at times my efforts are not worth the investment for the technical difficulties they bring for my readers. For those whose email hosts don’t receive HTML emails, I am sure to include a link to the newsletter online. Also, for some of our friends who don’t use email, I try to make the effort of sending them a paper copy of our newsletters (ok, my mom helps actually get it into their hands, thanks Mom).

One great comment I once received was, “Your newsletter looked great on my iPod!” While this happened by accident, it reminded me that some of our readers open our newsletters on small screens. Now I intentionally try to make HTML emails mobile-device friendly (550 pixels wide is great).

When we take time to consider our audience’s preferences, we show that we care about and respect them. And sometimes actions speak louder than words….

What do you consider when you craft a newsletter? What do you appreciate about the newsletters you enjoy reading? Please comment to help us all make our next newsletter remarkable!

Categories: Communication
Tags: , , ,

The Creative Process: Just Do It

Posted January 13, 2010 By Brent and has 6 comments.

Over the past few months I’ve been reading a lot about developing creativity. I’ve been inspired by those who make great books, photos, videos, and talks, and have wanted to stretch and grow my creativity, particularly in the area of graphic design.

One of the big obstacles to my growth has been my perfectionism, I hate making crap. I feel like my reputation is on the line with each work I produce.

I went to Rob Bell’s “Drops Like Stars” talk a couple months ago, where he quoted David Bayles & Ted Orland (Art & Fear):

“One of the difficult lessons every artist must learn is that even the failed pieces are essential.”

Though I hate “failed pieces,” I’ve been trying to make more of them (this blog being one of my efforts).

To that end, I finally printed and hung this piece, “Better Together,” on our wall. I don’t think it’s finished yet (my wife thinks it’s not finished just because it needs a frame), but it felt good to see my ideas printed on paper.

Better Together

This post isn’t an attempt to fish for compliments to boost my creative ego. I’m letting you into my journey of creativity, asking you, “What piece of art do you need to hang on the wall?”

Let’s be creative.

Categories: Design, Inspiration

Dan Pink’s talk on the science of motivation

Posted January 11, 2010 By Brent and has no comments yet.

I’ve been a fan of Dan Pink since reading his book, “A Whole New Mind”, where he talks about the growing importance of right-brained thinking in business.

In the talk above, Pink explains how traditional reward systems in business (“if-then” rewards) are not effective motivating people, particularly in the increasingly right-brain-ruled business world. He describes how “if-then” rewards narrow a person’s focus, often destroying creativity. The rewards that matter are intrinsic: autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Watch this talk and let me know what you think.
Categories: Inspiration

Escaping ‘death by PowerPoint’

Posted January 6, 2010 By Brent and has 4 comments.
Over the past couple years I’ve gained a huge interest in the art and science of public presentations. I enjoy the challenge of sharing an important message in a creative, effective way.

If you’re a presenter, teacher or public speaker, you’ve undoubtedly faced the challenge of engaging your audience, keeping their attention and helping them “get” what you’re trying to communicate. In an effect to communicate more effectively, most of us have looked to PowerPoint or other presentation software (like Keynote, my personal preference) to help us get our ideas across.

Presentation ZenOne resource that has helped me as I’ve developed lectures and presentations is Garr Reynolds’ book, Presentation Zen, and his blog. He writes about how to escape “death by PowerPoint” by simplifying your message and considering the role and design of your visual elements.

Below you can see a slide deck from a presentation I shared this morning to a new group of students at YWAM Denver. I shared about the importance of their participation in our community gatherings and what that looks like. You can see that, without me the presenter, these slides are kinda confusing and out of context. These images were not intended to be the presentation, but to support me, the presenter, in getting my message across.

View more presentations from brentmanke.

What tips or resources have helped you in preparing for your presentations?

Categories: Communication, Design

Nelson Mandela

Posted January 3, 2010 By Brent and has 2 comments.

This weekend we went to see “Invictus.” Great movie.

Nelson Mandela is an inspiring leader. His example of forgiveness and working to put an end to the cycle of fear in South Africa was powerful.

Two years ago, my wife and I got to spend three months in South Africa, working with young people with Youth With A Mission. It was an unforgettable experience. South Africa is a fascinating, complex, beautiful country. This film brought back many memories for us.

Thanks, Anthony, for posting this video.

Categories: Inspiration

What the Dog Saw

Posted January 1, 2010 By Brent and has 2 comments.

What the Dog Saw

I got a few good books at Christmas. My dilemma this week has been figuring out which to crack into first! A couple days ago I started into “What the Dog Saw” by Malcolm Gladwell, and am liking what I’m seeing.

“The trick to finding ideas [for stories] is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell. I say trick but what I really mean is challenge, because it’s a very hard thing to do. Our instinct as humans, after all, is to assume that most things are not interesting.”

Gladwell writes with intensity and passion. In chapter 1 he tells about “the Pitchman” Ron Popeil, describing his incredible ability to make people want to buy his inventions for the American kitchen.

I think, at least on my bad days, I tend to assume that things are not interesting. When I meet you, I’ll find out where you’re from, what you do, or how I know your friend’s girlfriend’s cousin’s brother, and assume I know your story. I assume that you’re not interesting, and deprive myself of really getting to know you, learning from you, investing in you.

Do you know any of those people that find everything, and everyone, interesting? My father-in-law’s like that. When he visited Denver for our wedding, their accommodations, the scenery, each meal, everything for him was not just good or normal, it was extraordinary! I marvel at adults who maintain a wonder and curiosity about the world.

Sometimes, when we’re bored with life, we talk about needing a “change of scenery.” I wonder if it’s not the scenery that needs to change, but our eyes that need to change, to assume that everything around us really is interesting.

In this new year may we see our scenery with fresh eyes. May we assume people interesting, and listen to their stories.

I’ll let you know how rest of book goes.

Categories: Books, Inspiration
Tags:

Happy New Year

By Brent and has no comments yet.

I wouldn’t call it a new year’s resolution (it’s just a “goal” that happens to have been make at the “new year” ;-) ), but I’m back on this blog, hoping to share my thoughts here with more frequency in the coming year.

I hope that 2010 is one of creativity and wonder for you.

Categories: Uncategorized