Ep 317 | Welcome to 2026 and Your Best Year Ever

Are you feeling scattered by all the digital marketing advice out there? In this solo episode, I'm sharing some honest reflections on burnout, overextension, and why we took a break from the podcast. After 317 episodes, I've learned that sometimes stepping back is the best way to move forward with clarity and purpose.

Finding Focus When Everything Feels Overwhelming

I open up about:

• Why I overcommitted and how it led to podcast burnout
• The importance of choosing projects that align with your core mission
• How small teams can stay nimble while maintaining quality service

A New Way to Navigate Your Learning Journey

Discover the game-changing resource we're launching:

• A comprehensive spreadsheet organizing all podcast episodes by category
• How to find exactly what you need when you need it most
• Why implementation matters more than consuming endless content

Staying Grounded in Uncertain Times

We explore strategies for:

• Maintaining strong foundations when the world feels chaotic
• Building collaborative networks instead of trying to solve everything alone
• Focusing on excellence in your specific area rather than spreading too thin

What's Coming Next in 2026

Learn about our renewed focus on:

• Website strategy and conversion optimization
• Practical AI applications for nonprofits
• Weekly resources through our revamped newsletter

Whether you're experiencing donor fatigue, struggling with focus, or simply need a reset, this episode offers practical wisdom for moving forward with intention and purpose.

Want to skip ahead? Here are some key takeaways:

• 05:15 The Reality of Burnout Honest insights about overcommitting and the importance of sustainable growth strategies.
• 12:30 Your New Learning Roadmap How to use our episode categorization system to find exactly what you need for your current challenges.
• 18:45 Building Collaborative Networks Why partnering with other organizations amplifies your impact without overwhelming your resources.
• 24:20 Website Strategy Focus Our commitment to helping you convert more website visitors into supporters and donors.

Don't miss this opportunity to refocus your approach and make 2026 the year you implement rather than just consume. Tune in for a conversation that could reshape how you think about growth, collaboration, and sustainable impact.

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours

Full Transcript

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern]You're listening to the Digital Marketing Therapy podcast. I'm your host, Sami Bedell Mulhern. Each month, we dive deep into a digital marketing or fundraising strategy that you can implement in your organization. Each week, you'll hear from guest experts, nonprofits, and myself on best practices, tips and resources to help you raise more money online and reach your organizational goals. We're back, and I feel like I've said that a few times on this podcast, but we're 317 episodes in. And so this podcast has definitely had some evolution, some changes, and I have appreciated you being here alongside me this whole time. So thank you so much for listening. Thank you for being here alongside me. I hope you have found value in the podcast. And it's 2026. I hear all the time, oh, you've got it. So together. You have so many things going on. You're so organized. And listen, I pride myself on striving for the best, but I'm definitely not all of those things. I often say, do as I say, not as I do, but I definitely overextended myself. So we haven't had a podcast episode out since August, I think August. And it was just I had too many clients, I had too many projects that I wanted to do. I was pushing myself too hard. And we're a lean, mean team of two and I love that. I love being a small team. We can be more nimble, we are more there for our clients. But because of that, we choose the projects that we do very specifically. And I decided to do too many things and I got burnt out and I needed to be there for the clients we had committed to. And so because of that, we took a break from the podcast. But I have missed you all so much. I've missed my email newsletter, I've missed the podcast, I've missed interviewing guests. And I'm so grateful that now here in February, we are back. We are here to provide you some resources and support as you kind of work through 2026. Because, listen, the world is changing so rapidly. Donor behavior is changing. The way that we engage with people is changing. And sometimes we just need support. And so I have kind of changed things up a little bit. So I'm still doing interviews. You're going to hear some great information from some great guests, but we have a new resource that's going to be available to you in each and every episode. So when you go to the show notes the first Click.net podcast where you can see all of the past episodes. But moving forward from this episode on so the first Click.net317 podcast are going to have a new Google spreadsheet that you can access whenever you want. And what it has is it has all of the 2025 podcast episodes and it will be updated weekly with the 2026 episodes. And what it does is it tells you, gives you categories. If you're struggling with this, then these are the episodes that you should watch or listen to. So I want 2026 to be the year for you where you implement, where you execute, where you take the strategies and the things that you're learning and you apply them to the area of your business and your organization in the way that you need it most. Whether it's donor stewardship, whether it's online fundraising, AI, just organizational mindset stuff, whatever, that we don't need to just continue to take in all of the things and get overwhelmed with what we should or shouldn't be doing, but that instead we want to be thoughtful. And so you'll see that it has a checklist and it has categories across the top. And so you can easily scroll through all the episodes and see which one is going to be the most beneficial for where you're at right now, where you need support right now. Now, of course, I would love for you to listen to all of them and listen to all of them, but this is a great way for you to come back when you're saying, okay, I'm struggling with this. I need help with a direct mail campaign. Well, now I can go through and take a look at everything that might be helpful and supportive there. So this is going to be linked up in all of the Future episodes from 3:17 on in the show notes so that you can easily reference it and figure out where do I need to go, what episodes should I listen to, what is going to provide me the most value for what I need? Because let's face it, we're all struggling with different things at different times. I have done this in my business since 2017 over and over and over again. I'm in a growth phase, I'm in a retention phase, I'm in a just trust building phase. Right. Whatever it is and where you're at, we want this podcast to support you while knowing that we're bringing on guests in real time that are really going to support you in all of the different things that we're hearing from you that you need. So I hope that you pay attention, I hope that you take a look at that resource and I hope that you utilize it to make the most of the digital marketing therapy podcast for what you need in your business. This is our way to help you customize your experience with us in the way that you need it most. And always, I'm here. Hello. At the first click.net let me know if there's topics or guests that you think would be super helpful to have on the podcast so that we can support you in your online fundraising journey. Because that's what we're all here to do, right? Raise more money, raise more impact and be there for our communities. And listen, we need that more than ever. The things that are coming out in the news are awful. And without getting into too much, you know, I live in Minneapolis and it's, it's rough and we're all feeling it. And some people, similarly to what we went through in Covid, are seeing an increase in their needs and services and some people are seeing a decrease in their needs and services and therefore fundraising because they might not be in some of those categories. So we are here for you. It's an ever changing landscape. At the end of the day, what I always say, the foundations are true. The foundations are what are going to keep you solid. Building a strong website, having a strong follow up sequence for your donors, connecting, being clear, transparent. All of those things are just going to help you make sure that in busy times or in slow times, that you are continuing to be able to provide the good work that you're doing. And so that's what I'm really hoping that this podcast can provide to you this year. Of course, there's so many places that we're showing up. So we have our email newsletter that is kind of getting a little revamp and refresh that will be coming out every week. I coach live alongside Patrick Kirby inside of Do Good University. And every week, which is a $50 a month membership, which has tremendous value with me and him coaching live, but also all of the on demand resources that you have access to. I have digital marketing therapy sessions where we can talk one on one. We have website projects. We're also building behind the scenes a website strategy course. So I started this off by saying that, hey, I was doing too much and yes, but we have streamlined and kind of really focused in on how we want to be here and how we want to show up for you in 2026. And I hope that you are doing the same in your organization. It's a great time to kind of refresh and take a look at what are all the things that you did in 2025. What worked well? What was great, what maybe didn't go the way that you wanted? What should you continue to do more of that maybe surprised you? And what. What did you maybe try that didn't work, and it's okay to kind of let that go. Now is the time to get real with yourself and really understand how we're moving forward in our organization. How are we serving people? How are we best serving people? What is our mission and our vision, and are we holding to that, or have we kind of strayed? Because we've been, you know, maneuvering through all of the things that are happening in the world. So now is a great time to revisit that and then come back to the podcast and figure out the strategies and the podcast episodes that are going to help you pull through and execute on what, you know, you need to do. So many of us are working in areas that the problem is huge. We can't solve homelessness on our own. We can't solve food insecurity on our own. We can't solve racial issues. We can't save all of the animals that are on the street, Right? So sometimes when we're working in our space, it feels overwhelming. It feels like, well, I could do this, I could do this, I could do this, I could do this. And so remember that whatever it is that you're doing, if you do that piece excellently, you're making a big impact. You will probably not solve the whole big issue, but you're making an impact, and you're definitely supporting that group of people in a very specific way. And the other big thing that I'm really kind of passionate about and have talked a lot about is just that collaboration. Understand what you do excellently and don't feel like you have to take on everything that's part of the. The kind of background, right? We think about food insecurity. Is it kids? Is it schools? Is it people living in the streets? Is it healthy food? Like, there's so many different things, and all the different organizations are doing things a little bit differently. So who can you connect with to build a network of people to be able to provide support for a wider base? You don't have to take it all on on your own. How can we do it together? How can we build some things together? And so that's what I would really challenge you to do. We do our best work when we focus. So for me, my focus is, yes, the podcast is going to have things all around digital marketing and online fundraising and a lot of AI because let's be real. We can't do anything right now without talking about AI. But me personally, I'm going to be talking and focusing mostly on website strategy, which is why we're developing that website strategy course. How can we help you get the most conversions when people land on your website? So whether that comes from partner collaborations, whether that comes from your Google Ads, whether it comes from your email or direct mail pieces, how can we make sure that when people come to your website, they know what action to take, they take it and you're raising more money online. So that is the focus of what we're going to be sharing, mostly fundraising on your website. That's just where we're landing. We're not going to really talk a lot about we my company, social media. We'll talk about email marketing because that also is near and dear to my heart. But we really want to make sure that you are solid, that you have a core foundation and that you're moving forward in a way that makes sense for your goals for your organization. Okay, so I'm excited to be back. We have a handful of podcasts that are already recorded and ready to launch. I hope you go to the first click.net 3:17. That's where you'll grab that spreadsheet that you can check out every single week. We'll be updating it. If you're not already on our newsletter, make sure you are. So you're getting the weekly emails that have additional resources and fun things in there them and I just I wish you all the best in 2026. I can't wait to see what unfolds for you in your organization, in your business, how you're showing up for the people that rely on you. And just for you to have a year of joy where you're really leaning into the work that you love to do and finding joy in how it all comes together. And I hope that we can be a part of that. I hope that we can walk alongside you. We have so many amazing things coming up this year and partnerships and you can find all of that on our website at the first click.net things are being updated regularly. And thank you so much for being a listener of the Digital Marketing Therapy podcast. I really hope that you will subscribe and watch on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so that you get notified when episodes go live and share it with a friend. Things are always more fun. We can learn together, collaborate together. I'm a verbal processor, so I need to talk to people before I really understand exactly where I'm going and what I'm doing and if it's a good idea or a bad idea. Listen to these podcasts with friends, collaborate and I'm so grateful to you and thank you for coming back to the Digital Marketing Therapy podcast. I'm so excited to be back here in February of 2026 and appreciate you all again. You can find the show notes@the firstclick.net 317 and I'll see you in the next one.