It’s because of you that we have the opportunity to do work we’re proud of. Work that makes a difference for the people we serve. It’s been almost a year and a half since we stepped into ownership of YLM and we’re amazed at the problems we’ve had the opportunity to solve, the connections that have been made and the doors that have been opened. It’s a privilege to use our gifts in a diverse and creative way in the digital marketing and photography space.

We’ve branched out this past year in providing several new services… professional and brand photography, SEO marketing and PR. We’ve also had the opportunity to dip our toes into a handful of new industries including commercial and residential construction, spa services and private equity. We’ve been challenged to grow and are always learning how to tell our client’s stories in the most effective way in an ever changing age. But one thing remains the same; we’re committed to coming alongside you to develop your identity, reach your people, and mobilize your champions. So, please don’t hesitate to reach out if there are continued ways we can serve your organization.

We’ll leave you with an inspiring thought from one of our favorites, Steve Jobs, that speaks to any endeavor you’ve committed to and not just the entrepreneurial kind. Keep persevering!

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful ones is pure perseverance.”

With love and gratitude for you,
Jason & Kelly Hunter

P.S. The first 3 people to wish Yellow Leaf Marketing Happy Birthday will win a $20 Starbucks Gift Card, so don’t be shy!

The post Happy 8th Birthday to Us! appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

With our client’s photography needs continuing to grow, we felt it’s time we really showed off what we can do. I’m excited to announce that we now are offering family photography as one of our services! While we will continue to offer commercial and business photography, we believe it’s time to add this really stunning style of UNPOSED photography to our set of services.

What makes UNPOSED so unique is that we will give you the cues and direction to truly enjoy the photo session without all the “say cheese!” awkwardness. With UNPOSED you will laugh and have fun making memories while capturing each personality of your family.

Since photographs make such a great Holiday gift, I know our fall photo sessions will start to fill up fast. Book your session today by filling out the form below!

The post Our New Service Will Make You Smile…Literally appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecc. 3:1

On the morning of July 5th, 2011, I sat down at my computer, took a deep breath and started Yellow Leaf Marketing. Zero clients. Zero revenue. Three prospects. A supportive family. And a lot of courage. Here we are nearly seven years later and what a ride it has been!

In those early days, I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to hire so many talented creative folks, who just happen to be some of my most favorite people in the world. Over the years, I’ve learned so much from working side by side with our team. I’ve been sharpened and enriched because of their investment in this work.

But we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the ministries, non-profits, foundations, and businesses who trusted us with developing their voice, brand and communities. The individuals who represent these incredible organizations have become more like family than clients and we couldn’t have asked for anything more than the gift that these relationships have been to our family.

This past year brought an unbelievable amount of change into our lives and business… From pursuing new ventures and adding new team members, to having babies and moving homes, our whole team underwent a lot of transition. Without a doubt, this was a year for growth in every way. As YLM continued to grow, it became clear to Courtney and me that we were lacking the margin in this season of our lives that we feel is necessary to running a healthy business while raising a growing family. As we prayerfully considered what our next steps would be, God was already providing the answer…

Today, we are beyond excited to announce that our dear friends and colleagues, Jason and Kelly Hunter, have taken ownership of Yellow Leaf Marketing and will be leading the day-to-day operations and overall vision for the company moving forward. We couldn’t be happier that it’s them.

Not only will we have a full-time staff who is passionate about this work and well-equipped to serve our clients, but we are also gaining two of the most honest, hard-working and creative people we know. Kelly has worked as our Lead Designer for several years (she’s also a pretty talented photographer) and Jason has developed many of the web design projects that we’ve been apart of (through our partner company, Websults). To say that they are already meaningfully invested in our work would be an understatement. We are so excited for them and the future of Yellow Leaf. We hope you’ll get to know Jason and Kelly. We know you’re going to love them as much as we do.

One of the greatest joys of my life has been and will always be this work. Thank you for letting us play a part in your story.

I’ll always be grateful for you,

Danny

The post We’re Turning Over A New Leaf appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

The post Hello word appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Yes, Christmastime is second-to-none, but what I’m talking about are those last minute, Hail Mary, maybe-this-will-work year-end fundraising efforts. I get it… not all organizations arrive at year-end without a plan in place; just fishing for whatever might help them get in the black before 12/31. Most nonprofits do have a solid plan –  a tried and true year-end fundraising strategy that has worked year after year. This is great. But this strategy could become tired and predictable if it’s the same thing you’ve always done.

Here’s what we know: Most of your major donors give one gift per year, and that gift usually makes its appearance sometime between December 1st and December 31st. Some of you may have a monthly giving campaign which is great for your organization’s cash-flow, but more than likely only accounts for less than 20% of your overall revenue. Which brings us to year-end. You’re staring at that gap between projected and realized income and something must to be done. Some nonprofits host an annual gala or banquet and others focus their efforts on an online giving campaign delivered through video, email, web and social media. Whatever your method of choice, there are a few things I’d like to remind you of as we deck the halls and and prepare our 2017 Annual Reports.

This post is for nonprofit and ministry CEOs, leaders, fundraisers and marketing teams. Let’s take a few minutes and talk about some things that work, some things that don’t and how to NOT get on your donor’s “naughty list”.

Tell Your Story.

I want to remind you of something. Your donors became emotionally engaged with your organization before they became financially engaged. What was it that peaked their interest? What did they see or hear or experience that caused them to lean in a bit closer to your work?

Your organization’s story.

Your story is powerful. It tells us about a specific problem and who this problem affects. We resonate and want to do something about this problem. Your story tells us a little more about your solution and the important role you’re playing in fixing the problem. It tells us what steps will be taken toward restoration. It gives us a clear way to connect our passion and life’s mission with action.

You see, your story is what keeps your donors coming back.

This year, when you’re making your year-end asks, go back to your roots. Why did you even start this work in the first place? What was it that got your first core group of donors excited about the work? Start there. Tell that story. Sure, there will be details to fill in and latest updates to give, but don’t deviate from your story.

Report First. Ask Second.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – a lot of nonprofit organizations and ministries suffer from “shiny-object syndrome”. It doesn’t take much to send them on an unnecessary detour and part ways with their mission. Peter Greer, CEO at Hope International, wrote a book called Mission Drift that dives deep into this epidemic. You should pick up a copy if you don’t already have it. Where mission drift can really hurt ministries is at year-end, which is oftentimes when the majority of your donors come back around for an update on how things are going. Far too often, ministries are quick to tell the donor a brand new initiative that they are focusing on in the New Year, instead of what worked and what didn’t over the course of the past year. Donors are oftentimes complicit in this too. They are not holding grantees more accountable to what it was they said there were setting out to accomplish. They are letting them off the hook.

This is why it is imperative to report first and ask second. In other words, don’t make a new ask of your donors without first giving a simple, yet thorough annual report on what was accomplished this year. Sometimes donors may ask for a report – that’s great! Provide them whatever it is they specifically ask for. However, the reality is that most of your donors will not ask for a specific update. Before making your ask, I recommend giving your donors an update on the following:

• The goals and objectives for the current calendar year (what your donor gave towards last year). Were these goals and objectives fulfilled? What specific outcomes did you see?
• Provide three examples of top successes from the year.
• Provide three examples of shortcomings from the year.

Now that you’ve given your donors a good look into how your year went, you can move on to what your goals are for the coming year. Be sure to include:

• Your main focus for this new year. What does your strategic plan include?
• Describe, in detail, how your donor’s grant will be utilized and spent. It’s a good idea to include a project budget within your grant proposal.

This “report” does not have to be long. Keep it simple…just one or two pages will suffice. This time of year, your donors are likely looking at many ministry and nonprofit updates for the organizations they support and a shorter report with punch and brevity may be the breath of fresh air your donor needs.

In conclusion, don’t make your ask without providing some kind of update on your work over the course of the last year. Be transparent and show that you can and will be held accountable to your prior year’s commitments. I promise, your donors want to know what’s working and what’s not. They want to be brought in on the problem-solving process. They want to know what their investment return is. Show them.

Make it Personal.

“Hello? Anybody there?”

This is most definitely not the response you want from your donors when they receive your year-end letter or email. Be approachable and personal. Tell your story. And, no matter the method of your ask, don’t do it in a robotic way. One size does not fit all in funding asks. If you were having a face-to-face conversation with one of your major donors about their prospective grant for the upcoming year, you wouldn’t talk to them as though they were brand new donors, giving less than $100 per year, right? Then why would you send the same exact communication to major donors that you’re sending to smaller donors?

I’m not saying that someone who has given $50 once is any less important than someone who has given over $25,000 annually over the course of many years. That’s not the case at all. What I am saying is that these two individuals need to be communicated to differently. Be smart. Be thoughtful.

An easy way to do this is to segment your email and snail mail list based on the number of years the donor has been giving to your organization and also by the size of their gift. Then, you can write letters, record videos, prepare reports for certain donor segments and not just your entire donor database, which could feel very impersonal

Be human. Treat your year-end fundraising efforts as if you’ll be having face-to-face conversations with each of your donors. Yeah, I get it – that’s not scalable at all. But you can be wise and do the heavy-lifting of segmenting your donor lists and creating more personalized inviting messages for them to read and take action on.

In closing, if you can remind your donors of why they first became emotionally engaged with your work and show them clear and concise details of how the mission is currently being accomplished, you will surely make your organization a top priority for your donors and stay off of their ‘Naughty List’. Don’t give in to the temptation of including lots of fluff, insider-language and inconsequential details. This December, give your donors the gift of a crystal-clear, data-focused, story-driven update followed by a confident ask.

Here’s to a profitable year-end for your organization!

The post Year-End Fundraising appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

March Madness can create confusion for us when it comes to making the best team selections. Making selections for the best digital marketing tools to use for your small business or nonprofit can be a really confusing process as well. It’s hard to know what tools will be the right fit for you and your team. Maybe this was the year that you wanted to make some changes to your internal marketing toolkit, but it’s March and other things have taken a precedent.

With small businesses and nonprofits in mind, our team compiled a list of our favorite design, marketing, and productivity tools that help us get the job done. The majority of these tools are inexpensive or free to purchase and don’t have a high learning curve in order to use them effectively.

Our designer’s top picks:

Dribbble.com: One of the first steps I take in creating a design is research. Usually the first place I start is Dribbble to see what some of my favorite designers have done recently that might spark inspiration. “There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.” –Milton Glaser

Adobe Creative Suite: There are lots of fantastic user-friendly programs for design. But what’s that best? When it comes to design and layout, Adobe has it covered. With all their different programs, the sky’s the limit! That’s why it’s a designer’s number one choice for creative freedom. The only downside is that there is a learning curve; you probably won’t be able to just open a program and know what to do without some coaching. However, if you have the time to learn some of the programs, you’ll be glad you did.

Our content marketing specialist’s top picks:

Canva: If you’re not an experienced designer, then Canva is an awesome tool for amateur (and wannabe) graphic designers. The simple templates and easy navigation give users a chance to explore techniques without all the overwhelming options of more advanced systems.

Lynda: For those of you who don’t necessarily have the ability to hire outside help to accomplish some of your marketing objectives, Lynda is the perfect tool! This website hosts an endless number of tutorial videos on tons of different subjects: from animation and architecture to photography and podcasts. The online courses are led by some of the field’s most successful leaders, providing step by step instructions and encouragement.

Our marketing specialist’s top picks:

Wunderlist: I’d have to say that my ultimate organizational favorite would be Wunderlist—when I have a fleeting thought on a task or detail that I need to remember, I can quickly add it to the list, set a reminder or due date, and forget it. Too many details swirling in my head begs for me to forget some, so Wunderlist actually becomes my second brain!

Slack: Slack is another favorite productivity tool of mine. We use Slack almost exclusively for internal team communication. It’s cut down on the number of emails being sent and allows for us to bring together all the people and pieces we need to collaborate on client projects. Slack recently introduced Threaded messaging, which allows for the right members of our team to have side conversations on content that’s posted without clogging up our Slack Channel’s main feed. The organizational geek in me is loving that feature!

Our client experience director’s top picks

Google Analytics: We consistently report on how our digital marketing services are impacting the main KPIs for each of our client’s businesses. BUT it can be time consuming. Google Analytics makes it easy for us to analyze website performance and traffic as well as keep an eye on how social media marketing is impacting a client’s website. Google Analytics allows you to automate your reporting with the Spreadsheets Add-on, so the right data is automatically moved into a spreadsheet that can be easily shared. You can also schedule reports to be emailed to specific people within your organization right from the Google Analytics dashboard.

Rafflecopter: Contests and giveaways can be used in so many different ways to give back and significantly grow your online communities. In my opinion, Rafflecopter is the gold standard for giveaways. I love that it’s built in a way to keep everything about the giveaway organized for you, so you can view not only the giveaway details, but also the giveaway entries and stats, all in one place. It will even randomly select the winner for you!

The post Our Team’s Elite 8 Marketing Tools appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

Here’s the thing: when Danny and I joined social networks well over a decade ago, we used them as a way to digitally communicate with people we were actually friends with. There was an already existing relationship. Let’s take Facebook for example; that’s how we connected with our high school and college friends online and visually kept up with them when we weren’t physically with them. For example, we posted pictures like this when we thought this kind of thing was funny. (Side note: One of us still does think this kind of thing is funny

At the time, we didn’t know that one day social networks would be a forum for making judgments and starting arguments. We believed they would help us stay better connected. But lately they’ve become a platform to divide us.

It’s becoming increasingly hard to scroll the socials and see the way we treat each other. We ignore, we poke fun, we disrespect, we call people names, we don’t listen, we boast, and then we forget what we said and we start all over. And the reality is, I don’t think we would do these same things if we were actually in the presence of the people we are actually talking to online, some of which we have a real relationship with and some of which we do not. I know this because when we sit around the dinner table with another family that we disagree with on most things, but one we love dearly, we don’t do these things. Do you?

Back in the day when businesses started using social media to reach potential customers, marketing experts wrote a lot about social etiquette for both individuals and for companies. I think it would serve us well to reacquaint ourselves with some social etiquette. So I am humbly suggesting that this year we work to treat our social relationships as if they were real by doing these 4 things:

Observe – Imagine you’re meeting someone for the first time or you’re meeting up with an old friend or you’re going to a party where you meet a whole new crew of people. What do you do? You observe appearance and body language–looking for clues that tell you more about who that person is, what the person cares about, and maybe how that person is feeling. You pay attention to the details. You do this so that you have a better chance of connecting with that person by finding common interests and things to talk about.

Observation Tip– Before you enter a social conversation either personally or on behalf of your business, pay attention to the details of what someone is saying. Don’t let a snippet of what someone said set you off or allow you to discount a potential customer just because you disagree. Do your homework and always assume the best about people.

Listen – In order to actually cultivate a relationship with someone, you have to hear what they are saying. This is an area where I long to grow. I am not the best listener that ever walked the earth. Danny reminded me of that recently during our weekly team meeting when he said to me, “You remember when you asked me for some podcasts to listen to a couple of days ago? I thought psshhhh, she’ll never take the time to really listen to a podcast.” While this may be slightly offensive, it may also be true and something I needed to hear…partially because I am easily distracted from listening well by other things that must get done in my day that take up mental space (and partially because I’m just not great at listening).

Listening Tip – Here is what I know: when I take the time to listen and really hear what my friends are saying, our relationship is strengthened and it provides me an opportunity to really speak into their life. The same goes for social. When we take the time to really listen to what people we connect with online are saying, then our words resonate and form a deeper connection that might forge the way to a real friendship or mutually beneficial business relationship.

Respond & Relate – Proverbs says that words have the power to bring life or death, and the way we respond to someone can usher life or death into our relationship with them. Do we want to reply to our friends in a way that may stunt the growth of the relationship or do we want that relationship to continue to flourish?

Response & Relate Tip – If we want our social relationships to flourish in the way that our real relationships do, then our words should be seasoned with Grace. That way, the person we’re chatting with can actually hear what we are saying. We also need to say things that actually relate to the thing we’re discussing and don’t take us on a wild goose chase. I for one don’t know many wild goose chases that ended well.

Follow Up – This one is pretty simple…our relationships wouldn’t sustain themselves if you or the person that you have a relationship with doesn’t follow up. You have to continually follow up on the last conversation that was had or your relationship becomes stagnant. Eventually, you may no longer even be considered a friend.

Follow Up Tip – If someone shares something with you or your business online that is personal, important, or really anything at all, we’re quick to reply. But if you really want to create a WOW moment, follow up with them after a reasonable amount of time goes by. This shows you actually care about them and that your social experience isn’t all about what you have to say. This is why marketing automation is magical for businesses because it allows them to follow up with their customers in a personal way. And here’s the deal – if businesses can do it, then so can individuals.

Here’s to hoping that our social relationships begin to look more like real relationships this year!

The post What If We Treated Our Social Relationships As If They Were Real? appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

You’ve heard of the “friend-zone,” right? I think there’s also something called the “vendor-zone.” Oftentimes, companies like ours are viewed as vendors only – just an entity who you outsource work to and expect it to be done in a timely manner. There is no relationship or shared goal in this scenario. That’s not what we’re aiming for.

A pretty funny example of this is from a few years ago when we were stuck in the “vendor-zone” with a client. Things with this client had already been a little tense and a lot of our ideas had been met with pushback and criticism. It was becoming clear to me that we were not aligned well with this client, but I decided to not exit the project early and try to finish the website well.

During one conversation, I mentioned to the client that we usually put a small line of text at the bottom of our clients’ websites that says something like “made with love by Yellow Leaf Marketing.” Their response to this was as follows: “There will be absolutely no third party advertising on my website!”

Well…I did get a good laugh from this, but it was also pretty troubling for me. We weren’t a good fit at all because we were stuck in the “vendor-zone.” There was no shared passion or shared goal. We were simply there to design and code. I learned a lot from those few months working with this client. I learned that our first priority needs to be a true relationship, where there is mutual respect and admiration for one another.

Thankfully we have incredible relationships with our clients today. We hardly ever feel like we’re slaving away in the “vendor-zone,” but that we’re a valuable part of their team — in it with them, day-to-day marching forward toward a shared goal.

To my Christian brothers and sisters who find themselves sitting down at their computer this morning/afternoon/evening jumping into another week of work, trying to find purpose in it and having a hard time of seeing past the to-do list and finding true meaning, ask yourself these questions: “Who are you working for?” and “Do real relationships exist with your coworkers and clients?”

This week, may we see past our tasks and see how serving our work is a labor of pure love… love for our Creator and the First Worker, God Almighty, and for our neighbor.

Just a reminder, our 8×10 Word Art LOVE is available for download below:

The post Relationships Really Matter appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

Same word. Different intents. Of course I don’t love pizza as much as I love my baby girl, but I use the same word. Maybe the english language does us a disservice here.

In the Greek language, there are a few different words to describe love…eros, philia, storge and agape.

Agape love centers around sacrificial love and I like its definition best:

“Unconditional love that is always giving and impossible to take or be a taker. It devotes total commitment to seek your highest best no matter how anyone may respond. This form of love is totally selfless and does not change whether the love given is returned or not.”

So why is love one of our core values? I think first and foremost because we really feel a sacrificial love for our work. Kind of like the story of the yellow leaf, we also exist to sacrificially serve.

Secondly, as believers we view our work as worship. To us, there is no spiritual | secular divide. It’s all spiritual. So if our work is worship, then our work is directly related and connected to our relationship with God.

In her Why Work essay, Dorothy Sayers puts it this way:

“Where we have become confused is in mixing up the ends to which our work is put with the way in which the work is done. The end of the work will be decided by our religious outlook: as we are so we make. It is the business of religion to make us Christian people, and then our work will naturally be turned to Christian ends, because our work is the expression of ourselves…Or perhaps we may put it more shortly still: If work is to find its right place in the world, it is the duty of the Church to see to it that the work serves God, and that the worker serves the work.”

Did you catch that? A Christian’s work should naturally result in Christian ends — Worship. The work, if done as worship, will serve God. Therefore, according to Sayers, it is the duty of the worker to “serve the work.” She also says that “to serve the work is a labor of pure love.”

We strive to love God through our work at Yellow Leaf. If we only focus on pleasing our clients or pleasing the community, we will falsify our work, like we talked about in our recent Authenticity post. If we view our work as a labor of pure love — love of God — then we are freed up to do incredible work for His glory.

To our clients, yes we love YOU and we love working FOR you. But we have made love a core value of our business, because it’s to that end — the love of God — that we work.

This also has deep implications in our relationships with each other and with our clients and we’ll take more about this in an upcoming post later this week called, “Relationship Really Matter.”

Today’s 8×10 Word Art: LOVE

The post Love appeared first on Yellow Leaf Marketing.

A good name and favor…. Seriously, these are to be desired more than great wealth, financial security, solid retirement plan, stock options, the next big deal and on and on.

How does someone achieve “a good name” and “favor” in their city? I wholeheartedly believe this has everything to do with honesty and integrity. Sure, what you do is important, but how you do it means everything.

This week we are combining a couple of our values into one post because honesty and integrity go hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other.

You don’t have to be a social psychologist to look around our culture today and see that most everyone is trying to gain a “step up” in their work and trying to do it right now. It’s like the long game has all but disappeared. Our need for instant gratification has seeped into the way we work.

You know who I’ve been learning a lot from lately? Farmers. Farming is the epitome of the long game. They sow, they reap, but nothing is ever instant. They are patient students of the ground they cultivate and the crops they yield. They might not see a return on what they’re working on for years. But that’s their game. And it should be ours as well.

Our tools of the trade to do the hard work we’re facing today need to be integrity and honesty. Consistent integrity in our work and honesty in our relationships will yield a harvest that a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants business deal never could. This is when a good name becomes better than riches – when you get used to the beautiful long game of business.

Be consistent.

Show up every time.

Be trustworthy.

Be dependable.

Over deliver.

Give things away.

Do something because it’s right, not because it’s lucrative.

This is why integrity is the foundation for trust in every relationship. We need to know you will hold up your end of the deal in order to see it flourish. This is also why honesty is the glue holding our work ethic together. Like we’ve said before, we’re not trying to be them, and being honest about who we are and what we do will pay dividends in the future. We’re sure of it.

This week, let’s strive to till the soil in our workplace, knowing that the return might not be seen for years. We might be gone before the fruit appears. Let’s throw off the desire to see fruit right away and be patient students, like the farmer, using honesty and integrity as our primary tools to see our work flourish.

Today’s 8×10 Word Art (if you’re like and us need a daily reminder): INTEGRITY and HONESTY:

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