info@dowitcherdesigns.com, Author at Dowitcher Designs

How (not) to ask agencies for free work

It’s bound to happen. You have a great idea for a campaign, and no budget to pull it off. Or maybe you run a nonprofit and need to raise money, but don’t have the resources to make that happen. Whatever the reason, there often comes a time when you need to ask your agency to do something for free. We’ve been on the other side of that, and have developed a few do’s and...

What to do if you don’t know the full scope of your project

As you move into the request for proposal (RFP) process and start looking for agencies and partners, you’ll need a project scope and budget. But what if you don’t know the full project scope yet? It’s actually more common than you might think, and not necessarily a bad thing. It just means there is another step in the process. Going to an agency without a set scope will show you a lot...

Why you should communicate your budget upfront with your agency

Not everyone’s comfortable talking about money, even (in some cases, especially) with their agencies. But leaving budget discussions off the table is a bad idea. It can lead to misunderstandings, misalignment, and worse. Let’s look at a few scenarios. Say you really don’t have a set budget. I’ve been in the room with an agency owner who, when the client said he didn’t have a set budget,...

Top 7 Digital Marketing Trends in 2019

It’s that time of year again, when we’re all placing bets on the hottest trends for the next year. So you know I couldn’t miss out on that. But the thing is, most trends don’t just appear out of the blue… When we look at trends for 2019, a lot of them build on things we’ve seen and experienced over the last couple of years. In fact, if you look back at our predictions for 2017, we’re seeing...

Planning Your Year End Appeal

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. For giving, that is. And you want to plan for your nonprofit organization to take full advantage of year-end giving. The best way to craft a winning year end appeal campaign is to start planning early, to give yourself time to create ideas, develop assets, and have a plan ready to go. Then by the time you hit the season, it’s all execution,...

Understanding Your Agency’s Change Orders

Understanding Your Agency’s Change Orders Things have been rolling along with your project and all of a sudden your agency says your latest request is out of scope. You might have known that the request was a bit more than usual, or you might think it’s completely within scope (and then you’re probably frustrated). It depends on your project, the request, your relationship with the agency, and...

Creating a Request for Proposal (RFP)

You’re ready. You have the project funding, or at least enough to get you started. Or maybe you’re sure you’re going to get the funding but you need the official documentation to release it. Wherever you are in your process, you’re ready for qualified bids and it’s time to craft a Request for Proposals (RFP). We know there are many types of RFPs. We’re going to dig into the ones we know best and...

Predicting the Biggest Digital Trends of 2017

I’m always curious to read predictions for the coming year, and even more curious to later return to those types of posts to see what happened (and what didn’t). ‘Tis the season for a little future-facing hypothesizing, so I’m adding to the fun with some thoughts of what to expect in the digital realm in 2017. Voice Search Goes Mainstream We’ve already been seeing this, whether it’s “Hey, Siri”...

#OptOutside Campaign 2016: REI Builds on a Movement

Last year REI did something some retailers thought was crazy, and some marketers thought was brilliant: they decided to close their stores (and online fulfillment) on Black Friday, give employees a paid day off, and encourage everyone to get outside. The #OptOutside campaign started a movement bigger than the outdoor retailer and proceeded to win not only good will but a boatload of advertising...

Last Minute #GivingTuesday Campaign Tips

Last year we wrote a brief introduction to #GivingTuesday. With the global day of giving on November 30, 2021, we’ve got a little more than two weeks to either put the finishing touches on a campaign or put together some quick ideas on how to leverage what’s become a big day of fundraising. If you haven’t already, get your non-profit organization listed: GivingTuesday.org/join Easy win! Now on...

Author: info@dowitcherdesigns.com