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Newsletter #835: The “Good Ways to Do Good” Issue

[Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

Most companies have some sort of program or project to help a worthy cause, but too many of them feel like an afterthought. Here are a few ideas from smart marketers to help you make it more of a focus:

1> Help your customers with their causes
2> Don’t hide the good stuff you do
3> Build giving into what you’re selling
4> Check it out: GiveForward

1> Help your customers with their causes

An easy way to do good without coming up with the cause yourself is to simply help your customers with the good things they’re already working on. Think like CustomInk — whenever a shirt gets printed for a charity, they send a donation. As you can imagine, these groups are usually shocked to get an email after placing their order asking if CustomInk can make a contribution to their cause. And word is getting out — more and more charities are turning to CustomInk for their clothing orders.

The lesson: You don’t have to invent or organize a cause to do good things — just help your customers do more of what they’re already doing.

Learn more: MarketingProfs

2> Don’t hide the good stuff you do

If you’re doing good things for the world, make sure the world can see it. South Carolina’s Half Moon Outfitters, for example, isn’t hiding their solar panels on the roof. Instead, they assembled a functional, tree-like sculpture of them in front of their store. It’s partly art, but it’s more of a public statement about their commitment to sustainability — and it’s one of the first things customers see when they visit the store.

The lesson: If you’re working hard to do good, make it easy for your customers and the community to find out about it.

Learn more: The State

3> Build giving into what you’re selling

If you can directly tie your product to helping others, you can do big things for important causes — and for your business. A great example of this is Eggs for Soldiers. For each 6-pack of free range eggs customers buy, a portion of the proceeds go to the Help for Heroes charity. Each package explicitly lists how much gets donated, and the whole concept gives everyday consumers an easy way to help a cause while grocery shopping.

The lesson: Instead of indirectly supporting a worthy cause, is there a way to more directly tie your stuff to the people who could use the help?

Learn more: The Dieline

4> Check it out: GiveForward

GiveFoward is where friends and family can create their own donation pages to raise money for medical treatments for loved ones. Since 2008, this site has raised millions to help people with everything from liver transplants to breast cancer treatment.

Check it out: GiveForward

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