Wow Welcomes Churches and Non-Profit Organizations
Imagine in your mind that you have a website that is a central hub of activity that thousands of people really enjoy coming to for updates and to contribute. It contains a blog that people are commenting on everyday with praise reports and suggestions. Imagine site visitors so intrigued by the new informational videos and stories that they start looking for the Donate Now button to contribute.
Even in a down economy you can expand your effectiveness and donor base instead of wringing your hands over needed cut backs. Sound like a pipe dream? It may be if you keep going like you are. If you are willing to consider a change in your game plan it can become a reality.
What are the roadblocks to growing instead of shrinking?
See if any of these apply to you:
- Your website is a bland brochure that is all about you and what you want to say about what you do.
- The site gets very few visitors and generates few, if any, donations for your cause.
- The site is so difficult for you to edit that the contents have grown stale and out of date.
- Your site has become an Internet island with no virtual roads leading to it from other sites
- Your donations are down and now you are considers how to cut vital service to stay afloat.
When Circuit City recently announced it was closing its doors in the Sunday newspaper and the closeout sale was on I stopped in myself the next day so see what deals were to be had. That first day I found that hardly anything was marked down much and yet people were just flying around the store grabbing things off the shelves left and right. If CC had seen that type of activity over the past year they wouldn't have been closing at all. There were really few deals to be had yet. What they had was the 'perception of a deal' and it created a huge response.
I can tell you that it demonstrated that there was no lack of money being spent there. Plasma TVs were growing legs and walking out to cars lined up at the curb to load them up. The money is still out there and people will contribute if inspired to do so. They won't inspire themselves. That's your job.
A key to unleashing your organizations donor base
You should have a strategic goal when you approach the web. What is it you want to do there? Which of these applies:
- Increase donations and your donor base
- Create better communication with your donor base or sponsors
- Touch the heartstrings in everyone that visits your site
- Make it easy for people in need to interact with you
- Make it easy for donors to interact/participate on your website or in your organization
- To create active community links back to your website and ultimately to you
- To put your organization at 'Top of Mind' in people's thinking
Once you have focused goals then you can begin to build the bridge to get there.
Some suggested steps to help lay some bricks
- Make sure your website is easy to edit and maintain. If it is not, you will eventually stop updating it. Sites with outdated material look like an abandoned building on the web and people stop visiting.
- Incorporate a blog that is constantly updated. A blog is simply a series of articles that you have the power to create for your readers and they can then comment on and people can participate in what you are doing.
- Have a "Donation" button on your site so people can make one just as soon as they feel inspired. They will be moved by their hearts. The head will obey.
- Use videos on your site. The easy way is to use YouTube and simply import them. You can create a YouTube channel with a series of videos that people can access there as well. Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine site in the world? Key word your videos correctly and people will find you.
- Create and massage your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Did you know that you can create a business FaceBook page? If you know some basic coding you can make it a broadcast hub for your fans (read 'followers'), posting events, videos, podcasts, blog feeds and much more for your fans to see.
- Did you know that you can import your blog posts, videos, PowerPoint presentations and much more into LinkedIn for others to enjoy. They came to your seminar or event and now they can see the presentation again at their leisure when ever they like. Even better, they can send the link to their friends.
- The more you socially interact with your donor base on social sites the more favorably they will be disposed to continue their relationship with you.
- Did you have a Keynote speaker at one of your events that just knocked the lights out? You can create a podcast on iTunes or your website for people who want to experience it again - or for those who couldn't make it to hear it as well.
This is just the tip of the mountain for things that can be done. We'd be very happy to talk with you further if you want to get a better handle on how to get it done. You can simply call or fill out the contact form for futher information or to set up a time to meet.
Wow Web Works considers it a calling and privilege to assist those who are giving from their hearts to help the needy in our community!