Case Study: A/B Testing a Non-Profit Give Page

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Case Study: A/B Testing a Non-Profit Give Page

It’s really important to test all aspects of your website, especially if you work for a non-profit with a donation page. Because what if I told you that one change could provide 72% more revenue? Or another change could double the conversion rate of your Give page compared to other options?

These types of experiments and possibilities made me very curious at a non-profit I worked for. This is a case study of A/B testing I did on our Give page there.

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Re-Engagement Campaigns to Clean Your E-Newsletter List

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Re-Engagement Campaigns to Clean Your E-Newsletter List

It can feel incredibly good to see your e-news subscriber list grow, from the first time you hit the triple digits to the 1,000th subscriber. You’re on a roll when you get to 5,000, 10,000 or more. But at some point, your open or click-thru rates start to stagnate. You can’t get them above some goal or an industry average.

The fact is, on any e-newsletter list there will be people who lose interest or don’t have the time to open and read your messages. Worse yet, your message may be landing in the Gmail promotions tab (a no-man’s land no one wants to be in) or Junk Mail.

What to do?

Time to clean up your e-news subscriber list through a re-engagement campaign.

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Recommendation from John Sayles, CEO at Vermont Foodbank

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Recommendation from John Sayles, CEO at Vermont Foodbank

“Michelle was a fabulous contributor to the Vermont Foodbank. She came aboard in a newly-created position of digital media specialist where the tasks and goals were co-created with her team. Michelle was able to quickly learn our mission and culture, and help the Foodbank reflect that in the digital world. She created a vibrant digital presence that interacts with our supporters in a way that is nurturing, mission-oriented and always respectful. She truly brought this organization to a new level in the digital world, and created the base for the organization to continue on a path as a nonprofit innovator in the digital space.

“A short story: I took Michelle with me to a talk by a digital marketing consultant who presented on ways to maximize the value of a website. It was very exciting! The next day Michelle was implementing the tools she learned about and making changes to our website. What resulted was a new way of continual testing and improvement that results in more conversions of website hits to donations. Continuous improvement seems to be in her DNA.

“Michelle is smart, mission-driven, inquisitive and innovative. She is driven and self-motivated. I recommend her highly based on my experience working directly with her, and seeing the results of her work for the Vermont Foodbank.”

John Sayles

CEO

Vermont Foodbank

Learn more about the marketing I do for nonprofits and universities.

Recommendation from John Sayles

Google Places and Maps for Small Businesses and Non-Profits

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Google Places and Maps for Small Businesses and Non-Profits

If I asked where your non-profit or small business needs to be, online, what might your answer be? You might say you need a website or a Facebook page, right? That’s what everyone’s telling you – your web-savvy niece, your professional association, the workshops you attend, and more.

But a significant number of small businesses and non-profits already have a website or a Facebook page and they’re not getting found by the right clients or customers. What gives?

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7 Questions to Ask Before Starting a Blog

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7 Questions to Ask Before Starting a Blog

Many non-profit staffers and small business owners start blogging because they “know” they “need” to do it or because someone suggested it would help their cause. These are innocent nudges in the right direction, often doled out by a board member with marketing experience or a CEO who wants to write or by a consultant who is ready to set you up with a blog, whether it’s right or wrong for your needs.

I’ve personally cautioned more people out of blogging than into blogging because a blog wouldn’t best serve their goals or because they just wouldn’t be able to devote the appropriate time to it. Blogging can be a huge undertaking and first one needs to ask if a blog is right for your cause or your business.

Here are some questions to ask before starting a blog:

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Managing social media in 10 minutes a day (non-profit and small business edition)

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Managing social media in 10 minutes a day (non-profit and small business edition)

There’s no denying that social media can be a huge responsibility to take on within your work. For those who use it personally, it becomes real obvious real quick how much of a timesuck Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and other channels can be. So it corresponds that managing social media professionally can be intimidating.

But how much time does it really take to have a professional presence on any given channel on behalf of your organization?

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Case Study: A Website for Coastal Maine Getaways

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Case Study: A Website for Coastal Maine Getaways

Coastal Maine Getaways was a great opportunity to start a website from scratch. Lindsey, the owner, had been managing vacation rental properties for some time, but hadn’t yet named her company and had only advertised her listings on VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). It was working fairly well for her, but she wanted more control over her web presence, including the name of the company, SEO (search engine optimization), and the ability to add and highlight more options than VRBO allowed.

Lindsey engaged me to do some market research and to eventually design and populate the site.

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