When it comes to email, how long is too long?
Short paragraphs? Yes! Short sentences? Please! Short simple words? Absolutely! Short emails? Not so fast.
Here is a great article posted ClickZ, Who Says People Don't Respond to Long E-mail Copy?. Author, Karen Gedney tells us "don't write short copy because everyone tells you it's the only way to go. Instead, try testing long copy vs. short copy in a head-to-head test to find out what your audience responds to best." We agree with this approach, Karen. We are also reminded that placement of links is important and sidebar (callout or hotbox) is particularly important in generating clicks.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Have you got what it takes?
The most important part of a social-media strategy
Michael J. Puican | August 11, 2008
This is an exciting time for mission-based, nonprofit organizations thanks to the explosion in social media.
Unlike e-commerce, which has been the huge Internet focus over the past 10 years, social networking is about connecting and getting involved, and not about buying and selling. Thanks to social media this is the perfect time for nonprofits to step up and ensure their mission is one that people are talking about.
So what is the best way to do this?
There is so much discussion about the mechanics of social networking: to blog or not to blog, MySpace vs. Facebook, creating videos for YouTube, etc. I want to focus on a crucial aspect that doesn't have anything to do with the technology. It is the human factor. Very practically, who will do this and how much time will it take?
The first thought is often to look for a young, energetic college intern since all young people are into social networking, right? But even if you find the perfect intern who is a Facebook/MySpace/Twitter wiz, you need to ask how well they will represent your organization.
Social networking requires interaction with other individuals, bloggers and organizations. It requires someone who knows your organization thoroughly and can represent it well.
The best candidate has a combination of these traits:
Knows and enjoys social media
Is tech savvy (but doesn't have to be a geek)
Knows your organization and is committed to its mission
Has a personable, outgoing writing style
That person may be a staff member or an involved volunteer, but it should be someone who is already involved in your organization.
The next question is how much time to allocate to the enterprise. Unlike working with your website, which may only involve responding to inquiries and thanking those who donate online, social networking is much more active.
It requires getting involved and participating in the various discussions about the issues most important to your organization. As a result, it requires much more time.
Here are rough guidelines to begin your planning:
Two hours a day (10 hours a week): Post bulletins on your organization's sites, visit other sites and respond to postings on other sites.
Four hours a day (a half-time staff person): Establish a regular blog, become an active voice on the internet about the key issues involving your mission.
Eight hours a day (a full-time staff person): Now you are social networking. Create thoughtful dialogues about key issues, develop opportunities for volunteers to interact and become involved, lead e-advocacy campaigns, regularly interact with bloggers, thought leaders, media and key organizations.
Social networking can become a major new resource for your nonprofit. However, it requires a strategic commitment of resources to tap into it. If you can make that commitment, you will find an exciting, new opportunity to build awareness and significantly improve your base of volunteers and donors.
Michael J. Puican | August 11, 2008
This is an exciting time for mission-based, nonprofit organizations thanks to the explosion in social media.
Unlike e-commerce, which has been the huge Internet focus over the past 10 years, social networking is about connecting and getting involved, and not about buying and selling. Thanks to social media this is the perfect time for nonprofits to step up and ensure their mission is one that people are talking about.
So what is the best way to do this?
There is so much discussion about the mechanics of social networking: to blog or not to blog, MySpace vs. Facebook, creating videos for YouTube, etc. I want to focus on a crucial aspect that doesn't have anything to do with the technology. It is the human factor. Very practically, who will do this and how much time will it take?
The first thought is often to look for a young, energetic college intern since all young people are into social networking, right? But even if you find the perfect intern who is a Facebook/MySpace/Twitter wiz, you need to ask how well they will represent your organization.
Social networking requires interaction with other individuals, bloggers and organizations. It requires someone who knows your organization thoroughly and can represent it well.
The best candidate has a combination of these traits:
Knows and enjoys social media
Is tech savvy (but doesn't have to be a geek)
Knows your organization and is committed to its mission
Has a personable, outgoing writing style
That person may be a staff member or an involved volunteer, but it should be someone who is already involved in your organization.
The next question is how much time to allocate to the enterprise. Unlike working with your website, which may only involve responding to inquiries and thanking those who donate online, social networking is much more active.
It requires getting involved and participating in the various discussions about the issues most important to your organization. As a result, it requires much more time.
Here are rough guidelines to begin your planning:
Two hours a day (10 hours a week): Post bulletins on your organization's sites, visit other sites and respond to postings on other sites.
Four hours a day (a half-time staff person): Establish a regular blog, become an active voice on the internet about the key issues involving your mission.
Eight hours a day (a full-time staff person): Now you are social networking. Create thoughtful dialogues about key issues, develop opportunities for volunteers to interact and become involved, lead e-advocacy campaigns, regularly interact with bloggers, thought leaders, media and key organizations.
Social networking can become a major new resource for your nonprofit. However, it requires a strategic commitment of resources to tap into it. If you can make that commitment, you will find an exciting, new opportunity to build awareness and significantly improve your base of volunteers and donors.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Online Terms
Here is a link to a glossary of commonly used online terms. This is sure to come in handy!
http://www.emailexperience.org/resources/email-glossary/
http://www.emailexperience.org/resources/email-glossary/
Words that Work
This is a terrific reminder found on another blog. It summarizes "Words that Work," a book by Frank Luntz, a well-known-strategist. This reinforces a lot of suggestions from our style guide! You can also always turn back to our Value-Messaging for inspiration around message structure.
1. Simplicity - Use small words. You’re trying to connect with your audiences, not impress them with your vocabulary. If you use a word they don’t understand, they will stop listening AND think that you’re pretentious.
2. Brevity - Use short sentences. If you can’t say it in a breath, folks won’t understand it. You may be willing to re-read your sentences to make sure you get the point, but your audience won’t.
3. Credibility Matters – as much as if not more than philosophy. I call this believability. Stephen Colbert calls it “truthiness.” It doesn’t matter if your message is true. If it sounds “unbelievable,” it won’t be believed.
4. Repetition – Consistency Matters. You will have to hammer home your message over and over before it sticks. So it better roll off your tongue (see #1 and #2).
5. Novelty – Offer something new. In product marketing, we call this “differentiation.” In politics, it’s the reason to NOT vote for the other guy. Within the non-profit world, it’s the reason someone should bother listening to you.
6. Sound – Good words sound good. I often tell clients to read their messages aloud. If they sound boring, they are. Luntz cites a lot of tag lines and product ad copy to prove his point (M&Ms melt in your mouth, quicker picker upper, etc.) But I think this makes sense for all messages. Use alliteration. Create an appealing cadence for your messages. Treat your OpEds like they are speeches.
7. Speak Aspirationally. (For the record, "Aspirationally" is his word, not mine, and seems to break rule #1, no?) No one likes a downer. (Read that again.) Aspiration is more attractive and memorable. It inspires. Focus on the promise of what could be, not how bad things are. In fact, check out a few Obama speeches. He clearly rips the current state of things, but he offers hope, promise, etc.
8. Visualize – Make them see it. Use language that conjures up mental images. One of Luntz’s favorite words is “imagine.” Tell a person to imagine something, and he will – using his favorite images and his favorite memories.
9. Ask a question. Sounds corny, but it works. It immediately engages people in a conversation whether they want to be included or not. State a fact and they look at you with a blank stare. Ask a question and people answer it.
10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance. Finally, a point I can argue with Luntz. “Relevance” is one of my Top 5 message rules, and I think that if you have to explain it, you’ve already lost the audience. The best messages are INSTANTLY relevant to audiences. If you have to explain a punch line, the joke isn’t funny. If you have to explain a message, it’s not as strong as it needs to be.
1. Simplicity - Use small words. You’re trying to connect with your audiences, not impress them with your vocabulary. If you use a word they don’t understand, they will stop listening AND think that you’re pretentious.
2. Brevity - Use short sentences. If you can’t say it in a breath, folks won’t understand it. You may be willing to re-read your sentences to make sure you get the point, but your audience won’t.
3. Credibility Matters – as much as if not more than philosophy. I call this believability. Stephen Colbert calls it “truthiness.” It doesn’t matter if your message is true. If it sounds “unbelievable,” it won’t be believed.
4. Repetition – Consistency Matters. You will have to hammer home your message over and over before it sticks. So it better roll off your tongue (see #1 and #2).
5. Novelty – Offer something new. In product marketing, we call this “differentiation.” In politics, it’s the reason to NOT vote for the other guy. Within the non-profit world, it’s the reason someone should bother listening to you.
6. Sound – Good words sound good. I often tell clients to read their messages aloud. If they sound boring, they are. Luntz cites a lot of tag lines and product ad copy to prove his point (M&Ms melt in your mouth, quicker picker upper, etc.) But I think this makes sense for all messages. Use alliteration. Create an appealing cadence for your messages. Treat your OpEds like they are speeches.
7. Speak Aspirationally. (For the record, "Aspirationally" is his word, not mine, and seems to break rule #1, no?) No one likes a downer. (Read that again.) Aspiration is more attractive and memorable. It inspires. Focus on the promise of what could be, not how bad things are. In fact, check out a few Obama speeches. He clearly rips the current state of things, but he offers hope, promise, etc.
8. Visualize – Make them see it. Use language that conjures up mental images. One of Luntz’s favorite words is “imagine.” Tell a person to imagine something, and he will – using his favorite images and his favorite memories.
9. Ask a question. Sounds corny, but it works. It immediately engages people in a conversation whether they want to be included or not. State a fact and they look at you with a blank stare. Ask a question and people answer it.
10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance. Finally, a point I can argue with Luntz. “Relevance” is one of my Top 5 message rules, and I think that if you have to explain it, you’ve already lost the audience. The best messages are INSTANTLY relevant to audiences. If you have to explain a punch line, the joke isn’t funny. If you have to explain a message, it’s not as strong as it needs to be.
What Grade Are You In?
You've probably heard before that writing for the web should be at an 8th grade level (10th grade tops). That's not because our audience isn't smart, but reading on a computer screen is fundamentally different from reading in print. So how do you gauge the grade level of your writing? There is a nifty tool built into MS Word that can help.
Here is how to activate it (Please keep in mind, MSWord 2007 might have a slightly different way to activate it):
Go to Tools menu >
Select Options in the drop down >
Click on Spelling & Grammar tab >
Check off Show Readability Statistics
Next time you run spellcheck, you will see readability statistics!
Here is how to activate it (Please keep in mind, MSWord 2007 might have a slightly different way to activate it):
Go to Tools menu >
Select Options in the drop down >
Click on Spelling & Grammar tab >
Check off Show Readability Statistics
Next time you run spellcheck, you will see readability statistics!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I Heart Google
I admit, I am a Google lover, it's innovative, it covers many online needs, and it's free. I even blogged about it last year. And there is much to like, Google is really stepping up its outreach to not-for-profits, check out their page devoted to not-for-profits: http://www.google.com/nonprofits/
Just to highlight a few of the goodies that you can find on Google that could be useful to your work:
~Google Alerts - you can monitor news related to your issues, your organization, or even a board member! Scroll all the way down on this page and you'll see a link that allows you to set an alert. Each time your search term appears in the news you'll get an email letting you know about it. (think carefully how you define the terms though to make sure that you are monitoring relevant content). http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=american+heart+association
~In the same venue, Blog search allows you to look for blogs you are interested in or content of the blogs that's relevant. http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en
~This is new to me, so I have not had a chance to explore all its merits, but setting up group pages sounds most intriguing to me! https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=jotspot&passive=true&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fsite%2Fsites%2F
Just to highlight a few of the goodies that you can find on Google that could be useful to your work:
~Google Alerts - you can monitor news related to your issues, your organization, or even a board member! Scroll all the way down on this page and you'll see a link that allows you to set an alert. Each time your search term appears in the news you'll get an email letting you know about it. (think carefully how you define the terms though to make sure that you are monitoring relevant content). http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=american+heart+association
~In the same venue, Blog search allows you to look for blogs you are interested in or content of the blogs that's relevant. http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en
~This is new to me, so I have not had a chance to explore all its merits, but setting up group pages sounds most intriguing to me! https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=jotspot&passive=true&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fsite%2Fsites%2F
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
