How My Fear of Wrinkles Made Me A Loyal Donor: A “You”-tility Case Study

I’m outdoors in sunny Texas as I write this and I’m wearing an Environmental Working Group-endorsed sun screen.

I know my sunscreen is safe and effective because EWG told me so. Their research and ultimate seal of approval makes me confident that I am wearing the best protection I can find — wrinkles begone with you!

I love EWG and am a loyal donor — not just because they are fighting to keep products I use effective and free of toxics and chemicals — but because they don’t always just ask me for stuff. They give me stuff that I need and want, like a handy summertime list of the best and safest sunscreens on the market.

In his new book Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype, Jay Baer writes, “Youtility is marketing upside down. Instead of marketing that’s needed by companies, Youtility is marketing that’s wanted by customers. Youtility is massively useful information, provided for free, that creates long term trust and kinship between your company and your customers.”

The idea is that we shouldn’t just ask supporters to do stuff for us all the time — to take action, to like us, to click stuff, to share. We need to give them stuff that will keep our organizations top of mind, bookmarked, subscribed to and followed.

What content can you create that’s useful for your audiences? Find it and they will love you too — just like I love EWG.