Nonprofit
I used to dread maintenance. Whether cleaning the house or updating client sites, it lacked the gratification and excitement of new projects, big purchases, etc. Routine tasks are predictable and lack the promise of an exciting new future that’s better than the present. Newness is alluring. The excitement that drives me into new projects is […]
This year, use your year-end giving campaign to tell a story that connects with your audience and makes them feel important. Try stepping outside the box, being bold, and closing this year’s fundraising out with a splash.
On a website, content is king. Good content is clear, concise, and conversational, leading the user through a compelling narrative. In web design, typography, colors, and images prime the user’s emotional expectations for the content. You can’t design your way out of mediocre content. Whether you’re building a new website or looking to improve your […]
When planning your website, the best place to start is a bit counter-intuitive: zoomed out. Focusing on the bigger picture first–deciding who the website is for, what it should achieve, and what your competitors are doing–makes it easier to align any changes you might make with the most important big-picture ideas and goals of your […]
Planning your new website project can be intimidating. There are so many different directions you can take it. Do you want to be bold and flashy, or do you want to be refined and minimalist? Do you want something trendy or timeless? Most importantly, how do you plan a website that will define your brand […]
When you focus on your beneficiaries, you not only better serve them, you make a powerful and authentic case to your donors about why they should support you.
There is a huge difference in how generations think about donations to nonprofits. Older generations tend to be more institutionally aligned. This means they would repeatedly donate to a particular organization, church, political party, etc. In the younger generations, like millennials and Gen-Zers, donors tend to make donations based on what emotionally resonates with them […]
Do you want more engagement from your audience? Talk to them! Obviously, you cannot talk with every single person individually. Much like you, we’re busy. But you can effectively communicate with them through your blog. By keeping a regular blog–whether you post once a month or once a week–you can keep in regular contact with […]
Most nonprofit websites don’t convert well, which is marketing-speak for “they suck at getting visitors to take any meaningful action.” These websites don’t generate many donations, mailing list sign-ups, new members, or event attendees. Why? Because—generally speaking—most nonprofit websites are all about the organization at the expense of the visitor’s attention and interest. These nonprofits […]
Nonprofits are generally a mess when it comes to password management. In my work as a web designer, working with a nonprofit that can’t find critical passwords when we need them is a regular occurrence. The website hosting account just expired, but nobody’s logged in there since Joanne, who was two communication managers ago. The […]
When it comes to communicating with your audience, the first thing that you should worry about is what your customer needs, and how you can help them with it. If your sole message is always “buy from me” without providing any value, it’s going to do more harm than good. The fact that you need […]
One of the most common questions people ask me as a web designer is: “How do I choose the right image type for my website?” This is a great question because the size and file type of images can greatly affect a website’s speed and overall appearance. There are many different options to choose from […]
Just like phones and computers, websites need to be updated every once in a while in order to maintain performance. With every update missed, phones and computers gradually get slower performing basic tasks and running programs. The same goes for websites. When websites are not regularly updated and maintained, performance gradually degrades and it becomes […]
It’s time to redesign your nonprofit’s website, but you don’t know where to start. Here’s my best advice for planning and executing a project that saves you money, avoids common pitfalls, and results in a website you love. Step 1. Define your nonprofit’s goals This is where you get your big picture goals in order. […]
Coming up with ideas for your nonprofit newsletter is tough. That’s why we did it for you. Here are some ideas you can write about for your next nonprofit newsletter. Send Your Updates Sending out updates in your newsletter is a great way to keep people informed about your nonprofit. Sometimes social media algorithms don’t […]
We live in an attention economy. The scarcest resource is people’s attention as there is more competing for our finite attention than ever before. So you’re trying to get attention for your business, for your cause, etc. you first need to embrace the fact that nobody inherently gives a shit. Everybody is trying to get […]
Every single time you come across a piece of content on the internet, a subtle voice in your head will be asking, what’s in it for me? We’re always asking that questions because that’s just the way we are. There is more content posted today than you could read in a lifetime. So we need […]
My work tends to be split evenly between nonprofits and small businesses. Both of these are fundamentally the same in a lot of ways when it comes to things like marketing, websites, and an online presence. Essentially, both are trying to connect with their audience, build trust, and have people want to continue to work […]
Most nonprofit websites have way too much content while simultaneously leaving their audience’s key questions unanswered. In order to focus on what matters, aim to answer these four key questions on your website. You can also use these questions in reverse to evaluate whether existing content is necessary. If it’s not directly helping to answer […]
We’ve all been there before, staring at a blank Word doc and not knowing where to start. When it comes to writing blog posts, it doesn’t have to be a chore. A good process makes it much easier. Here’s my approach.
Now is a great time to build an audience through creating timely, original content that your audience will find useful and valuable at any time, not just during the lockdown.
It’s a great time to start offering products and services online today, but it could also be a good option to have in the future.
If there’s one thing this virus has shown us, it’s that we need to be able to adapt. So let’s adapt.
The little update banners we put up the first few weeks were a nice first step, but since this new normal is here to stay, we have to go much further than that. We need to turn our websites into vibrant digital storefronts. Here’s how.
On the other hand, most sleazy slimeballs in business have no hesitation marketing themselves. Does your business or nonprofit result in making people happier? Yes? Then it’s your OBLIGATION TO HUMANITY to put it out there so other people can find it and benefit from it. Here’s 5 tips for marketing without feeling slimy: Understand […]