Online Communications On A Shoestring

Craigslist Boot Camp August 2008

Introductions

Laura Quinn, Idealware Colin Delany, epolitics.com

What do you hope to get from this session?

What We’ll Cover

Strategies and Tools for the three components of Online Strategy: • Your Website • Email • Online Outreach

The Three Components of Online Communications

Three Components

Your Website

Your Website is You, Online

For many online friends, your website is your organization.

Does it say what you want it to say?

Does It Say What You Do?

Don’t make people hunt to find out what your organization does.

www.kiva.org

Does It Show What You Do?

Make sure your website compellingly shows your activities and the difference you’re making www.rippleeffect.net

Why Should People Care?

Give stories, numbers, examples – to make a connection www.robinhood.org

How Can They Get Involved?

Give people lots of opportunities to help out, if they’ve been moved www.freshair.org

On a Shoestring Budget, Prioritize Wisely

• Make sure your content speaks to your constituents • Invest in a solid graphic design • Make it friendly, clear, and useful • Ensure you can update it over time • Look for a tool that will grow with you Don’t be seduced by nifty features

The Minimal Website

If your budget is exceedingly minimal, consider alternative websites A blog A MySpace Page A piece of another site But an investment pays off

Website Tools for a Shoestring Budget www.homestead.com

Very easy but very generic website-in-a-box. $5-$50 per month depending on number of pages and more .

www.squarespace.com

More complex to set up, but offers more options for those publishing articles, news, or content on an ongoing basis. $7 - $12/month

www.wildapricot.com

Website editing, blast emailing, payment processing, and membership management for small nonprofits. $25-$200 per month.

More Advanced Shoestring Tools www.joomla.org

Much more advanced than previous, with sophisticated and expandable features. Will require at least someone with a sense of technical adventure, if not a consultant, to get setup. Free to download.

www.drupal.org

Even more advanced than Joomla, especially for multi-site organizations or sophisticated user-generated content, but more complex to setup. Free to download.

Email

Repeat After Me…

Email is the Shoestring Communicator’s best friend

Emails are Very Cost Effective

Reach out to your constituents to let them know what you’re doing Or ask them to take action

But the Details are Critical

Who is the email from?

Is the graphic design clean? Does it depend on images?

Are there spam-like words in the text?

Is there an unsubscribe link and physical address?

What’s the subject line?

Does it seem like they know who I am?

Are any calls to action clear?

Does Anyone Open Email Anymore?

Yes. Especially from organizations they know and like. 12-30% Open 2-15% Click 5-10% Act .05-2% Give These vary widely based on organization and email

Where Do The Addresses Come From?

Start with your friends… Ask for emails in direct mail appeals Ask website visitors to sign up for compelling emails Have an email sign-up sheet at events Consider an email appending service And then build your list through Online Outreach…

Shoestring Blast Email Tool for 501c3s

www.verticalresponse.com

• 10,000 emails per month free for 501c3s • After 10,000 emails, prices are reasonable.

• Reliable and sophisticated, though complex in areas • Strong in deliverability and integration Outlook is not a blast email tool!

Other Shoestring Blast Email Tools

www.constantcontact.com

Solid and commonly used. Starts at $15/month for less than 500 constituents. However, several report deliverability problems.

Email Now

www.networkforgood.org

Reasonable for small lists; a terrific deal for big ones. No ability to format HTML emails within the tool. $29.95/ month for 10,000 emails, + $0.001 for each additional email www.myemma.com

Geared to those who want to carefully setup a tailored eNews template that non-techies can easily use over time. Starts at $30/month for 1000 emails (with nonprofit discount).

Outlook is not a blast email tool!

Look for Tools That…

• Have a track record of getting emails to people’s Inbox • Allow you to track opens and click throughs • Help you to segment your list

Online Outreach

Make New Friends for Your Organization

• Work to raise your organization’s overall profile • Give people a reason to pay attention to you • Give supporters the tools to reach out on your behalf

Most methods are inexpensive but time-consuming

• Choose a few, try them out, and evaluate them carefully • Don’t be afraid to experiment!

• Use offline outreach • More broadly, integrate online and offline

Buzz Worthy Website Resources

• Blogs • Reports or articles • Tools • Videos • Games • Pictures

Search Engine Optimization

Consider both content and incoming links

Content:

• Write like a human • Pay attention to headings & page titles • “Semantic coding”

Incoming links:

• Reputable/relevant sites matter • Having a blog can help

Google Grants

• Free to nonprofits • Google contextual ads • Can build email/donor/activist list • Not just on Google – other sites in network

Blogs and Blogger Relations

• Similar to traditional media relations • Focus on niche/local sites • Establish yourself as a credible source • Research sites before you contact the authors • Only pitch relevant (and interesting) content • Build relationships • Buy ‘em a beer!

Online Viral Marketing

Things you do mostly for the buzz, though they often help engage supporters as well.

• Videos • Petitions • Actions • Contests

Social Networking Sites

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or niche social networks Approaches: 1. Individual outreach 2. Organization presence 3. Yard signs – widgets, gadgets, critters, videos and badges 4. Groups/Applications/ Fan pages

Spreading the Word Through Other Sites

• Digg • Del.icio.us

• YouTube • Twitter (technically not a site…) • Cross-publishing/creating content for other websites • Content widgets • Social networks • To test, start with the sites you use yourself

Distributed Campaigns

Typically fundraising, but there’s no law that says they have to be • FirstGiving • ChipIn • Network for Good Typical tools: • Widgets • Video

Assessing Outreach Methods

• Most methods are inexpensive but time-consuming • Match your goals to the tools • Match the tools to your resources – for instance, an organization with good writers might consider a blog, but only if they have the time to put into it • Think about the bang for the buck • Leverage your existing work – integration is key

Questions?

Stand-Alone: Few Donations, Price Is Critical www.clickandpledge.com

No fees except for 4.75% of each donation. Some customization of the form; strong international support

Basic Donate Now www.networkforgood.org

Low cost – no fees except 4.75% of each donation - but not customizable at all. The visitor leaves your site for the NFG site

www.paypal.com

By far the cheapest of the tools at about 2.2% of each donation (for nonprofits). The donation form is unmistakably PayPal, but with the trusted PayPal name that could be a good thing

www.chipin.com

A widget that sits on your site and shows donation progress – and integrates with PayPal. Fees are the same as PayPal, for now

Stand-Alone: Best Values for Good Tools (1 of 2) www.auctionpay.com

Mid-priced specialist in donations, events, and registration. Fairly flexible donation form. Although it’s their merchant account, your org’s name appears on the credit card bill

www.etapestry.com

Most affordable tool with your own merchant account. Their whole donor database comes free with it, as long as you keep your database under 500 donors.

www.gifttool.com

Completely integrated and fairly flexible donation form, with support for products and events as well. They offer Canadian tax receipts and multiple language support.

Stand-Alone: Best Values for Good Tools (2 of 2) Custom Donate Now www.networkforgood.org

DonateNow (formerly by Groundspring) is an affordable basic tool that can be completely integrated into your site.

www.memberclicks.com

Their “build your own form” tool is a good option for those who don’t want to go through the vendor for every change.

A Selection of Integrated Online Tools

• • •

Under $100/month

Wild Apricot Network for Good Donor Suite GivenGain • • • • •

Under $200/ month

CitySoft Democracy in Action eTapestry MemberClicks Z2 Neon • • • •

Mid Market

Artez LocalVoice Orchid Suites CitySoft • • • •

Lower Cost, Website Focused

CivicSpace CivicSpace on Demand Joomla (with integration) Nonprofit Soapbox • •

From Consulting Firms

AMP from Radical Designs 44Fish from Antharia • • •

The Big Kahunas

Convio (+GetActive) Kintera Blackbaud NetCommunity