Mon, May 23, 2011 I would normally never recommend that you put photos into the body of your letter copy. But I have one client for whom it works amazingly well.
Fri, April 29, 2011 When someone visits your website, what do they want to do?
Do you know what your top tasks – and indeed your super task – is for your visitors?
And if so, does your website make it easy for them to complete those tasks?
This focus on identifying your website's 'top tasks' comes from useability guru Gerry McGovern and his new book, The Stranger's Long Neck: How to Deliver What Your Customers Really Want Online.
(If you're familiar with Chris Anderson's book The Long Tail: Why The Future of Business is Selling Less of More, McGovern's The Stranger's Long Neck provides a contrasting perspective.)
McGovern reminds us that people don't visit to find your organisation chart, or your Annual Report or all about you.
They visit to fulfil their own desires.
The question is, do you make it easy or do you make it difficult?
McGovern outlines a simple survey process that any not-for-profit could adapt to determine what their own top tasks really are. (Warning: they are almost certainly not what you and your colleagues think they are.)
So what might top tasks be for a charity?
Make a donation might be one.
Find out how I can make a difference (eg house the homeless, restore sight, cure cancer) might be another.
How to leave a bequest might be another.
But are you sure?
Having trialled this process already, I can assure you that you will get surprising results.
McGovern goes on to argue that unrestrained websites with excessive, unclear and contradictory information are driving your customers away.
The success of a website should be measured not in the number of visitors, but in satisfied customers who have done what they came to do.
The key message from McGovern is that you should maintain a relentless focus on your user's needs – not your own, and that constant testing and improvement is far more important than a radical overhaul or redesign.
Wed, February 9, 2011 One of the biggest mistakes I see repeated over and over again in the multiple Australian charities I work for is an unwillingness to ask for money as often as they need it.
Thu, January 13, 2011 In this case, changing four words in a banner caused an increase of 49 per cent in sales and a 265 per cent increase in new customers. Do you test your online copy? If not, how much is it costing you?
Mon, December 6, 2010 A new age of sharing and collaboration is upon us. Is your charity or not-for-profit ready? If not, you may find yourself left behind.
Thu, November 25, 2010 How does your website traffic compare with other similar small environment organisations? A recent report by Groundwire surveyed 43 organisations to compare traffic, bounce rates, time spent on the site and more.
Sat, November 20, 2010 Just came across a fabulous new piece of fundraising software, called Donor2Deed. Created by long-time overseas aid logistics manager Olivia Cosgrove from Ireland, Donor2Deed is perfect for any charity with a geographical spread of services.
Mon, September 27, 2010 Could it be true? Is text more important than images online? New research from the prestigious Eyetrack III research by the Poynter Institute into how people consume news websites has confirmed previous findings that online, text is more important than images
Tue, September 14, 2010 You've written your Christmas fundraising appeal, edited it five times, passed it around the office, looked at it again and wondered, is it really good enough? Will it do the job? Will it hit budget?
Sat, September 4, 2010 If you're one of those people who are not thoroughly embedded in the social media world, and wondering what all the fuss is about Twitter and Facebook, then “Inbound Marketing” by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah is for you.