Hello!

Welcome to GMT's monthly e-newsletter for November 2007. We hope you have been enjoying the fall season!

We are sending out this e-newsletter on the first Monday of every month to share feature announcements, membership tips, links to recent articles from environmental reporters, new members and other helpful resources.

You are receiving this as your organization is a member of Green Media Toolshed and you are currently a registered GMT user. Should you wish to opt out of this monthly communication, please see the instructions in section 8 below.

In this issue you will find:
1. Member Connections.
2. Buzz from the Beat.
3. Link(s) of the Month.
4. Community Coverage.
5. GMT?s Newest Members.
6. Be in the Know: Why You Need GMT's Tools.
7. Support options.
8. Opt out instructions.
1. Member Connections: Contribute to communications research...

# Participate in research that will benefit the nonprofit community. A brief survey is being conducted by a professional with a DC public relations firm. The professional frequently conducts pro bono nonprofit communications training, and is an adjunct professor of communications at an area university. The goal of the questionnaire is to determine how communications is factored into overall organizational strategic planning. There are only 3 questions so it will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Please follow this link to take the survey.
# Have you wanted to re-evaluate your organization's message? Are you confident in your message, but maybe want additional tips to tweak it? Would you like to see examples of messages that work? Then take GMT's next skill building training! November's training will focus on message development and will help groups by providing them with the basic theory of framing and messaging, evaluating existing messages and explaining how to create effective messages. It will be hosted by Renee Davidson of < ahref="http://www.grassrootspr.com/">Grassroots PR. Renee helps local businesses and nonprofits cultivate community. She also puts her analytical nature to work for clients by generating clever ideas, creating persuasive messages, writing compelling copy and building lasting coalitions. One group who attends the training will win two hours of consulting time with Renee! Space is limited, so reply to this email to sign up today.

2. Buzz from the Beat: Climate change takes the heat for wildfires...

Peter Fimrite of the San Francisco Chronicle recently wrote about the possible link between climate change and wildfires. According to forestry experts, California and other states will be in danger of more fires as the world's temperature increases. California is still reeling from 16 fires that caused the largest evacuation in state history. Southern California is experiencing its driest recorded year and what is alarming is that these conditions are becoming more common.

"Numerous studies focusing on the western United States have predicted increases in the frequency of wildfires and concurrent threats to neighborhoods and ecosystems," wrote Fimrite. In the Sierra Nevada, a warmer climate has resulted in more trees killed by fire, and less snowmelt to suppress fires. While experts are hesitant to link the current California fires to global warming, they do admit the fires contribute to climate change themselves by releasing greenhouse gas emissions. While the specific link can?t be clarified, what can be is that between urban growth and wildfires. Excessive human development in a flammable ecosystem can lead to fires like the ones devastating Southern California right now.

*For information about how you can help the victims of the fires, scroll down to the bottom of the article.

Read the full story here.

3. Links of the month: Stay out of spam filters...

# Keeping up with spam filter technology is like a cat and mouse game. We learn what words and formats are flagged as spam and then the spam filters get better. Still, there are some guidelines you can follow for the subject line and body of your messages that will help you avoid those dreaded spam filters. Internet Based Moms has a list of spam words that trigger email filter. Since email marketing is an important part of an organization's communications plan, you should make sure that you eliminate the words in this list from the subject lines of your emails to ensure better delivery. The article includes additional tips on how to stay out of spam filters, such as first sending the email to yourself and several friends that you know have strong anti-spam software to see if the email makes it through. Also remember to include an unsubscribe message or link within your email so people can easily opt out. There are additional email marketing tutorial links within the article, including one on how to write effective emails.
# For tips on how to increase the effectiveness of your organization's email list, check out this post from Getting Attention. The blog also has additional useful marketing tips for nonprofits, including how to launch a blog in 5 steps and what makes an effective email subject line.
# Check our Green Media Toolshed's e-newsletter tip sheet. There are several tricks listed that help you avoid spam filters, including not sending attachments and avoiding subscribing people who have requested not to be added to the list.

4. Community Coverage: Honoring local conservationists...

The National Forest Foundation handed out its 2007 Conservation Leadership Awards to two honorees in California on October 27th. Congressman Robert Lagomarsino was honored for his work in protecting land and water resources, which includes the enactment of the Marine Resources Protection Act. Also honored was the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard. Among its many environmental acts, Patagonia has contributed more than $29 million to more than 1,000 groups in the past 20 years.

"Green Media Toolshed is helpful when you want to narrow in on a location," explained Erin McGlinchey, NFF's Director of Communications, describing one of the ways they sent out the release about the awards. "We played with the number of miles surrounding the event to get an appropriate list. We received exposure through an article in the Santa Barbara Independent." You can view that article here.

Learn more about the National Forest Foundation here.

Read the full press release here.

Read about issues GMT members are working on or post your press release to the GMT News Feed: http://www.greenmediatoolshed.org/news/.

Do you have a success story you'd like to share? Submit it to yvonne@greenmediatoolshed.org to be featured in our next e-newsletter.

5. GMT's Newest Members: Please welcome the following groups to the GMT network!

1. Investor Environmental Health Network is "working to ensure the companies [it] invests in are taking appropriate steps to reduce risks associated with the toxic chemicals used in their products."
2. Northeast Wilderness Trust "the only regional land trust focused exclusively on restoring & protecting wilderness." One of their recent successes was purchasing Boquet Flats, 95 acres of wilderness in Essex, New York.
3. Potomac Water Watch was formed because "not enough attention was being given to the fishkills, intersex, emerging contaminants and endocrine disupters and pollution that are affecting rivers in the Potomac River watershed." PWW is working to get those who use the watershed to report sick and dying fish so the problem can be properly analyzed.
4. Teleosis Institute "is devoted to developing effective, sustainable health care provided by professionals who serve as environmental stewards." They have several programs including the Green Healthcare Program that helps healthcare professionals make their work places greener, among other things.

6. Be in the Know: Why You Need GMT Tools: What are the 5 elements of effective storytelling?

Your organization uses Green Media Toolshed to help with its media coverage. When sending press releases and creating stories about your organization, are you making sure they have the following 5 essential elements of a good story?

1. Passion about your issues. You want people to care about your work, so you need to infuse your story with the passion that drives you to do what you do. This makes reporters more likely to cover your story and the public more interested in reading it.
2. A hero. Your story needs someone that people can relate to. It doesn't necessarily have to be someone in your organization. You can reach out to your supporter base and find a volunteer, member or someone who has made a difference that also has similar morals and views as your audience.
3. Conflict. Your story needs tension, another element to grab the reader's attention. What is the problem your protagonist has solved? For example - maybe one of your volunteers has discovered that the tap water her kids drink every day is contaminated with lead and other pollutants.
4. Awareness. So you have a hero that is trying to solve a problem - your story now needs that "aha!" moment. What is the revelation that he or she has? Maybe it?s coming across the solution to the tension in the story. Your audience is going to want to know the solution to the problem you are posing.
5. Transformation. Finally, you need to reveal what has changed as a result of the story you are telling. For example - a new law has been enacted to protect the endangered white-tailed deer in your area. Having a positive outcome makes your story even more inspiring for those reading it.

Other things to think about when you are putting together your release is trying to bring out all 5 senses so your reader feels like he or she is a part of the story. Begin with a compelling lead-in to draw the audience in. And remember that what you are doing needs to be unique in some way, whether nationally or just in your local community - why should the reporter cover your story over anyone else's?

*These tips were compiled from a recent Network for Good (Nonprofit 911) training on storytelling.

Check out more tips on storytelling from the Network for Good. They have free trainings that help non-profits with their online fundraising and marketing strategies.

7. Support Options and Monthly FAQ: How do I find additional training resources?

GMT office hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm Eastern Standard Time.

For a full list of web browser requirements and support options for the media database, please visit http://www.greenmediatoolshed.org/private/techsupp....

For web tools or general GMT support, contact Yvonne Archer at 202-464-5357 or yvonne@greenmediatoolshed.org.

*FAQ of the month: How do I find additional training resources to help write a press release, plan a media event, etc.?

If you need help writing your press release, building a media list or planning a media event, there are two places on the Green Media Toolshed website that you can reference. 1. The GMT Training Center has an extensive training library containing resources to help with your communications outreach, advocacy work or even social networking. Make sure you are logged into the GMT website and access it here. Our online Training Center also features recordings of past skill-building trainings along with the accompanying materials for each session. If you have not yet had a chance to attend one of these webinars, use this directory of past trainings to get caught up on the latest trends in outreach and technology. You can also view past e-newsletters for other tips and tricks we've dished out to members over the last few years. 2. The Media Training Center has content that focuses exclusively on helping your organization with its media outreach. Whether you need help with targeting your audience, want some insight into media trends or would like to know how to evaluate your communications plan, spend some time browsing through the left-hand navigation to find help content suited to your needs.

8. Opt out or Submit feedback: Come on, ask me a question - or better yet, pay me a compliment!

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View past e-newsletters in our monthly e-newsletter archive section of the GMT Training Center: http://www.greenmediatoolshed.org/training_center/.

Hope you had a boo-tastic Halloween!

Take care,
Yvonne

Yvonne Archer
Green Media Toolshed
(ph) 202-464-5357
yvonne@greenmediatoolshed.org