damselfly digital

Ignore the rumors: Email marketing is alive and well. But somewhere along the way, we made it far more complicated than it needs to be. A newsletter was never meant to be a performance, tangled in algorithms, analytics, content calendars, and the pressure to consistently produce something compelling. At its core, it's an opportunity to share something meaningful with people who trust you enough to have invited you into their inbox. It's a way to communicate more intimately wi

“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves. Follow a system wherever it leads. It will be sure to lead across traditional disciplinary lines.” Donella Meadows I'm a marketer, but marketing myself is some of my most challenging work. Clarifying my unique value proposition has been a rewarding exercise in understanding not only what I do, but how I think, what I value, and what makes my approach different. The truth is,I'm a skilled, knowledgeable, and expe

Nonprofit growth depends on more than a compelling mission or a well-executed fundraising campaign. It depends on TRUST. People want to know who they're supporting, what an organization stands for, where their money goes, and whether their contribution will make a meaningful difference. Before someone becomes a donor, they need a reason to believe. That's why communications isn't simply a promotional function that supports fundraising. It's the foundation that makes sustainab

"Great writing - and great thinking - should be at least a little unexpected. It should challenge, delight, probe and grab. It has a lot of work to do. In short, it should be anything but average." Farah Cormack We tend to think of feng shui as something we practice in our physical environments: arranging furniture, clearing clutter, improving the flow of a room, or creating spaces that support how we want to feel and live. But what if we applied those same principles to the

“Creativity is the ultimate differentiator and force multiplier.” Liz Taylor I've spent my career watching online marketing evolve. I came into this field into 2013, as social media was expanding from personal networks to businesses and organizations. I watched website SEO blogging and digital PR become essential, email transform how brands communicate, and influencer marketing reshape how consumers discover products and services. Each shift changed how we worked, where we i

There’s no question about it: I love what I do. That’s why I keep doing it after all these years. And I know I am not the only one. The longer I work in this field, the more I realize that marketing is an unusually good career fit for people like me who are the Generalists. Curious, creative, adaptable, multipassionate, and multidimensional. Even when it can feel like a thankless job, here are some of the reasons I am in it for the long haul: I love thinking. I love researchi

"The earlier communications has a seat at the table, the fewer surprises an organization faces later." Jason Queseda “Can you help us communicate this?”These words are all too common for Comms professionals to hear. When you're at this point, that means the decision has already been made. The rational established. The direction is set. The timeline is decided. The stakeholders have been aligned. This is one of the most common ways organizations misunderstand the role of Commu

“Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialized activity at all. It encompasses the entire business.” Peter Drucker Marketing is so much more than publishing and promotion. It's a core business function. There is a full ecosystem that makes effective marketing possible: the foundation underneath the brand the alignment between the business and its audience the ways it grows and expands how it becomes visible how it learns and evolves. One way to thin

"Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs I have worked in marketing for nearly 20 years and I STILL feel like I haven't mastered it. There are days where it feels like my head is spinning with ideas and decisions and options. This is an incredibly complicated and complex, even for someone who has been doing it for a while.

“They’re looking for unicorns. I have to puff up my chest and look like a superhero to get them to hire me.” Ethan Bernstein If you’ve looked for a marketing job recently, you’ve probably noticed a pattern: the list of required skills keeps growing, the responsibilities keep expanding, and the salary doesn’t always reflect the scope of the role. Social media managers are expected to be strategists, copywriters, photographers, videographers, graphic designers, editors, communi

"Communications is not a role. It's a system. " Autumn Celeste All too often, businesses jump straight into posting on social media, redesigning their website, or trying the latest marketing trend without understanding why their efforts aren't producing lasting results. In nature, growth doesn't happen all at once. A thriving forest depends on healthy soil, changing seasons, flowing water, and balanced ecosystems. The same is true in business. Drawing inspiration from the Fiv

“You can’t be everything to everyone. If you decide to go north, you cannot also go south.” Jeroen Boschma As kids we were often told that being different was risky. Fitting in and blending in was social capital. That may be true in middle school, but it's far from true in business. The competitive edge lies in the differentiators: What do you bring to the table that no one else does? What unique approaches or frameworks set you above the competition? How do you create better

“The most important trait of a writer is an authentic voice. Cherish your own voice. Don’t try to sound like anybody else.” Anne Rice As artificial intelligence floods the internet with faster, cheaper content, something unfortunate is happening: Everyone is beginning to sound the same. Every day, millions of blog posts, newsletters, LinkedIn posts, and emails are generated with the same handful of prompts that results in content that is grammatically correct, polished, safe,

"As a writer, you have something AI doesn't: An indelible brain. Write the sentence only you would write, and make the connections only you can. The internet has plenty of "competent" writing already. It has very little that sounds like a person. Be a person." Megan DeMatteo Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed how we create content. In seconds, it can draft blog posts, write social media captions, summarize research, brainstorm headlines, and even generate enti

"Nearly every problem in nonprofits comes back to Communications. Can't fill your event? Donors aren't renewing? Staff feels out of the loop? Board doesn't understand the mission? Legislators won't move on your bill? It all goes back to Communications." Nick Friend After spending years in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, I've come to an unpopular conclusion: nonprofit communications is often harder than traditional marketing. The problem I've observed and experience

"The role of the designer is that of a good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests." Charles Eames These days, between AI and other accessible tech tools, nearly anyone can create a logo, build a website, or generate a social media graphic in a matter of minutes. But just because something is easy to create doesn't mean it is effective. Good design is more than making something look attractive. It is a form of communication that helps people understand who you

“Storytelling is the connective tissue between a donor's intent and a mission's outcome.” Association of Fundraising Professionals Marketing and fundraising have more in common than you might think. Both involve understanding people, communicating value, building relationships, and inspiring action. While fundraising has its own specialized skills, many of the capabilities marketers develop—from storytelling and audience research to campaign strategy and performance analysis—

The problem with spending 15-20 years in marketing and communications from agencies to in-house, nonprofit to small business, is that I became the epitome of the generalist—someone who can think strategically and execute across channels. When I first started freelancing, so many people recommended me to “just pick one thing”. Cue the resistance. The grief. The quiet panic of feeling like I've being asked to abandon a career you worked hard to build. Did you know that Nobel Pr

From my experience, color choice is one of the hardest parts of visual design, especially for those who are not quite sure what they want their brand to stand for. Most people choose brand colors the way they choose mood lighting—intuitively, aesthetically, and often in isolation. A nice beige here, a dreamy green there, a bold accent color for “personality.” It looks good… until it has to function on screens and out in the digital world. In this post I'll explain why your br

The harsh reality of running a service-based business: you can be excellent at what you do and still be terrible at consistently finding people who want to pay you for it. For many freelancers, consultants, coaches, creatives, and service-based business owners, client acquisition feels like an endless treadmill. You finish one project and immediately panic and wonder where the next one is coming from. So you send pitches, answer job postings, post on social media, follow up w