How important is color? Can it possibly impact how much people donate? Or how much they respond to any call-to-action?

The answer is an emphatic YES!

Although I’m not a graphic designer, I study research on how color affects the choices people make. And people are people so even if the research is related to consumer products or business-to-business (B2B), it carries over into the nonprofit sector.

Whether it’s the color of your carrier envelope, the color of your donate button, the color of your join button, or the color scheme of your entire website (and your “brand” image) … color plays a pivotal role in how people respond.

But don’t get carried away!

Too much visual overload (e.g., too many bright colors, buttons and images) confuses the eye and depresses response. This is because people can’t discern what is MOST important. Visual overload on nonprofit websites is an all too common problem.

The infographic below relates to how consumers respond to color and visual appearance.

And beneath the infographic I called out a few points I believe you ought to consider with your nonprofit website, emails, or direct mail packages.

But don’t limit your considerations to these points – study ALL the stats and data on the graphic because they are all factors in how donors, members, advocates, etc. respond to your messaging.

Points in the infographic I don’t want you to miss:

Color and Marketing: Visual appearance plays a key role in getting their initial attention (e.g., color on your carrier envelope). But reader-centric messaging (copy), readability, etc. are what “close the deal.”

Color and Consumer: The influence color has varies by country. So if you have an international audience, bear this in mind.

Other Influences: “Convenience” highlights the importance of making your website – including the donation or join process – as simple and visitor friendly as possible.

Overall Design: For visitors to your website, poor navigation and poor overall design (from THEIR point of view) drives them away. In other words, they don’t stay on your site as long nor do they respond to your calls-to-action.

The stakes are high so this is a vital design issue for your site. It’s worth testing with donors and members who are unfamiliar with your organization.

The Element of Time: Do you like flash? Do you like tons of photos and graphics all over your website?

Milliseconds are literally costing your nonprofit money. Many people won’t stick around waiting for your site to load.

Power Words: What are the power words for your nonprofit? What phrases evoke the right emotion in your supporters?

And how are you reassuring them that supporting your organization is “safe” for them to do – that donors and members can trust your nonprofit? This relates to the importance of a guarantee on consumer sites. What proof do you offer that your nonprofit is honest; that your board members are credible; and that you have a system for auditing your accounts and screening employees and board members?

In addition, associations could offer a type of guarantee to members.

I’ve written about it on this blog numerous times: Studying how people behave in the consumer and B2B markets benefits your nonprofit. We don’t behave one way as a consumer and then do a 180 when we consider donating to a charity or joining an association.

Consider color and visual appearance when creating your nonprofit direct mail packages and your website. Use it to help you influence the desired response in your supporters.

One more thing: My best to you for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Nine simple words increased the amount raised with an in-person “ask” approach by 75%. This comes from a study of the Salvation Army and its bell ringers in front of stores.

Instead of a passive approach where they stand there, ring the bell, and smile … the test had the bell ringer saying, “Hi, how are you? Merry Christmas. Please give today.”

Large study shows speaking to prospects raises in-person donations 75%. Test this human interaction concept on your website.

Adding that simple verbal request increased contributions by 75%.

I found this information in a post on the NeuroScienceMarketing blog.

The study revealed how “an in-person ask is a powerful tool … for small contributions, simply speaking a few words to potential donors boosted contributions by 75%.” This behavioral change in prospective donors might be due to the mild social pressure created by the verbal solicitation.

The blog post went on to postulate on how this in-person concept could be extended to your charity’s website. Suggestions include:

• Could you add a live-chat feature to your donation page or button? Would this have the same social effect seen in the supermarket study?

The live chat may not be practical to support (man-hours as much as anything).  So…

• What about a simulated human interaction? Consider testing a pop-up photo of a person (but don’t use a pasty stock photo) asking for a gift. Or having a short video (I’d start with 30-seconds or less).

I think the simulated in-person asks on your nonprofit website are worth testing with an A/B split test.

But I believe they’ll be much stronger if you include 3 short examples of how a specific dollar amount helps someone in need. It’s my experience that specific dollar amount examples of how donors make a difference and how you’ll use their money not only increases how many donate, but also the average gift size.

For example: $25 does X for an abandoned child. $100 does Y for a family. $500 does Z.

Test. Test. Test. Even incremental increases are worth the effort. We know this from direct mail and it applies to online as well.

In today’s economy nonprofits with the most growth are trying and testing new ideas; they’re taking some risks and evolving with their supporters.

Do you have an in-person ask on your nonprofit website? Or do you have a simulated in-person ask? Please share what you’ve done in the comments below.

Related posts:

Collection of 6 diverse fundraising ideas … more ideas to test

Best time to meet with a major donor … tips for asking in-person

Donor acquisition lessons learned … includes ideas and tips on testing

And your first one is NOT, “Do we go mobile?” Reaching donors and members through their smartphones has become nearly as important as reaching them on their PCs.

That’s just one of the points in a recent article in Target Marketing, “3 Options for Your Direct Marketing Mobile Strategy.”

But just in case you think mobile is only for the big nonprofits … or only for those who have disaster relief missions and want to raise funds quickly via mobile … think again.

Get the facts. A popular primer – or guidebook – spells out ALL the ways mobile benefits nonprofits in clear, non-technical terms: Mobile for Nonprofits.

Okay. You’ve read the primer and done your research. And now you’ve made your decision to go mobile. Target Marketing lays out your next options nicely in terms of developing a mobile strategy.

And it’s all based on how you want mobile to support everything else you do, who you want to reach, and naturally what’s your budget.

Here are the 3 options related to your direct marketing mobile strategy from the article:

1) Mobile-compatible website (probably the quickest and cheapest), a web-based application, or a native mobile application? Which will you choose?

2) If you opt for an application, know that you shouldn’t take everything off your website and simply drop it on an app. (Anymore than you should take a 2-4 page direct mail letter and plop it onto your website or into an email without serious editing.)

3) There are numerous platforms (e.g., iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and more), and they all have varying development costs.

All these decisions. It’s a good article and I recommend you read it for the details relating to Target Marketing’s three options.

You’ll find more help in these related posts:

Friendly Nonprofit Mobile Websites

3 Steps to Strategically Mobile Nonprofits

And no, this has nothing to do with Halloween. I’m referring to the amount of copy that remains after merciless editing for a mobile-friendly version of your story.

When people pick up their mobile device it’s primarily because they’re killing time. They’re waiting in the doctor’s office and want to pass the time. They’re riding on the commuter train. They’re browsing during the TV commercials. They’re in a boring meeting waiting for someone to say something interesting.

But even though these people are “killing time,” that doesn’t mean they want to “waste time” reading a bunch of fluff or filler content.

Where’s the beef?

Mobile users don’t want to spend time searching for the beef – the guts of the story. They want it visible and served up first. Yes they might be relaxing and killing time, but when in mobile-mode … they want all beef. No filler.

This is because they’re relaxing with a purpose. That purpose is to find something out NOW or to simply have lots of fun and thrills with a game.

Therefore, you must take your direct mail letter or email and chop it down without mercy until it’s condensed into a few short paragraphs. Then let people who want more details click to get more on the next screen … and then even more on another screen for the deeply interested.

Mobile demands the skeleton have no fat or extra tissue

For example: Let’s take an integrated campaign with direct mail, email, your website and mobile.

In the diagram below see how the amount of copy continues to shrink drastically as we move to the right.

Stick to the main points when writing for the mobile web.

What’s the ONE thing you want readers to know and understand above all else? What must they understand and do?

Share that first. Add a short few clarifying paragraphs and then links to secondary screens for those who want to know more.

If you try to give the skeleton too much shape by filling in with lots of details, mobile users get almost instantly bored with your wall of text and leave your site.

And for mobile, even several very short paragraphs that lead to lots of scrolling quickly become a wall of text. Writing copy for mobile users is a whole new world. And also an exciting one.

Like what you found here? More related posts:

Friendly Nonprofit Websites (mobile-friendly, that is)

Mobile for Nonprofits – a primer for non-techies

3 Steps to Strategically Mobile Nonprofits

Want visitors to have a good experience when they come to your nonprofit website?  And do you have a Facebook page?  Do you Tweet?  Do you have a YouTube channel?  Do you have donors between the ages of 18 and 90?

If you answered “YES” to any of those questions then you need to have a mobile-friendly website. 

Not sending text messages or asking for text donations?

Doesn’t matter.

You still need at least some of your web pages to be mobile-friendly and here’s why: 

1. You can’t afford to frustrate or annoy donors, advocates, prospects, members, and other supporters.  They will have a negative experience when arriving at your site via a mobile device unless you’ve created some mobile-friendly pages.

2. The number of people accessing the web via mobile will be greater than those using a PC/desktop computer in less than 3 year’s time.  The daily growth is almost exponential (it’s happening that fast).

3. People are 5-times more likely to respond to a mobile call-to-action than email, direct mail, or anything else.

4. Over 80% of consistent social networkers access their networks via mobile.  This means they’re looking at your Facebook page, tweets, etc. on a mobile device.  And if you have a call-to-action that takes them to your website … then they’re also viewing those pages via mobile.

5. Email is viewed via mobile by about 38% of the people.  So not only work with your email service provider to have mobile-friendly emails, but remember that any link to your website in an email is being viewed via mobile by a large segment of your subscribers.

Where should you begin?

Make it manageable.  Move forward a step or two at a time.

For example: Start with 3 pages of your website and make them mobile-friendly.  Consider your home page, donation page, and one other page.  To help decide what the third page ought to be, look at your website analytics.  What page gets the most traffic?  Or … are you planning a major campaign in the next month or two?  Perhaps you’ll want the landing page for that campaign to be mobile friendly.

In other words, use a combination of website traffic and your business/fundraising goals to choose the third page.  But also look at which web pages your mobile users are viewing.  It could be different from PC users.

Still not convinced?

Still not convinced that every nonprofit – including yours, regardless of size – needs to have some mobile-friendly web pages?

Read point number one again.  Do you believe you can afford to deliberately annoy and frustrate your supporters?  With acquisition more and more challenging … with supporters more and more demanding that all tasks, sites, pages, etc. be EASY FOR THEM … with a recession that causes people to scrutinize their decisions to donate or join more thoroughly … can you risk your budget this way? 

Perhaps the following graphics will illustrate the point.

"Above the fold" view of a web page on a PC/desktop computer.

This is how a “regular” web page might look on someone’s personal or desktop computer.  You see the full width of the page.  And in one glance you get a feel for what is on the page.

Now look at the next graphic.  The red box illustrates how much of the SAME web page you might see on a mobile device.  Not much is it?

"Above the fold" view of SAME web page on a mobile device (i.e., area inside the box).

Studies have shown it’s about 2-times as difficult to read content on a mobile device simply because the screen is so small. 

It’s more challenging (and some folks would say, “More painful”), to use the web on a mobile phone because . . .

o Downloads are slower

o On many phones there’s no physical keyboard

o You don’t have a mouse for easy selection or to issue commands. 

o Again, a small screen that usually has TINY text

o No where near the consistency in design that “regular” web pages have so people have to figure everything out from scratch.

All this adds up to the fact that comprehension is MUCH LOWER when reading web content on a mobile device.

And it’s essentially because of screen size.  Mobile users can see less at any given time.

Consequently they must rely on their memory as they try to understand the content on your site because so little of it is fully explained within the viewable space. 

Screen size also impacts how users move around on the page.  They must do a LOT MORE scrolling to find the content and aids they need – they can’t just glance at the whole page for the answer.

Scrolling reduces comprehension because …

o It takes more time.  And this chips away at our memory.

o Users are trying to read something, find something, or get an answer.  The more they scroll the longer it takes to get what they want because their attention is on scrolling and not directly on getting the information they want.

o And after all that scrolling around it’s harder to find their starting point on a mobile screen than on the screen of a desktop computer.

Make it EASY FOR YOUR SUPPORTERS by creating some mobile-friendly pages of your nonprofit website.  Start with three pages: Home, donation (or perhaps “join” page for an association), and one other.

If you’re a charity, work with a vendor and make this happen before the Fall and holiday giving seasons.  If you’re an association, get it done just as fast.

Resources

Primer/guidebook written for non-techies to help you understand the basics of mobile before talking to any vendors:  Mobile for Nonprofits

Vendors to consider when creating mobile-friendly pages:

http://www.imediareach.com/ imedia Reach ― Gary or Linda Bonner

http://www.hipcricket.com/home.aspx hipcricket ― Doug Stovall

http://www.mobiento.com/ mobiento!

http://www.2ergo.com/ 2ergo ― Lindsay Woodworth

http://mobiforge.com/directory A directory found here of a large community of independent mobile web developers and designers.

Once again I find myself in partial disagreement with the good folks at “Nonprofit 2.0.”  On Monday they published a post titled, 11 Nonprofit Websites Designed for the Social Web.

I’m not in complete agreement that the 11 examples they cited are great examples to emulate.

My primary concern is that these websites have too much for the eye to focus on – there’s too much competing  – screaming – for our attention. And that lowers conversions. In other words, FEWER visitors TAKE ACTION (respond to your call-to-action).

Fewer conversions is the risk you take
with a website dominated by images

Here’s what I mean . . .

Yes we are more visual and this includes watching videos (although the stats for what is watched start-to-finish are extremely low; few people watch beyond 10 seconds).  And we don’t want a mass of text.  That’s never been the right approach for the web.

Plus it’s always been smart to have obvious placement of “Donate Now” buttons, and e-newsletter “Subscribe” sign-ups.  However, on the home page I believe these should dominate and the social networking icons should NOT be located nearby.

And yes, we like images (e.g., photos).  But although we may be more visual, repeated testing of what donors and supporters do proves that they still want to get basic questions answered. And for a website they want these answers within 5 seconds of landing on your site.

So if you don’t have enough copy to answer those questions; and if they have so many images, buttons, and bright colors to look at that their eye doesn’t know WHAT to focus one … then you’ve missed the boat.

Remember: A home page is also a landing page.  And you need to have your primary CTA above the fold.

Of the eleven websites touted as “excellent examples” I’d love to see data on these websites.  What about A/B split tests of people landing on the new design versus a varied design?  Then compare conversion statistics for the two designs.

Base web design on testing

Designs ought to be based on tangible testing and not a clutter of cool pictures and videos that the staff is in love with.

Clarity trumps “oh this is such a pretty picture” every time.  Clarity trumps “clever” every time.  Stated another way:

o Is it obvious to VISITORS what you want them to do on this page? What is the primary action you want them to take?  If they did nothing else they would _____ (fill in the blank).

If it’s to look at a photo, then fill up the entire screen above the fold with the photo. Personally I don’t see how looking at a photo alone can acquire more donors or members; get more people to donate; get more people to be email subscribers; etc.

o Don’t have so many buttons and calls-to-action that you get fewer conversions because people can’t decide.  And by fewer conversions I’m referring to fewer donations, fewer sign-ups, fewer everything except oohs and ahs over the pretty graphics.

o I say again: Think twice, three times and more before you fill up the entire screen “above the fold” with a single photo or video.  But if someone on your staff insists, then at least do an A/B split test for 3-6 months (tweaking along the way) and collect conversion data.  Which design did the best job of meeting your business goals?

By the way; I love photos.  Photography is a hobby I’ve enjoyed since I was 9 or 10 years old.

Photos don’t answer critical donor questions

Looking at a terrific photo of the beach doesn’t tell me exactly what your nonprofit does or why I should support you in lieu of another environmental charity. It doesn’t tell me your track record for getting the job done.  Nor does it reassure me that I can trust you with my money.

And ladies and gentlemen, repeated testing by several organizations has proven that this information is of primary importance to donors.  This information – presented succinctly in copy that’s easy to find and read, and enhanced by the right graphics – is what gets them to donate, sign-up, and take other actions on your website.  I don’t say this because I’m a copywriter.  I say it because donors’ actions prove this is what works.

Please don’t rush out and redesign your nonprofit website to mirror these 11 examples cited by “Nonprofit Tech 2.0.”

I’m not saying they’re completely bad!!!  Many things are being done right on these sites.

I am saying a design should be based on what works best for YOUR nonprofit.  And you’ll only know that by using solid testing procedures to guide your design.  Set your business goals and then proceed with redesign and testing, step-by-step. This approach minimizes your risk with any new website or redesign.

More website usability help for nonprofits.

The home page of ANY website – charity, association, for-profit, etc. – is prime real estate.  What goes where, color schemes, style sheets, primary call-to-action for the page, rotating content, and so on are just a few of the main design considerations.

Sample Social Media Icons

A recent blog post by Nonprofit Tech 2.0 briefly discussed where social media icons ought to be located on a nonprofit’s homepage.  The post stated, “…I am big believer in the power upper right-hand corner of your homepage…”

I’m NOT in complete agreement.

The decision on what goes in the upper right corner is complex and strategic.  And just because five of the larger nonprofits (5 orgs cited in the post) place the icons in the upper right corner still doesn’t make it the best decision for them or for anyone else.

Don’t rush out and re-design your home page based on the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 post.  I generally like what they have to say but this time I believe they’ve over-simplified an issue to the point of being misleading.

Here are some factors to study, analyze and weigh before deciding WHAT GOES IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER of your home page:

- What is the primary purpose of YOUR home page? What do you want it to achieve?

- What is the primary call-to-action for YOUR home page?  If visitors did nothing else, what is the ONE action (conversion) you would love them to take? 

 - How many competing calls-to-action exist on your home page?  The more there are the lower your overall conversions will be.

- Do you have an email list?  Is it important to grow your list and gain more subscribers?

 - What is your social media strategy? What social networks are you involved with (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and how do they help your nonprofit grow?

 - How many buttons, icons, and bright colors are competing for the web visitor’s eye?

That’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to laying out your home page.  As I said before, it’s a complex design decision. 

Hopefully those six bullets help you clearly see the point I want to make which is …

The upper right corner of the home page ought to be reserved for the primary call-to-action. 

IF that’s getting more people to join your social networking groups, then put the social media icons here. 

But IF it’s getting more newsletter/email subscribers, or getting people to respond to a petition, or another call-to-action . . . then put the social media icons somewhere else. 

Rule of thumb is to reserve the upper right corner of your home page for the most desired conversion.  Don’t play follow the leader when it comes to designing your nonprofit’s website home page.  There’s too much at stake.

Related posts:

The Who, What, Why and How of Nonprofit Website Copy

Make it Easy for Web Visitors

Nonprofit Website Usability in Detail – Part 1

Two recent posts from friends and colleagues cover two critical view points or strategies.  I’ll hit the highlights here but I urge you to read the full post on each of their blogs.

1 – Your nonprofit website and branding
By Sarah Durham in The Duck Call

One of the main points Sarah made in her post is something I see over, and over, and over again.

People get swayed by design and focus too much on the glitz.  Too many graphics; graphics and photos that are so large you have to scroll before you find anything to read; bright colors everywhere; etc. 

There’s so much competing for your eye’s attention that the viewer gets “lost.” 

When everyone is shouting in a room … no one gets heard.  You can’t concentrate or understand any single message.

Likewise, when everything is bold and large on your website … nothing gets seen.  The viewer can’t concentrate or understand what is most important.  They don’t know where to begin.  And if they can’t figure it out within a couple seconds, there’s an incredibly HIGH probability that they’ll leave.

In Sarah’s words: “While most people tend to think ‘logo’ or even ‘visuals’ when they hear the word ‘brand’, we Ducks argue that messaging is just as important. And clear messaging should be the backbone of your website.”

If you want your website to persuade … if you want it to be sticky … then you must concentrate on giving the words priority.  The text, the copy – this is what persuades.  That’s not only the opinion of Karen Zapp the copywriter.  That’s a proven fact based on extensive testing by companies and marketers in countless industries, including the nonprofit sector.

Read everything Sarah has to say on the subject in her post titled, “Why you shouldn’t rebrand as you build that new website”

That’s the “what to say” of my post.  Now let’s touch on “how often to say it.”

2 – Fewer communications with donors can be deadly
By Jeff Brooks in Future Fundraising Now

Ever get a note or call from a donor that says, “I only want to hear from you once a year.”  Or maybe it’s something like, “No wonder you’re struggling to raise money when you send me a letter every month!”

You receive a mere handful of these messages.  But based on the few, someone in your nonprofit makes a wholesale decision that is applied to your entire file: They reduce the number of mailings.

Jeff refers to this as the “most deadly – and most common – error in fundraising.” 

Or maybe you don’t receive any messages but you just start to worry.  Or you’re trying to cut the budget.  Whatever drives the decision someone changes the plan because they believe . . .

Donors don’t want to hear from us very often.  Too much content (i.e., direct mail letters, newsletters, email, or whatever sent too frequently), drives donors away.  This excess content is eroding our donor file.

WRONG! That way of thinking and acting is almost certain to cost your nonprofit dearly.  As Jeff says:

“There’s no evidence that it’s true. In fact, the evidence shows us that decreasing donor contact almost always leads to less revenue.  Worse yet, it leads to lower donor retention.

In other words, you’re a lot more likely to drive away donors by not communicating enough than you are by over-communicating.”

If you’ve got a donor file of 50,000 and a dozen or so ask for fewer mailings … then honor their request and adjust the dozen.  But leave the other 49,988 alone.  Keep communicating with them often.

Read everything Jeff has to say on the subject in his post titled, “The most deadly error in fundraising”

Thanks to Sarah Durham and Jeff Brooks for helping me to communicate with my readers today.  Have a thought you’d like to share on these topics? Do you disagree with us?  Please use the comment box below.

A friend of mine received a flyer in the mail last week from an organization called, RTCA.

This mailer was promoting their RTCA 2011 Annual Symposium and inviting him to attend.  Trouble is, he has no idea who the organization is.  He’s not a member.  He’s never heard of them.

The mystery plot thickens.

No where on the 10×18-inch tri-fold, two-sided, full color mailer is the organization identified.   Next we went to the website clearly displayed on the mailer . . . www.RTCA2011Symposium.com

Again, no where on that website can you find what RTCA stands for.  Well, at least neither of us could find it (my friend and I).  I even looked on the FAQ page for a question that read, “What the heck does RTCA stand for?”  And no, it wasn’t to be found.

What do you think RTCA stands for?

I did a Google search on “RTCA” and here are the results:

• Radon Testing Corporation of America
• Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics
• Race Track Chaplaincy of America
• Robert Toombs Christian Academy
• Regional Counterdrug Training Academy
• Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance program
• Rat Terrier Club of America

Quite a diverse set of possibilities.

Now I’ll tell you that there were clues on the mailer and the website that RTCA has something to do with aviation.  And that the focus of the Symposium was on “NextGen” – whatever that is – but beyond that . . . who they are and what they do was still a mystery.

While still searching for clues to solve the mystery on the Symposium website I clicked on a link at the very, very bottom of a page: RTCA Homepage. I found myself on a new website.

Sorry to say that once again there’s nothing in the header or in the body copy on the home page that tells a visitor what RTCA is. Nothing in plain English that says who they are and what they do in a few sentences, tag line, slogan . . . NOTHING.

Finally on the “About Us” page they state they are the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics.

Why am I sharing all this and

How might it help you?

Don’t assume everyone knows who you are.  Don’t make your identity such a mystery!

Associations seem to suffer most from Acronym Mystery Love Affair.  I call it a love affair because I believe it’s narcissistic to assume everyone knows what your acronym stands for.  Or that just because we end up on your site or receive your mail we know who you are.

Some folks might even consider it thoughtless when you don’t spell out your association / organization name on your header so it appears on every single page of your website without visitors spending their valuable time searching.

Also, in your mailings (event promos, letters, emails, etc.), give up a fraction of an inch to write out the name of your association.  Take the mailer my friend received for the RTCA 2011 Annual Symposium as an example:  Have a spot somewhere to help prospects and newbies get to know you.  Share a couple sentences about what you do.

If you don’t you’ll frustrate the be-jeebers out of them and that lowers response.

Break off the love affair.  Don’t be mysterious and frustrate us with acronyms.  Instead, be kind to the people you want supporting or joining your association or organization.

Cultivation, stewardship, building stronger relationships . . . these are vital activities for any charity or association. How confident are you that your website is cultivating your visitors?

While there are a variety of ways to cultivate and build stronger relationships online, today I’m focusing on a single variable: Make it easy for visitors.

How can you make the experience visitors have to your website easy?  Here are ten items that immediately pop to mind:

1 – Regardless of how I enter your site (e.g., donate page, blog, home page, page describing a specific program, etc.), can I look at your header and KNOW within 2-4 seconds who you are, what you do, and where you do it?  Or do I have to search for answers?

2 – No acronyms in your header.  Name of your organization – especially relevant for associations – is written out.

3 – If the name of your nonprofit doesn’t clearly express the essence of your mission, do you have a clarifying slogan or tagline in the header?

4 – Can I make a donation or join your organization in two or less clicks of the mouse?

5 – Is the font large enough to read?  And is the body copy on web pages black font (notice I said BLACK and not gray) on a white background?

6 – Are there two places where I can find the “About Us” page and “Contact Us” information?  Perhaps put these links in the header or footer in addition to the regular navigation.  And are these links EASY to see (not super tiny and in a dim or very light-colored font that doesn’t stand out on the page)?

7 – If I want to contact you, do I have to fill out an online form or can I email or call someone directly?  Ooh.  What a treat that would be.

8 – Use terms that donors and members understand and recognize.  This is especially important for prospects and new people to your nonprofit.  For example: A navigation link that says “Transforming” may as well be written in a foreign language.  It has no meaning to people who don’t work for your nonprofit.

9 – Visitors can sign-up for email in two or less clicks.

10 – When joining an association, don’t make me give you my life history.  Get the credit card info and what is required for a credit card payment FIRST.  Make it easy to join.  Collect any other demographic info you may desire later – maybe even right after you’ve confirmed receipt of my payment.

You may not view this as cultivation but it is.  Anything that enhances the experience donors, members, volunteers and prospects have with your nonprofit is cultivation.  Don’t overlook any detail.  Make it easy for web visitors.

What other ways do you cultivate and build relationships with your web visitors?