The Merging of Design and Content

I've been working on website proposals for several days now and have come to a conclusion. Many people think that design and content are two seperate things and that comes to light on their webpages.

Let me explain.

I believe for a website to properly function, content and design have to work together, not fight against each other. They are the ying and yang, two sizes of a whole and yet I see so many websites where the content appears secondary. It always baffles me during a redesign process when people forget about the content.

How does this appear on a website?

One of the ways it does is through lack of white space. When the design starts to crowd into the content, then there is a problem. There should be enough room for the design AND the content.

Another way is by overdesign. Overdesign is when you have a really great design of a site that overshadows the content. Examples of this include excessive use of flash and more.

Not that content is blame-free either. When you have so much content that it's pushing the design to the edges, then you have a problem. You need to ensure that content and design work together to make the website perfect.

It's definitely easier said then done but it's possible!

Pitching a Web Redesign To Your Board

So you've decided it's time for your website to be overhauled and you want to take it to the board to present it. How do you do this in a way that ensures success?

Board members come in various shapes and sizes and it's important to address what potential issues they would have before your presentation. But pitching a web redesign can be tricky for a variety of reasons.

The board may be against the redesign because:

• They don't know what the website does for the organization
• They don't know the terminology
• They can't see the end results
• There are budget and time concerns

So how do you get your board on board so to speak?

1. Understand learning styles

I always see the big picture first, before the details fall into place. If you want to sell me something, sell me on the vision. For others, it's the complete opposite. They need to understand the mechanics of it; the nuts and bolts about how things would work.And hard statistics to back it up. When addressing the board, it's important to cover as many bases as possible.

2. Explain the need for a website

Although many nonprofits have websites, not everyone understands what it does and the potential it has. Explain succiently what your website can do in terms of retaining donors, gaining prospects and increasing awareness of your organization.

3. Avoid specific terminology

Once you don't understand something, it's very easy to shut down and avoid listening to the rest. Try to make your presentation as simple as possible, for all to understand. Even if you think everyone will know something, it's quite likely they may not.

4. Avoid design talk

When people think of web redesign, they instantly think of the design portion. Don't encourage design talk or you will get members arguing about colours and layout before you are even at that stage.

5. Be prepared

This of course is a given. Arm yourself with statistics, not only about websites in general, but your own website and how it's doing. Prepare arguments for as many possible scenarios as you can think of.

6. Lay out a plan

Make sure you have all the important questions answered. Is the redesign happening in house or are you using a consultant? How much time and money will it cost to perform these changes? What is the rough timeline for a project like this? Make sure you have a solid plan to present so they can't object.

Pitching to a board can be tricky, especially on an issue like web redesign, which everyone is not familar with. Try to be as clear and concise as possible and sell them on the benefits.

Has anyone else had successes or failures pitching web-related things to the board?

Share your thoughts below!

Why Your Website Isn't a Brochure: Writing Web Specific Content

Too often I've seen nonprofits take the information from their brochure, slap it up on the website and call it a day. Writing for the web is entirely different then for a brochure/article. It's important to clearly state your mission and purpose as succiently as possible so that it's easy for people to read.

The majority of webpage readers don't actually read the page at all, they skim instead. So your content needs to stand out to be noticed. The look of the content is almost as important as what is written.

So what are the biggest no-nos I see on websites?

• No Call to Action

According to a study, by the Neilson Norman Group, 43% of sites examined clearly conveyed what they were trying to achieve and only 4% said what they were doing with the money. Have a strong call to action that encourages your donors, not dissuades them.

• Text Heavy Paragraphs

When a paragraph gets too long, there is a tendency to skim it. Make them concise and easy to read.

• Confusing Language

It's easy to become guilty of this. Using words that you think everyone else might know, even though they are industry specific. However, confusing words will turn off people and your message will be lost.

• Lack of Engagement

This is important. If you are not engaging your audience then they will not want to donate/participate/volunteer. Include client and volunteer stories, and show the passion you have for your organization in your words.

• No Clear Direction

This goes hand in hand with Call to Action. What do you want visitors to your site to do? Click to the next page and read more? Head straight for the donation page? You need to frame your web writing so that it's guiding your readers somewhere.

Here are five tips to improve your web writing:

1. Keep it Simple

2. Use Bullets

3. Use General Language

4. Consider Your Audience

5. Be Engaging

Remember, your website is only as good as its content.

Ten Best Features of Google Analytics

Analytics are something that every website/blog should have. I have tried several, but have come back to the best, which is Google Analytics. (Bonus: It's also free). But once glance at all the pie charts, squiggly lines and numbers can turn you away. So here's a break down of ten best features of Google Analytics.

1.Dashboard
The dashboard is great because it gives you an overview of the analytics for your site. If you are unsure about analytics, this front page can give you a sampling of all the information you need from the top content, to the number of visits.

2. Visitors: New versus Returning
Under the visitors tab on the left hand side, there is a list of different information relating to the vistors from your site. New versus returning is great because it lets you know how many people are actually returning to your site. If you have a lot of one time hits, but not alot of returns, it's time to think up ways to get people to return.

3. Visitors: Loyalty
Visitor loyalty expands on this by showing off how many times a user has visited your site and the length of their visit.

4. Visitors: Browser Capabilities
This is a great tool. With so many people using a variety of browsers, it is important that your site is compatible to all.

5. Traffic Sources: Direct Traffic
Direct Traffic means those who came directly to your site, by typing in the name of your website in their browser. This is a great way to gauge how many people know about you.

6. Traffic Sources: Referring Sites
This is important to know as well. If you are posting links to your site on Twitter, Facebook, other blogs, etc, seeing the results of that work will help determine whether you use those tools in the future.

7. Traffic Sources: Search Engines
This is a great way to determine your brand awareness. How many people are searching for your name? Are they getting to your site via other keywords that you hadn't thought of?

8. Traffic Sources: Keywords
This lets you discover what keywords people are using to search for you. You may find ones you expected, but I guarantee you will find some unusual ones as well.

9. Content: Top Content
The top content section lets you know what is most popular. This is great for blogs because it basically gives you audience feedback regarding what they liked and what they didn't.

10. Content: Site Overlay
Site overlay is a neat tool that shows what areas people have been clicking on your website. This is a useful tool to determine what is most popular.

There you have it. Although it may seem confusing, analytics are a great way to really assess what is working and what isn't on your website.

What are the first steps for web design?

Are you thinking about sprucing up your website? Before your mind wanders to colours and design, determine what you want and need from your website.



Here's a few steps:



1.Determine ROI

This is extremely important and often the step people miss. What do you want from the website? What sort of goals do you have? Figuring out the specific return on investment needed (whether it be money raised or awareness) is important. In the past, websites were considered to be online brochures, now they need to have much more.



2. Discover your concrete need

This ties in with the first step. What do you need the website to do for you? Do you want x number of donors, are you promoting an event? Perhaps it's multiple reasons. Whatever the need is, figuring it out will make it easier on both you and the web designer.



3. Examine who your audience is

Who will be looking at the site? Is it your client, donors, prospects, or all? Determine what their needs are and how you are going to fulfill them on your site.



4. Figure out what you want your audience to do

This is also extremely important, especially when it comes to the navigation of your site. What do you want your audience to do? If it's donate, then the donate button should be visible on all pages. If it's click on a certain campaign, then that campaign needs to be highlighted.



5. Solidify your message

One of my web pet peeves is people who think that a website is all about design. In fact, the most important part of the website is the content. The design should complement the content, not overpower it. Create a strong message that that will resonate with your audience.



So before you even look at a design or layout, answer these questions!

Client Stories on the Web

I've had the recent opportunity to assess a number of nonprofit websites recently and I have noticed a trend. Whether good or bad, many of these websites have something missing that is glaringly obvious: client stories.

Most impart their mission and vision, talk about the programs they offer but offer up no client stories.

What's so powerful about a client story?

A client story puts a face to your organization. It's often said that organizations don't raise money, people do. I truly believe this. Adding client stories to your website can only enhance your content and encourage donors to give more.

Think about direct mail. Charities will oftentimes use client stories as the anchor point for the intent of their letter. The same can be done with the web.

What about privacy?

It's a good question and one that you have to respect. If the client doesn't wish to have their name used, don't do it. But that doesn't mean you can't still share their story. Ask your clients if they would be willing, and if so, put it out there.

So put your client stories out there for your donors to see! I ensure you, you will receive more donations and more donors.

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The Ups and Downs of Email Campaigns

Yesterday, as part of a launch of my business, Synthesis Communications, I sent out an email campaign. The email went out to several thousand email addresses and was pulled off with (almost) nary a hitch. It got me thinking about the ups and downs of launching email campaigns and what you can do to avoid mistakes.

1.Take Your Time
The email is done. The data's been collected. You are all ready to start mail merging and get this email out there. It's important to put aside that excitement and take your time in sending out the email. One little mistake can cause lots of problems.

2. Focus
How many times have you done mail merge before? Regardless of the number, I like to go through the process like I've never done it before. It allows me to focus on every step. This is imperative to insure that you don't miss something.

3. Avoid the Lull
I had about 25 files that I had to merge yesterday. It took longer than I thought I and found myself not checking the steps as thoroughly as I did when I first started. Avoiding the lull that any menial task comes with, will allow you to make less, or even no, mistakes.

4. Double and Triple Check
Sometimes when you've been looking at things for a long time, your brain glazes over and it looks as if everything is fine. Take the time to double check that your information and graphics are all in the right place before you start the merge. And then check it throughout the merging process as well. For example, I found a grevious error part way through my mail merge yesterday that was not there when I did my check at the beginning.

5. Be Prepared for Non-Deliverables
As my email campaign was sending, my inbox was being flooded with emails that were marked undeliverable.Make sure that your inbox can handle these messages. Also, don't get concerned when you see them all pile in. Take time later to note the ones that didn't work and update your records.

Email campaigns can be a lot of work, but are worth it in the end! Have you had good or bad experiences with email campaigns (or mail merge in general)? Share below!

Are e-newsletters a waste of time?

I recently read this interesting article that commented on how Obama's strategist believes the e-newsletter is dead. Instead, short personalized emails are the answer.

I'm not sure if I'm in complete agreement with this. Whereas I think personalized emails are a great idea, many organizations don't have the time for such a venture. An e-newsletter is better than nothing at all. It's important to keep in contact with your donors. As well, an e-newsletter can highlight the most recent news, stories you want to share, and more.

Does your organization have an e-newsletter? Do you find it effective or a waste of time? Leave your comments below and answer the poll on the main page.

Writing The Perfect Email Subject Line

I'm in the midst of developing an email campaign for my business, Synthesis Communications. When it came to developing the email, the message flowed fairly easily. I knew what I wanted to say and communicated it effectively. I was quite proud of myself until I became stumped by the subject line.

The subject line for an email is the first thing a reciever sees, so it's important that it stands out.

Some stats first:

• According to a study by the American Management Association, U.S.workers spend an average of 1 hour and 47 minutes per day dealing withemail.Eight percent spent more than four hours a day dealing with email.
• Average attention span for internet users is 9 seconds.
• There are billions of emails sent every day.

So how do you stand out from the rest? One way is by creating an enticing subject line. There are a few types of subject lines that you can use.

The first is the Direct Subject Line. These subject lines tell you exactly what the email contains, whether it's for you to sign up for something or an annoucement.

Examples: Romeo and Juliet Advance Three-Day Seat Sale, Today's WeatherDirect Forecast for Toronto

Another is the Advertising Subject Line. These subject lines are used to entice you to buy. Often they have exclamation points and promise exciting things within the email.

Examples: F-R-E-E!, And the Winner is...Lindsey, It’s not too late to voice your opinion!

The last type is the Question Subject Line. This is when you pose a question in order to get people interested in what you have to say. Creating a question that makes people think gives them all the more reason to click on your email.

Examples: Still waiting to connect?, Is your funding plan recession proof?

Whatever subject line you choose, make sure it fits your email content. Brainstorm with others to get ideas about what it should include. Keep it short and simple and avoid industry-specific words.




Reference: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=287573

Email Blasts

Email blasts are a great way to get the word out about upcoming events, news and more that you have to share.

How do you set up a good email blast?

First of all, you need to figure out who you want to email to. Before you click every name on your email list, think about it. Are you really going to send every relative all your business materials?

Take time to segment your list and determine who you want to email what to. This way, people won't feel bombarded by your emails if you intend on sending them regularly.

Then start planning out your message.

The key is to keep it short. People are busy and they may not have time for a long email. Add colours and visuals to make it more appealing. Catching their eye is always a good thing.

Then away you go! Email blasts are really easy to do and can let your donors and clients know what's upcoming, whether it be newsletters, mailings, events and more.