June has been DIY (do it yourself) marketing month.

I know, for many small business owners, every month is DIY marketing month. I highlighted what a few small businesses were doing a couple of weeks ago.

But before June totally fades from our memory, let me share with you some ideas that I’ve been collecting throughout the month.

Take a few that look good and put them on the top of your “to-do” list or pull in one of your best employees to get the job done.

1. Get yourself on a local radio show.

A friend with a money-saving-tips blog did a regular 15-minute call-in spot on a local radio talk show. Find this kind of opportunity in your community.

2. Create multi-use content.

When you do a blog, massage it into different formats for wider distribution — shorten for Twitter, give it a newspaper style for a press release (don’t forget to send to local publications), and translate into an infographic whenever possible.

3. Help a Reporter Out.

Register as a source on Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and volunteer information when requests match your expertise.

4. Join forums related to your business.

Follow discussions and post useful information.

Be sure to format your forum “signature” to promote your business. (See next item.)

5. Create an email and forum signature that links to your website and/or social media pages.

Use comments to promote your business when relevant.

6. Redouble your keyword efforts.

Take another look at your keywords. Use Übersuggest to find long-tail keywords.

7. Spruce up your website.

Web styles change and for many small businesses their website is a prospect’s first impression…how many chances do you get to make a first impression?

8. Join LinkedIn groups.

There are two types to join: the ones your customers are in and local groups. Local groups will often hold networking events. Attend.

9. Exchange links with noncompeting but related businesses.

Create a directory on your website for other local businesses that would interest your clients. Encourage them to do the same.

10. Double-check your business listings around the Internet.

Start with Google.

11. Dedicate your social media marketing to two platforms.

If you’ve allowed social media marketing for your small business to become an afterthought, think again. Design the best way for you to keep everything fresh and informative.

12. Listen to a marketing podcast every day.

Marketing is like a shark: if it’s not moving forward it dies. Find a marketing podcast that you enjoy, subscribe and listen during your commute or while you exercise.

You can subscribe and listen to the newest podcast from Constant Contact, Small Biz Stories, now.

13. Create a survey, either online or at your location.

People love to voice their opinions. If you’re hosting a survey on your website, promote it through the social media platforms you use.

14. Do a contest.

Host a contest in-store or try an online contest to engage your fans and followers on social media.

15. Offer a free ebook or white paper download.

Combine several blogs on related topics into a whitepaper or ebook and offer it as a free download in return for giving you an email address.

16. Plan out seasonal promotions for the rest of the year.

Get a marketing/editorial calendar going so you aren’t always doing things at the last minute. With a calendar you can also assign tasks to other employees more easily.

17. Check out the weird, wacky, and lesser known special days and have some fun with them.

You’ll find that at Days of the Year.

18. Volunteer to give at least one talk at a local community, business, or university group.

Build your authority and your visibility.

19. Donate something to a worthy group.

Create a a long-lasting relationship with the group.

20. Give your customers incentives to refer friends and buy more.

Find a good loyalty program strategy that will work for you.

21. Contact influential bloggers in your industry.

Compliment them. Start building relationships with thought leaders.

Pick 5 ideas and get started today!

Some of the items on my list are simple and can be accomplished in minutes. Others take a little more time. However, none are difficult or costly.

How about you, do you have some good DIY marketing ideas?

About the Author: Susan Solovic is THE Small Business Expert. Sign up for Susan’s Success Tips Newsletter and get your free copy of “Smart Marketing Strategies for Small Biz” ebook.

All organizations know that email marketing is a critical component of donor engagement and gift solicitation.

Yet, it’s obvious that people are inundated with email: personal, work, and promotional messages drown inboxes daily. When your email does get opened and read, how should you structure your email to improve your chances of engaging the reader?

In this post, we’ll cover five essential elements of an effective fundraising email .

But first, a quick discussion about the importance of mobile.

More than half of emails are read on a mobile device. And some studies claim even more than that.

Let’s illustrate why mobile is so important.

Which email seems like it would be easier to read on a mobile device?

classy image 1classy fundraising email 2

The small text in the second image is barely legible, let alone clickable.

In a consumer survey by the Relevancy Group, respondents were asked to select their biggest mobile email turnoff. 32 percent of respondents said, “too small to read or interact with” and 21 percent answered, “not well-formatted for mobile phones.”

Write fundraising emails that are short, legible, and have one clear call to action that’s easy to tap.

Pro Tip: Remember that if a donor was compelled enough to click your donate button on their phone, they’re very interested in making a gift. Make sure your donation page is also mobile-optimized so they’re not met with a messy, unmanageable form.

Now, let’s look at 5 critical parts of any fundraising email:

classy fundraising email template

1. Branded header

Always include your organization’s logo in the header of the email. If the email is for a specific campaign, include your campaign hashtag.

Classy branded header

Your email should never be ambiguous. A fundraising email targets past donors, so good branding continuously builds familiarity and trust with supporters. Consistently brand your emails so that readers quickly recognize your organization and recall their positive association with your mission.

2. Eye-catching visual

classy visual email example

Images hit humans’ emotional center, can educate readers about a topic, and demonstrate impact to supporters. The majority of email readers spend only 0-15 seconds on an email and because we process images must faster than words, the visual element of a fundraising email is important.

Here are some ideas for an image you can incorporate into a fundraising email:

  • A constituent’s photo
  • A map
  • Part of an infographic
  • A photo of your field work
  • A photo of a recent fundraising event

Remember that the photo should match the theme and appeal of your email. If your fundraising email addresses an upcoming 5K, you might consider a photo of last years’ event.

If you’re running a specific campaign, try a constituent’s photo that directly addresses the program a donation benefits.

3. Appeal

Classy email appeal image

The fundraising appeal should be compelling, yet concise.

Answer these questions: What is the problem? What is the solution? How will a reader’s donation directly impact the solution?

Your work is important and the problems you address are often complex, but resist the urge to dive too deep. It’s never a bad thing to link out to in-depth articles, studies, or reports, but keep your email easy to digest.

Show readers that you value their time and support.

Donors have already demonstrated that they care about your cause, so give them the facts and proof they require to feel good about supporting your organization.

Think about the donation page you link out to. Make sure the messages are symmetrical. If you convince someone to take action in an email, there should be no surprises when they land on the donation form.

4. Call to action

classy call to action image

Your fundraising email should always include a call to action button.

The call to action (CTA) brings home the email’s goal.  Make the copy specific and use action verbs to compel the reader. Answer the question: What is the next step you want the reader to take?

Since this post covers fundraising email, specifically, you’ll likely want the reader to Donate Now. In other cases though, your CTA might be to Read Now, Tweet Now, or Register Now.

Pro tip: Use only one call to action per fundraising email. These emails are very specific, so the more direct you can be, the better. Too many options might paralyze readers or lead them down a path that wasn’t your intended “next step.” If you want readers to donate, ask them to donate now.

5. Footer

classy image footer

Your email footer doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but include your organization’s contact information, and an unsubscribe option. Here’s a nice example from Team Rubicon. They added their logo, which reinforces their brand and included contact information.

example email footer image

The beautiful thing about these six essential elements? You don’t need fancy designers or code skills to any of it! When it comes to fundraising emails, simplicity rules. Now go out there and use the essentials to craft messages that compel readers to donate

To prepare for this post, I performed an online search for the phrase “how much should I pay myself?” I received a staggering 61.9 million results, clearly demonstrating it is a subject of much interest.

After reading some of the articles and accompanying comments, I discovered it is also a subject of much frustration.

While having the freedom to set your own salary sounds great in theory, in practice, many entrepreneurs find it is not all it’s cracked up to be. Determining how much to pay yourself, when to pay yourself, and where to get the funds to pay yourself depends on a variety of factors.

Let’s take a look at some of those factors now:

Start with Your Business Structure

When we question how much to pay ourselves, we are referring to the amount that will appear on our W-2. In some cases, you have discretion to determine your compensation; in other situations, the IRS tax form preparation process will set the amount for you. The determining factor is your company’s legal structure.

  • Sole proprietors and single-person LLCs: Your compensation is equal to your net income as reported on line 31 of Form 1040, Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business). This is your reported self-employment income. You will pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on this amount, and it is included in your overall income tax calculations. Because your compensation is the same as your income, there is no formal paycheck in this setup.
  • Multi-person LLCs: Considered partnerships, there is no salary involved; only guaranteed compensation in the form of payments and distributions. Again, you will pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on the amounts received.
  • S and C corps: You have compensation options — as an employee (salary and bonus) and as an owner (dividends), or a mix. With the dividend tax rate usually lower than the combined income and payroll tax rate, there is a tendency to maximize dividends and minimize payroll. The IRS is alert for this practice, so tread carefully.

To provide “protection” if audited, you should calculate a “reasonable” compensation for your responsibilities and the amount of time you devote to the position. Research recruitment websites, newspaper want ads, salary surveys conducted by industry trade groups, and ask others in similar positions. Another “protection” is to pay yourself an amount up to the Social Security base so the government is receiving all its payroll taxes.

In a company where you are not the majority shareholder, the board of directors will typically determine your compensation based on comparable positions in related companies. It is a best governance practice for the founder/CEO not to sit on his or her own company compensation committee.

What to Pay Yourself With

You pay yourself with cash in the bank. Do not confuse this with sales. Sales are not the final amount of cash available. You are paying yourself out of the net balance, which is the amount left after you deduct all your expenses, such as rent, compensation for your employees, marketing, office supplies, travel, insurance, and IT.

However, even net income is not a satisfactory target. If you give your customers 30-day terms to pay, while the sale may have been made in April, you might not collect the cash until May or June. So cash receipts may lag sales. You can’t take a salary or keep your business running profitably without cash, so keep your eye on this target.

Pay Strategies

Depending on the maturity of your company and your plans for the business, you may adopt different compensation strategies.

  • Start-up mode: It is typical for a start-up to be cash-flow negative in its early months, if not years. This results from one-time start-up expenses like buying equipment, building out a facility, stocking inventory, marketing to attract customers, building products or websites, legal and accounting costs, and rent and utility deposits. Also at start-up, there are no or few customers. As such, during these times, your compensation will be light as there are no funds to pay more. Hopefully, you had prepared a business plan, including a cash-flow forecast, so you knew the range of your compensation during this period, and if there was not enough to “live on,” you have made other arrangements.
  • Lifestyle vs. ramp and sell: If you intend to own and operate your company for many years, which is what 95 percent of entrepreneurs plan, then you will want to develop, over time, a predictable compensation plan both to meet your personal needs and be predictable for yourself and the company.

However, if you are in the 5 percent who plan to start a company, ramp up products/services and sales quickly and then sell the business, your main reward will be when you sell. In this scenario, you will have very modest compensation during the time you are ramping up the company. The good news is that the sale of the company will probably be taxed at capital gains rates, which are lower than ordinary income and payroll tax rates. Of course, while this compensation plan applies to you and other owners, your employees will need competitive compensation and benefits to attract and retain them.

  • Wait and see: Obviously, you need cash to pay compensation, and in a start-up or growing business, the cash on hand is often very unpredictable, so you need a flexible pay calculator. You can either pay yourself a percentage of cash profits, or you can pay yourself modestly during the year and a larger amount at year-end when you know the results for the year.

What to Do With the Compensation Received

Your compensation belongs to you and not the company. So first deposit the compensation received in your personal bank account. Then you can decide to use it for personal needs or reinvest in the company, which will take the form of providing equity or a loan.

What Am I Worth?

This is a good statistic to know as you have options to continue to work for yourself or join another team, but you will not find this number in any financial statement or wage report. Revisit the compensation information you found in your research for comparable positions. If your company does not have the cash resources to pay you this amount, you might consider working for someone else.

Key Lessons

  • There is less flexibility in setting one’s compensation than many entrepreneurs anticipate.
  • Compensation strategies are different for startup vs. ongoing businesses, and for business that you plan to operate for many years vs. quickly grow and sell.
  • You need a business plan with financial forecasts to know if will have sufficient cash to pay yourself a reasonable compensation

Looking for more small business management advice? Check out some of Hal’s other posts on how to plan and run your business:

About the author: Hal Shelton’s business planning skills were developed as a certified SCORE small business mentor, corporate executive, nonprofit board member, early-stage company investor, and author of The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan: A Pro Shares a Step-By-Step Guide to Creating a Plan That Gets Results. Suggestions for additional topics are welcome: email Hal directly from his website:www.secretsofbusinessplans.com.