NTEN (The Nonprofit Technology Network) is offering a chance to win free admission to the Online Nonprofit Technology Conference,
September 16 and 17, 2009. It's not only a great chance for some lucky non-profit folks to get free professional development, but there's a quick lesson in online marketing that you might be able to use in your own organization.
The Conference
This 2-day online event is geared towards the “tech responsible”
individuals within any nonprofit organization — IT staff, Executive
Directors, CIOs, CTOs, and others in charge of technology. Content will
cover what Tech and IT Leaders need to know to hone their skills and
understanding, to make better informed technology decisions.
(See the
detailed agenda for the Online Nonprofit Technology Conference here.)
The Contest
For a chance to win a free registration, just share your greatest
challenge in managing technology in your organization in the comments
at What’s Holding Your Technology Back?
on the NTEN blog. On Tuesday, September 8th, two of the commenters will
be picked to win free registrations to the ONTC — and every “serious
commenter” will get 25% off the regular registration price ($250 for
NTEN members / $350 for nonmembers).
The Marketing Lesson
Look at some of the different things that NTEN is accomplishing by running a contest around the online conference:
- Engaging its constituents (folks who work with nonprofits) in a conversation on a topic of pressing interest to them
- Gathering concrete information from those constituents, empowering NTEN to better serve its members
- Drawing attention to the conference, to raise its public profile and potentially attract more participants
- Offering a discounted rate for those who provide information, to further encourage people to participate, and
- Drawing attention to NTEN and its programs in general, the first step in attracting new members.
Everybody wins.
And this is key: It’s a fair trade. The online conference, the
contest, and the organization itself all offer real value to members
and prospective members alike. Plus, non-profit folks get to air their
frustrations, challenges and questions about technology use in their
organizations — to enter the conversation as well as the contest.
Could your organization do the same kind of thing?
Polls and surveys
are a great start to learn more about your members and supporters, but
if you can add a contest or free bonus for participation, it ups the
response rate. Not only that, but contests have a way of going viral —
increasing the online exposure for your organization through the power
of social media.
Meanwhile, you’re gaining a lot of valuable, first-hand, concrete and actionable information, to help you improve the
programs and services that your non-profit delivers and reach out to more potential supporters.
For more tips and tools, see also:
Has your non-profit or association ever run a contest as a way to
learn more about the challenges facing your members and constituents?
Tell us about it in the comments!
