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Speaking Your Audience’s Language

August 28, 2023 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

When your nonprofit speaks, do the people in your audience say, “They’re like us?” Or do they say, “That group doesn’t speak our language?”

Little turns of the phrase can make all the difference.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, where the carbonated stuff you buy in bottles was called “pop.” It had nothing to do with the performer Iggy Pop. It was just a drink.

To my surprise, when I moved to New England, people were calling it “soda,” a word I’d only ever heard after “baking,” or before “fountain.” And Coke was a brand name. Pepsi could not be Coke.

Obviously, I wasn’t from New England. Or the South!

Language differences are not just regional

Pop, soda, coke: all of these are English. All are proper English, somewhere in the U.S. But the U.S. is not the only place where people speak English. George Bernard Shaw is supposed to have said, “England and America are two countries separated by the same language.” If you don’t believe him, ask a Brit and a Yank what a rubber is.

I read a lot of British murder mysteries, and I pride myself on understanding the King’s English. Recently, though, I finished an Inspector Rebus mystery set in Scotland, and I had to keep looking up words and phrases. How they say it in London and in Aberdeen may be two different things entirely! (Not to mention Melbourne or Lahore.)

Language differences are not just geography

Even people who live in the same geographical area may hear a phrase and react completely differently.

The actor Jamie Foxx didn’t mean anything wrong when he tweeted about #fakefriends and said, “They killed Jesus, what do you think they’ll do to you?” As an African American, he was just using a common phrase to express how untrustworthy people can be.

Unfortunately, white Jewish people and their allies heard that phrase with an entirely different inflection. Outside of the Black community, “They killed Jesus” has been used by Christians for centuries as an accusation against Jews. It has led to pogroms and slaughters.

When white Jews called Foxx out, many Black Christians could not understand how his phrase could ever be antisemitic. Many white Jews could not understand how it could be anything but. (And a lot of Black Jews were stuck in the middle, which happens way too often!)

That’s why you have to know your audience

Nonprofit organizations cannot say everything in a way that everyone will understand the same way–at least, you can’t and still say anything interesting! So, what’s nonprofit to do?

Know your audience.

You are not writing to everybody. There’s either one specific audience that’s interested in what you do, or there might be a few. In either case, you need to be able to picture the people you’re writing to, hear how they talk, and speak their language.

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4 User Experience Mistakes to Avoid on Your Website

January 16, 2023 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

A guest post by Anne Stefanyk of Kanopi Studios

When it comes to your nonprofit website, first impressions are everything. Studies show that 88% of website visitors won’t return to a site after having a negative user experience (UX). Your website’s UX is the way visitors interact with your website and how they feel when using it.

To communicate with your audience and design a positive user experience, your website should get supporters involved with your mission. User-friendly nonprofit web design can turn even the most casual visitors into passionate supporters.

Let’s explore four common user-experience mistakes and how to avoid them on your website:

1. Failing to follow accessibility guidelines

Web accessibility is the process of making your website usable and readable for all audiences, regardless of any disabilities they may have. The Americans with Disabilities Act states that websites that offer public accommodations must be accessible to people with disabilities.

Failing to meet accessibility standards can create a negative user experience for many visitors. To cover your accessibility bases, follow these steps:

    • Reference the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Regulations include ensuring that all images have alternative text, videos and audio clips have captions, and text has sufficient color contrast.
    • Use accessibility testing tools. We recommend using accessibility tools such as Lighthouse or Siteimprove. Thesetools help automatically identify accessibility issues on your website. They provide a good starting point.
  • Manually test your website for accessibility. Just relying on accessibility tools might cause you to miss issues. Manually test your website by navigating the site with your keyboard or using screen reader software. See what the user experience is like from the perspective of someone using assistive technology.

Following accessibility guidelines improves both accessibility and user experience for all visitors, no matter their varying abilities or devices.

2. Designing your website without consulting audience research.

Creating a positive user experience starts with understanding your audience. Ensure you have a clear picture of online visitors’ interests, behaviors, and motivations.

Get to know your audience members, including donors, volunteers, and other supporters, using these techniques:

    • Use a tool like HotJar to track user behavior. HotJar can generate website heat maps that show you how visitors interact with your web pages. You can also collect direct audience input using feedback widgets that track your visitors’ feelings about your website elements.
  • Carry out A/B testing to assess design elements. A/B testing is the process of creating two different versions of the same website element and assessing which version is more engaging. For example, you can create two different event landing pages. Then, track registrations for each page to determine which one is more successful.

According to AccuData’s marketing analytics guide, you can use the data from these sources to understand the messaging and design elements that will resonate with your audience. This allows you to make research-backed decisions that increase website engagement.

3. Not creating a content strategy.

Your website’s content—whether your written copy, imagery, or videos—is the heart of your user engagement strategy. Compelling content gives audience members a reason to engage more deeply with your website and browse for longer.

Plus, there’s nothing more discouraging than arriving on a website that looks like it hasn’t been updated for a while. If your content is out of date, visitors will get the impression that your organization is not very active.

Create a clearly defined content strategy to ensure your content stays relevant and fresh. Ensure your strategy includes the following components:

  • A blog posting schedule
  • Reminders to create event calendar updates
  • Instructions for updating highly visible imagery, such as the photos on your homepage or donation page

Keeping these elements updated shows current and potential supporters that your organization is energetically working to achieve its mission through different initiatives and events.

Increase website traffic by promoting your fresh content across your digital marketing platforms. Share your event listings in your monthly email newsletter and include links to your blog updates in your social media posts.

4. Having unclear user pathways.

User pathways are the actions an audience member takes on your website based on their motivations and interests. For example, the user pathway for someone who arrives on your website looking for volunteer opportunities will be different than for someone who wants to donate or listen to your podcast.

Unclear user pathways can lead to lower audience engagement and ultimately underperforming fundraisers, volunteer opportunities, and events. Create streamlined user journeys by doing the following on your nonprofit website:

 

    • Offer clear calls to action. Calls to action (CTAs) are buttons or links that lead visitors to different sections of your website. For example, you might include buttons on your homepage that point visitors to your volunteer registration page or online giving form. These buttons help users find what they’re looking for quickly, improving their browsing experience.
    • Provide simple navigation tools. Offer an easy-to-use search function and a simplified menu to make researching different topics on your website easier.
  • Created tailored content for each user group. Create valuable landing pages for different users, including your constituents, volunteers, donors, advocates, and other community members. Ensure these pages include the information and forms supporters need to get more involved, like a donation form or volunteer sign-up page.

 

For example, take a look at how the Habitat for Humanity website has organized its navigation and user pathways:

This top-level header offers links for volunteers, advocates, and those looking for housing assistance. There is also a clearly-labeled search function alongside buttons for different social media pages and Habitat’s online donation form.

This clearly-organized navigation setup makes it easy for visitors to choose their own path and get more involved with Habitat’s mission.

 

As you improve your website’s user experience, review Kanopi’s roundup of the top nonprofit websites for inspiration. Note each website’s approach to developing streamlined user journeys and incorporating audience research and accessibility guidelines. Use these examples (along with the help of a web design firm when needed) to avoid common UX mistakes and create a user-friendly website that stands the test of time.


Anne Stefanyk head shotAs Founder and CEO of Kanopi Studios, Anne helps create clarity around project needs, and turns client conversations into actionable outcomes. She enjoys helping clients identify their problems, and then empowering the Kanopi team to execute great solutions.

Anne is an advocate for open source and co-organizes the Bay Area Drupal Camp. When she’s not contributing to the community or running her thoughtful web agency, she enjoys yoga, meditation, treehouses, dharma, cycling, paddle boarding, kayaking, and hanging with her nephew.

https://twitter.com/Anne_Kanopi

https://www.drupal.org/u/annabella

https://www.linkedin.com/in/annestefanyk/

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Fundraising Tuesday: A New Resolution

January 10, 2023 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

For the new year, did your nonprofit make a resolution? I’m going to suggest you make a new and better one right now!

“Resolution” comes from the word resolve,  and that word has different meanings.

What we usually do around January 1 is “decide firmly on a course of action.” All too often, of course, that firm decision disappears before the month of January is out! (Think of all those unused gym memberships, for example.)

Another meaning of resolve is “settle or find a solution to (a problem, dispute, or contentious matter).” U.S. House of Representatives, I’m looking at you! What’s the resolution when twenty or so members want to gum up the works, not govern?

Resolution as clearer vision

High and low resolution

There’s another way to think about your New Year’s resolution. It comes from photography. A high-resolution image is one that shows you a lot of detail. It lets you see what you’re looking at more clearly.

This year, it’s time for your nonprofit to get a high-resolution picture of how you are communicating with your donors.

Questions to ask to bring donor communication into focus

What do you know about the people on your email list? Are their names correct?  Are their addresses up to date? Do you know what they care about, and are you segmenting your list so they hear about exactly what matters to them?

How often are you in touch with your supporters (and potential supporters)? And how often are you giving them something–an inspiring story, expert information, or something else that’s valuable to them?

Is your communication haphazard, or do you have a plan? Are you using a communications calendar so you never have to create something at the last minute? Are you reusing, repurposing, and recycling your content so more of your supporters see or hear it, on more different channels?

If the answers to any of the questions we’ve just been considering is “No,” or “Not nearly enough,” then it’s time to make a resolution in the first sense. Make a firm decision to make the answer “yes” this year. (And that will also be the resolution of your problem with keeping your loyal donors!)

 

 

 

 

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