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Website Design Trends: What’s Current & What’s Next

Posted on May 2, 2024May 5, 2024 by Eric Schenck

It’s always important to stay on top of website design trends. That’s how you ensure a quality and memorable user experience on your site. Take trends seriously, and you are also able to stay competitive in the ever-shifting digital landscape.

That’s why we created our latest post. Today, we are looking at two kinds of website design trends: the ones that are current, and the ones to prepare for. Keep these in mind as you are looking to optimize your website. Let’s check them out below.

Website Design Trends: What’s Current

1) Dark Mode

Many people prefer to browse the web while using dark mode. This reduces eye strain and can also enhance the look of a website. Designers have taken this to heart. In fact, 92 percent of people use dark mode on at least one app. Compare this to the past, when dark mode was still relatively unheard of.

There are many ways to respond to this preference. The quickest one is to simply put a “dark mode option” on your website where it’s easily found. Your website visitors will be thankful for this option, even if they don’t use it.

2) Minimalistic Design

No surprise here. Minimalism is still popular when it comes to web design, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. In practice, this means clean layouts, ample whitespace, and crisp typography. All these elements combine to create an appealing elegance and simplicity.

If you want a useful primer on minimalist design, check out our ultimate guide to web design. It’s tempting to think that you need to jam a bunch of information onto a web page for it to be useful. But that’s not true. Most people will prefer a website experience that is clean and clear, and a minimalistic design is how you make it happen.

3) Voice User Interface (VUI)

VUI allows users to navigate websites hands-free with voice commands. This has been gaining momentum the last few years, and will only continue throughout 2024. The way people interact with online content has changed, and voice is a big part of that. As for how you adapt your website to this trend?

If your website has a ton of information (like a popular blog, for example), consider implementing a search bar with VUI functionality. This makes it much easier for people to search for the exact information that they are looking for.

4) Immersive Experiences

As AR and VR have become more accessible, a whole new world of interactive content has been unlocked. For example, just look at clothing brands. Many of them now allow you to try on their items virtually using special AR technology.

Like many trends, it’s important to approach it with a thoughtful mind. Just because AR and VR are getting more popular, doesn’t mean everybody is completely adopting the technologies. Just look at Apple’s Vision Pro. While a great piece of wearable technology, many people have responded poorly to it. Likewise, if your organization or company doesn’t stand to benefit from immersive experiences, no need to offer it to your audience!

5) Sustainability

While not a website design trend itself, this last point is still essential. More people are prioritizing doing business with organizations that take sustainability seriously. In fact, “Gen Z” will gladly spend more money on a product if it aligns with their values. The main takeaway here? Many of your customers care about causes like sustainability, and you win business by caring about it too.

That’s why you need to showcase any efforts your organization makes to be sustainable. This can be as simple as citing a few key statistics. Fail here and you risk alienating a certain portion of your audience. Even if you don’t, they will be more willing to go to a competing organization if they feel that business is more in line with their own values.

Website Design Trends: What’s Next

Now that we’ve seen the website trends that are currently popular, let’s check out what’s coming next. Prepare for the trends of the future and you set yourself up for success with your website.

Remember – you don’t have to act on all of these. Pick just one or two to keep top of mind and you’re already on the road to more engaging website design.

1) Data Storytelling

We have covered the power of storytelling at various times throughout our blog. And for good reason: stories are what get people interested. Not only in your organization and everything you do, but what you have to offer them, as well. All things considered, websites are becoming storytelling platforms…but where does the “data” part come in?

Data storytelling can be considered anything that breaks down complex information into a more digestible story. Think about all the relevant metrics and statistics that would be important to a business. Put it into a story, and it’s instantly more accessible and compelling. Consider any statistics that your audience might find engaging, and then get to work telling it through a story on your website. This will get people more interested in your organization as a whole.

2) Advanced Accessibility

You need to make sure that your website is usable by everyone, regardless of disabilities. This expands your reach and creates goodwill amongst your audience. Of course, while this sounds good, it can be difficult to know the specific action steps you might take. Here are just a few things you might consider doing:

Subtitles for video content
Transcripts for any audio on your website
Adjustable font size
Color contrast for better visibility
Mobile responsiveness

These are all things that make the content on your website more accessible. Consider acting on any one of them to keep up with this website design trend.

3) Personalization

Dynamic content (or content that changes based on who is viewing it) has always been effective. Just think about it. Adapt content based on the person, and you have created a hyper-personalized experience. This is the pinnacle of getting people interested in what you have to say, and can skyrocket your overall levels of engagement.

Still, many organizations have not fully capitalized on dynamic content and the personalization that it creates . And even if they have, it has only been in emails. If you want to personalize your web design… where do you even start? Check out Semrush’s roundup of dynamic content for some inspiration.

4) Geometric Shapes And Patterns

Our last emerging website trend is all about visual appeal. Just like a more minimalist design, geometric shapes and patterns can improve user experience on your website. Not only is it a more compelling experience overall, but it can also create a sense of order and hierarchy.

Check out this article for more information. You might be surprised how simple it is to make your website look better with a few geometric shapes!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide To Social Media Animation

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Eric Schenck

With social media marketing, it’s essential to stand out if you want to captivate your audience’s attention. One effective way to do this is through the use of social media animation. This is how you make your content more interesting and ensure that you make social media work for you.

In our latest ultimate guide, we give you a primer on everything you need to know about social media animation. This includes what exactly it is, why you should care (regardless of the kind of organization you work at), as well as some tips on approaching social media animation with a focus on results.

Let’s get started!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

We all know what social media and social media marketing are. But what exactly do we mean when we use the term “animation” along with it?

Put simply, social media animation refers to the use of animated elements on social media platforms. This is often with a video element. This can include, but is not limited to:

Standalone videos
GIFs
Motion graphics

Assets like these are designed to capture attention and convey information more quickly. They are also used to evoke emotions in a format that is easily consumed and shared across platforms.

Compare this to more static social media elements like pictures. These can still be effective, but are generally less compelling than social media animation.

Let’s first cover why you should consider social media animation. It’s a relevant marketing strategy for most businesses and nonprofits — regardless of the specific industry. Here are five reasons why:

Lúgh Studio's Ultimate Guide To Social Media Animation

1) Captures Attention

Perhaps the most obvious, social media animation gets peoples’ attention. That’s everything in the marketing environment of today. People are bombarded with the messaging of other organizations. This includes the content people see, all the way to the emails that they receive.

As a result, your audience members have shorter attention spans than ever. The one way to counteract this and get their attention? Stand out with social media animation.

2) Increases Engagement

Animated posts tend to receive higher engagement rates than static content. In fact, according to HubSpot, animated social media content can generate up to three times more engagement on social media.

Need proof? Just look at your own social media usage. Odds are that the content you interact with the most is animated. The result? More likes, comments, and shares, as well as increased reach as a result.

3) Tells Compelling Stories

Storytelling is essential these days. No matter if you are a business or a nonprofit, stories are how you connect with people and get them to take action. An effective story, however, often includes more than the story itself. Format is everything.

One of the reasons to consider social media animation is that it makes storytelling both easier and more effective. Animation allows brands to tell stories in a visually appealing and succinct manner. Through motion, color, and design, animations can convey complex ideas and messages in a way that resonates with viewers. This storytelling aspect builds a deeper connection with your audience over time.

4) Boosts Brand Recall

It’s not enough to get somebody’s attention; you also have to be remembered. This is true regardless of what your aims are. Looking to get more customers? Build your email list? Drive more donations? If people remember and can recall your brand, all of these things become easier.

Still, because there are so many brands competing for attention, being remembered also poses challenges. The solution, put simply, is to be memorable. Social media animation is a great way to do that. That’s because the dynamic nature of animated content leaves a lasting impression on viewers. According to multiple studies, 80% of users can recall a video they watched in the past month. By incorporating animated elements into your social media strategy, you increase the chances of users remembering your brand and message.

5) Drives Conversions

You aren’t using social media just to post interesting videos. Everything has a purpose, and everything can affect your bottom line. This last point is perhaps the most important. The fact is, social media animation drives conversion.

Engaging animations can lead to higher click-through rates and conversions. Whether it’s promoting a product, highlighting a service, or encouraging sign-ups, animations have the power to inspire action.

3 Things to Keep in Mind

Before we dive into specific tips for social media animation, there are three points we suggest you keep in mind. Treat these as overarching principles that apply to everything you do.

1) Not all social media platforms are the same

With social media marketing, the platform you use is your first consideration. Which goals do you have? What industry do you work in? What does your target audience look like, and what is the kind of content that they typically consume? Different social media platforms have their unique strengths, and will be more or less relevant to your organization because of it.

Everybody understands this. However, just like static content, social media animation will differ slightly across each platform. Do you prefer to create videos? Or maybe humorous GIFs are a normal part of your marketing. Different social media platforms have varying requirements for video length, aspect ratios, and file sizes. Familiarize yourself with these specifications to ensure your animations display correctly. Also be sure to read up on best practices.

2) Your social media content should be relevant

So, what do we mean by relevancy? Specifically, social media animation should actually be relevant and applicable to the people consuming it. What does your audience want to see? What are the problems they are trying to solve? Most importantly, how can you combine these two questions to make social media content that is engaging and helpful to your audience?

Relevancy is your guiding light when creating social media animation. This has important implications for how you approach social media animation. For example, let’s say there is a specific trend that is gaining popularity on Instagram. While it might be great for other audiences, is it actually interesting to your own? If not, no need to pursue that trend!

3) Always keep copyrights and licensing in mind

As you make more social media content with animation, you will naturally bring in other elements. This includes using music, images, or animations that make your content more engaging. This is how it should be — anything that makes your content more interesting is usually a good idea.

That said, you need to keep copyright law in mind. Ensure you have the proper rights and licenses to avoid copyright infringement. Otherwise, you are going to experience quite the headache. What does this look like in practice? While it’s always better to create your own material, sometimes you simply don’t have the time. In this case, ensure you are using royalty-free content (or have gotten express permission) in order to stay compliant.

Now that we know how to approach social media animation, let’s dive into some specific tips. One note: we link a variety of resources at the end of this post. This section includes various tools that make animated social media content creation easier.

1) Know Your Audience

Who are the people consuming your content? More specifically, what kind of content do they want to consume? This question should be the guiding light of all you do. It doesn’t matter how wonderful your content is. The truth is, if it’s not what your audience wants, it’s going to fall flat.

Tailor your animations to resonate with your target demographic. Consider their preferences, interests, and pain points when creating your content. For example, is your target audience a bunch of tech-savvy millennials? In that case, you might use trendy designs and humor in your animations

2) Keep it Short And Sweet

Remember that part at the beginning about short attention spans? This is essential to keep in mind. Your audience is scrolling through their feeds quickly. If your social media animation is long or drawn out, you’re going to lose them.

That’s why you should aim for concise content that delivers your message within the first few seconds. Capture attention and get to the point as quickly as you can. For a master of this, check out Mr. Beast’s YouTube channel.

3) Use Eye-Catching Colors and Designs

Like we said in our last tip, it’s essential that you get peoples’ attention. Still, it can be difficult to know how to approach this. That’s why the colors and designs you use in your content are worth considering. Bold and vibrant colors can grab attention, while clean and modern designs enhance the overall appeal of your animations.

Of course, be sure that everything you do actually matches what your audience expects of you. For example, if you are a more serious brand, too much “in your face” style can be more disruptive than anything. Just something to keep in mind. This brings us to our next tip…

4) Maintain Brand Consistency

Interesting visuals are great. Still, the longer people follow your social media accounts, the more they start to expect a certain presentation. This is where brand consistency comes in. People have an expectation of your brand. It’s important, to a certain extent, that you fulfill this expectation.

Use consistent colors, fonts, and design elements across all your animations to reinforce brand identity. Your animations should feel like an extension of your organization, with a cohesive look and feel that users can recognize. Remember — this recognition is key!

5) Test Different Formats

Experiment with various types of animations to see what resonates best with your audience. This will of course vary across organizations, but there are plenty of social media content types to consider.

Do you sell something that is somewhat complicated? Consider explainer videos. How about a product that is mostly visual? A product demo might be more appropriate. What about a nonprofit that is striving to connect more deeply with your donors? In this case, “behind-the-scenes” content might perform best. Whatever it is, pay attention to engagement metrics to see which formats perform the best.

6) Add Subtitles

Many users watch videos on social media with the sound off. That’s because they are at work or other places where “passive scrolling” might be frowned on. Neglect subtitles here and maybe people won’t even bother with your content. Include them, and you ensure that your message is still conveyed effectively — regardless of audio.

An added bonus: subtitles also make your content accessible to users with hearing impairments. This makes your social media animations more inclusive and increases the overall reach of them.

7) Tell a Story

We have already mentioned storytelling a few times, but there’s a reason: it works. Narratives captivate viewers and evoke emotions. A compelling story can leave a lasting impression and make your content more memorable. This is what makes social media such a useful tool — if done right.

As for how you do it right? Consider using characters, plot twists, and resolutions to create engaging stories in your animations. These are all easier said than done, of course. Like anything else, storytelling is a skill that you need to practice. Do it well, though, and stories told through your social media animation can be a force to be reckoned with.

8) Incorporate Calls to Action (CTAs)

If you have followed the first seven tips for social media animation, you are well on your way to success. Your content will be more engaging, exciting, and relevant to your audience. But time for one of the more important questions: what next?

Everything in your marketing plan should have a goal. Guide viewers on what to do next by including clear and compelling CTAs within your animations. Whether it’s encouraging users to visit your website, sign up for a newsletter, or make a purchase, CTAs help drive action and conversions.

9) Optimize for Mobile

Our last tip is all about mobile. The fact is, the majority of social media users access platforms via mobile devices. If you aren’t optimizing for these smaller devices, you aren’t going to be all that successful with your social media plan.

Ensure your animations are optimized for mobile viewing. The text or pictures in your social media animation should be clear and legible. You should also test your animations on different devices and screen sizes. This will ensure they look good and load quickly for everybody in your audience.

Useful Resources

Lastly, we also wanted to include a few tools that you might consider using. Creating social media content with a focus on animation can be difficult, but with the right resources, it doesn’t have to be.

As always, this isn’t an exhaustive list. Think about what your goals are as an organization, how social media fits into that, and the tools that you think might be most useful for social media animation. Once you’ve figured it out, do your own research! That’s the only way to ensure you are using the software that’s right for you.

In the meantime, here is a list that we would recommend.

Adobe After Effects: A powerful tool for creating motion graphics and visual effects.
Vyond: A user-friendly platform for creating animated videos without the need for extensive animation skills.
iStock and Pond5: Offers a vast collection of high-quality stock animations, videos, and images.
Adobe Stock: Provides a wide selection of stock assets, including animations, illustrations, and photos.
Create Animated Social Media Posts Coursera course: Learn the fundamentals of motion graphics and how to create engaging animations for social media platforms.
School of Motion: Offers online courses and tutorials for motion design and animation.

Conclusion

Social media animation can elevate your brand’s online presence and engagement. By following the tips outlined in this Ultimate Guide, you’ll be able to create high-quality animations that capture attention, tell compelling stories, and drive conversions.

We wish you luck in your own journey with animated social media content. Let us know if you ever have any questions!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

Interactive Content For Small Businesses

Posted on April 18, 2024April 19, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Interactive content can be defined as any kind of content that encourages user participation. This can be anything from quizzes and surveys, to maps and calculators.

In the world of content marketing, this kind of content can drive great results for small businesses. But how do you get started with it?

Today we are discussing why interactive content can be such a game changer for small businesses. We will also be covering some of our main tips for making interactive content work for you. Let’s get started!

Why Interactive Content Is So Useful

While there are many reasons interactive content is worth considering for small businesses, here are just a few:

Enhanced Engagement

Interactive content encourages active participation from your audience. This leads to higher levels of engagement compared to static content. By inviting users to interact with your content, you can capture their attention and encourage them to spend more time on your website or social media platforms.

Increased Brand Awareness

Because of the enhanced engagement of this kind of content, it is typically shared more often than regular content. That’s especially true when users are encouraged to share their results or experiences with others. This heightens the chance that it goes “viral.” The natural result is increased brand visibility (particularly important for small businesses).

Valuable Data Insights

Data is everything. This is especially true for small businesses. The fact is, if you are a smaller company, you have less resources to work with. Every action you take is therefore more important. This is where data becomes especially useful. You can base your actions not on assumptions, but actual evidence. Interactive content is a great supplier of this kind of data.

Personalized User Experience

The more personalized something is, the more positively somebody will respond to it. Interactive content makes this personalization possible. By offering interactive quizzes, assessments, or product selectors (some of the most common forms of interactive content), your content is much more tailored to what the individual wants. This increases your relevance to them as a small business.

Lead Generation Opportunities

Lastly, interactive content can serve as a powerful lead generation tool for small businesses. By hiding access to certain interactive experiences behind a form or registration page, you can capture valuable lead information. This allows you to grow your email list and eventual customer database. The caveat, of course, is that your content needs to be good. To learn how to make that happen, continue on to the next section.

6 Steps To Make Interactive Content For Small Businesses

Here are six steps you should always follow as a small business making interactive content:

1) Identify Your Audience

Before creating interactive content, you need to understand your target audience. Most importantly, what do they want to see? This is the first question you need to answer before you get started with content creation. As usual, this is where market research comes into play. Interactive content only works if it’s what your audience wants to consume. For example, The Zebra has a calculator that allows people to see “how much car” they can afford. This has a very clear audience in mind (people buying a car), and has performed well because of it.

2) Set Clear Objectives

As with most content marketing, clear objectives are the name of the game. What is it you hope to achieve? Do you simply want more brand awareness? Perhaps you’re just looking for more website traffic, or better lead generation? Whatever your goal might be, define it. By establishing specific goals, you can tailor your content strategy and overall approach accordingly.

3) Choose the Right Tools

Creating interactive content requires a certain collection of tools. Thankfully, there are many user-friendly tools out there. These include different software and websites that will help you create:

Choose tools that align with your budget, technical expertise, and content goals. Once you have, it’s time to learn how to use them. Don’t skip steps here. Often, setting up interactive content is a slightly more complicated than you expect!

4) Create Compelling Content

Once you’ve chosen the right tools to use, it’s time to create. Interactive content is great. Still, it’s not enough for it to be interactive — it actually needs to be compelling to the people consuming it. So, what does this look like? While the kind of content will differ from business to business, aim for three things: relevant, informative, and engaging. This approach ensures that your content provides value and encourages users to participate. Just look at Mint’s interactive grocery budget as an example.

5) Track and Analyze Performance

Creating interactive content is not just “set it and forget it.” If you want to make it work for your small business, it’s essential that you actually track how it’s performing. This will involve keeping track of your main metrics like engagement levels, click-through rates, and lead conversions. Various tools will help you identify areas for improvement.

6) Iterate and Optimize

Once you have these areas of improvement, it’s time for our least step: iteration. Are there things that are missing the mark? Interactive content that you are making that your audience isn’t responding well to? In that case, it’s time to switch things up. Just like all content creation, you can’t expect to do the same thing over and over and get different results. Optimizing is the name of the game!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide to Website Design

Posted on April 15, 2024April 16, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Website design is a vital component of your company. In fact, if you have any online presence at all, it’s one of the most important areas you need to succeed at.

But what exactly is website design, and what do you need to know about it?

Find out today in our ultimate guide to website design.

What Is Website Design?

Why Is Website Design Important?

Website Design Elements

Website Functionality

How To Get Better At Website Design

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What Is Website Design?

When we say “website design,” what we mean is the process of making a website look (and perform) great. This includes everything from the color of a website to how easy it is to use.

Website design as a topic emerged just a couple years after the internet as we know it was born.

That said, it looked quite different in the past! Check out this interesting post about the history of web design to see how the topic has developed over time.

Why Is Website Design Important?

Simply put, your website is your most important online asset..

This is true regardless of what sort of business you are in. Everything from a mom and pop shop to a digital agency like our own, your website is likely the first thing that somebody will look for. It’s more important than your social media following, and even more important than any blog content you’ve built up over time.

This means that a good website design has the power to make or break your first impression with potential new customers.

As for what comes after this first encounter? Well, you want to keep people on your website, and you want them to be happy while they are. This is where user experience comes in, and website design is a huge part of it.

User experience as it applies to website design is exactly what you’d expect: everything you need to do to make a website enjoyable (and useful) for your users. This means creating a website that does what the user expects it to, takes them where they want to go, doesn’t take too long in getting them there, and looks good while doing it.

Admittedly, a brief explanation for a huge topic. If you want to learn more about user experience (a good idea before you dive into the rest of this guide), check out part 1, 2, and 3 of our user experience series now.

At the end of the day, your users are who you design for. Considering your website visitors will likely be the bulk of your customers, that’s exactly how it should be.

Design a website that works well and is pleasing to the eye, and you can expect a happy group of web visitors.

People will stay on your website longer. They will more likely engage in your content. They are more likely to become a paying customer, and assuming you have everything else in place, your business will thrive.

If your web design is bad?

Well, the exact opposite will happen. People won’t be excited to spend any time interacting with your website and the content on it…so they won’t.

And you can kiss profits goodbye!

Plus, even with how essential content marketing has become, you need good design to invite people to consume your content in the first place. It’s true that you draw people to your site with compelling content. If it’s good enough, they will use it, watch it or read it.

But without good web design? You can’t hope for them to stick around too long. They will simply find somebody else who offers great content with a user friendly design.

For a well-functioning website, we recommend using the content management system WordPress. Find out why here.

It’s important to note here that your website should look good on mobile and tablet browsers, as well. More and more users are moving away from desktop browsers and expect your website to look great wherever they interact with it.

We will cover this more later when we talk about how to improve your website design.

Website Design Elements

We mentioned before that website design as a topic includes everything about making a website look good and perform well. But what does that exactly mean?

Below we’ve picked out some elements that you should pay attention to. Regardless of how big your company is, regardless of the product or service you sell, and regardless of how big (or small) your website is.

1) Images: This can include everything from the pictures you use on your website to an effective logo. Website visitors increasingly expect an experience that is image heavy. This is not only enjoyable, but can be informative depending on the images that you use.

2) Colors: The colors of your website are one of the first things that a new visitor will notice. For better or worse, humans are very visual, and you have to ensure that your color combination creates an inviting feeling that invokes their curiosity. Check out our post on choosing the correct color scheme.

3) Layout: What does your website actually look like? What sort of buttons will you use, where will they be located, and where does a site visitor have to scroll to to get to a specific location? These are all important points to consider, regardless of how effective your website’s colors are!

4) Spacing: Is your website cluttered with a ton of content and information, or is it more simplistic in its design? This all has to do with effective spacing. Want our advice? Keep it simple!

5) Copy: While the various design elements on your website are arguably the most important, never forget the impact that good copywriting can have. Copy is what compels your site visitor to take action, whether that’s clicking over to another section of your website or downloading a lead magnet.

6) Fonts: What you write is only effective as long as it’s a font that people can actually read! Therein lies the usefulness of fonts. Once again, err on the side of simplicity. Nobody wants to struggle to make sense of an overly fancy font.

7) Search Engine Optimization: No list of website design elements is complete without mentioning SEO. While you might have a great looking website, the truth is, you’re going to fall short on most of your business goals if your site isn’t found by search engines. For more background on how to improve your SEO, give our ultimate guide to SEO a read.

Looking for even more information? Check out this post for more information on the most important elements of web design.

Website Functionality

Of course, when it comes to website design, having a great looking website simply isn’t enough. It also needs to function well.

While website functionality is sometimes seen as not strictly a part of website design (the look of a website), it’s too important not to include in our guide. After all, if you have the best looking website in the world but it’s too complex to use…you might as well not have a website!

With that in mind, here are five main features that will positively contribute to your website’s functionality. For a complete list with more description, check out this guide.

1) Navigation: A great website should be intuitive to use. It should be easy to get to where you want to go, and it should be obvious how you get there. Label things clearly, make the landing pages consistent with your website’s buttons, and don’t overpack your website with useless information. Your visitors will thank you for it later.

2) Responsiveness: As we said at the very beginning, more of your site visitors than ever before are viewing your website on a phone or tablet. If your website doesn’t function the way it should on these devices, you are going to kill your user experience.

3) Speed: Speed is what brings everything else together. Let’s face it: even if you have everything else perfectly set up, with a wonderful looking website that functions perfectly…too much lag time will drive everybody away. In fact, speed is considered one of the top factors of a great website by Google itself.

4) Optimization: This involves systematically improving components of your website over time to ensure the best possible result. While you can optimize most anything, pay special attention to the images and code you use. Optimizing these two elements will ensure you are creating the best possible experience for your website visitor.

5) Coding: Going off the last point about optimization, make sure you are getting your code right. Mess up here (you’ll want to hire a professional if you don’t have a background) and the best looking website in the world won’t function. While many websites are built on Javscript or CSS, check out some of your options here.

How To Get Better At Website Design

Now that you have a solid understanding of website design, how exactly do you get better at it?

Assuming you fixed (or at least improved) any problems with the above-mentioned elements, it’s time to go a step further.

Website design is a skill that you can learn, and with the long term implications for your business’s success, it’s one worth learning. But how?

Below are five of our main tips for further advancing your website design skills. As we said before, your website visitors will thank you for the time you put into learning about this topic.

1) See what others are doing.

Sound simple? That’s because it is.

You have competitors in your industry that have great websites. Why not learn something from them? Take notes from the perspective of a user of what they do well. Implement this (or at least think about it) with your own website.

As for the things their website lacks or downright fails at? Equally valuable lesson on what your website design shouldn’t look like!

2) Test things out.

There are an infinite variety of website designs that you might implement. That’s why testing things is so valuable. It gives you a chance to see how new colors or formats might look.

Testing new designs also gives you a great chance to do split testing and might even give you inspiration for new website ideas. Just make sure you undergo usability testing before making it live!

Something else you might try on your website is animation (or motion). Examples can include sliders, or page items that move around. This not only makes your website more engaging for your user, but gives them a visual cue on what they should do next.

3) Ask your audience.

Your website visitors are the ones you are trying to impress – so why not ask them directly what they’d like to see? This is not only a great chance to please your target audience, but the things you hear might also surprise you.

After all, sometimes it’s the things you don’t notice that can have the biggest impact on your website design.

4) Create more interaction.

An interactive website is one that is unique and custom to the user. Not a static website that never changes, but one that is personalized to who is currently viewing it. Examples might include Google maps based on their location or recommended content taken from their past actions. For more information on how you can create one for yourself, check out this link.

5) Educate yourself.

That’s right – just because you have a good understanding of website design doesn’t mean there’s not still something to learn. In fact, with new technology and purchasing habits emerging, website design is an ever-changing field. Just check out these skills that are important to the craft…and get to learning!

Conclusion

Website design is vital to your business’s online success. Your website is often the first image a new customer or client has of your organization, and it pays (quite literally) to get it right.

Think about the tips covered in our ultimate guide, act on them, and enjoy the increased sales that come as a result!

13 Ways To Convert Leads Into Customers

Posted on April 11, 2024April 14, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Converting leads into customers is a critical aspect of any business’s success. However, it’s not always straightforward. Plus, depending on your experience, it can be difficult to know where to start.

Today we are covering some of the best ways to convert leads into customers. We go over 13 different strategies most businesses can use to generate more customers from their audience. Use any single strategy and you will get better results. Take them all seriously, and act on them consistently, and your results will be even better.

13 Ways To Convert Leads Into Customers

1) Understand Your Audience

This is where it all begins. Before you can convert leads into customers, you must understand who your audience actually is. This will include any kind of market research. In this way, you can identify their needs, pain points, and preferences. Understand what your audience is actually looking for, and you will be able to better serve them.

2) Segment Your Leads

Not all leads are the same. Effective lead generation takes this into account. It’s important to segment your leads based on factors like demographics, interests, and behavior. This allows you to personalize your marketing messages and offers. Once you do this, you increase the likelihood of conversion for each segment.

3) Nurture Your Leads

Lead nurturing is essential for guiding leads through the buying journey. It’s not enough to simply generate a lead and then hope they buy at some point. Rather, if you want to turn them into a customer, you need to stay in touch. This can include email campaigns, social media engagement, and valuable content. This keeps them engaged and moves them closer to making a purchase.

4) Offer Value As Much As Possible

To convert leads into customers, value is the name of the game. This is true both of the products you sell, as well as everything else they get before a purchase. Never forget this. Often, the business that provides the most value is the one that will win the most customers. Always be thinking of what else you can offer. What else can you give your leads that they will find useful? A little creativity here goes a long way!

5) Create Compelling CTAs

A clear and compelling call-to-action (CTA) is crucial for driving conversions. This is true of all high-converting landing pages. Whether it’s inviting leads to sign up for a newsletter, all the way to actually making a purchase, CTAs should be persuasive and easy to follow. Err on the side of simplicity here.

6) Provide Social Proof

Social proof is essential to every part of the buyer’s journey. The fact is, people need to see evidence that you are who you say you are. This allows them to believe in your marketing, and makes the entire journey from lead to customer much smoother. Always be gathering customer testimonials, reviews, and case studies. These are the assets that boost credibility and encourage conversions.

7) Optimize Your Website

Your website is often the first point of contact for leads. Ensure that it is user-friendly, visually appealing, and optimized for conversions. This likely involves a bit of work in terms of web design. Still, it’s worth it. A good website streamlines the checkout process, minimizes distractions, and provides clear product information to facilitate conversions.

8) Follow Up

Don’t let your leads slip away after initial contact. Follow up with them regularly through personalized emails, phone calls, or targeted ads. This is important both before and after purchase. By staying top-of-mind and addressing any concerns they may have, you can increase your chances of converting leads into customers. Plus, you increase the odds that they stick around and buy again!

9) Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Converting leads into customers is about more than a quick sale; you also need to make your customers feel like you actually care. This is where customer service comes in. Succeed here and your leads (and customers) have a great experience with your brand. Fall short, and people are much more hesitant to buy from you. Be responsible, professional, and above all else, helpful.

10) Offer A Guarantee

People don’t like risk. It doesn’t matter what you are selling, or how inexpensive your product or service is. The fact is, the less risky something is for someone, the more likely they are to do it. This should always be applied to your sales plan. That’s why if you want to convert leads to customers, a guarantee can be powerful. Promising somebody’s money back if they don’t like your product can not only instill trust, but also encourages conversions.

11) Create Urgency

Leads are more likely to buy when there is a bit of urgency. This is the reason most successful promotions are time-bound. If you have all the time in the world to make a purchasing decision, you never actually do. Wondering how to do this? Consider offering limited-time promotions, discounts, or exclusive offers to encourage immediate purchases. This will almost assuredly increase your overall conversion rate.

12) Leverage Remarketing

Remarketing allows you to target leads who have previously interacted with your brand but haven’t converted. The reasoning here is that somebody is interested in what you have to offer – they just need a little more convincing. The cleanest way to do this is through retargeting ads. You might also reach out to people who clicked on your sales page but didn’t buy. This will often give you interesting buyer’s insight that you hadn’t considered before.

13) Simplify the Buying Process

Lastly, simplicity goes a long way. Many businesses think they have to overcomplicate things if they’re going to be “professional.” This is not true. No matter how expensive your offer is, your lead will appreciate a simple buying process. Streamline the checkout process as much as possible and eliminate unnecessary steps. If you’re looking to convert leads into customers, this is a great way to do it!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Influencer Marketing For Small Businesses

Posted on April 4, 2024April 4, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Working with the right influencers can be a great marketing strategy for just about any company. That said, many people also wonder if influencer marketing for small businesses is just as effective.

The short answer: yes. The long answer: only if you have the right strategies in place!

Today we are covering everything you need to know about influencer marketing for small businesses. This includes why it’s important to consider, as well as action-focused tips.

Why Influencer Marketing Matters For Small Businesses

Let’s first cover why you want to take influencer marketing seriously. It can be a great marketing strategy for small businesses, and here are four reasons why:

1) Increased Brand Visibility

Small businesses usually don’t have a huge audience to start with. Depending on what you sell, this can be detrimental to how much revenue you are able to generate. That’s why anything that increases brand visibility is a strategy to be considered. Influencer marketing fits the bill: by tapping into an influencer’s audience, you are able to gain exposure to new potential customers.

2) Authenticity And Trust

Influencers often have a loyal and engaged following who trust their recommendations. If you work at a small business with limited market control, this trust can be a huge asset. Partner with the right influencer, and you have found an effective way to build trust and credibility for all your future actions.

3) Targeted Reach

Depending on the industry, finding the right customers can be quite difficult for a small business. Perhaps you sell products that most people simply aren’t interested in. Or maybe the services you provide appeal to only a very specific audience. With solid influencer marketing, this ceases to be a problem. Many influencers have niche-specific audiences – you just need to find the right ones to work with.

4) Cost-Effective Advertising

This is perhaps the biggest benefit of all. The fact is, advertising online can be a great way to find your audience, convert leads to customers, and increase revenue. Unfortunately, small businesses usually don’t have a ton of money to do it. Compared to traditional advertising channels, influencer marketing can offer a higher return on investment.

3 Steps To Influencer Marketing For Small Businesses

Below you will find the three-step process we recommend for influencer marketing if you work for a small business. We have broken down each step into specific tips.

Follow these and you will maximize your chances for effective campaigns.

Find The Right Influencers

Finding the right kind of influencer for your marketing campaign is the first (and absolutely essential) step for small businesses. Fail here and nothing else matters.

When selecting influencers to partner with, small businesses should consider the following factors:

Relevance to your audience. What are your brand values? What about the typical demographics of your audience? Look for influencers whose content aligns with these for maximum effect.
Engagement and authenticity. It’s not enough for an influencer to have a large audience. More important is the level of overall engagement. Prioritize influencers who have an engaged and authentic following, as this indicates a higher level of trust and influence.
Content quality. It goes without saying, but the influencers you seek out should have a solid collection of quality content. This is one of the most guaranteed signs that this specific influencer aligns with your brand standards. It’s also a good indication that whatever campaigns you create with them will resonate with your audience.

Build Relationships With Influencers

Once you’ve identified potential partners, you need to build relationships with them. This is how you increase the likelihood that they actually want to work with you.

The name of the game here is prioritizing mutually beneficial relationships. Both parties should benefit from any potential partnership. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you go about building a relationship with them:

Personalized outreach. Nobody wants to get a cookie cutter email that was clearly sent to hundreds of other people. We have all been on the receiving end of that, and it’s never great! When contacting influencers, send personalized messages that demonstrate your genuine interest in collaborating with them.
Provide value. You should be offering influencers something of value right off the bat. That’s how you will get them interested in running a campaign with you. As for what you actually give them? This could be anything from exclusive access to your products or services, to actual compensation for their time and expertise. This will depend on your available budget.
Quick and clear communication. When reaching out to potential partners, you need to ensure that your communication is top notch. Prioritize this kind of communication, and influencers know they are working with a professional. Be clear about campaign objectives, expectations, and deliverables straight from the start. This ensures a good relationship if you do decide to work together.

Create Compelling Influencer Campaigns

Once you have sought out and communicated with influencers, you will start to get responses. While some of them might not want to run a campaign with you, it’s likely you get at least a few expressions of interest.

After you have agreed to terms, it’s time to run your campaign. Here are tips to follow for your greatest odds of success:

Develop engaging content. Good content marketing is always important, but even more so with paid campaigns. Make sure that whatever content you are creating for your campaign, it both resonates with your audience and clearly communicates your value proposition.
Track and measure performance. You can’t improve what you don’t measure. This is why it’s so important to monitor the performance of your influencer campaigns. This will require the use of various tools. Key here is getting a read on key metrics like overall reach, engagement, and conversion rates.
Adapt and iterate. Influencer marketing for small businesses is not “set it and forget it.” Rather, successful campaigns require continuous iteration. You might consider A/B testing here. This is how you get an idea of what works, what resonates with your audience, and what you should be changing!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Times Square Billboard Platform: Your 15 Seconds of Fame

Posted on April 1, 2024April 19, 2024 by admin

In New York City’s Times Square, a company called Welcome to Times Square is revolutionizing brand exposure. In collaboration with Lúgh Studio, they have launched a mobile-ready website that allows visitors and advertisers to showcase themselves or their brand on the iconic Times Square billboards.

User-Friendly Platform

Lúgh Studio developed a website that streamlines purchasing ad placements and enables third-party partners, such as tourism and travel agencies, to integrate this service into their marketing strategies. The front-end website features a clean and intuitive design, ensuring effortless navigation for users whereas the backend equips the Welcome to Times Square team with the ability to schedule bookings, automate email communications, manage transactions, and monitor the commission rates of affiliates.

Innovative Video Integration

One of the standout features is the integration of video uploads. Users can upload their videos, which are automatically trimmed to 15 seconds and optimized for display on the Times Square billboards. By seamlessly incorporating video content, brands and influencers can engage audiences ensuring their message stands out amidst the vibrant atmosphere of Times Square.

Experience the power of innovative digital advertising and take your brand exposure to new heights.

Book Your Billboard Now ‣

Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide To Average Customer Value (ACV)

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Average customer value (ACV) is one of the most crucial indicators of success for a business. Not only is it an indication of a profitable business, but gives you valuable insight into your company as a whole.

In our latest ultimate guide, we will be covering why ACV is so important. We will also show you ten ways you can increase how much a customer spends. Afterwards, we will give you five general approaches to increasing ACV that you should always remember.

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

What is Average Customer Value?
Why Average Customer Value is Important
10 Ways to Increase Your Average Customer Value
5 Things to Keep in Mind
Conclusion

Let’s get started!

What is Average Customer Value?

First, let’s start with the basics. Average customer value (ACV) is a key metric that measures the average revenue generated from a single customer over the course of their relationship with a business. It is a statistic that has gained relevance over the years as a business’ ability to accurately track purchases over time has gotten increasingly precise.

It provides valuable insights into the profitability and sustainability of a company’s customer base. ACV takes into account not only the initial purchase but also recurring purchases, cross-selling, and upselling opportunities.

So, how exactly do you calculate your average customer value? It’s actually quite simple: divide the total revenue generated by the number of customers.

This will give you the average amount of revenue each customer contributes to the business (ACV).

Here is the exact formula:

ACV = Number of Customers / Total Revenue

Of course, ACV will differ between businesses. Naturally, businesses that sell products people buy a lot of (toilet paper, for example) or higher priced products (jewelry or cars) will enjoy a higher ACV.

It’s also important to keep in mind that certain business realities can make a clean calculation of ACV more complicated. Refunds weeks after purchase are a great example.

Why Average Customer Value is Important

It’s fairly obvious why your average customer value is important. Typically, the higher your ACV, the more money you make as a company. We all know the benefits of more cash!

That said, there are a number of additional benefits that come with a high customer value. Here are just a few:

Revenue Optimization

Typically, the process of increasing your ACV requires monitoring your numbers more closely. By focusing on increasing ACV, businesses can optimize their revenue streams and maximize overall profitability. This is one of the reasons that ACV is important. It’s not just about increasing the amount of cash that customers spend, but the better understanding of your business as a whole that comes with it.

Better Planning

Pinpoint how much your average customer spends, and planning becomes so much easier. The fact is, cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. Lack understanding here, and you are shooting in the dark. But if you do know exactly how much money you are bringing in? In this case, you understand just about everything with greater precision: when you need to launch a new product, when you need to focus on lead generation, and perhaps when you need to make cuts.

Competitive Advantage

Higher ACV often brings a huge competitive advantage. Businesses that enjoy a high ACV are able to invest more in customer acquisition and retention efforts. This creates a positive feedback cycle. A high ACV (and the efforts that you put in to get there) also gives you a number of valuable insights. These are insights that can be used over the long term for better business decisions. This includes pricing strategies, more sophisticated customer segmentation, and general resource allocation.

As we can see, a high ACV isn’t only about making more money under any circumstance. Rather, it’s about building a sustainable business that you understand and is in tune with the needs of the people you serve.

Let’s now move to the most important section of this guide: our tips for increasing your ACV.

10 Ways to Increase Your Average Customer Value

1) Implement Cross-Selling and Upselling Strategies

Companies that implement various upsells increase their average earnings over time. The fact is, if you aren’t selling your customers more, you are missing out on a ton of revenue. No need to worry about “selling too much” – people that have bought from you are the most likely to buy again.

The way you approach cross and upselling is important. Be sure that the things you are offering them are actually of interest. You also want to make sure that these additional products or services are a natural connection to what they already bought. This is where a lot of businesses go wrong.

2) Offer Loyalty Programs

One of the best ways to increase ACV is to get customers to stick around. And one of the best ways to do that? Loyalty programs. Reward loyal customers with exclusive discounts, perks, or rewards for repeat purchases. This has the effect of not only making them happier, but getting them to buy again and again.

There are many loyalty programs that you can learn from. Regardless of how you set it up, you want to make sure that your customers actually know that it’s an option. No use creating a loyalty program if you are going to make it hard to find!

3) Personalize the Customer Experience

People are more likely to buy (and to continue buying) if they feel like they are being directly spoken to in your marketing. This is why personalization is so important. Data collection is one of the best ways to do this. This will allow you to personalize product recommendations and marketing messages based on customer preferences and behavior.

Just think about it: people buy things because they either want or need them. If you could make most of your offers directly relevant to their wants or needs, how much more would you sell? How much higher would your ACV be?

4) Provide Value-Added Services

What are some additional services you could provide to your customer? Which of these could be a natural complement to the product they already bought? The name of the game here is added value. Figure out how to provide this, and you have something else to charge them for.

Just like the upsell, the way you approach this is important. You want to make sure that the service you are offering is not only relevant to them, but a “natural next step” in the buying process. You also want to offer it at the right time.

5) Bundle Products or Services

Bundles are a great way to increase ACV. That’s because people like “everything they need” in one convenient spot. Give people a good price, and you will incentivize customers to purchase more. Your ability to create bundles will vary. Typically you need at least two products, and if you do, it’s worth a shot.

Remember to emphasize not only how much value somebody is getting from a bundle, but how much money they are saving. This is how you sell more products and increase your ACV.

6) Optimize Pricing Strategies

Pricing strategies is one of the most overlooked strategies for increasing ACV. It’s easy to follow the same path as everybody else: make a product, keep the same price, and discount every now and then for special promotions. This is easy enough to run.

However, it also undermines your ability to increase ACV. Consider dynamic pricing, tiered pricing, or subscription-based models to maximize revenue potential. Like all the things here, it’s important not to stay stagnant. Just because you have a system that works doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved.

7) Improve Customer Service

If you want to make more money, you have to have decent customer service. This is unavoidable. The fact is, bad customer service will cost you a ton of sales. The same is true of even subpar customer service. If you improve it, however, you are leaving your potential customers with a positive image of your company. The result? More sales, more often.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a positive customer service experience is an opportune time to sell more. There’s a great chance that somebody reaching out to customer service has already bought. Assuming they have a question about the product or service they are using, your representative can naturally lead them to an additional purchase. Approach this with care!

8) Streamline the Purchasing Process

As we discuss with web design, anything that complicates your user experience needs to be simplified. This isn’t only relevant to your website, but your customer journey as well. Too many steps and people fall off. Too much confusion and people don’t buy. Simplify the purchasing process and you reduce friction. This makes it easier for customers to buy, which grows your ACV over time.

Often, it’s the company that is easiest to interact with that will get the sale. The fact is that peoples’ attention spans are limited. You can’t afford (quite literally) to distract them with anything else if you are trying to close them on a sale.

9) Promote Product Education

You want informed customers. These are people that know what they’re getting when they buy from you, don’t have too many questions, and have already had their doubts addressed. Education is how you do all three of these.

Product education not only brings in more customers, but assures them when they buy again. It’s also a great way to highlight how you are better than your competitors. Do this with tact, and you strengthen your relationship with your customers while also increasing ACV.

10) Encourage Referrals

Your customers are often the best possible marketers for your products and services. They have bought before. That means they know how great your offerings are, as well as the problems they can solve. You can take full advantage of this with a good referral program.

Do this right, and it’s one of the best ways to increase your ACV. This assumes, of course, that people get something in return for bringing you referrals. The fact is, people need to be incentivized if you want them to act. What are some things your audience would enjoy getting, and how could you easily provide it to them? This is where you should start!

5 Things to Keep in Mind

Follow the 10 tips above, and you will gradually increase the average amount that your customers spend. However, before you take action, it’s good to keep a few things in mind. These are more general pieces of advice that will make all your ACV efforts more effective.

Understand these things, and you will set yourself up for continued success in everything you do on the customer end. Let’s look at five of them.

Customer Satisfaction

How satisfied your customers are is perhaps the best indication of a high customer value. That’s because unsatisfied customers simply don’t buy. They take their business elsewhere, and your ACV plummets as a result. No matter what else you do, make sure you prioritize customer satisfaction.

Data Analysis

Like most things in running a business, you stand to gain quite a lot from understanding your ACV data. After all, you can’t improve something you aren’t measuring. Be sure you regularly analyze customer data to identify trends. This is a great chance to get clear on ACV and what exactly you need to do to improve it.

Continuous Learning

The more you experiment and try to implement things that will increase your ACV, the more you fail. This is simply the game of business. More importantly, however, is that you are always learning about your customers. This gives you insight into what they actually want. As long as you are always learning, your ACV will have the tendency to increase over time.

Long-Term Focus

ACV is a long game. You don’t want to focus on quick wins at the expense of greater success down the line. As we said at the beginning, cash flow is the life blood of any business. The fact is, if you aren’t taking care of your customers over the long term, this cash flow simply isn’t going to happen. Before you do anything, ask yourself a simple question: is this good for my audience over the long-term? If it’s not – don’t do it!

Balanced Approach

Lastly, similar to the previous point, you need to strike a balance. For example, it’s easy to think that raising your prices will naturally result in a higher ACV. But this isn’t always the case. Higher prices often result in less customers, and people that are less likely to buy again. Higher ACV over the long term requires a balance between maintaining affordability and accessibility for customers.

Conclusion

Increasing average customer value is an important decision for any business. Assuming you approach it the right way, it’s also a decision that can pay dividends long into the future.

We hope this guide helps you with your ACV. As always, even just a single piece of information here can get you better results. Develop a plan, act on it consistently, and a higher ACV is the natural result.

Good luck, and let us know if you ever have any questions!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

How To Capture Attention With Video

Posted on March 21, 2024March 21, 2024 by Eric Schenck

If you want to capture attention with video, this post is for you. Today we are covering why video is such an important part of your marketing strategy. This is true for both larger businesses and nonprofit organizations.

We will also give you tips on how to capture attention with video. Implement just a few of these, and you can expect better results over time with your video efforts. Let’s check it out now.

5 Reasons Why Video Is So Important for Capturing Attention

Visual Appeal

Let’s be honest: video done well is inherently more engaging and attention-grabbing than static images or text alone. This is true across platforms. Even if you prefer to read or listen to content, you can’t deny how effective video is at grabbing your attention. The result of this visual appeal is more attention for longer. If you are trying to grow an audience or sell something, the benefit of this is obvious.

Emotional Connection

Video has a unique ability to evoke emotions and resonate with viewers on a deeper level. In fact, it does this better than just about any other medium. Just think about it. Compelling stories, real-life experiences, case studies of past customers – these are all things that are taken to the “next level” with video. Think about Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign: this is a prime example of how effective video is at evoking powerful emotions.

Versatility

From product demonstrations to tutorials, video content offers endless possibilities for creativity and variety. Whether it’s a short social media clip or a longer-form documentary-style video, the versatility of video is unmatched. This is highly effective for appealing to different members of your audience. The way people consume content will always be varied, and video is a great way to keep that in mind.

Mobile Accessibility

Consumers are consuming more content on mobile devices than ever before. Thankfully, video is super accessible on mobile divides. Different viewing formats can enhance accessibility and ensure that your content reaches audiences wherever they are. Compare this to clunky blogs – a much more awkward and inconvenient experience for your audience.

Social Media Dominance

Let’s be honest: video is everywhere on social media platforms. Social media platforms prioritize video content in their algorithms. This gives videos higher visibility and engagement potential. If you are trying to capitalize on your social media marketing, this is something you can’t forget. Keep this in mind, and you can effectively capture attention and foster more engagement. Looking for inspiration? Check out Dollar Shave Club’s viral video campaigns.

7 Tips for Capturing Attention with Video

Let’s now cover our main tips for capturing attention with video. While any of these will improve your video marketing efforts, try to implement as many of them as possible.

1) Hook viewers from the start

Capture viewers’ attention within the first few seconds by starting with a captivating visual or compelling question. If you fail here, it’s less likely people stick around to view the rest of your video. The result? Less engagement, less reach, and worse results down the line with your video marketing.

2) Tell compelling stories

Storytelling is a powerful tool for capturing attention with video. Whether it’s showcasing customer success stories, highlighting your organization’s impact, or sharing behind-the-scenes moments, weaving narratives into your video content can resonate with viewers on a deeper level. As for what you should tell stories about? Pay attention to what resonates with your audience, and use that as your guide.

3) Keep it concise

As great as video is, you don’t want it to ever drag. In today’s fast-paced digital world, shorter videos tend to perform better in terms of engagement. Aim to convey your message succinctly and efficiently. You should also focus on delivering value and capturing attention within a limited timeframe.

4) Optimize for sound-off viewing

A lot of people watch videos with the sound off (especially on social media platforms). Because of this, it’s essential to make your content visually engaging and understandable without audio. Consider subtitles, text overlays, and visual cues to convey your message effectively.

5) Experiment with different formats

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different video formats and styles. This is how you can get to the bottom of what truly resonates best with your audience. This can include live streams, tutorials, interviews, or user-generated content. All in all, diversifying your video content is one of the best things you can do to capture the attention of more people.

6) Utilize eye-catching visuals

Do you want your video content to stand out? Then it’s worth considering different visual elements. These can include vibrant colors, dynamic animations, and different kinds of imagery. These will help your video content stand out in crowded feeds and capture viewers’ attention.

7) Track and analyze performance

Lastly (like many of the topics we cover), we recommend taking data analytics seriously. While not necessarily a tip directly related to “capturing attention”, analytics are how you get better. As for how you do this? Different analytics tools help you easily monitor the performance of your video content. And once you get into this organizational habit, success with video is yours for the taking!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How To Create An FAQ Chatbot For Your Nonprofit

Posted on March 15, 2024March 15, 2024 by Eric Schenck

An FAQ chatbot can be a great addition to any organization, nonprofits included. Available constantly, and able to help answer the most common questions, this kind of chatbot can play an instrumental role in aiding your audience.

Today we will talk about five main benefits of implementing an FAQ chatbot. We will also go over five of the most important steps in setting one up. If you want to use one at your nonprofit, this is the actionable guide for you.

Benefits Of An FAQ Chatbot

Before we dive into the most important steps to setting up a chatbot, let’s first cover why they are so important. Here are just five benefits to an FAQ chatbot:

1) Enhanced User Experience

An FAQ chatbot makes things better for your web visitors. Simple as that. By providing instant responses to questions, a chatbot can elevate the overall user experience. People appreciate the convenience of accessing information immediately. This results in higher satisfaction and increased engagement.

2) 24/7 Accessibility

One of the biggest benefits of an FAQ chatbot is that it’s available round the clock. Compare this to your traditional support channels: specific business hours, unavailable when your site visitors need them most, and slow with a response. The difference couldn’t be starker. The overall benefit of 24/7 availability is obvious. Your site visitors can get assistance and answers to their questions at any time of the day. This is a huge benefit to your nonprofit if you have donors across geographical locations or time zones.

3) Time and Resource Efficiency

An FAQ chatbot reduces the workload on your support team. Because it’s able to answer some of the most common questions, it frees up time for your team to focus on other tasks. This results in higher overall efficiency. What are the areas where your team’s working time is best devoted? An FAQ chatbot helps you do just that.

4) Data Collection And Insights

Data is an essential part of running a successful nonprofit. Keep track of your numbers (and measure them correctly), and you have a wealth of knowledge to inform better decision-making. That said – where do you get this data from? While there are a number of resources, an FAQ chatbot is a great place to start. Your chatbot will be able to collect valuable data and insights regarding user preferences, common queries, and pain points. This is great information to work with!

5) Scalability And Consistency

Is your nonprofit growing? While the first four benefits are great, the fact is that an FAQ chatbot scales like nothing else. No matter if you have 1,000 monthly site visitors or 100,000, a chatbot set up correctly can serve your audience like few other tools. As for one more benefit? Chatbots ensure uniformity in communication and messaging across all user interactions.

How To Create An FAQ Chatbot In Five Steps

Let’s now go over the five main steps you need to take to build an FAQ chatbot at your nonprofit. Things can always be more complicated, of course. But we are going for simplicity. Follow these five, and you will have your FAQ chatbot set up in no time.

1) Select a Chatbot Platform

The first question to answer is “what platform am I going to use?” The options are numerous, and it’s really up to you to determine the most important factors you require. What are your nonprofit’s goals, technical requirements, and budget constraints? This will determine the platform you use. These include Chatbot.com and Botpress, to name just a few.

2) Define Your FAQs

This is perhaps the most important step of all. An FAQ chatbot sounds great in theory – but what are you planning for it to answer? Begin by compiling a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) relevant to your nonprofit’s mission. This will help clarify the questions that you actually include in your chatbot programming. Consider conducting user research or analyzing existing support inquiries to identify the most common queries.

3) Design Conversational Flows

Nobody wants to deal with an FAQ chatbot that’s a pain to use. That’s where conversation flows come in. Ensure that responses are clear, concise, and aligned with your nonprofit’s brand voice and tone. This will go a long way in keeping the tone enjoyable and intuitive. You might also consider utilizing interactive elements such as buttons, quick replies, and rich media. This will enhance user engagement and streamline navigation.

4) Implement Strategic Deployment

Once you have your FAQ chatbot built, it’s time to actually deploy it. Where you make it available will depend on your nonprofit’s goals. Generally, the easier and more widely available it is on your website, the better. Place the chatbot prominently on relevant pages, such as the homepage, support page, or donation portal. This will maximize visibility and user interaction.

5) Regular Maintenance and Updates

Once you’ve created your chatbot and published it, you need to ensure regular maintenance. This is the only thing that ensures your chatbot continues to function the way it should. Check back regularly so that you can continually update and expand your chatbot’s content. Monitor user interactions and feedback to identify new FAQs and refine conversational flows. This is how you not only build a great FAQ chatbot, but ensure you keep it high quality for years to come.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

5 Nonprofit Technology Trends To Prepare For

Posted on March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 by Eric Schenck

As society develops, so too do the technologies that we all rely on. Technology trends are constantly coming and going. That makes it essential for organizations to adapt to them (and respond to them) if they want to stay competitive. With this in mind, we have put together a list of the topic nonprofit technology trends that you should be aware of.

Use this list as a kind of preparation for your nonprofit. By knowing what’s coming in the next few years, and making a plan to take advantage of it, your organization can stay on top of the technological landscape. The result? More relevancy, crisper communication with your audience – and more consistent donations.

Let’s check out some of these nonprofit technology trends below.

5 Nonprofit Technology Trends You Need To Know About

1) Artificial Intelligence

AI is all the hype these days, and for good reason. It lets you be more productive (and sometimes even more creative) than ever before. This isn’t just true of private businesses. Nonprofits have every bit as much to gain from learning how to use AI effectively. Use various AI tools properly, and you have a wealth of valuable insights that let you optimize resource allocation and understand donor behavior. The implication is better fundraisers and more donations for your organization

If you are going to use AI effectively, you need to make sure you understand it. It’s a constantly evolving topic – and a big one. With that in mind, your best bet to stay on top of this trend is a combination of two things: using it and constant education. Check out our guide to artificial intelligence in nonprofit marketing for a primer.

2) Remote Workforces

More organizations than ever are remote. This was already in an upward trend before 2020; COVID and the worldwide pandemic only accelerated it. There are a lot of benefits to this. If you don’t need the office space, your organization has less operating costs. Remote workers are also more likely to be skilled in several key technologies. This makes your team more likely to possess a variety of key skills. Also, multiple studies show that workers that have the opportunity to work remotely are happier. If you want a happier team, the ability to work from home should be a serious organizational consideration.

That said, there are very real drawbacks of a primarily remote workforce. One obvious consequence is that there is less in-person interaction. This can have a negative impact on your ability to understand each others’ working styles. Also, things inevitably get lost in translation. Regardless of your own organization’s situation, understanding this trend can be beneficial. If you aren’t at least partially remote, take some time to consider the benefits. Regardless, this is the kind of work situation where things like running a virtual event become a natural skill set of your team – so perhaps it’s time to adapt to this trend!

3) Alternative Payment Methods

Running a successful fundraiser is all about two things:

Convincing potential donors to care enough about your cause to donate
Making it easy for them to do so

Many organizations are quite good at the first one. From good email marketing to interactive campaigns, nonprofits know what it takes to communicate effectively with their audience. It’s the second one where they struggle. If you want to get more donations, you simply have to make it easy for people to donate. Naturally, multiple payment methods is a big part of this.

That’s why this third trend is one worth paying attention to. Whether it’s Zelle, Venmo or Apple Pay, people are choosing a wider variety of payment methods these days. This has important implications for your nonprofit. The fact is that different people prefer to pay in different ways. This has a direct impact on your ability to collect donations. If you’re serious about collecting more donations from your donors – allow them to use the payment they’re most comfortable with.

4) Mobile Fundraising Apps

Gone are the days of boring and hard-to-navigate donation pages. According to WhyDonate, we will only continue to see the rise of mobile fundraising apps. This has revolutionized how nonprofits engage with donors. These apps simplify the donation process, which in turn provides a user-friendly interface for supporters to contribute.

In addition, with push notifications and personalized content, nonprofits can maintain a continuous connection with their audience. This is a far cry from the “3-5 emails + landing page” that many donations still incorporate. The idea here is not that every single one of your fundraising campaigns needs to be all that sophisticated. Rather, it’s simply important to keep in mind that apps give you an opportunity as a nonprofit that you might not have had in the past. This trend presents a huge opportunity for nonprofits, so be sure to prepare for it!

5) Data Security Measures

Lastly, one nonprofit technology trend which doesn’t seem likely to fade is the desire for data security. We have seen this sentiment on the rise in recent years. Younger generations are much more demanding of data privacy than previous ones, and different laws continue to pop up requiring some kind of data protection. Simply put, if you are going to stay competitive as a nonprofit, you need to take data security seriously.

There are, of course, a number of ways to meet this demand from your donors. Things like end-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication not only put your donors at ease, but are better for your organization, as well. That’s because they ensure you are compliant with different regulations. Lastly, like many things, clear communication can play an important role here. Simply making it clear on your site that you take data protection seriously (and linking to your official policy) can go a long way in appeasing donors.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Email Courses At Nonprofits: A Quick Guide

Posted on February 29, 2024February 29, 2024 by Eric Schenck

We have all heard of (and likely taken) email courses offered by companies. But what about email courses for nonprofits?

A good, high quality email course can be every bit as valuable for a nonprofit. If you want to make one, you just need to follow a proven path. This is the past we offer you in our latest post.

Why Email Courses Matter for Nonprofits

Before you create your own email course – what’s the point? Why should you even get started? What are the benefits you stand to gain?

Here are just three reasons you should consider an email course for you nonprofit:

Educational impact. Email courses are powerful educational tools. They allow nonprofits to deliver comprehensive content directly to their audience. This can provide in-depth insights and knowledge to your audience, which is a huge source of value.
Build expertise. The result of the education you provide has a direct impact on your overall expertise. If your email course is high value, people will trust your expertise and be more likely to donate over the long term.
Increased engagement and retention. Beyond education, well-crafted email courses keep supporters engaged. This increased engagement typically leads to higher retention rates. The result? Higher quality relationships with your audience and donors that stick around.

How To Create An Email Course For Your Nonprofit: 6 Steps

Now that you know why an email course can be so great for your nonprofit – how do you go about making one? Follow the six steps below and your nonprofit can not only create a great email course, but enjoy all the benefits that come as a result.

1) Identify your goals.

First – what do you want to achieve with your email course? More awareness of your cause? Donors that are more educated? What sort of experience do you want to provide your audience? What should they receive throughout your email course?

These are the first questions you need to answer. Your answers will determine what your overall goal is with your email course, which influences everything that comes afterwards. Align these goals with your nonprofit’s mission and the needs of your audience. This ensures not only a valuable email course for your audience – but better results for your own organization as well.

2) Choose an email platform.

Most email service providers (ESP’s) are more or less the same. They will usually have the same features and capabilities. This makes your choice about which specific one to use somewhat easy. That said, it’s still worth your time to compare tools. If you are making an email course, consider factors such as ease of use, automation features, and overall cost.

That said, if you are already implementing email marketing at your nonprofit, there’s a good chance you already have an ESP set up. Here are a few you might consider:

3) Define your target audience.

So – who is going to receive this course? Before you start actually making your email course, you need to understand your audience. Get this wrong and you can make the world’s best possible email course, only to have it fall flat with the wrong audience.

Understanding your audience is crucial. Tailor your course content to their needs, ensuring it resonates with their interests and challenges. So how do you make sure you understand your audience with enough detail to guide your course creation? Through audience research, of course!

4) Create your course.

Now, it’s finally time to create your email course. There are two important considerations to make here: the overall structure of your course, as well as the content itself. With that in mind, we will cover both below:

Course structure. How will your course look? What is the optimal sequence of different topics that your student will learn about? How often will you email? You need to clearly define the overall structure before you go on to create the content.
Course content. The content of the email course should be both relevant to your nonprofit’s mission as well address the needs of your audience. Only you can decide what that content would look like. To appeal to the most amount of people, you might also consider multi-format content. This can include videos, text, as well as engaging visuals.

5) Build a landing page.

If you are going to get people to sign up to your email course, it’s a good practice to implement a landing page. This should make it easy to sign up to your email course, but also make them curious about the content. Ensure your landing page has an appealing design. And before you get started, check out our guide to high converting landing pages for a helpful overview. Another tip – use social proof whenever you have it. This gets peoples’ trust much faster than simply talking about how great your own course is.

6) Promote your email course.

Now that your course is done and you have a landing page – it’s time to promote it! Here are a few common ways to get the word out about your email course:

Your own website. In this case, it’s important to have good web design set up. This is a great place to start, depending on how much website traffic you get on average.
Social media. If you understand the in’s and out’s of social media marketing, this can be a great way to drive more visitors to your email course.
Paid ads. Only if you have the budget for it, of course!

7) Measure success and iterate.

Do people like your course? What is their favorite part? What do they find useful…and what would they rather you left out? These are all questions you will have a clear answer to the more feedback you get. But before you do – keep track of certain KPI’s. This will ensure you are on the right track with your email course. This included obvious ones like open rates and click-through rates, but you should keep an eye on unsubscribe rates as well.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide To Chatbots For Nonprofits

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Chatbots have been around for a while. Many companies now use them, and as they’ve become more popular (and sophisticated), they’ve even become quite common at nonprofits. Sounds great — but how do you maximize them at your own organization?

In our latest ultimate guide, we go over everything you need to know about using chatbots for nonprofits. This includes several sections with actionable advice, best practices, and even recommended resources for further education. If you want to know more about chatbots for nonprofits, you’ve come to the right place!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

What Is A Chatbot?
Different Kinds Of Chatbots + How To Set One Up
Benefits of Using A Chatbot At Your Nonprofit
How To Use Chatbots At Your Nonprofit
Chatbots for Your Nonprofit: Best Practices
Recommended Resources
Conclusion

Let’s get started.

What Is A Chatbot?

Let’s first cover what a chatbot actually is. Most likely you already have a good idea (and have used one multiple times), but the specifics might actually surprise you.

First, where do they actually come from? Chatbots (originally “conversational agents”) started in the 1960s as very basic “rules based” bots. These were more experimental than anything. Even though they were simple, and more often than not slow and imprecise, these first chatbots were the beginning of the technology we see today.

Now, many companies use chatbots as code snippets that are embedded on their website. This allows chatbots to address user concerns and questions without the need of an actual person present. This saves time and resources for many organizations. These days, using advanced natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, chatbots have evolved significantly. Not only are chatbots much faster — but they’re more nuanced, as well.

It’s important to note that while most chatbots will be placed on an organization’s website, social media is also a place where chatbot use is quite popular. What this means for your nonprofit? Well, let’s find out!

Different Kinds Of Chatbots + How To Set One Up

Before we dive into how chatbots can be a gamechanger for nonprofits, let’s first go over the different kinds that you might use. This will give you much needed context when you are deciding how (or even if) you use one at your own organization.

Rule-based. Runs on specific rules and patterns to respond to user questions. A very simple and static form of a chatbot.
Script-driven. Similar to a rule-based chatbot, but more complex. This chatbot runs off of an outline of possible conversational scripts selected by the user.
Voice-activated. A chatbot that uses spoken dialogue from the user as its input for responses.
AI-powered. Typically the most powerful and nuanced version of a chatbot. This chatbot learns as it goes and is often capable of highly personalized and “off script” answers.

If you want a more detailed overview of the different kinds of chatbots, be sure to check out our section on “Recommended Resources.” Here you will find numerous articles on determining which chatbot is right for you.

As for how you actually set one up? While we give you your need-to-know information below, this is the most important step of the whole chatbot process. Be sure to work with a professional, or an experienced company, when setting one up.

When it comes to setting up a chatbot for your nonprofit, you basically have two options:

Creating one from scratch
Using a third-party tool

If you are a giant organization, it can make sense to create your own chatbot. This way you have more control over how it works. You can create it to be exactly what you want, and build it in a way that is most conducive to your long term goals as an organization.

That said, for most nonprofits, we recommend simply setting up a chatbot with a third-party tool. This way there are little to no technical requirements to get started, and you can have your chatbot up and running as quickly as possible. Plus, no need to worry: there is a lot of software out there that makes setting up a chatbot quick and easy.

Now that we have a general background on chatbots for nonprofits (as well as the different kinds), let’s get into specifics. First, we’ll be covering why chatbots matter for your nonprofit.

Benefits Of Using A Chatbot At Your Nonprofit

1) 24/7 Availability

Like we said at the beginning, the big draw of chatbots for nonprofits is that they are available 24/7 for your site visitors. You can imagine how convenient this makes things. First, the increased accessibility that chatbots provide means that your organization is accessible to donors and stakeholders at any time. This, in turn, fosters a truly global presence (essential depending on the size of your audience). Second, real-time updates: They provide real-time updates, keeping donors informed and engaged. The positive side effect, of course, is that you don’t need somebody constantly working to answer questions.

2) Enhanced Donor Engagement

This is very similar to #1, but still important enough to include as its own point. Simply put, because of their 24/7 availability, chatbots naturally result in higher donor engagement. With near instant responsiveness and quick resolution of (most) questions, chatbots for nonprofits offer a much quicker and personalized experience for your donors. The result? Problems solved quicker, an increase in good will for your organization, and better overall donor engagement.

3) Operational Efficiency

Chatbots aren’t just good for your site visitors — they’re great for your team, as well. That’s because of how efficient they make you. Gone are the days of team members needing to personally answer every question that comes up. Chatbots are “on call” 24/7, and can easily automate several tasks that take up your team’s time. This leaves your team members free to focus on more strategic and impactful activities.

4) Data-Driven Insights

It’s also important to understand that chatbots are a great source of data. Through the many interactions with users that they facilitate, chatbots give you a wealth of information. Want to know the most common questions people usually have? The inquiries that come up during donations? Confusion that people have while visiting your website? The odds are quite high that a chatbot will have data that can help! And once they do, your actions become much more effective because of it.

5) Personalization

Lastly, one benefit of the data that a chatbot provides to you (see the previous point) is the opportunity for more personalization. With more information on your audience, you have an insight into who exactly they are. This gives you the chance to craft an experience that speaks to them as individuals. One perfect example is more personalized email marketing.

Clearly, you have a ton to gain by implementing a chatbat at your nonprofit. Better engagement, more positive donor relations, and heightened efficiency are just a few of the things you can expect. Of course, it’s important to consider things like cost and scalability. This will always change depending on your nonprofit and what exactly you do. That said, it’s a good bet that using a chatbot (at least in some capacity) at your organization is worth the cost.

As for how you actually use them? Continue on to our next section…

How To Use Chatbots At Your Nonprofit

Interact With Your Donors

This one is obvious, but it’s absolutely essential. Chatbots for nonprofits are all about building relationships with donors. The more frequently you interact with them (and the easier you make this interaction), the higher the ROI of your chatbot. So, what are some ways your chatbot can interact with your donors? While answering questions is the obvious one, you can also guide peoples’ donations. This makes the entire process seamless and user-friendly. Indeed, it’s this quick availability that makes fundraisers successful in the first place.

Manage Events

We have talked before how great running a virtual event can be for your organization. It builds your band, gives value to your audience, and connects them to you in a way like few other things can. Thankfully, a chatbot makes the entire process much easier. How? Firstly, a chatbot can assist in event registrations. This simplifies the process for attendees and likely increases overall attendance. Secondly, consider using a chatbot to answer participant queries efficiently. This makes your event more interactive and ensures everybody gets an answer to their question.

Inform Your Site Visitors

A chatbot is capable of more than just FAQ’s. As important as these are, general information can also play a big role in donor interaction. Here are just a few things that a chatbot can inform your audience about:

News updates: summarize news that pertains to your organization, important updates at your organization, or simply general information about the nonprofit’s mission and impact.
Educational content: material that you think your audience would benefit from, whether it’s educational information about your nonprofit or content about the specific industry you are in.
Project updates: real-time updates on ongoing projects, which can be rolled into showcasing the impact of donor contributions.

Enroll People In Programs

Chatbots also make guided enrollment much easier. Set up the right bot, and you can facilitate program sign-ups and guide users through the enrollment process. You might also consider customized recommendations. Depending on the type of program, this is a chance to offer recommendations based on user preferences. Again, this is information that you will build over time as you interact with more and more of your users.

Chatbots For Your Nonprofit: Best Practices

If you’re serious about using a chatbot at your nonprofit, it helps to keep a few best practices in mind. Before you get started, be sure to check out the list below. This will ensure long term success. Enhance your chatbot implementation with these extended best practices:

1) Communicate clearly

Nobody wants to deal with a confusing chatbot. This is where clear communication comes in. Be sure you set up your chatbot to craft messages that are not only easy to understand, but concise, as well.

2) Use your own voice

The big reason you use chatbots for nonprofits is to meet donors where they are, and to provide help whenever they need it. Still, that shouldn’t come at the expense of an unrealistic tone. You want a chatbot that is consistent with your organization’s voice. Depending on the tool that you use, it should be fairly easy to set this up.

3) Personalize interactions as much as possible

Chatbot conversations, just like anything else, benefit from a bit of personalization. This can be achieved by dynamic user profiles. Essentially, this means you get somebody’s name through an input field before they interact with the chatbot. Their name is saved, and all interactions that follow are personalized. You’d be surprised how big of a difference this can make!

4) User guidance

Even with the simplest and most intuitive chatbot, things can still get confusing. And as soon as a site visitor is confused, there’s a decent chance that they decide to leave. The solution? Better user guidance wherever you can manage it. Consider things like clear pathways or chatbot commands to improve the overall experience.

5) Take data security seriously

It goes without saying, but your user’s data is important. We have pointed out that chatbots are a great chance for you to gather data on your users. This is certainly true — but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of your relationship with them. The solution? Prioritize robust encryption practices and always be sure that you ask for user consent.

6) Never stop learning

An obvious point, but one that’s very important to make. The fact is, if you haven’t worked with a chatbot before, it can be difficult to get right. What kind of chatbot do you use? Which tool do you implement? These are just a few questions you need to answer to implement a chatbot most effectively. Like anything, ensure you continue to improve in the future by making continuous learning an organizational habit.

7) Ease of escalation to a human agent

This is our last best practice, but it might just be the most important. Let’s be honest: chatbots aren’t perfect. As much as nonprofits might wish to outsource their communication with donors, the fact is that sometimes a human is required. This is unlikely to change, regardless of how sophisticated chatbots get. The reason? Some people simply prefer speaking with a human. Make sure it’s easy (and obvious) to a user how they can go from a chatbot to a real service agent.

Recommended Resources

Lastly, let’s go over some resources that you can use when setting up a chatbot for nonprofits. These will all help you not only set one up, but get better at using one over time. Just like all our Ultimate Guides, continual learning is crucial to setting up a process that works for your audience. These resources will help.

Chatbot University. An all-in-one platform that teaches you what you need to know about “chat marketing” and customer communication.

Chatbot.com: Offers a versatile platform for creating chatbots with various functionalities. Overall, a great tool for crafting a chatbot that is a unique fit to your organization.

Dialogflow: Google’s platform for building conversational interfaces. Included built in integrations that make the set up process much quicker.

Coursera: A wide range of online courses that will show you everything you need to know about chatbots, regardless of your own use case.

Userlike: A European marketing agency with a unique focus on chatbots and customer service. Definitely worth checking out their blog!

Chatfuel: A no-code chatbot builder for Facebook Messenger. Great if you are thinking about a chatbot for your Facebook page.

Conclusion

Chatbots for nonprofits represent a huge opportunity for your nonprofit. Use them right, and you increase the quality of your overall donor interaction. Use them wrong, however, and they are every bit as frustrating as an unprofessional customer service agent.

We hope this guide has been helpful. Like all things, get out there and experiment, and consult this guide whenever you need a reminder.

Good luck, and let us know if you have any questions!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

How To Improve Donor Retention At Your Nonprofit

Posted on February 15, 2024February 15, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Donor retention is one of the most important topics for nonprofits. Getting new donations is great; even better is having donors stick around.

Today we are diving into the topic of donor retention. This includes not only a few reasons for why it’s so important, but how you can improve donor retention at your own organization.

Why Donor Retention Is Important For Nonprofits

Let’s first discuss why donor retention is so crucial for nonprofits. The answer might seem obvious, but there are a few key points you need to keep in mind. Let’s check out some of them below.

Sustainability Over The Long Term

Donor retention is the bedrock of financial sustainability for nonprofits. A loyal donor base provides a steady and predictable source of funding. This is essential for any nonprofit with big goals. Get your donor retention right, and you aren’t just sustainable, but can tackle ambitious projects (and make a bigger difference) as well.

Reduced Costs

Long-term success for a nonprofit isn’t just about bringing in more funds – you also need to reduce costs where you can. It’s been proven that acquiring new donors is often more expensive than retaining existing ones. The way you prevent this? Donor retention. By fostering lasting relationships over time, nonprofits minimize the resources spent on constant outreach and acquisition.

Higher Impact

While we just mentioned it, it’s worth repeating: good donor retention allows you to have a bigger impact. Long-term donors are more likely to deepen their engagement. This can lead to increased contributions over time and a heightened impact on your nonprofit’s mission.

Advocacy And Ambassadorship

Good donor retention is usually a knock-on effect of satisfied donors. After all, if your organization is untrustworthy (or not so effective with the donations you do receive) it’s unlikely that somebody will continue to give to you. But if you do? One of the expected effects is also increased advocacy: people talking about your cause and promoting what you do. Good donor retention, over time, essentially creates free marketing.

Now that we know why donor retention is so important, let’s cover how you make it happen.

5 Ways To Improve Donor Retention

1) Give Regular Updates

People want to know what’s going on with your nonprofit. This is especially true if they are choosing to donate their money to your cause. This is where communication comes in. Keep donors informed about your organization’s activities, achievements, and challenges.

You can do this through regular newsletters, impact reports, and general updates. This not only creates a sense of transparency and involvement, but humanizes your organization. The result? More engagement, and higher retention.

2) Express Gratitude

No use communicating with your audience if you don’t thank them! Let’s be honest – if you are a nonprofit, your donors are the reason you’re able to do what you do. It’s only through their giving that you can stay up and running. With that in mind, donor retention requires sincere appreciation.

How you do this, of course, is very much up to you. Personalized thank-you notes are always appreciated, but even imperfect efforts can go a long way. The purpose here is to make them feel valued, which is an essential step in retaining them as a donor.

3) Showcase Impact

Even if a donor knows that you appreciate them, it’s still necessary to show them what their money is achieving. This is where a lot of nonprofit organizations fall short. They do well at telling people what their donation is going towards – but fail at actually showing them.

As for how you do this? Consider success stories, testimonials, and real-world examples. This is how you showcase how their support is making a difference, and how you encourage them to keep giving.

4) Establish A Loyalty Program

Recurring revenue is the name of the game for businesses. It’s much the same for nonprofits. The fact is, any donation is great. Any amount of money that people decide to give is valuable, and should be treated (and communicated) as such. Still, the real goal is to get recurring donations. This is where donor retention becomes especially important.

One of the best strategies is by establishing a loyalty program. This gives donors a reward for their help, which acts as an incentive for their continued support. The reward can be anything. Still, it should be especially valuable for your audience. This might involve special recognition, exclusive content, or even early access to certain events.

5) Create A Community

Community building as a nonprofit is tricky. It requires a bit of effort to get started and continued effort to maintain. Plus, for a community to last over the long term, you need a group of people with shared interest. Clearly, the challenges are numerous – but the potential upside is huge.

If you get the community aspect of your nonprofit right, higher donor retention is a natural result. You just need to be sure you approach it with the right strategy. Be sure to educate yourself on community building to get started on the right foot.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

9 Lead Magnets For Nonprofits

Posted on February 13, 2024February 13, 2024 by Eric Schenck

We have all heard of lead magnets. These are valuable pieces of content (typically free) that are given away to an audience in exchange for information about themselves. They are typically used by companies as a form of audience building. But what about lead magnets for nonprofits?

Today we go over why lead magnets can be every bit as effective for nonprofits. We also include nine different lead magnets you might consider for your own organization. Let’s get started!

Why Lead Magnets For Nonprofits Can Be So Effective

At their core, lead magnets serve as a compelling incentive. They are a way to get something for free, valuable, and often solve a person’s problem. What’s not to love?

This is all true regardless of your organization. Still, they can be particularly effective for nonprofits. Here are four reasons why:

Build your audience.

This is an obvious one to start out with. Still, when it comes to building an audience, we know a thing or two. Regardless of your main goal at your organization, having a larger (and more engaged) audience is almost always a good thing. It’s simple, but so very effective: lead magnets and the value they provide attract more people genuinely interested in your cause.

Develop relationships.

If you are involved in a cause that your audience cares about, and communicate with them at all, relationships will develop. This is inevitable. Still, there’s so much room to improve this relationship – and a lead magnet is a great way to do it. Give away a lead magnet that your audience truly wants, and that relationship can only get better.

Dive into personalization.

Smart data is a great thing to base most of your decisions on. This ensures that your efforts are optimized and that you are working on things that truly move the needle. So – what does this have to do with lead magnets. With the data points that you collect with your lead magnets, you are able to understand your audience much better. Who they are and what they want – these are questions that are much easier to answer once you start giving away lead magnets and gauging peoples’ response to them.

Send more targeted outreach.

When it comes time for outreach, lead magnets set the table for targeted efforts. Lead magnets help you target specific segments of your audience, ensuring that the content you deliver is relevant and resonates with their interests. This isn’t only important for email marketing. Rather, if you are doing outreach for any kind of fundraiser, you need to be as targeted as possible. Again, the data you gain from lead magnets makes this much easier to do.

Lead Magnets For Nonprofits: 9 Ideas

Let’s now check out the most important part of this post: nine different lead magnets you can actually use at your nonprofit.

1) Educational E-Books

Multiple studies show that e-books are one of the highest converting lead magnets you can create. They showcase your expertise and give somebody everything they need to know about a topic in one convenient place. Plus, these days, they’re not even that hard to make. You might even consider getting a freelancer to create one for you.

2) Exclusive Webinars

Webinars are one of the best lead magnets you can have. This digital event is a great source of information for your audience, and can also be a great entrypoint for whatever your offer is. Of course, it’s important that the webinar you do run is quality. Be sure to read up on some best practices.

3) Toolkits and Resources

Your audience has a problem. Likely, you have experience with this problem, and almost certainly, you have used specific tools or resources to solve it. So – what are these tools and resources? Your audience wants to know. Create a lead magnet around this, market it correctly, and people will want to see what it’s all about.

4) Impactful Case Studies

Case studies are most effective when they are about a success story. This is a powerful way of showcasing the real-world impact of your nonprofit’s efforts. An added bonus? It gives your nonprofit legitimacy in the eyes of your audience. If you have them, put them everywhere!

5) Interactive Assessments

Everybody wants customized help. This is why an interactive assessment can be such a good lead magnet for nonprofits: it offers this kind of help. Of course, for your organization, this assessment can be a valuable way to collect data on your audience. You’d be surprised what a simple quiz can tell you about a person’s preferences or beliefs.

6) Behind-the-Scenes Content

As we talk about in our post on user generated content, people crave authenticity. It brings them closer to your nonprofit and, with the right kind of content, forces them to pay attention. It’s the same kind of thing with behind-the-scenes content. By getting to see something not everybody can, people are psychologically more willing to give you their contact information.

7) Exclusive Reports

Have you done some kind of valuable research? Do you have findings that could be valuable for your audience? If you do, might as well share them in the form of a lead magnet. An exclusive report isn’t only a great way to build an audience. It can also make you look extremely professional, as well.

8) Templates for Action

People don’t just want results; they want them fast. This is where a template comes in. If you have a step by step process people can follow to mimic your result, you are going to have high demand for it. Put it in the form of an easy-to-follow template, and you’re in business.

9) Early Access to Events

Lastly, one of the best opportunities for a nonprofit to raise funds is an event. In the context of a lead magnet, early access to an event is a good way to go. You might also consider giving away certain bonuses tied to the event. Assuming it’s an event people are interested in, it can act as a high-converting lead magnet.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

From Lúgh Pros #2: How To Use AI At Your Nonprofit

Posted on February 8, 2024April 16, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere you look these days. Seems like more and more companies are implementing its power, and having great results because of it. How can you get these results for yourself? What are some things you need to keep in mind? More importantly for you — how do you effectively use AI at nonprofits?

These are the questions we answer in our latest ultimate guide. AI presents a ton of potential for your organization — you just need to know how to use it.

This is the second guide in our “From Lúgh Pros” series. In this series we not only educate you about topics important to nonprofits, but give you valuable insight from our team of industry experts!

4 Reasons You Should Care About AI
3 General Tips For Using AI At Your Nonprofit
How To Use AI At Your Nonprofit
Tools And Resources
Conclusion

4 Reasons You Should Care About AI

Embracing AI at your nonprofit is not just a choice — it’s a strategic imperative. Still, it’s easy to delay things. It’s easy to postpone really leaning into AI and reaping the benefits that follow.

Not convinced? Here are four compelling reasons why you should care about AI:

It will make you more efficient.

As of now, one of the biggest benefits to AI is how much time it can save you. Are there certain tasks you hate doing? Important responsibilities you have on your team that seem to always keep you busy? There is a good chance AI can automate them. This allows you and the people you work with to focus on high-impact activities… rather than repetitive processes that always seem to bog you down.

It’s still early days.

Many companies and organizations haven’t yet figured out how to use AI. They are either ignoring it completely, or have only just started to dip their toes in. This creates a potential advantage for you. Adopt AI technologies now, and start implementing them in your everyday workflow, and you can only benefit. That said..

Some of your competitors are already using it.

Even though many organizations haven’t yet perfected AI software, some of them have. And almost assuredly, some of them are you direct competitors. This is true for both nonprofits and companies. The fact is, you need to start testing AI if you don’t want to get left behind.

AI isn’t going anywhere.

Like it or not, AI is the future. Maybe it’s overhyped. Maybe it’s not as effective as people claim it to be. Regardless, like many technologies, all it takes is time before it gets increasingly effective and polished. Don’t believe me? According to McKinsey, artificial intelligence will continue to advance year-after-year. The natural result? A world where we don’t remember what it was like before AI. If you want to stay effective far into the future, embracing and learning how to use AI is how you do it.

3 General Tips For Using AI At Nonprofits

While incorporating AI offers numerous benefits to your nonprofit, there are some things to keep in mind. Before we get into actionable information on using AI at nonprofitS below, this is what we’re covering in this section. Remember these more general tips as you roll out AI tools at your organization.

1) AI Isn’t Perfect

Like any technology, you need to understand the limitations of AI. It’s true that AI can excel at a variety of tasks. And in certain areas, it’s already far better than humans. As we point out above, this is one of the major benefits to using AI more at your organization.

That said, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Human oversight is still crucial, and will likely remain so for some time.

2) You Need To Always Be Learning

As we mention numerous times in this article, AI tools and software will only get better. We are at the very beginning in terms of how sophisticated they can really become. This can be both exciting and scary.

The one thing that ensures you stay on top of the technology is continuously learning about it. AI will only get better, and you will benefit the most by always educating yourself on the topic. Be sure to check out the various tools we link throughout the guide.

3) Your Audience Wants To Hear from Humans

Certain things simply can’t (or shouldn’t) be outsourced. This makes sense. The fact is, humans want to deal with other humans. This is unlikely to change regardless of how sophisticated AI gets. It’s tempting to buy into the hype of AI and think it can do everything for your organization. But this isn’t accurate. In fact, it’s not even desirable.

Are there things AI makes faster and more effective? Of course. But for the things that count, and for the things where there is direct contact with your audience, don’t underestimate the power of the human touch. As our team expert says, “AI is just another tool…and the human element is always going to be required.” This is worth keeping in mind as you check out our more actionable tips below.

How To Use AI At Nonprofits

So, the million dollar question: how exactly do you effectively implement AI at nonprofits? Below, we go over a variety of actionable tips. Because this is a guide specifically for nonprofits, we’ve organized these tips into five general categories particularly relevant to nonprofit organizations.

That said, these tips can be relevant to businesses as well. Keep that in mind as you’re reading through them.

1) Content Creation

Content marketing is a fundamental part of any organization’s goals. Here are ways to use AI for it:

Creation and ideation. Tools like ChatGPT can make it much easier to come up with ideas. It’s all about the prompts that you use and how detailed they are. Choose the right ones and you have new content topics that will not only inform your audience, but position you as an expert. It can also help you with part of the creation process itself — just remember to add your own voice and style! This is essential to ensure you don’t sound like everybody else.
Content personalization. In just about everything you do, personalization can enhance a person’s experience with your brand. Unfortunately this customization can be difficult to scale. Not so with AI. Consider implementing different tools to customize almost every touchpoint people have with you. Common algorithms can analyze user preferences and deliver personalized content, which increases engagement as a result.
Video creation. Video content marketing is becoming more and more important. People are increasingly consuming ever-more video content, and many people even use YouTube as their preferred search engine for information. Unfortunately, video has always been much more difficult to make — until now. Various tools make video creation much quicker and effective. Give them a try if you want to start rolling out more videos at your nonprofit.

2) Web Design

Web design is one of the most important things you can focus on. After all, your website is often the first impression somebody will have of your nonprofit. Here are a few ways that AI can help:

Dynamic content presentation. Imagine if your website and most frequented web pages could look different depending on who was visiting them. Just think about how “customized” each visitor’s experience would be. Sound like a dream? With the right AI tool, it’s not.
Coding. Writing code will always be an integral part of how web pages are built. In the past, creating this code was exclusively the domain of we developers. Not anymore. Many AI tools not only make the coding process quicker, but potentially even more accurate. Just be sure you have a human to check it!
Media creation. A website without media (whether it’s pictures or video) is likely a website that is boring your visitors. And if they’re bored, there is little chance they provide a tangible benefit to your nonprofit. With AI, creating media assets that spice up your website has never been easier.

3) Donor Communication

Even if you have great content and a solid website, your donors are what keep your nonprofit alive. Here is how AI can help with donor communication:

Personalized email campaigns. Is email marketing a huge part of what you do? If so, consider utilizing AI to personalize email campaigns. This improves the overall experience of your email subscribers and gets them more involved in your messaging. Effective personalization is a fundamental part of not only connecting with your audience, but getting them to donate as well.
Chat support. We have all heard of chatbots — but did you know that AI has only made them better? That’s right — AI programming and deep learning is making chatbots increasingly sophisticated and able to help with difficult questions. This gives near 24/7 support to your audience. It also frees up the time of your team members, allowing them to focus on more pressing tasks.

4) Digital Design

Whereas web design applies specifically to your website, digital design is just about everything else. And like the previous three points, AI can help. Here’s how:

Automated image creation. Everybody responds better to content when there are images included. With tools like Dall-E, it’s never been easier to create them. This not only ensures you always have the perfect image ready to go, but also that the images you do create are professional and visually appealing.
Faster digital editing. As a designer, there are often repetitive steps in the creative process that take time and energy. Increasingly, though, AI makes these much quicker. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, for example, have gradually started to roll out AI features in their products. This speeds up a designer’s work — and makes “idea to reality” much quicker for all of your editing needs.

5) Fundraising

Last but not least — fundraising. Using AI at nonprofits is particularly appealing because it can increase the total amount of donations you receive. Try out some of these tips:

Predictive analytics. With certain AI tools, you don’t just understand your audience better — you can also predict their behavior. This is the power of predictive analytics, and it’s a game changer. Do this right and you can target potential contributors much more strategically. If you’re particularly interested in this, be sure to check out the first recommended tool below.
Campaign optimization. Gone are the days of “set it and forget it” fundraisers. With AI software, you are able to optimize your campaigns on the go, ensuring a strong performance throughout the entire timeline. The benefits here are clear. Not only do you have better fundraisers that people enjoy, but you make more money too!
Positioning. While not necessarily intuitive, positioning is an important way that AI can contribute to your fundraising efforts. The fact is, investors these days want to see nonprofits that are innovative. Use AI (and use it well), and you are at the forefront of this innovation. This positions you as a nonprofit worth paying attention to. The result? More attention, and more donations.

Tools And Resources For AI At Nonprofits

Using AI at nonprofits can feel difficult during the best of times. It’s a new technology, surrounded by a ton of hype, and can be confusing for even the most capable team. Thankfully, there are a ton of tools and resources that make your AI journey just a little more manageable. Below we’ve gathered just a few of them — be sure to check them out!

Just remember this — as we say above, it’s vital that you always be learning. Even if you don’t find a resource below that you like, one that will help you certainly exists. Think about your own nonprofit, how AI can benefit you, and then find the most relevant tool for your own situation.

DonorSearch AI

Need to know which prospects are the most likely to donate, and how much they’d likely give? Meet DonorSearch AI. If you are trying to optimize your donor outreach, this is the tool for you.

ChatGPT

One of the most well known AI tools out there, ChatGPT has already reached over a billion users. It’s not difficult to see why

it makes a wide variety of tasks quicker and more efficient.

IBM Watson

This solution is designed to address societal challenges. Depending on what your nonprofit does, this can be quite useful. It might also give you new ideas on how you can best take advantage of AI.

Grammarly

Do you write? If so (and you probably do), Grammarly will make your job easier. Think of this tool as your personal writing assistant. Every blog article, social media post, and email you create will be just a little cleaner — and much more effective.

Dall-E

This is an easy-to-use tool that makes it easy to create interesting images. While our team expert doesn’t use this tool so often, even he admits how useful it can be.

TechSoup

This is a platform offering discounted AI software and resources for nonprofits. If you’re serious about investing in the right tools, TechSoup may very well be the best website out there!

Conclusion

Is AI overhyped? Potentially — just like any technology, it will take some time before we fully understand just how big a part it will play in our society. Still, here is something important to keep in mind: even if AI fulfills only a fraction of its potential, it will be a gamechanger. The signs are there: countless AI tools coming out every week, huge companies investing billions of dollars in the technology, and more and more people finding creative ways to speed up their work tasks.

Like it or not, AI is already here. Spend just a little time each week learning how to use it at your nonprofit, and you only stand to gain. Good luck, and let us know if you ever have any questions!

Lugh Studio’s Innovative Platform Empowers Clear the Shelters Initiative

Posted on February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 by admin

Lúgh Studio has taken philanthropy to new heights by collaborating with NBC Universal Local’s Clear the Shelters initiative, creating and maintaining a cutting-edge database that enables users to seamlessly search and donate to 722 shelters across the nation. This groundbreaking project, powered by Fundraise Up, an AI-driven fundraising platform, aims to support the mission of finding loving homes for pets in need while facilitating a streamlined donation process for users.

NBC Universal Local’s Clear the Shelters initiative, a nationwide pet adoption and donation drive, has been a resounding success since its inception in 2015. With a remarkable accomplishment of over one million adoptions, the initiative has positively impacted the lives of countless animals. Lúgh Studio recognized the importance of this noble cause and embarked on a mission to enhance the donation experience for users.

Lúgh Studio’s vision materialized with the launch of a dedicated website equipped with a powerful search engine and sophisticated backend editing capabilities. This platform serves as a centralized hub, connecting users with over 700 shelters participating in the Clear the Shelters initiative. The seamless integration of Fundraise Up’s AI-powered fundraising platform ensures a user-friendly and efficient donation process.

At the heart of Lúgh Studio’s creation is a robust search engine designed to empower users in their quest to support shelters. This innovative feature enables users to search donation campaigns based on their location, providing a personalized and targeted approach to philanthropy. Whether users want to contribute to a shelter in their local community or support a cause across the country, the search engine simplifies the process, making it both accessible and efficient.

Lúgh Studio goes beyond providing a user-centric experience by incorporating backend editing capabilities. This allows shelters to manage and update their information seamlessly. The dynamic nature of the platform ensures that users have access to real-time and accurate data, fostering transparency and trust in the donation process.

The primary goal of Lúgh Studio’s creation is to streamline the donation process for users. By leveraging Fundraise Up’s AI capabilities, the platform ensures a secure and efficient transaction process. Users can contribute to their chosen shelters with confidence, knowing that their donations directly impact the lives of animals in need.

Lúgh Studio’s collaboration with NBC Universal Local’s Clear the Shelters initiative, powered by Fundraise Up, stands as a testament to the transformative potential of technology in philanthropy. The creation of a dynamic and user-friendly database not only facilitates seamless donations but also reinforces the mission of finding loving homes for pets nationwide. As we celebrate the success of over one million adoptions, Lúgh Studio’s commitment to innovation serves as an inspiration for future endeavors in the realm of charitable giving.

New Social Media Platforms For Nonprofits

Posted on January 25, 2024January 25, 2024 by Eric Schenck

In an era dominated by social media giants, nonprofits are increasingly seeking out alternatives options. This has led to several new social media platforms for nonprofits that you might consider.

Today we’ll be going over some of the reasons you should take new social media platforms seriously if you work at a nonprofit. This will help you improve your overall social media marketing. We’ll also be covering five new social media platforms you might look into, as well as specific tips for each one.

Why Use New Social Media Platforms As A Nonprofit?

Let’s start with a question: why would you want to use a new social media platform as a nonprofit? We’ve all heard of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These are proven platforms that can get you closer to your goals – why branch out?

New social media platforms actually provide a fantastic opportunity for nonprofits to get ahead. Here are four reasons to consider:

Diversified Reach

Utilizing various platforms allows nonprofits to cast a wider net. This puts your message (and mission) in front of a diverse audience. Keep this in mind – different people will naturally have different preferences and habits. The kind of content they prefer to consume will always vary – and using new social media platforms takes advantage of this.

Adaptability To Trends

Social media trends evolve rapidly. By being present on multiple platforms, nonprofits can adapt to emerging trends more effectively. They’re also able to more quickly tailor their content to suit the preferences of each audience.

Community-Building

Different platforms cater to different kinds of communities. While some thrive on threaded discussions (as we will see below), others focus on visual content. Is community-building a big goal at your nonprofit? Different social media platforms can make it happen.

Risk Mitigation

Relying solely on one or two platforms poses risks. Algorithm changes, account bans, or policy shifts can significantly impact your overall reach. If you use several social media platforms, you are diversified as a result.

5 New Social Media Platforms For Nonprofits

1) Bluesky Social

This platform is the result of the Bluesky decentralized social networking project. It promises increased user control and decentralization. It is somewhat similar to X (formally Twitter).

Tips for Nonprofits:

Leverage decentralized features for enhanced privacy and security. This is the big selling point of Bluesky: users want more privacy. If you can keep this in mind, the platform can be a great place to interact with audience members in a place they are comfortable with.
Create community-driven campaigns for increased engagement. While this is relevant for just about any social media platform, it’s especially important on Bluesky.

2) Mastodon

Mastodon, an open-source platform, is technically made of multiple servers. This allows you to connect with people from all around the world in different “communities”, and functions very similarly to other social media platforms.

Tips for Nonprofits:

Be sure to join the right server. This is by far the most important choice you need to make. You can always migrate to a new server, but picking the right one (with the right people) at the beginning will set you up for success.
Follow the admins of whichever servers you are interested in. This will give you an insight into how different groups of people function on Mastodon, and their overall interests. Much easier to make content that appeals to them!

3) Threads

We’ve all heard of Facebook’s rival to X (formerly Twitter). Threads is designed for organized conversations, and offers dedicated threads for specific topics. While the popularity of Threads has declined in recent months, it’s still a platform you should consider.

Tips for Nonprofits:

Use dedicated threads for campaigns, events, and ongoing discussions. This can drive a lot of audience engagement. Assuming the discussion is valuable, it can also lead more people to your own website or email list.
Encourage community participation. This is relevant everywhere online, but the algorithms that run Threads are particularly focused on these kinds of conversations. Be sure to reply to peoples’ responses and keep the conversation going!

4) MeWe

Known for privacy advocacy, MeWe lets you build communities without intrusive ads. Similar to Facebook in layout, the platform nonetheless offers a unique user experience.

Tips for Nonprofits:

Embrace MeWe’s commitment to privacy in communication. Their big selling point is complete control over your personal data, which sets it apart from other social media giants. Remember this in everything you do on the platform.
Utilize groups for community building. Given the right topic and discussion, MeWe gives you a chance to build a tight-knit following that listens to what you have to say. This can work wonders for your lead generation.

5) SproutSocial

While not technically a social media platform, SproutSocial is still worth a mention. That’s because it functions as an all-in-one tool for all your social media needs. If there is something you want to optimize with your social media marketing, odds are that SproutSocial can help!

Tips for Nonprofits:

Analyze your performance. If you are running campaigns with different content across various platforms, you want to know what’s working. Simply go to SproutSocial’s “Reports” tab to get this insight.
Try “listening” to your audience. You need to know what your audience actually cares about. Thankfully, SproutSocial makes this quite easy. You can search by specific keywords or hashtags to get better ideas on the sorts of campaigns that are really going to move the needle!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Web Design For Lead Generation

Posted on January 18, 2024January 18, 2024 by Eric Schenck

We all know web design is important for a number of business goals, but what about web design for lead generation? Generating leads is something all organizations want to do. Where does web design fit into this goal, and how can it help with the entire lead generation process?

Today we are covering why solid web design is so important for lead generation. We will also provide you with five actionable tips for structuring your web design for more leads. Let’s get started!

Why Web Design Is Important for Lead Generation

First, we need to understand why good web design is so important for lead generation.

Here are five reasons you need to take it seriously.

User Experience (UX) Matters

A well-designed website is more than just aesthetics. Rather, it affects every aspect of the user experience. Pay attention to it (and improve it where you can) and you lower overall bounce rates and create an experience that people actually enjoy. The fact is, lead generation requires a decent user experience – and good web design is you make it happen.

Credibility And Trust

Assuming your web design creates a positive user experience, it will also build a certain amount of credibility. Let’s face it: whether you like it or not, a potential lead’ first impression of your organization is almost assuredly going to come online. This means that a good website isn’t important just to look good – but to inspire trust, as well. Think of your own experience online: would you fully buy into an organization’s mission if their web design was terrible? Neither would we!

Consistent Branding

Related to our last point, good web design also creates a consistent brand. This is essential for reliable lead generation. For example, imagine your homepage looking completely different from the landing page somebody ends up on before they give you their email address. This creates a certain amount of mental dissonance. The result? Less trust in your brand, and a site design that lacks attention to clarity – and fewer leads.

Mobile Optimization

More and more people are using their smartphones to access your website. In fact, over 55% of people use a phone for the majority of their internet searches. The end result? More people interacting with your site on a smaller screen. If you want to appeal to this portion of your audience, mobile optimization isn’t just a checkbox – it’s a non-negotiable. This is where web design can help.

Social Proof

Lastly, web design is vital to lead generation because it allows for one of the most important elements of “convincing”: social proof. Humans are social beings – we seldom make decisions in isolation. Social proof is not a mere collection of testimonials; it’s what people need to see before they become leads. And the best place to put this social proof? Your website, of course – but only if you have a handle on good web design fundamentals!

Now we understand a few of the reasons you need to pay attention to web design for lead generation. Let’s now continue on to 10 of our most actionable tips.

Web Design For Lead Generation: 5 Tips

1) Optimize Landing Pages

Each landing page is a chance to craft an experience. Succeed here, and you are already doing most of the work in convincing somebody to become a lead. So, how exactly do you optimize your landing pages? The biggest rule to follow is consistency; each landing page you have should match the source somebody came from before. If you want more information on what this looks like in practice, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to high converting landing pages.

2) Establish a Visual Hierarchy For CTAs

What exactly do you want your site visitor to do? Likely, depending on the exact person, you will have a few different answers. This is where prioritization comes in handy, and the point where you need to establish a “visual hierarchy.” What do you most want somebody to do on your site? Sign up for your newsletter? Download a lead magnet? Submit a form for a free consultation? Whatever it is, be sure your top priority is the most prominent on display.

3) Tell Visual Stories

Good web design is more than just a few fancy visuals. Do it right, and you have the potential to tell a convincing story. A story that not only informs your visitor, but converts them into a lead. How you do this, of course, will depend on what your organization does. Case studies are always a good place to start, but when it comes to effective storytelling, you have quite a few options. Don’t know where to start? Be sure to read up on the fundamentals of storytelling.

4) Create Navigation Simplicity

It goes without saying, but good web design is simple web design. There’s a reason companies like Apple have such simple websites: they work. They are clean and convincing, and inherently look more professional. Plus, as it applies to lead generation, the easier a website is to navigate, the quicker somebody becomes a lead. After all, let’s be honest: overwhelm a site visitor, and your odds of converting them into a lead are slim to none.

5) A/B Test For Design Elements

Lastly – test everything. We’ve pointed out the value of testing in many of our blog posts. Testing is how you see what works, cut what doesn’t, and iterate further on what does. That said, testing is particularly essential when it comes to web design for lead generation. This can include everything from color schemes to button placements. You never know what’s going to make a huge difference in your lead generation.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How To Increase Average Donation Amount

Posted on January 11, 2024January 11, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Every organization wants to increase their average donation amount. It’s how you continuously drive more money to your mission and make the greatest impact.

Still, easier said than done. How do you go about increasing your average donation amount, and what are the things you need to keep in mind? These are the questions we are answering in our latest guide.

3 Ideas For Increasing Average Donation

Before we dive into our actionable tips, we wanted to first share some general points. These are things you need to keep in mind at your organization if you are trying to increase average donations.

Transparency builds trust. Trust isn’t just important to driving more donations – it’s essential. It’s only when you trust an organization that you choose to support them. Clearly state how donations contribute to your mission, and you’re setting yourself up for success.
Storytelling makes a difference. If you know how to tell a good story, you can connect with anybody. Convincing narrative carries an immense weight. Do it right at a nonprofit, and you not only connect emotionally to a prospect, but get them to act.
People donate for different reasons. Different donors naturally have a variety of motivations in donating. That’s why you need to craft an approach that resonates on the individual level. One way to pursue this is through donor segmentation. After all – people like to feel like you’re talking directly to them.

7 Ways to Increase Your Average Donation

1) Effective Donor Education

Be upfront about how donations help your organization and everything you do. Dive deep into the impact of their contributions. Demonstrate how larger donations directly translate into larger results. All of this is a form of education, and it’s something that your donors love to see. Only by seeing what it is their money achieves can you expect them to give more. Be sure to read up on best practices for adequately educating your audience.

2) Smart Incentives

Increasing your average donation requires more than just asking for it. In a perfect world, people would see your fundraiser and instantly whip out their wallets. Reality doesn’t work like that. Give people a reason to donate that benefits them. This can look many different ways. Regardless, it’s worth doing some audience research to see what it is they actually like. You might be surprised at what will actually get people to act!

3) Peer-To-Peer Fundraising

Effective peer-to-peer fundraising is all about empowering donors to become advocates. Do it right and you can massively amplify your overall reach. Not only does this get your organization in front of more eyes, but gets people excited about your cause. The result? A higher average donation. Be sure to give thanks when your past donors do promote you – this is how you build a thankful audience.

4) Monthly Giving Programs

Recurring revenue can be the backbone of a company’s success. It’s the same for a nonprofit. Indeed, when it comes to donations, consistent stability month after month is the gold standard. Try to encourage donors to commit to monthly contributions wherever you can. Plus, keep in mind tip #2 – the right incentive might just be what you need to foster that monthly commitment.

5) Social Proof

Just as in all of your marketing, social proof plays a large role in raising your average donation. Humans are hugely influenced by what other people do. If they have no proof that others have donated to your organization, don’t expect them to increase their total donation. Be sure to showcase any success stories that you have access to. You can also promote the names of organizations that have given the most money. This is a win-win for everybody involved.

6) Matching Campaigns

One of the best ways to get people excited to give (and to give a lot) is through matching campaigns. These are campaigns where for every dollar they donate, another organization does it as well. This is called the multiplier effect and it can be powerful. As for how you find partnerships with organizations that will participate? Check out this guide for more information – it’s easier than you think!

7) Convenience In Giving

The process of donating should be as seamless as possible. Think about it: if you land on a website that is impossible to navigate, or a donation platform that you simply can’t figure out, you’re not going to stick around for long. That’s why to give yourself the best chance at a higher average donation, you need to make donating easy. This involves many things that lead generation and web design. Regardless of what you do, always make things easy for the donor. All in all, making it easy for people to donate is one of the best things you can do.

Which brings us to one final suggestion…

Fundraise Up: Our Favorite Tool For Increasing Average Donations

If you are looking for a tool that makes donating easy (and increases average donation) check out Fundraise Up.

With features like campaign pages and AI-optimized optimizations, it’s the perfect tool to make the donor experience easier – and to increase average donations.

Check out Fundraise Up here.

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide to PPC

Posted on January 10, 2024April 15, 2024 by Eric Schenck

PPC, or “pay-per-click” advertising, can be a great strategy for your business. Done correctly, it creates awareness of your brand, results in more website traffic, and paired with the right offer, drives more sales.

Still, PPC can be a confusing topic. It’s something most businesses don’t actually do, and even if they are, results are often less than ideal.

But not to worry. Today, we are sharing with you our actionable guide to PPC and everything you need to know to run successful campaigns. This includes a brief explanation of what PPC actually is, best practices, and how you can continually get better.

Click Here for Your PDF Version of this Guide

Let’s get started.

What PPC Is

Why PPC Is Important

Best Practices For Running PPC Campaigns

Valuable Resources For Learning About PPC

Conclusion

…

What PPC Is

PPC is a type of advertising in which you run an ad targeting a specific keyword or phrase, and then only pay a fee based on whether or not people click on it. This is typically done on search engines like Google and Bing. That said, it can also appear on social media sites, even though social media PPC isn’t all that common.

Still wondering what exactly PPC is and where you can find ads? Do a quick Google search for a competitive industry, like “cars” or “smartphones.” The results you see that have the word “Ad” written at the beginning (typically at the top before organic results) will be PPC ads. These are ads that businesses have paid for targeting whichever keyword you typed in. The goal is to create an ad so compelling that people click on it and then land on another page.

While the desired action is often a sale, many businesses will offer lead magnets for download or simply free pieces of content. This is all in the name of contributing to awareness of their brand among people searching for specific keywords.

It’s important to note that paid ads on search engines typically don’t perform nearly as well as organic search results. For some insight into why this is, consider your own online behavior. How often do you yourself click on an ad during your Google searches? If you are like most people, probably not that often. Paid ads on search engines typically get a bad reputation. People don’t consider them as trustworthy as organic results and clickthrough rates are often quite low. That said, when done right, PPC ads can be quite effective.

The vast majority of PPC ads will take place on Google over the platform Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords). Here is a simplified version of how getting started works:

Make an account on Google Ads
Research phrases that are related to your product or business that people are actually searching for
Determine how much you are willing to pay per click
Pick one (or several) different keywords or keyphrases that match your budget
Create ads and run them

While this is obviously a simplified explanation of how PPC works, these are the basic steps you will follow regardless of the platform you choose

Two other popular platforms are Bing (now Microsoft Ads) and Facebook. Still, if you are new to PPC and want the biggest bang for your buck, it makes sense to get started with Google Ads. Here’s a handy guide for getting started with Google Ads and a more in depth explanation of how exactly the platform works.

Why PPC Is Important

PPC, when done correctly, can play an important role in a company’s success. In fact, effective ads with the PPC model are exactly what has built up numerous businesses. To understand why, let’s check out five benefits to running PPC ads.

1) PPC ads can get you fast results

While some businesses can afford to play the long game of content creation (check out our ultimate guide to content marketing if you can), this isn’t always the case. Sometimes a business needs results – and it needs them fast.

PPC allows you to do this. Your ads are up and running essentially as soon as you set them up, and you will start seeing results soon after starting. Assuming you follow PPC best practices (more on that later) this can mean more email signups or product purchases almost immediately.

2) You can target very specific customers

The data that Google has makes highly targeted ads easy to set up. For example, maybe you are a yoga instructor trying to drive more potential customers to your website. Want to target stay-at-home moms between the ages of 29 and 45 that live in your area? PPC ads make this possible.

This hyper targeted approach to ads will usually result in a much higher conversion rate. Much more effective than printing out a flier, sticking it up around town and hoping for the best!

3) The data that you get from PPC campaigns can inform your entire content and SEO strategy

In our previous PPC post about how to know if you’re ready for the ads, we talked about how useful PPC can be for learning. That’s because your ad is essentially guaranteed to be shown to thousands of people.

Depending on how popular it is and how many clicks it gets, this can be a great sign for topics you might dive deeper on. Even if you don’t get the results you want, that’s still a valuable lesson in what you should avoid next time.

4) PPC allows you to rank even if you don’t have a very high domain authority

Depending on your industry, it can be difficult (if not impossible) to rank organically on search engines. This is especially true in super competitive industries where you are going up against giants that have brand recognition and millions of customers.

PPC is important for smaller brands because it gives you a better chance to go up against your competition. This can truly be a gamechanger when they’re looking for more customers.

5) PPC ads are less affected by algorithm updates than organic content

Google is always coming out with algorithm updates. While this is mostly good for the user, it can spell disaster for brands that base all of their marketing on content. After all, you never know how changes are going to affect your content rankings.

Not so with PPC. If you are paying for your ads, they will be shown. Simple as that. In this way, PPC ads might actually be a more stable model to build your marketing around.

Best Practices For Running PPC Campaigns

Now that we understand why PPC is so important, let’s look at some best practices. This will help you get your ad campaigns correct and set you up for success.

1) Think about what your goal is

Who do you want to target? What should they do once they see your ad? How long will you run your ad before changing things up? What would “success” look like? Is your ad going to run for a few weeks or will you keep it up for longer? These are all questions you should be thinking about before getting started with PPC. Ask these questions and you will zero in on the type of ad (and approach) you should be aiming for.

You also need to know more specifically how your PPC campaign will fit into your business goals. Are you trying to build your email list? Or is this PPC ad more focused on directly selling a product? Only by getting clear about what your goal is (and overall plan to achieve it) can you hope for success.

2) Choose your keyword carefully

As we point out in our ultimate guide to SEO, keyword research is one of the most important skills to master in content marketing. It can be the difference between a blog post that drives a ton of traffic and engagement and one that almost never gets found.

The same is true of PPC. If you choose, for example, a keyword that is highly competitive (one that has a high purchase intent like “buy a car”), you will not only have a ton of competition, but the costs will be super high. If you choose one much less competitive, however, it might be the case that people searching for the phrase simply aren’t in the buying mood. This may very well be the reason nobody is bidding on the phrase.

Ideally you target a keyphrase that is not only somewhere in the middle, but that also somehow relates to your business’s products or services. For tips on the right keywords to focus on, give this post a read.

3) Craft ads that are both informative and focus on user experience

Even assuming you are making PPC ads focused on the right keywords, they still need to follow best practices. This can mean a bunch of different things, but here are some points you shouldn’t forget.

Compelling, benefit-driven copy that is easy to understand
A clear call to action that promises something in return
Copy that is focused and relevant to your target audience
Not too much complication
A compelling image, if applicable

4) Iterate frequently

Testing new ad copy, new headlines and new images is the quickest way to see what’s working and what needs to be changed. Indeed, the businesses that run the most successful PPC ads are usually the ones that iterate the most.

So be sure to test things out. Run two versions of an ad. After a week, take the one that is performing the best and make a different iteration. Repeat this process relatively frequently and you might be surprised with how great your results can be. This guide to testing will give you ideas on what else you can test.

As mentioned above, this testing process with PPC ads informs your entire marketing strategy, as well. Which images do people respond best to? What kind of copy gets them most interested? What are the messages they need to hear to take action? Learn these things through testing, then apply it anywhere you can.

5) Look out for trends

Just as digital marketing as a whole adapts, PPC specifically is constantly undergoing change. There are always new trends that you need to be ready to adapt to. This will keep your campaigns agile and even give you new ideas for how you can improve your performance.

As for the specific trends that you should pay attention to this year? Check out our post on the PPC trends of 2022 in order to prepare yourself.

Valuable Resources For Learning About PPC

PPC advertising is a field that is always changing. While getting the fundamentals correct is important, and will set you up for success once you do, you need to always be learning.

That’s why this ultimate guide ends with a list of resources and articles. We have broken it down by specific category so that you can get the answer you need. Running PPC ads successfully involves a number of different actions, and informing yourself with these resources will allow you to take your education even further.

How To Bid on PPC

Before you set up a PPC ad, you need to understand the process of “bidding.” This is often the part of the process that can be most confusing and prevents many people from getting started. Thankfully it’s not all that difficult. Give this resource from Google a look to get the basics down and hit the ground running.

The Ultimate Guide to Keyword Research

Knowing how to do keyword research is fundamental to running good PPC ads. That’s because your ad will be targeted to a specific search term or keyword. Get this wrong, or target a keyword that’s simply not quality enough, and nothing else matters. Give this guide a read and develop your knowledge of how keyword research works and how you can do it better. You’ll be glad you did!

The Ultimate Guide to Copywriting

Good copywriting is the glue that holds PPC ads together. Without it, you don’t connect with your audience and your ads fall flat. That’s why it pays to learn all you can about copywriting and how to do it effectively. This post by Backlinko will help you along the way.

Beginner’s Guide to A/B Testing PPC Ads

Testing new things and iterating is a requirement for successful ads. In this guide marketing expert Neil Patel takes you through everything you need to know for A/B testing.

Conclusion

PPC advertising, when done right, can be a great part of your marketing strategy. The right ad can not only generate more interest in your company, but also works to gather more site visitors, email subscribers, and customers.

Click Here for Your PDF Version of this Guide

Good luck!

Client Spotlight: Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Posted on January 9, 2024 by admin

Lúgh Studio recently had the privilege of collaborating with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a remarkable organization dedicated to supporting Christian coaches and athletes. FCA sought to create and maintain a comprehensive database for showcasing image cards and corresponding campaigns.

➥ Visit: my.fca.org

Our partnership with FCA was marked by a set of ambitious goals, and we were determined to provide the best possible solutions to meet their needs. Here’s how we accomplished that:

Developed a Database with Existing Branding: We began by designing and implementing a database system that seamlessly integrated with FCA’s existing branding. Our team ensured that every aspect of the database reflected FCA’s unique identity and values.
Built Backend Editing Capabilities: To empower FCA with control over their content, we integrated robust backend editing capabilities. This allowed FCA to efficiently manage and update the information within the database, ensuring that their campaigns were always up to date.
Created a Staging Site on FCA WP Hosting Environment: We established a staging site within the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ WordPress hosting environment. This provided FCA with a secure and user-friendly platform for testing and reviewing their campaigns before they were made available to their audience.
Implemented GA4 (Google Analytics 4): To track and analyze user engagement, we implemented Google Analytics 4, enabling FCA to gain valuable insights into how their audience interacted with their campaigns and image cards.

The impact of our collaboration was truly astonishing. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes experienced a significant increase in donations for their missionaries. The streamlined database, user-friendly editing capabilities, and enhanced tracking through GA4 contributed to their success in engaging their supporters and inspiring more generous contributions.

We are proud to have played a role in supporting FCA’s mission and are excited to continue our partnership, helping them achieve even greater success in the future. We look forward to more opportunities to innovate and make a meaningful difference in the world through our design and production services.

LinkedIn For Nonprofits: 5 Tips

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Eric Schenck

LinkedIn is a great tool for businesses. It helps them expand their audience, connect with decision makers, and can play a fundamental role in their marketing efforts. Thankfully, LinkedIn for nonprofits can be just as important!

Today we’re sharing our primer for nonprofits interested in the platform. This included five reasons LinkedIn is a great tool that nonprofits should consider, as well as five actionable tips for getting started.

Why Is LinkedIn For Nonprofits Important?

Let’s first cover the main reasons LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for nonprofits. This will give you valuable context before you dive into our five actionable tips.

1) Professional Networking

First and foremost, LinkedIn is a hub of professionals. This is the platform where you will find industry leaders and even potential collaborators. For nonprofits, this presents an invaluable networking opportunity. LinkedIn serves as a digital space where you can connect with people that share your values or mission. This can lead to shared initiatives, joint events, and an overall amplified impact.

2) Brand Visibility And Credibility

Do you want to be the brand that nobody has ever heard of? Didn’t think so! For nonprofits, LinkedIn is a way to be seen. A robust presence on the platform not only enhances your brand visibility, but gives you increased credibility, as well. This in turn attracts support, partnerships, and more donations.

3) Recruitment And Talent Acquisition

Looking for your next great hire? Or maybe you need volunteers for an upcoming event and need to reach out to potential candidates? If so, you might consider LinkedIn. The platform is not only great for finding skilled professionals who align with your mission, but for all kinds of recruitment.

4) Content Promotion

We have talked numerous times about the power of content marketing. Not only for businesses, but for nonprofits alike. If your organization spends any time at all creating content (and you should), LinkedIn can be a great platform to promote it. Of course, it’s important that you follow two essential rules for content creation: make things that people want, and do it consistently. Check out our tip below on “Provide Value” for more information.

5) Access to LinkedIn’s Nonprofit Program:

Lastly, LinkedIn For Nonprofits is a program that provides nonprofits with a ton of resources (some of them for free!). Even if this is the only thing you use Linkedin for, it can still be a great opportunity. These resources can help you with free job postings, extended LinkedIn Learning access, and the ability to showcase volunteer opportunities. All of this can significantly improve your results with LinkedIn as a nonprofit.

LinkedIn For Nonprofits: 5 Tips

1) Optimize Your Nonprofit’s LinkedIn Profile

Before you do anything else, it’s important to have the correct kind of profile. Believe it or not, this quick and easy step is perhaps the most important. That’s because your profile is often where anybody interested in you will end up.

So how do you create a compelling one? First, you need a clear and concise description of your mission as well as any relevant keywords. You might also consider including visuals that get peoples’ attention. Overall, you want to ensure that your profile is aligned with your brand and instantly communicates your purpose to anyone who visits.

2) Provide Value

Like any other platform, you get what you give. Whether education or entertainment, it’s important as a nonprofit on LinkedIn that you don’t just ask for things. You want to prioritize giving instead. This is the essence of providing value.

One great way to do this is within LinkedIn groups. These groups are hubs of professionals and organizations with shared interests. Consider actively participating in LinkedIn groups by joining discussions, sharing your expertise, or simply connecting with other group members.

By consistently posting impactful content, you can position your nonprofit as a thought leader in your field. This will gradually, over time, build your audience. Which leads me to our next point…

3) Engage Your Audience With Regular Updates

The longer you use LinkedIn for your nonprofit, the more you will build an audience. While this is great, you have to make sure you engage with them. This is the only way you will keep their interest over the long term. There are a number of different things you can do to drive this engagement:

Regularly share updates and news related to your nonprofit’s industry
Post impactful stories of the people you have helped throughout your work
Encourage discussions by posing thoughtful questions and responding to comments

Remember: LinkedIn’s algorithm rewards consistent engagement. If you are serious about making the platform work for your nonprofit, keep this in mind.

4) Utilize LinkedIn Events For Campaigns

LinkedIn Events are a great way to promote and organize all sorts of virtual events. These can include campaigns, fundraisers, or even simply awareness drives. Every nonprofit can benefit from a virtual event done correctly, and LinkedIn Events are a great place to start.

And if you do run an event effectively? You can look forward to increased support, more engagement with whatever you do online, and an overall wider audience. This can create a snowball effect that positively impacts everything else you do.

5) Consider LinkedIn Advertising

Lastly, LinkedIn is a great platform for nonprofits looking to spend more time with paid advertising. Whether you want to get started with sponsored content or display ads, LinkedIn is a great tool that can help.

That’s largely due to the platform’s sophisticated demographic targeting. Want to reach nonprofit presidents with over a million dollars in annual funding? Or perhaps you’re looking for college students interested in volunteering opportunities? LinkedIn Advertising will help you reach them. Of course, be sure to check out some of the best practices of paid advertising before you get started!

…

Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide to High Converting Landing Pages

Posted on January 3, 2024April 15, 2024 by Eric Schenck

If your business has any kind of online presence, it’s essential to use landing pages. But what are they, why are they important, and how can you make sure they are as effective as possible?

Download Your PDF Version Of This Guide Here

These are the questions we are exploring in Lúgh Studio’s latest ultimate guide. We will also be providing you some insight into the kinds of tools you might consider using when creating landing pages. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s get started!

What is a Landing Page?

Why Are Landing Pages Important?

How to Create a High Converting Landing Page

Tools You Can Use

Conclusion

…

What Is A Landing Page?

At its most basic, a landing page is a website page that has a specific purpose: to convert people that land on it into a lead. The page will do this by asking people for their contact information in exchange for some kind of value. This is usually a lead magnet.

The contact information that people provide will typically be their email address. This makes it easy for the company to follow up with effective email marketing. However, a landing page can also ask for other contact options like somebody’s phone number.

The entire purpose of these landing pages is to gather leads. These are people that have an interest in whatever free value you offer, but that might need a little more convincing before they become a customer. If paying customers are the lifeblood of your business, and there are people out there that might become customers in the future, landing pages are how you bridge this gap.

Why Are Landing Pages Important?

We’ve already mentioned that landing pages are a great tool for collecting leads. But why not have a signup form anywhere on your website? Why not simply give people the option to sign up for your lead magnet on your home page?

While this is also a strategy you can consider as well, it’s not nearly as effective as a dedicated landing page. This brings us to the biggest benefit of a landing page: it eliminates distraction.

By having a page devoted to one thing and one thing only (getting people to input their contact information in exchange for something of value) you eliminate all other possible actions. No additional buttons to click, no videos to watch, no page to scroll down…the only thing to do is sign up.

Let’s be honest: when you are trying to generate leads, you don’t want to give people a lot of options. This is one of the reasons a landing page is often called a “squeeze page”: you are squeezing the visitor into either opting in or clicking out. Less options increases the odds that the person actually does what you want them to: signing up. Less distraction, less choice, and more leads for your company.

Of course, that’s just the psychology of a landing page. Let’s now look at some more tangible benefits to implementing more of them on your website:

More subscribers (which equals more customers). You’re in business to make money, and generating more leads is one of the most reliable ways to do that. For more information on reliably generating leads for your business, give our guide to lead generation a read.

More professional. A well-crafted landing page simply looks better than a homepage that has a ton of buttons. It’s simple, elegant, and easily understood. This has a ton of side benefits to it: you earn the trust of your visitors more quickly and build your number of leads as a result.
Simplified marketing. With just a few landing pages, there are less things to worry about. You aren’t trying to be everything to everyone. Instead, you are taking just a few things you offer (valuable lead magnets) and distributing them to the people that matter (people interested enough to sign up). This makes things easy for you. Plus, you can always share links to your landing pages anywhere on the internet. How’s that for efficiency?

Simply put, landing pages are a quick and effective way to generate more leads for your business. Plus, they’re actually quite easy to set up. Before getting into the tools that help you create them, though, let’s dive into some best practices. Follow these whenever you start setting them up and you set yourself up for success.

How to Create A High Converting Landing Page

1) Keep it simple

The entire reason that landing pages are so effective is their simplicity. By not asking people to do too much (and not giving them the option to) you are increasing the odds that they actually fill out the relevant form. This has been demonstrated countless times with people when given too much choice: they simply don’t act.

So what should your landing page look like? The most effective version of one will usually have just a few elements: some text explaining why they should sign up, some sort of value promised if they do (see next tip), a field for them to input their contact information, and a button they will click once they have. Simple, to-the-point, and completed quite quickly.

2) Provide a lead magnet

You see sign up forms all the time that simply ask people to sign up. Nothing in return, and no value delivered. This is an ineffective way to design landing pages and not very convincing at all. Indeed, you are asking people for their contact information and not really giving them anything in return. Not the best strategy!

That’s why you need to provide a free lead magnet. While this can be just about anything, it should try to solve a problem you know your audience has. Check out this guide from Hubspot for some interesting ideas.

3) Write compelling copy

A simple landing page with a solid lead magnet won’t perform well if your copy is poor. Landing pages are yet another example of how important good copywriting is to just about every aspect of your business.

Generally, your copy needs to be clear. Not only about what the person will receive upon signing up, but what comes after, as well. This means that you should direct the visitor to the next step (“Write your email address and click the button below”). In addition, it’s a good idea to use personal language (“Download your free guide here”). Check out this guide for more easy-to-implement copy tips.

4) Make your landing page responsive

Just as with your entire website, your landing pages need to be consistent across all devices and browsers. This is easy to forget, but you do so at your own expense. The fact is, as more and more of your site visitors visit your website on mobile, landing pages that don’t transfer over cost you leads (and future customers).

Be sure to always test your landing pages before going live. This guarantees that what you want it to look like is actually what’s presented to your audience.

5) Keep the sign up form above the fold

Ideally, your landing page should literally fit on one page without the need for the visitor to scroll. This increases the likelihood that the person actually signs up. It also gives the all the “need to know information” at a quick glance.

Of course, this isn’t always actually possible. Depending on how complicated your offer / lead magnet is, you may very well want to provide more information. However, even if you do, there should be at least one option to sign up at the very top (above the fold). This gives you the best chance for conversion, even if your landing page is relatively long.

6) Use a thank you page that matches the design of your landing page

You want to thank people for signing up. They have just trusted you with their contact information, and depending on how much they’ve interacted with your brand, might not know so much about you. That’s why it’s so important to include a thank you page.

Still, you don’t want just any page. Instead, it should match almost exactly the style and design of your landing page. This creates a kind of fluidity that your visitors will appreciate. Think about your own online activity: how would you feel if you signed up for somebody’s list, and then the page you saw directly after looked completely different from the original landing page? This is a “jarring” experience you want to avoid in order to retain the trust of your leads.

7) Be ready with effective email marketing

If you are using lead magnets, you are likely asking for email addresses. The people that sign up will therefore be added to your email service provider and you will communicate with them via email.

As for what this means? You need to have a plan for email! Indeed, if the entire goal of good landing pages is to get more email signups, your results will be a letdown if you don’t have email marketing in place that gradually builds a relationship with your leads.

Really, the importance of good email marketing here can’t be overstated. So think about it before you even get started. What kinds of emails will you send them? How often will you email them? What sort of automations will you add them to, and what is the goal of these automations in the first place? This especially is an important question to consider, so be sure to read our guide to the most important email automations.

Tools You Can Use

Now that you know why landing pages are so important, as well as some best practices for setting them up, what are some tools you can use?

While there are a quite a few options you might consider, here are just a few options:

Leadpages

With this tool, it’s quick and easy to make landing pages. This is due to Leadpages’ drag-and-drop editor. There are also great analytics you have access to with the tool so you know exactly what’s working and what’s not.

That said, there are certain elements that aren’t so easy to fine-tune. Still, Leadpages is quite affordable and a great option for most businesses.

Unbounce

Trusted by over 15,000 businesses and brands, Unbounce is a great option if you are looking to build professional looking landing pages. With a ton of options for templates that you can quickly implement, getting started is a breeze. Plus, with great options for A/B testing, you can always be testing new versions of landing pages.

One thing to look out for with Unbounce is sporadic problems with mobile responsiveness. This might not be such a big problem if you know most of your visitors are using a desktop, but this is usually a risk you shouldn’t take. Either way, the pros definitely outweigh the cons when it comes to Unbounce’s capabilities.

GetResponse

This is a great option if you are a business on a strict budget. That’s because GetResponse allows you to set your target list size and pay only based on what you actually need.

Plus, if you are planning on building landing pages with images (often a good idea), GetResponse gives you access to Shutterstock included. While these are only stock photos, they make your landing pages more interactive (and more effective).

Mailchimp

If you want a tool that not only allows you to build landing pages, but seamlessly integrates them with your email marketing, look no further than Mailchimp. As one of the leading email service providers, Mailchimp is your “one stop shop” for all things to do with landing pages. Simply connect them to your different email lists and you’re ready to go!

The main drawback with Mailchimp is that there’s a bit of a learning curve. The landing page builder isn’t as advanced as other tools and it will definitely take some getting used to. Still, assuming you learn the in’s and out’s of Mailchimp, it’s a powerful tool for building landing pages that convert.

Conclusion

Landing pages are a great way for any business to build their audience over time. They provide value to your site visitors and make it easy to generate ever more leads for your company.

Download Your PDF Version Of This Guide Here

Follow the tips in this guide and let us know if you ever have any questions!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide To Content Marketing In The Cannabis Industry

Posted on January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 by Eric Schenck

Content marketing will always be important. It’s how brands educate their followers, position themselves as an authority, and build up trust over time. Good and educational content marketing is a great long term strategy for building a bigger audience and attracting more customers.

Still, while the general usefulness of content marketing can’t be denied, it’s especially useful for companies in the cannabis space. Things are always changing in this industry, and it’s important to have a grasp of the essentials.

That’s exactly what we provide you in our latest ultimate guide. Below you will find information on why content marketing in the cannabis industry is so essential, ten tips on how to approach content creation intelligently, and a few resources for further education.

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

What Is Content Marketing In The Cannabis Industry?

Why Is Content Marketing In The Cannabis Industry So Important?

10 Tips for Effective Content Marketing In The Cannabis Industry

Recommended Resources

Conclusion

Let’s get started!

What Is Content Marketing In The Cannabis Industry?

Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in the Cannabis Industry

First, we need to understand what exactly content marketing in the cannabis industry looks like. This can be difficult to pinpoint at first. Basically, anything that educates (or entertains) your audience might be considered content. For more specifics, though, here is a list of possible topics:

Educational articles about different marijuana strains
Deep dives comparing cannabis consumption methods
Recipes for cannabis edibles
Lifestyle pieces about the broader cannabis culture
The results of surveys sent to your audience about various questions
Summarizing more academic studies about cannabis use
Comparison videos about different marijuana dispensaries

These are only a few topics that you might consider. Each brand in the cannabis industry will be slightly different with a unique audience that they serve. Use this list not as a hard and fast rule for your content marketing, but rather an inspirational list of what your content marketing might look like.

Now, let’s dive deeper into why exactly content marketing is so useful for the cannabis industry.

Why Is Content Marketing In The Cannabis Industry So Important?

As we have already pointed out, content marketing is useful for every organization. However, the unique challenges of the cannabis industry also create unique benefits of content marketing in the space. Here are some of the reasons content marketing is so important in the cannabis industry specifically:

Regulatory Challenges

Even as cannabis becomes more common across different countries and cultures, regulations can still be confusing. Take the United States as a great example. As of 2023, the U.S. allows cannabis use in 38 of 50 states for medical reasons. Of those, 24 also allow it for recreational use. This sounds straightforward enough, but there are almost always contradictions when it comes to laws across states. The same confusion exists in other countries.

This is a great reason for quality content creation: clearing up confusion for readers. Regulatory inconsistencies naturally cause hesitation regarding cannabis use. People using marijuana appreciate a high authority source to educate them. When it comes to regulatory challenges and other laws, you have a great opportunity to do just that.

Credibility And Trust

As cannabis use and laws regulating it grow and mature, consumers seek brands they can trust. This is natural no matter what the industry. However, given the stigma that still persists surrounding marijuana use, it’s even more essential in the cannabis industry.

If you’re a brand in the cannabis space, educational content is highly appreciated by your audience. It positions you as an authority in a sometimes confusing industry. It also builds trust over time and keeps your audience engaged over the long run. This sets you up not just for success now, but far into the future as well.

Connecting With A Diverse Audience

Gone are the days when you can stereotype the sort of person using cannabis. The fact is (especially in the United States) cannabis use has become much more socially acceptable. More people from more varied backgrounds are using it. This has created a consumer base that is much more diverse than the past.

Good content is a great way to connect with them. No matter who is part of your audience, there’s a good chance that they’ll be interested in high quality content. This is an essential aspect of content marketing in the cannabis industry.

Addressing Stigmas

Even as cannabis has become more accepted in various cultures, that’s not the case universally. There’s still a long way to go before the majority of people are ok with cannabis use (even if they don’t use it themselves). If we want to get there, education is key.

That’s where good content marketing can play a role. Cannabis carries a historical stigma, and likely will for some time. Thankfully, thoughtful (and respectful) content can destigmatize the plant. The right piece of content can present cannabis as a legitimate and beneficial part of many lifestyles. This is a big step in making it more accepted globally.

SEO Benefits

Lastly, good content in the cannabis industry is simply a great long term asset. As we point out in our guide to SEO, content marketing has a huge effect on a brand’s ability to be found online. Because we live in an increasingly digital world, this fact can’t be ignored.

Plus, as cannabis becomes more normalized, the competition will only increase. Brands that spend the time right now creating quality content are setting themselves to be competitive years from now.

Now that we understand why content marketing in the cannabis industry is so important, let’s see how you do it effectively.

10 Tips for Effective Content Marketing In The Cannabis Industry

1) Know Your Audience

One of the most important steps to good content marketing is knowing who you’re talking to. Who is your demographic? What do they look like, what are their daily habits, and how can you best serve them specifically? These are questions you can answer quickly when you know your audience.

Dive deep into market research. More and more people are using cannabis, and it pays to know who exactly they are. And remember – cannabis use is more and more widespread. Who your audience actually is might surprise you!

2) Educate Based On Experience

Cannabis consumers vary in experience. Just as their overall “demographic” will differ from one another, so too does their overall level of experience with cannabis. Some people have used it for years. Others, meanwhile, are just getting started. Do you want to appeal to as many people as possible? If you do, you need to vary the overall “depth” of your content.

Blog posts catered to beginner cannabis users? In-depth video tutorials on how to choose the right cannabis strain for long-time users? These can both play an important part in your overall content marketing plan.

3) Utilize Various Content Formats

Just like overall level of experience with cannabis, content format is an important consideration. Everybody consumes content. That said, the exact format of the content will almost always change. Quality content marketing for the cannabis industry takes this into account.

The solution? Diversifying your content with articles, videos, infographics, podcasts, and other formats to cater to different people. This diversification allows you to create content with maximum impact in mind. It also gives you the chance to approach topics you might not normally cover.

4) Leverage User-Generated Content

The power of community in the cannabis world cannot be overstated. Not only does it connect your audience to people with similar interests, but it gives you the chance to implement the power of user-generated content (USG). This content type can not only be highly engaging for your audience, but wins their trust faster than just about anything else.

So – how do you get started with USG? First, be sure to read up on USG best practices. This ensures you are approaching it with the right strategies in place. Once you have, get to work collecting user stories or testimonials. These will set your brand apart from everybody else.

5) Craft Compelling Stories

Cannabis use is an intensely personal activity. Even if people consume it in groups, their experience with it will always differ. This is one of the reasons stories are so important for good content marketing. The fact is, humans connect through narratives. Storytelling has the power to not only engage people, but connect them with others that have had similar experiences with cannabis. Pair this with the stigma that still exists surrounding cannabis use, and you start to see why the human side of your content is essential.

So, the million dollar question: what do you tell stories about? While each brand will differ, here are some cannabis topics that are particularly well-suited for stories:

The journey of your founders
How your brand has grown with legalization over time
The unique aspects of your cultivation process

6) Collaborate With Influencers

If you want to extend your reach with your content marketing, partnerships are a great way to do it. Influencer marketing is a fantastic way to build an audience, no matter what the industry. Cannabis included! That’s because you have the opportunity to put your content in front of many more people than you otherwise would.

Be sure to identify influencers whose values align with your own brand. This ensures that the cannabis users you are reaching with your content actually connect with your message.

7) Always Offer Value

No matter what kind of content marketing for the cannabis industry you invest in, it needs to be valuable. Are you teaching your audience how to pick the right strain? Maybe you’re comparing different smoking tools they can use? Or perhaps you educate people on how to grow their own cannabis?

No matter what the topic is, make sure your content provides value. What are the tangible takeaways? What useful insights can you share? This value-first approach to your content is essential. Not only does this keep them coming back for more, but it sets you apart from your competitors.

8) Engage In Thought Leadership

What does the future of cannabis cultivation look like? How does cannabis differ from other substances, and what are the benefits people can expect to experience if they use it? Will the stigma surrounding marijuana continue in the future, or are we entering an era where more and more people accept it?

These are all questions you can answer in the content you create. While content marketing in the cannabis industry can often be more lighthearted, it doesn’t have to be. And if you are trying to appeal to a more serious segment of your audience – it shouldn’t be. Try creating longer authoritative pieces of content. These can include case studies or white papers. Not only is this an effective form of lead generation, but it’s a great way to create evergreen assets that aid in your content marketing for years to come.

9) Adapt To Industry Trends

How are people using cannabis? Are there any new trends happening in the industry? This might include anything from the kind of cannabis people use to how exactly they consume it. And if there are changing trends – how exactly can you capitalize on it?

No matter the industry, there are always new fads popping up. The cannabis industry is no different. Trends in cannabis consumption, culture, and technology are a constant, and addressing them can significantly impact your content’s effectiveness. It makes you both interesting and relevant to your audience. This ensures they repeatedly come back to you when they want to learn about any new cannabis developments.

That said, as essential as staying relevant is, it’s equally important to always keep our last tip in mind…

10) Stay Compliant

None of the tips above mean much if you are breaking laws. As we point out in the beginning, there are still inconsistencies in cannabis regulation. What is ok in one place, might not be in another. That’s why you have to ensure your content marketing is compliant.

Given the regulatory landscape, ensure all content complies with regional laws. You should steer clear of any claims that could put this compliance at risk. Work closely with legal experts to navigate this regulatory environment successfully. As always, stay on top of compliance in content no matter what new content you are marking.

Recommended Resources

Just like all of our ultimate guides, we want to leave you with a list of recommended resources. While further education is always important, no matter what industry you are in, it’s especially essential with the cannabis industry. Things are always changing. In the United States alone, for example, regulations across states are always in flux.

With that in mind, here are a few additional resources that will improve your content marketing for the cannabis industry:

1) Leafly

This is a platform with information on different strains and marijuana sales opportunities. It also has a lot more of what you might consider “lifestyle content” – posts on the latest trends in the cannabis world. This is a great resource for cannabis enthusiasts and gives you a good idea of the sort of content people are looking for.

2) Weedmaps

A blog that has all kinds of marijuana-related news. From the latest in regulation development, to gift recommendations for cannabis users, Weedmaps is a great example of what engaging content in this industry looks like. Use this website if you want to gain valuable insights for both consumers and businesses alike.

3) National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA)

Founded in 2010, NCIA is the oldest (and largest) trade association serving the cannabis industry. The NCIA advocates for small businesses in the cannabis industry, and is fundamental in advancing policy reforms year after year. Consider membership if you want support in everything you do.

4) Cannabis Business Times

Lastly, this publication covers everything business-related in the cannabis industry. This includes not only the latest business trends, but things like cultivation practices and regulatory updates as well. If you are a cannabis entrepreneur, the Cannabis Business Times offers practical tips and insights that you won’t want to miss!

Conclusion

Content marketing in the cannabis industry can be confusing. That said, with the right information and consistent action, it doesn’t have to be.

Keep this guide as a handy reference for your own content creation. This will ensure you approach all your content creation efforts not only more intelligently, but with more efficiency as well.

Good luck, and let us know if you ever have any questions!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

ESG At Nonprofits: What It Is + 5 Tips

Posted on December 21, 2023December 21, 2023 by Eric Schenck

ESG, which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, is increasingly important in the world of nonprofit organizations. Not only are nonprofits increasingly shouldering more responsibility for ethical prioritization, but people want to see it, too.

Today we talk about what exactly ESG is and why it’s so important. We also give you five tips. These actionable tips show you how to implement more ESG considerations at your own nonprofit.

Let’s get started!

What Is ESG?

ESG is a way of thinking that allows nonprofits to consider socially responsible practices in their everyday actions. ESG isn’t just about empty promises, but rather a way of doing things that has an outsized impact on the world surrounding a nonprofit.

Depending on which part of the acronym you focus on, the implications for organizations can be quite varied. Let’s cover each part of ESG in turn:

E / Environmental: This includes every aspect of the environment and how an organization positively or negatively impacts it. Most importantly, this involves an organization’s total carbon footprint and whether or not they implement certain eco-friendly practices. Crucially, it’s also cause to consider whether a nonprofit partners with organizations that are also eco-friendly.
S / Social: If anything, “social” can be expanded to “social responsibility.” This involves everything from the communities that a nonprofit serves, to the diversity that they strive for. “Social” can entail quite a few things, and will be shaped by the mission of any individual nonprofit.
G / Governance: While the most vague, “governance” is perhaps the most important of the three. This is essentially the way that a nonprofit goes about achieving its goals. Do they have meticulous reporting? Are they transparent in everything that they do? Do they have ethical goals, and most importantly, do they consistently strive towards them?

Why Is ESG Important?

As for why exactly ESG is important? Well, an organization that lets environmental, social, and governance become a daily working consideration is more likely to act in an ethical way. From taking care of the environment, to treating people fairly, ESG creates a game plan by which an organization can act ethically.

This has huge implications for everything it does in the future. These days, people don’t just want a nonprofit to have an impact – they want the impact to be as sustainable as possible. An organization aligned with ESG values, for example, will think twice before enacting a policy that has a net negative environmental impact.

Interested in implementing more ESG into your own brand? Read on for actionable tips on how your organization can act with ESG in mind.

ESG At Nonprofits: 5 Tips

1) Integrate ESG Into Strategic Planning

What are your organization’s main goals? What do you want to achieve in the coming year? Which goals did you fall short on in 2023, and how can you make sure that you don’t in 2024? These are all questions that are great areas for ESG planning. This might involve setting goals for sustainability, planning to reduce your overall environmental impact, or implementing practices with high ethical standards.

End-of-year planning is also a great time to consider these questions. What are the values you want your organization to live by, and how can you make that a reality?

2) Transparent Reporting

Just because you’re planning to implement more ESG goals into your year, doesn’t necessarily mean that you will. This is where reporting can be useful. The fact is, if you want to be successful when it comes to ESG, your nonprofit must establish a system for tracking (and quantifying) EG metrics.

The first thing to determine is what you will measure. What are the main key performance indicators (KPIs) that you need to measure. What, when measured, can you consider a “job well done” for ESG? Once you start measuring this, make sure you share the results with your team. Only when everybody is on the same page can you make meaningful and consistent progress towards ESG.

3) Employee Education And Engagement

It all starts with your own people. Remember: none of this is a top-down initiative. Instead, it is a collective responsibility that everybody is responsible for. Organizations that are serious about this need to invest in comprehensive employee education programs. This ensures that each staff member understands why ESG is important and how their role contributes.

Beyond understanding this, actual engagement is crucial. Encourage your employees to propose and actively participate in ESG initiatives. This leads to a higher sense of ownership and shared values. The result? A team that collectively makes progress on its ESG goals together.

4) Partner With Like-minded Organizations

Never go it alone. If you are serious about ESG, and want to make it an integral part of your goals throughout the year, it’s important that you work with others. That said, it’s important that you work with the right organizations.

First, think about what you are going to do. Do you want to run social media campaigns with another organization? Perhaps you’ll start diving into the world of influencer marketing? Regardless of what you do, it’s essential that you work with like-minded organizations.

5) Regular ESG Audits

ESG integration is an evolving process. It’s not enough to set a goal and then leave it. Rather, like transparent reporting, you need to make sure you are constantly monitoring it.

Regular audits allow nonprofits to assess their ESG performance in a comprehensive way. The insight they give you can lead to a better understanding of possible areas of improvement and general refinements to your overall strategy. This leads to a culture of continuous improvement and makes ESG initiatives a more normalized part of your nonprofit throughout the year.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

9 End-Of-Year Questions For Nonprofits

Posted on December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by Eric Schenck

As the year draws to a close, nonprofits have a great time to reflect on the past 12 months. While this reflection can come in many forms, one practice that’s especially helping is asking end-of-year questions.

These questions force a nonprofit to take an objective look at the entire year. In this way, and by working together to find answers, your team can get a better idea of how “successful” the year really was. It’s also crucially a great way to prepare for the year ahead.

With this in mind, we’ve gathered none of our favorite end-of-year questions. While different people might have different answers, answering these questions at the end of December can be a great exercise for your entire team. We hope these questions guide you into a successful 2024!

9 Important End-Of-Year Questions For Nonprofits

1) Did We Achieve Our Annual Goals?

What were your plans for the year? Did you achieve them? If not, where did you fall short? What are you able to do to make sure you are successful?

It’s obvious why your team needs to spend time with this end-of-year question. Every nonprofit has goals, and you want to be sure that you are achieving them. Additionally, this question is important because it helps you reflect on the overall goals you made. What goals were useful to strive for? Which ones are better to not focus on, or change entirely?

2) What Impact Did We Make?

Regardless of the goals you had, the true measure of success is impact. Of course, this question can be tricky to answer. What is considered “impact?” Total funds raised? People helped? Total events that you were a part of?

So how do you do this? The first thing is to go over what you actually can measure. This includes going over any data that you have, and checking out which campaigns of yours performed especially well. You should also talk to different members of your team. They will have unique insight into the different kinds of impact your organization has had throughout the year.

3) Did We Engage Our Community Effectively?

A strong community is foundational to a nonprofits success. This ensures that you are building a reputation as a community that actually cares about its audience. It’s also a great way to drive more attention to your various marketing campaigns.

Thankfully, measuring community engagement is relatively easy to do. Be sure to review your various social media metrics and the results of any outreach campaigns. As for one of the best ways to engage with people? Consider running an event that people will remember!

4) How Effective Were Our Fundraising Efforts?

Let’s be honest: as important as your mission is, you will fall short if you don’t have the funds coming in. This is a fundamental reality for nonprofits everywhere. That’s why a great end-of-year question is addressing your overall fundraising efforts.

This should be relatively straightforward to answer. First, how many donations did you bring in? This is your baseline, and the first thing you should measure. Second, how many different channels did you use for your various fundraisers? Lastly, which campaigns performed especially well? Once you find that out – how can you repeat them in the new year?

5) What Were Our Key Challenges?

Challenges are a natural part of running a nonprofit. Still, it’s important not to view them in purely negative terms. Instead, they are a great chance to reflect on why things were so difficult, and how you might change that in the new year. Was your team somehow unprepared? Or perhaps you need to train for specific skills, like working knowledge of ChatGPT.

Just as importantly – did you overcome these challenges? How did you act in the face of adversity? This end-of-year question is an excellent opportunity to make your nonprofit even more well-rounded.

6) What Was Your Most Important Achievement Of The Year?

Just as important as reflecting on your challenges is taking the time to acknowledge your wins. While you probably have several, it’s beneficial to think about what your “number 1” was. This can give you an insight into what your team prioritizes.

Was it an especially successful fundraiser? Maybe your team landed a new big name donor? Or perhaps it was the number of people you helped? Regardless of which specific achievement you decide was your most important, make sure you spend time with this end-of-year question. It helps you see where you have succeeded, and gives you time to think about how you can replicate that success.

7) How Did We Manage Our Resources?

Every organization has limited resources. This includes both time, workers, budget, and skill sets. The important thing is not necessarily gaining more resources – but effectively working with what you have.

With that in mind, answering this question can be a great way to discover how efficient you were. Where did you achieve this resource efficiency, and where can you improve? Work on this as a team and you will quickly discover opportunities for better resource optimization.

8) What Lessons Did We Learn?

While admittedly somewhat vague, this end-of-year question is invaluable. It’s great to think about what you did. Indeed, many of these nine questions address exactly that.

But it shouldn’t stop there. Just as important (and perhaps even more important for long-term success) is what your team learned. These are hard-earned lessons that you can apply to the new year and beyond. And the real benefit? Almost everybody on your team will have different answers. Make time to answer this across your entire organization, and you set yourself up for even more success in the future.

9) Are We Prepared for the Future?

Lastly, this end-of-year question sets you up to think about the future. While it’s great to reflect on what you’ve already done, it’s essential to always be looking forward. This is essential for any long-term marketing plans you might have.

What are your plans for the next year? What do you want to do differently? Where have you failed or underperformed in 2023, and how can you step things up in 2024? These are all essential questions to reflect on when you are doing your end-of-year reflecting. That’s because the answers are fundamental to addressing future challenges.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Visual Storytelling In Nonprofit Marketing

Posted on December 7, 2023December 7, 2023 by Eric Schenck

Increasingly, people are driven to action by compelling pictures and videos. Often, text on its own is simply not enough. This is why visual storytelling in nonprofit marketing can be so powerful.

Today, we are covering why visual storytelling is such an effective strategy for nonprofits. We also include five tips to keep in mind if you want to get

Why Visual Storytelling In Nonprofit Marketing Is Important

Generally, storytelling is a great marketing strategy. Pair it with a quality visual component, and it’s even more effective. Here are four reasons why visual storytelling is so important for nonprofits – and why they need to take it seriously:

Emotional Resonance: Visual storytelling has the unique ability to evoke emotions. Use powerful images or videos, and you affect the viewer on a deeper emotional level. This leads to quicker connection, empathy and understanding.
Memorability: Looking to actually get remembered? Visual storytelling is how you do it. People have increasingly smaller attention spans. If you want to stand out (and for people to actually remember your nonprofit), great stories told visually are a great place to start.
Global Accessibility: If you are a larger nonprofit that is trying to reach people around the world, a language barrier is inevitable. That is – if you rely exclusively on the written word. This is where visual storytelling can help. A well-crafted image or video can convey your organization’s mission without the need for translation. This allows you to reach a global audience.
Inspires Action: The online world is bombarded with information. If you want people to act, your message needs to stand out. Visual storytelling is how you can make this happen. The more emotionally powerful your story, and the deeper you affect your audience, the more likely they are going to act on what they see.

Visual storytelling makes people feel things in a way few other mediums can. It is emotionally impactful. It makes your organization stand out, and gives people the extra push they need to take action.

Now that we know why it’s important, let’s dive into specific strategies for visual storytelling.

5 Tips For Visual Storytelling In Nonprofit Marketing

1) Know Your Audience

This is perhaps foundational knowledge to any type of marketing you want to do. The fact is, if you want to connect more deeply with your visual storytelling, you need to know who you are speaking to. This is how you ensure your storytelling actually resonates with your target audience.

You might also conduct audience research. This is how you come to understand them more deeply and is a great starting point for crafting effective stories. Once you do, you will understand the kinds of stories they most want to see. Start creating them based on this insight.

2) Leverage Social Media Platforms

Social media marketing is great for a number of reasons. First, it’s where people spend time. If you want to reach your audience, social media platforms are a great place to do it. It’s also well-suited to videos and images. This visual component is an essential part of social media’s very nature. This all makes it particularly effective for visual storytelling in nonprofit marketing.

That said, make sure you are tailing your visuals to the particular platform for maximum effectiveness. This ensures that people are seeing the kind of content they actually want to consume.

3) Encourage User-Generated Content

As important as it is for your audience to actually see the people you help, user generated content (UGC) can also be effective. In the context of a nonprofit, UGC can be anything from videos made by volunteers to pictures posted by donors. Authenticity is the name of the game here. UGC can play a vital role in visual storytelling because it shows people the real side of your nonprofit. You’re not a faceless organization. Instead, you are made up (and helped) by real people.

You can also encourage supporters to contribute their own content. Not only will this diversify your narrative, but it fosters a sense of community as well.

4) Create Compelling Videos

It’s undebatable: video is on the rise. More and more people consume video as their preferred type of content, and the numbers will only continue to increase. If you’re serious about visual storytelling, you need to invest properly in video. Be sure to check out best practices for video marketing. This makes it more likely that you create videos that are both compelling and convincing.

As for the types of videos you make? As a nonprofit, you have a ton of different options. Consider videos that showcase the journey of your nonprofit, share success stories, and most importantly, create videos that showcase the people that you have helped. This is usually the most compelling for your audience.

5) Link It To Action

The reason you are investing in visual storytelling at your nonprofit is to get people to act. As great as your video might be, if it’s not attached to a clear goal, it’s often simply not worth the time. This is why you need to have a “next step” in mind for every piece of content you create. Is this signing up for your email list? Maybe it’s a more direct call to make a donation? Or perhaps you are looking for volunteers, and the action you want them to take is filling out an application.

Whatever it may be, a clear next action for your audience to take is essential. This makes things clear and understandable for your audience, and brings your organization closer to its ultimate goals.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

From Lúgh Pros #1: Google Ad Grants

Posted on December 5, 2023April 16, 2024 by Eric Schenck

For nonprofits that want to amplify their online presence and impact, Google Ad Grants is a vital tool. But what is it exactly, and how can you use it most effectively at your own nonprofit?

These are the questions we answer in our latest Ultimate Guide. We also go over some of our favorite resources for further education. Enjoy!

This is the first guide in our “From Lúgh Pros” series. In this series we not only educate you about topics important to nonprofits, but give you valuable insight from our team of industry experts!

What Is Google Ad Grants?
Why Is Google Ad Grants Important?
How To Get Started
13 Tips For Using Google Ad Grants Effectively
Recommended Resources
Conclusion

What Is Google Ad Grants?

Google Ad Grants is an initiative by Google that allows eligible nonprofits to advertise for free on the Google Ads platform. With a cap of $10,000 a month, nonprofits have the power to broadcast their messages to a global audience. This significantly boosts their visibility and outreach efforts.

Of course, it’s important that nonprofits taking advantage of this budget run effective ads. This is exactly what we cover in our “13 Tips” section further down.

Why Is Google Ad Grants Important?

There are two reasons Google Ad Grants can be so important for nonprofits: visibility and targeting. Firstly, it gives nonprofits the ability to enhance their online presence without shouldering a substantial financial burden. This is essential, because many nonprofits don’t have a lot of extra cash to spend on advertising. This allows them to attract a larger audience to their website and foster engagement, further advancing their mission.

Secondly (and perhaps most importantly) Google Ad Grants allows targeted advertising. It’s not simply a case of throwing up an ad for anybody to see, but reaching people most likely to care about your cause. This can be powerful for a nonprofit that’s searching for the people most likely to donate to a campaign. It’s also a chance to attract more volunteers if a nonprofit needs them.

How To Get Started

The process for getting started with Google Ad Grants is quite simple. Here the few steps you need to go through if you’re ready to get started:

Sign into Google for Nonprofits. If you don’t already have an account, you will need to make one.
Click “Get Started” under Google Ad Grants.
Enter the website that you plan on using, and click “Submit Website.”
Watch the welcome video, and click the checkbox to confirm that you have.
Click “Submit Activation Request” to submit your activation for review.

You will receive an email shortly after that with further instructions. The review process takes between 3-5 business days. After that you will receive information on whether you have been approved or not.

13 Tips For Using Google Ad Grants Effectively

Now that we know what Google Ad Grants is, why it’s important for nonprofits, and how you can get started, let’s dive into some of our best tips. All 13 tips you will read below are selected with one goal in mind: to make your Google Ad Grants campaigns as effective as possible.

As always, any single one will give you better results. That said, the more you try to act on these tips, the more success you will have!

1) Strategic Keyword Selection

First, as with all paid ads, it’s essential that you pick the correct keywords. You should begin the process with comprehensive keyword research. While there are plenty of tools you can use, Google Keyword Planner is a great place to start. You should be looking for keywords that are not only relevant to your campaign, but which can also be high-converting. Be sure to avoid single and overly generic keywords. Often, because of competition, the more specific the better!

2) Compelling Ad Copy

Just because your keywords are good doesn’t guarantee a quality ad. This is where effective copywriting comes in. The copy you use to create your ad (whether it’s the headline, video script, or ad text) should resonate emotionally with your audience. Try to highlight the tangible impact of supporting your nonprofit. This might include persuasive language or focusing on the urgency and importance of your cause. Even if you don’t do well on the rest of our tips, solid copy can save an ad.

3) Interesting Visuals

Of course, it’s not just words that are going to grab (and keep) somebody’s attention. You also need to consider the images that you use. Your visuals should evoke emotions from your ad viewers and tell a compelling visual story about your nonprofit’s impact. It’s worth your time to invest in high-quality and authentic visuals. You can also test different types of visuals. This might include photographs, infographics, or illustrations. This is all part of human psychology and the visuals that people naturally gravitate towards.

4) Geo Targeting

Creating ads with a “geo targeting” strategy essentially means showing different kinds of ads based on the location of the viewer. The goal is to be hyper-relevant to the people seeing your ads. As for how you do this? Be sure you are utilizing location-specific keywords and ad copy. Also consider the cultural nuances of different regions. This will help you tailor your messaging to diverse audiences and make adjustments based on data insights.

5) Optimized Landing Pages

For a seamless user experience, consider diving deep into landing page optimization. One of the most important things you can strive for is “alignment.” This means making the content and style of your landing pages similar to that of your ads. This means you must not only create a persuasive narrative with your ads, but ensure a smooth “user journey” through them. Also be sure to implement clear and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) that lead to your landing pages. This brings me to my next point…

6) Extensive A/B Testing

A comprehensive A/B testing strategy will allow you to continually optimize your campaigns. This is the quickest way to ensure that you are constantly working towards an ad that performs well. Be sure that you are experimenting with different variations. This can include anything from your headline and ad copy, to visuals and calls-to-action. Be sure to implement A/B tests systematically, focusing on one variable at a time. This makes it easier to accurately identify the elements that contribute to campaign success.

7) Mobile Optimization

No surprise here. If you are doing anything online (ads included), mobile optimization should be a priority. There is a growing number of users accessing the internet via mobile devices, which means a large portion of people seeing your ad will be doing so on a phone. Mobile optimization requires a number of important steps. Optimize load times, streamline navigation, and test the mobile responsiveness of your campaigns to maximize engagement.

8) Regular Performance Analysis

You need a routine that ensures you are constantly checking your ads’ performance. This not only gives you the best chances for success across your ads, but will also give you actionable insights. Utilize Google Analytics (more information in tip #11) and Google Ads data to identify successful strategies and areas for improvement. This will allow you to get a baseline understanding of the kinds of numbers you should be shooting for. One thing we’ve learned, for example, is to aim for a minimum click-through-rate of 5%.

9) Conversion Tracking

Once you are regularly analyzing your performance, you will start improving your conversion tracking as well. This is essential for the success of your campaigns. It’s especially important for accounts created after 2018 or using “smart bidding” strategies. Of course, it’s important to be clear on what counts as a conversion. The most common conversion for a campaign using Google Ad Grants will be a donation. You might also consider signing a petition, joining an informative webinar, or deciding to volunteer. Regularly review conversion data to optimize your campaigns for maximum impact.

10) Ad Extensions

Ad extensions can provide additional context and drive further user interaction. You might consider experimenting with site link extensions to direct users to specific pages on your website. And if you do, try to use at least two of them. From our experience, this seems to be the sweet spot for best results. Regularly review and update your ad extensions to align with your campaign goals.

11) Google Analytics

Google Ad Grants functions much better when fully integrated with Google Analytics. That’s because GA gives you comprehensive insights into user behavior. It’s important, of course, that you know how to use the tool most effectively. Be sure that you set up goals and events in Google Analytics to track specific interactions on your website. This will give you insight into your audience, which allows you to make strategic decisions when adjusting your campaigns.

12) Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic ads allow you to change the content of your ads based on the viewer. One example is allowing Google to dynamically generate a different headline based on a users’ search query. This not only enhances the relevancy of your ads, but makes you more efficient while creating them as well. Regularly review search terms reports so that you are able to stay on top of the overall effectiveness of your ads.

13) Ad Grants Policies Compliance

None of the above tips matter much if you aren’t compliant with Google’s policies. Violate any essential rules, and you risk having your account suspended. Regardless of what else you do, you need to ensure constant (and meticulous) compliance. Regularly review policy updates. Also be sure that you make any necessary adjustments to your campaigns to maintain eligibility to the program. One last important piece of information: compliance with the annual program survey is also mandatory. Click here for more information.

Recommended Resources

If you want to take full advantage of Google Ad Grants you need to stay informed. While our Ultimate Guide is a great place to start, further education is essential. With that in mind, we’ve gathered three additional resources you might consider checking out.

Google Ad Grants Help Center

While Google Ad Grants can be amazing for nonprofits, it’s not always “user friendly.” This is unavoidable. The fact is, it’s a huge program capable of running millions of dollars of ads daily, and the perceived complexity of the program reflects this.

Thankfully, the Help Center is always there to help. Here you will find a wealth of resources crafted by Google designed to guide you through Google Ad Grants. This includes everything from common tips to in-depth tutorials showing you the in’s and out’s of the program. Be sure to check it out if you are serious about making Google Ad Grants work for you.

Google Analytics Academy

While not strictly necessary to running effective ads, Google Analytics can certainly be helpful. Used right, the tool gives you valuable insight into your audience like few other tools can. Indeed, that’s why we recommend learning how to use Google Analytics effectively in our section on tips.

That said, the tool can seem quite complicated. With that in mind, the Academy is a great place to get started. Here you will find all the most important information you need to not only understand Google Analytics, but to use it most effectively.

Google For NonProfits YouTube Channel

If you are a visual learner, be sure to check out this YouTube channel. This is a dedicated space for all things related to Google Ad Grants.

While the channel is not always super active, there is a wealth of knowledge here for anybody working at a nonprofit. It’s also important to know that just watching a few of these videos can give you great ideas for your own Google Ad Grants campaigns!

Conclusion

Google Ad Grants is a great option for nonprofits that want to get into ads, but don’t necessarily have the budget for it. Take advantage of the program, and do it effectively, and a larger audience (and more donations) are yours for the taking.

Let us know if you have any questions. As the first topic in our “From Lúgh Pros” series, Google Ads Grants is a program we have extensive experience with!

ChatGPT For Nonprofits: 6 Ways To Use It

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Eric Schenck

We’ve all heard of ChatGPT. It seems like every week there is a new story about a company finding a new and creative way to implement the tool. But can you also use ChatGPT for nonprofits?

Most certainly! The fact is, regardless of your organization, ChatGPT is a wonderful tool – if you know how to use it.

Today we are going to give you six different ways you might consider using ChatGPT at your nonprofit. Like any other tool, the most important thing is to actually use it. This blog post is just for suggestions, and you never know what idea you might have once you start playing around with it.

ChatGPT For Nonprofits: 6 Ways To Use It

1) Draft Grant Proposals

The grant proposal process is important for many nonprofits. This is how they get a lot of their funding from bigger organizations, and it’s a process that can’t simply be skipped over. Still, drafting a grant proposal can be a huge endeavor. There are a ton of steps you have to go through, and often it will take up the time of numerous people.

Thankfully, the entire process becomes more efficient with ChatGPT. Provide the key information about your project to the tool By feeding the model key information about your project, it can assist in crafting comprehensive and compelling narratives that align seamlessly with grant guidelines. This use case not only saves time but also enhances the quality and persuasiveness of your proposals, increasing the likelihood of securing vital funding.

2) Plan Events

Planning an event is not only stressful, but time-consuming. There are tons of tasks that need to be crossed off, and the bigger the planned event, the more that work increases. Use ChatGPT, and this all becomes much more manageable. Not only can the tool provide helpful time-saving suggestions, but also lets you organize the planning phase.

This is just as relevant if you are planning a virtual event. The fact is, any event will have a lot of moving parts that you need to coordinate. ChatGPT can help make it happen. From making a list of responsibilities for all people involved, to creating a followup email automation for all attendees, the tool allows you to cross off essential actions in record time. Just make sure that you are crystal clear when describing your event and overall goals – this is the information that ChatGPT will use to help you plan it.

3) Personalize Donor Engagement

Relationships with your donors are your lifeblood as a nonprofit. Your donors are the people and organizations that support your cause, and it’s only their contribution that lets you do the work you do. If there’s anything that you are going to improve with the use of ChatGPT, let it be your donor engagement.

While better donor engagement is a nuanced process, ChatGPT can help you achieve it at scale. By analyzing donor data, for example, the tool will be able to suggest and create personalized interactions. This ranges from tailored content updates to more specific engagement strategies. The result? A deeper, more meaningful connection between you and your supporters.

4) Analyze Data And Create Reports

A nonprofit that wants to grow must take data analysis seriously. This is how you make important decisions based on fact instead of feeling. Still, it’s hard to know where to start. Deep and effective data analysis, because of the learning curve, is often something nonprofits ignore. So how can you get started?

ChatGPT can certainly help. From campaign performance metrics to donor demographics, giving ChatGPT access to your data can result in valuable insights. These insights can directly inform your decision-making and make your actions much more strategic. Keep in mind: the real power of ChatGPT comes from asking it to offer suggestions. Simply give the tool access to your data, and ask it to come to conclusions. This is much more likely to avoid the bias we are all guilty of, and to leave you with actionable advice.

5) Translate Marketing For Global Reach

Depending on how big your nonprofit is, there’s a good chance that you interact with donors from several different countries. This is especially true with your web presence. The fact is, your website will be the first point of contact many people have with your nonprofit. This calls attention to the need for various translations.

ChatGPT is a great starting point for this. Because the tool can translate from English into numerous languages, ChatGPT is a great place to start with your marketing translation. This might include your emails, any ads you run, and even something as large as your website. Make sure to consult a professional service after you have a draft ready, though. While ChatGPT is highly effective in its translation, it’s certainly not perfect!

6) Optimize Project Management

Effective collaborative project management is much easier to achieve when using ChatGPT. Simply integrate the tool with your project management processes and you will be much more organized across teams. This ensures that team members can interact in real-time, discuss project goals, and stay aligned on objectives.

The real power here is in how ChatGPT can help you with your creative processes. You’re not only managing the various projects your nonprofit works on. Use ChatGPT properly, and you can also make suggestions from the tool a new part of your working process. This ensures not only that things get done, but that your everyday tasks are optimized for effect.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Web Design For Nonprofits: 5 Tips

Posted on November 16, 2023November 16, 2023 by Eric Schenck

The significance of a compelling online presence cannot be overstated for nonprofits seeking to amplify their impact. A well-designed website is not just about aesthetics. It also serves as a powerful tool for communicating your mission, engaging supporters, and driving meaningful action. That’s why website design for nonprofits is so essential.

Today we will share specific reasons why website design should be a priority for nonprofits. We also cover five tips you can start implementing immediately for a better online experience for donors.

Why Web Design for Nonprofits Is Important

It’s easy to think that web design shouldn’t be a priority for everyone. For-profit businesses, yes. But what can a nonprofit organization stand to gain?

The fact is, for any organization, company or business that has an online presence, web design is crucial. Your website is often the first impression that somebody has of you. Fail here, and every other goal you have becomes more difficult. Succeed, and everything becomes easier.

Here are just a few effects of a great web design for a nonprofit:

Builds credibility. A well-structured and visually appealing website is a given for professional nonprofits. Neglect your web design, and people will find it difficult to take your organization seriously.
Instills confidence. Who wants to donate to an organization that neglects their own website? The first step to building a relationship with a potential donor is a positive online interaction with your brand. A great site is the first step.
Drives more donations. The above two reasons combine to drive the third one: more donations. Let’s be honest – a nonprofit is dependent on the donations it receives from donors. A poor website that is difficult to use (and worse to look at) simply can’t maximize the donations it receives.

Clearly, you should take web design seriously as a nonprofit. Now that we know why, let’s cover five ways to maximize the effect of your website.

5 Web Design Tips For Nonprofits

1) Prioritize User-Centric Navigation

Nobody wants to spend time on a website that is difficult to use. And the less time people are on your website, the less likely they are to actually donate. So – how do you create a website based on user-centric navigation? The golden rule is to organize your website content in an intuitive way. Consider the user journey a visitor might take, and ensure that all essential information is easily accessible. You might also consider these elements:

Clear navigation menus
Concise but informative headings
Lack of clutter

User-centric design fosters engagement and ensures that visitors find what they’re looking for effortlessly.

2) Optimize Calls-to-Action (CTA’s)

Good CTA’s are a direct part of user-centric navigation. Done well, they guide visitors in the way you want them to move throughout your site, turning their interest into tangible actions. Because of that, they are an essential ingredient to good web design for nonprofits.

For effective CTA’s, clearly define the actions you want visitors to take. This might include making a donation, subscribing to your newsletter, or even signing up for a volunteering opportunity. You should also place your CTA’s in strategic places so they grab attention. The copywriting you use for them is also important. Use compelling language that inspires action and communicates the urgency of their action (whatever it may be).

3) Tell Compelling Stories Through Visuals

We’ve talked before about the power of storytelling. People are naturally more convinced by a message backed by a story. Perfect the art of storytelling, and the sky’s the limit for how many donations you can drive.

Still, if you are going to implement storytelling in a way that doesn’t crowd your web design, visuals are essential. Visual storytelling not only captures attention but leaves a lasting impression, turning visitors into advocates for your mission. As for how you do this? Take advantage of the power of compelling images, infographics, and videos. Showcase the real impact of your work, humanize your cause, and create an emotional connection with your audience. These things are more effective at storytelling than words alone, and should be used to their maximum potential.

4) Make Things Look Good On Mobile

You need to optimize for mobile. There’s simply no way around this. With a growing number of users accessing websites via mobile devices, optimizing your site for various screen sizes is imperative. As WebFX states, over 50% of all traffic is generated from mobile phones. Neglect this reality and your nonprofit will suffer because of it.

Responsive design ensures that your content remains visually appealing and easily navigable across all devices. The obvious effect of this is a better user experience, which keeps potential donors coming back to your website. In addition, mobile optimization positively impacts search engine rankings, which makes it easier for new people to discover your nonprofit online.

5) Design With Inclusivity In Mind

Not all of your site visitors will come from the same demographic. The fact is, you have all sorts of people interacting with your website. To fully take this into account, inclusive web design is a must.

What this means is ensuring that your website is accessible to users of all abilities. Adhere to accessibility standards by providing alternative text for images, using legible fonts, and incorporating high color contrast. A more inclusive design not only broadens your reach but also aligns with the values of diversity and equality. This will ensure that your web design is welcome to everyone. Plus, because inclusivity is not necessarily top-of-mind for all nonprofits, this step can set you above the pack in the minds of donors.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Zapier For Nonprofits

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Eric Schenck

In many ways, Zapier is the king of automation. It allows you to seamlessly connect hundreds of different softwares and platforms, making all sorts of manual tasks near instant. However, most of the time you will hear how you can use the tool for private businesses. Have you ever wondered how you can use Zapier for nonprofits?

Today we are giving you a crash course in this exact topic. We will cover why exactly Zapier is so useful for nonprofits. After this we’ll give you a few tips on how you can most effectively implement the tool at your own organization. Let’s dive in!

Three Reasons Zapier Is Important For Nonprofits

While there are numerous reasons Zapier can be so handy at a nonprofit, we’ve narrowed it down to what we think are the most important. Here are three benefits to keep in mind about the tool:

Save Time

Perhaps the most important part of Zapier is how much time it can save you. This is what most businesses use it for; saving time is also its biggest benefit to nonprofits. Think about how many routine (yet important) tasks there are at your organization. Usually, somebody is spending their valuable time to complete them. How could they more valuably use this time if it was freed up? This is exactly what Zapier allows for, and makes your entire organization more efficient as a result.

Improve Donor Engagement

Maintaining strong connections with donors is vital for nonprofits. Fail here and you hurt your donations, overall audience size, and ability to do work that matters. With Zapier, you are able to put donor engagement on autopilot. For example, take the post donation process. When a donation is made, a zap can trigger an automated thank-you email with a number of details. This might include the donor’s name, donation amount, and details on the impact of their contribution. Examples like this ensure that donor engagement and communication is never forgotten.

Streamline Communication

In many ways, running an effective nonprofit is all about communication. Clear communication to your donors, with the people you are helping, and in between your different teams. Fail here, and you’ll find it difficult to get even the best-laid plans off the ground. Thankfully, Zapier can streamline your communication quite easily. Simply connect whichever communication tools you are using, and you will be able to receive automatic notifications whenever important emails are received. This is just one example, but it shows how quickly you can improve your communication with Zapier.

4 Ways to Use Zapier For Nonprofits

Just like any new tool, it’s important to educate yourself on the best uses of Zapier. There will always be something new you can use it for, and simply playing around with it will always give you new ideas. That said, Zapier has some very clear use cases for nonprofits. Here are four of them.

Donor Onboarding

You need to make a new donor feel like their donation was a good one. This immediate “onboarding” is one of the most important ways to use Zapier for nonprofits. It takes away any doubt that they just wasted their money. It also gives them a great first impression of your organization, and they will likely think you are professional. So – what exactly should you do? When a new donor signs up on your website, the simplest way to use Zapier is to send a personalized welcome email. But don’t stop there. Also add their information to your CRM, and think about notifying somebody on your team so they can be sure to follow up when appropriate.

Event Registrations

Are you running in-person gatherings or conference? Or perhaps you are focusing on improving your virtual events? Either way, registration is a step you have to get right for a professional appearance – and Zapier can help. Try connecting your registration forms with your email marketing platform and calendar. When someone signs up for an event, for example, Zapier can automatically add them to your mailing list and send them a confirmation email. Also consider an invite for them to create an event in their digital calendar so they don’t forget!

Data Enrichment

Like many things, a nonprofits long term success requires data analytics. Who is your audience? Where do they come from? Which traffic sources are your most popular, and which recurring problems do you need to troubleshoot? These are all areas that can be aided with better data collection and analysis. Zapier lets you keep your donor database up-to-date by automating the process of donor profiles. For example, when you receive a new donation, Zapier might cross-reference the donor’s email with social media profiles and add additional information to your CRM. This can have many long-term benefits in how you communicate with this person.

Donation Acknowledgments

Assuming your lead actually becomes a donor, it’s not enough to simply let them know that you received their donation. This comes across as cold, and doesn’t adequately acknowledge the donor for their financial contribution. Thanks are in order, and Zapier can make the entire process automatic. Set up a great thank you message. Thank them for their contribution, and use the email as an opportunity to tell them what their money will be used for. Also, consider automating a follow-up email to be sent a few months after their donation. This will remind them of what they donated, reassure them of their impact, and with the right message, can encourage them to donate again.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How Can AI Improve The User Experience?

Posted on November 2, 2023November 2, 2023 by Eric Schenck

As AI and the tools that it powers become more sophisticated, there is a huge opportunity. Organizations have the chance to be more productive, more efficient, and more profitable – how can AI help? More specifically, the following question has become an obvious starting point: how can AI improve the user experience?

If AI and AI-powered tools are so powerful, and the user experience is so important, how can you use this to your advantage? More specifically, what are the fundamental ways that AI can be used for a better, quicker, and more enjoyable user experience?

Below you will find some of the answers. We have compiled a list of the seven ways in which AI can help you craft a superior user experience. We have also linked helpful resources throughout.

7 Ways AI Improves The User Experience

1) Personalization

Everybody likes to feel like an organization actually cares about them. This is how they fall in love with a company or nonprofit, and how the organization builds brand loyalty over time.

AI improves the user experience because it makes this personalization quite easy. Artificial intelligence leverages advanced algorithms to dissect user behaviors and preferences meticulously. The result? A user experience that is more directly appealing to the individual.

As for what this personalization looks like in practice?

Tailored content that your lead has proven to take an interest in
Product recommendations that a lead is more likely to buy
Communication like email that more specifically caters to an individual’s unique needs and interests

This personalized approach deepens connections, boosts engagement, and significantly heightens overall satisfaction.

2) Speed and Efficiency

If there’s one thing that AI is known for, it’s efficiency. One great example: chatbots. The introduction of AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants has revolutionized customer service and support, and made quick communication a necessity.

Just think about it from a user’s perspective. How many times have you landed on a website and asked a question…only to be met with silence? Chatbots are nothing new, but paired with the right AI algorithms, they give the user exactly what they want: confirmation that they’ve actually been heard.

Immediate responses to user inquiries cut down wait times substantially. This leads to a smoother and more efficient user experience. The result is higher satisfaction, less complaints, and a brand that’s known for answering questions quickly.

3) Predictive Analytics

Every organization can benefit from a deeper understanding of their analytics. Unfortunately, not many businesses or nonprofits have the capacity to do so. Few employees have the expertise needed to turn data into actionable insights, and even if they do, it can be difficult to know where to start.

That’s where AI comes in. Its robust predictive analytics capabilities empower organizations to forecast user requirements, even before users are aware of them themselves. Like we mentioned before, one example of this would be personalized product recommendations.

But it goes deeper than that. Along with this recommendation, AI can also streamline the entire browsing and purchasing process. With less friction from start to finish, AI makes the entire user experience smooth and easy. This increases just about any organization’s bottom line.

4) Content Curation

Content marketing is a wonderful way to build up an audience. By giving them something valuable to consume, you are positioning yourself as a source of information that’s worth coming back to. For a company, good content can also lead to more sales. That said, it’s essential that the content you give to people is actually material that they are interested in consuming.

This is where AI can help with the user experience. By meticulously analyzing a user’s preferences, behaviors, and past interactions, AI ensures that users are only given the content that is most relevant to them. This allows your user to save more time and guarantees they are interested in the content you show them. This increases their engagement, satisfaction, and makes it more likely they come back repeatedly to your website.

5) A/B Testing Optimization

As we’ve said before, A/B testing is essential. It helps you understand what works in your marketing, why it works, and gives you insight into how you can improve it. But knowing what to test in the first place can take awhile. How do you speed up the process to ensure you are actually testing the right thing?

AI can help. Because they are so sophisticated, AI algorithms can easily monitor user interactions and compile a ton of data. This makes it possible to make data-driven decisions and initiate changes quickly. This way, you can quickly improve your website design, content strategy, and overall user engagement.

6) User Behavior Analysis

You don’t just want to help people when a problem arises. Instead, where possible, you want to understand where problems are likely to occur – and stay one step ahead of the curve. This is essential for an enjoyable user experience.

With user behavior analysis enabled by AI, you can. With the right tools, you can not only monitor user behavior in real-time (and make sense of it), but act when you need to. This proactive approach means that potential issues can be addressed before they escalate and negatively impact the user experience.

7) Security and Fraud Prevention

While “security” isn’t usually the first thing people associate with AI, it’s every bit as important as everything else we’ve discussed in this post. There are various softwares that allow you to fortify user data security and prevent fraudulent activities. With machine learning algorithms, it becomes much easier to identify potentially malicious activities or patterns.

All it takes is one security breach to lose your user’s trust. Take full advantage of AI, and you are creating a safe and secure user experience for years to come.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide To Upselling

Posted on October 26, 2023October 27, 2023 by Eric Schenck

We have all experienced upselling as a customer. Buy something, get excited about your purchase…only to be given yet another offer right afterwards.

Many of us have gotten annoyed – but does this strategy actually work? The fact is, it does. Upselling, when done right, can be an essential strategy for a business’s growth. It can also (as we will talk about later on) lead to more donations for a nonprofit.

Assuming you do it morally and in a way that your audience appreciates, an upsell is far from a spammy sales technique. Rather, it’s a way to give your customer something they likely find valuable – something they might not ever find on their own.

In our latest ultimate guide, we cover the art (and science) of the upsell in depth. We’ll cover what it actually is, our tips for doing it effectively, and how exactly upselling differs between businesses and nonprofits. We’ll also finish with a list of recommended resources if you want to educate yourself further on the process of upselling.

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

What Is Upselling?

Why Is Upselling Important?

7 Tips For Effective Upselling

Upselling For Private Businesses Vs. Nonprofits

Recommended Resources

Conclusion

What Is Upselling?

At its most basic, upselling is a strategy designed to get your customers to spend more money. It’s a flow that takes somebody that has already committed to spending money, and offers them another product or service for an additional cost. The goal for a business is to increase the total average value of each individual customer. For a nonprofit, the upsell is aimed at increased donations.

Of course, effective upselling usually has a lot more going on in the background. This is just a simple summary of what exactly it entails. In the next section, we dive deeper into why upselling is so important for a company by discussing the strategy’s various benefits.

Why Is Upselling Important?

Regardless of the kind of organization you work at, upselling is an important strategy to consider. This is true for both private businesses and nonprofits.

We will approach this guide from the viewpoint of a for-profit business. That said, we do have a section titled “Upselling In Private Businesses Vs. Nonprofits” at the end of the guide. Be sure to give it a look for a more well-rounded view of upselling. For now, let’s cover some of the benefits upselling has for a business.

Increases Revenue

We’ll start out with the most obvious advantage. When people think of upselling, the natural starting point is “more money.” And that makes sense. In fact, for some businesses, up to 30% of their revenue comes from upselling.

If you work at a business and are trying to increase your bottom line, you can’t afford not to be upselling! The fact is, you are leaving money on the table if you don’t.

Elevates Customer Experience

Upselling is only pushy (and a waste of your prospect’s time) if you are trying to sell them a low-quality product. If you are selling them something they would actually be interested in? Well, that’s where you start improving their overall customer experience.

If somebody is already in the process of buying something from you (as they are during an upsell), there’s a decent chance they want to buy more. Offer them something they would find useful or complementary to what they are purchasing, and they will thank you for it.

Enhances Data Insights

For every product or service that somebody buys from your organization, you get valuable insight. What are the sort of things that they desire, when do they purchase them, and what is their overall satisfaction with it once they have? Everything somebody buys from you is another chance to get this insight.

The result? You have more data to work with, resulting in better offers for your audience and an improved user experience. More upselling also allows you to refine your customer profiles, an essential part of the selling process.

Strengthens Brand Image

Assuming you have solid products to offer, upselling can be essential in building up your brand image. That’s because you are giving your customer more chances to see what you have to offer. After all, your products are intricately linked to your reputation as a business.

Plus, a solid buying process that seamlessly introduces an upsell looks professional. Your customers, even if they don’t buy, are usually left with a positive impression. That said, be sure you upsell is an offer your audience would actually want.

Nurtures Customer Relationships

Lastly (and more importantly over the long term), upselling can be fundamental in building relationships. Do you have something your audience would find valuable? Something that naturally goes along with what they have already decided to purchase? If you do, and you offer it as an upsell, this can go a long way in establishing a positive relationship.

Additionally, it gives you yet another touchpoint to communicate with them. Take advantage of this by assuring them any potential additional purchase is going to add value to their life, and you’ve increased the trust they have in you.

7 Tips For Effective Upselling

Let’s now go over some of our main tips for upselling. Again, this is written from the perspective of a business, but many of the tips are equally applicable to nonprofits looking for more donations.

As always, any individual tip here has the power to change your results. Implement more than one (or even several), and you are potentially looking at a transformed bottom line.

1) Lead With Value

Out of all of our tips, giving your customers something they actually want is potentially the most important thing to keep in mind. What does this mean? You likely already have insight into what your most popular products are, so start there. The offered upsell should enhance the customer’s experience, or at the very least align with their values and interests. This is rule number 1, and should always be followed.

2) Complement Whatever They Are Already Buying

An effective upsell is relatively seamless. Ideally, right after they have decided to buy something, you give them an option to buy an additional product that goes well with what they’ve already purchased.

This mimics one of the most effective upsell examples in commerce: the snacks at a grocery store checkout. Who hasn’t decided to add a chocolate bar at the last minute of a purchase? As for what “complements” the product as an ideal upsell? Be sure to check out examples for inspiration.

3) Aim For Optimal Timing

You don’t want to get the timing wrong when you are coming with an upsell. Too soon (before they’ve even decided on their initial purchase) and you risk driving them away. Too late (an automated email that comes hours after a sale has already come though) and you’ve failed to take advantage of the natural “motivation” a new customer has. Be sure to get the timing right here. Ideally, people should be offered a chance for an upsell right after they’ve confirmed a first purchase.

As for how you actually do that? Read our next tip to find out…

4) Implement The Right Technology

While upselling can happen in any sales situation (an in-person car sale, for example) most of them will happen online. That’s why it’s essential to use the right software. This is especially important if you are trying to craft the perfect upsell: right product, at the right time, to the right customer.

Still, it can be difficult to know where to get started. That’s why tools (particularly software) are so important. While there are many such softwares you might consider, give ClickFunnels a look. This is one of the most popular tools businesses use for offering upsells to their customers.

5) Use Segmented Audiences

Of course, none of these tips matters much if you are treating everybody the exact same. The fact is, your audience is full of customers with diverse needs and desires. Treat them with a “one size fits all” approach and you are setting yourself up for failure. You need to recognize that not all customers are the same.

This is where segmentation comes in. Try your best to tailor your upselling techniques to different segments of your audience. Offer different products to different people based on their unique needs and behaviors. Difficult to do? Of course – but much easier if you use the right tools!

6) Implement A/B Testing

Just like anything else, your process of upselling can only be improved with extensive A/B testing. Think you have the right product? Think your upsell landing page is optimized? Certain that there’s nothing left you can improve?

Think again. The fact is, the only way to know for certain that you’ve landed on an upsell flow that works is to continuously test it. Try out a different structure, different copy, and even different price points. You’ll be happy that you did when the sales start rolling in!

7) Don’t Forget A Post-Purchase Follow-Up

Lastly, be sure to follow up with anybody that opts for your upsell. How are they liking the product? Do they have any questions about the product or service? Is there anything you can do to make their experience better?

These are all questions you can ask. Not only can the answers give you valuable insight into how you might improve your upsell structure in the future, but they also ensure a positive customer experience. Taking the follow up seriously is how you show your customers you actually care about them, and sets the foundation of a profitable relationship for years to come.

Upselling For Private Businesses Vs. Nonprofits

So, how does upselling differ between private businesses and nonprofits? While the fundamental concept of upselling remains consistent across sectors, there are certainly differences.

Here’s what it comes down to:

Private business: Upselling is all about adding value to your customer’s life. What is the product or service that is going to make this their best purchase ever? That’s how you have to think about approaching the upsell if you work for a business.
Nonprofits: For a nonprofit, “upselling” is all about getting a larger donation from your donor. What do you have to say (or offer) to them to convince them that a larger donation is the best way to go? This is a trickier question to answer than it is for a company selling a product – but it is possible.

Keep these main differences in mind when setting up an “upsell” for your nonprofit. Lastly, let’s cover some of the best resources you can consult for further information regarding upselling.

Recommended Resources

If you are serious about upselling, and driving more sales or donations at your organization, further education is essential.

With that in mind, here are some resources we’ve gathered to keep you informed. Consider consulting these when you are looking for more information on the topic.

Cross- and Upselling Course by Dale Carnegie

This online course goes over everything you need to know not only about upselling, but cross-selling as well. It is three hours of solid information, and also comes from a well-known organization.

Upsells Unleashed by Veena Prashanth

A useful primer on the fundamental principles of the upsell. Full of tips and actionable advice, treat this book as your manual as you go through your sales funnel.

“To Sell is Human” by Daniel H. Pink

Everybody works in sales – even if they don’t know it. Selling is a fundamental part of being human, and we are all constantly doing it to get what we want. This is a fundamental truth to understand when creating your upsell, which makes this book a valuable resource before getting started.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

No upsell will succeed before you first understand the psychology of who you are selling to. This is where persuasion comes in. If you want to craft an upsell that converts, this book is a deep dive into the psychology you first need to understand.

Conclusion

Done right, upselling is an essential practice. Not only can it help a business make more money, but it can also be quite effective in driving more donations for a nonprofit. This is important to keep in mind. No matter where you work, the art of the upsell is worth learning.

In addition, upselling can have a number of side benefits for your organization. These range all the way from better customer relations and increased communication, to more detailed data on the kinds of offers your audience responds well to. Upselling is not just about generating more revenue, but developing a more nuanced view of the people you are serving. This can have positive effects for years to come.

We hope you enjoyed our latest Ultimate Guide. If you ever have any questions, just let us know – and happy upselling!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

The Donor Experience And How To Improve It

Posted on October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 by Eric Schenck

Every nonprofit can benefit from an improved donor experience. Spend the time optimizing the entire process and you will stand out among other organizations. This leads to a happier audience and, down the line, more donations.

Today we are talking about what exactly the donor experience entails. We will also share some actionable tips you can implement right away to improve the donor experience overall.

The Donor Experience: What It Is And Why It’s Important

The “donor experience” refers to the journey that donors take when engaging with a charitable organization. This includes every interaction: from the first touchpoint of discovering your organization to a donor’s ongoing relationship with the nonprofit.

Essentially, it is the sum total of all the encounters and emotions a donor has while interacting with you.

The quality of your donor experience is important to improve for two reasons:

It is all-encompassing. There’s nothing too big or too small to be considered in a donor experience. Looked at this way, a donor experience has the power to make or break your organization’s fundraising success.
The organizations that spend the time improving their donor experience set themselves up for success. Nobody wants to donate if their interactions with an organization leave them feeling confused, overwhelmed, or unappreciated.

With this in mind, here are some tips for improving your donor experience.

How To Improve the Donor Experience

1) Create Engaging Content

Good content is foundational for just about any organization. Content is how you get people interested in your cause in the first place. Done right, it’s also how you make people feel an emotional connection to your organization – and donate more.

This is why content marketing is so important for the donor experience. Each time they interact with your organization is an opportunity to educate them about your cause. This is what will get people coming back for more, and increases the likelihood of a donation in the first place.

As for the kind of content you create? Most important is that it resonates with your audience. What do they care about? This is the first question you should be asking as you look for content topics. Once you have the subject material down, get to work creating it. This can include impactful stories, success testimonials, or anything else that demonstrates the real-world change your nonprofit is driving.

2) Improve The Online Experience

Most of the donor experience will take place online. Sure, there are in-person events people might attend, as well physical mail you can send to them. However, by and large, the donor experience is going to happen on a screen. If you don’t optimize a donor’s online experience, you are simply leaving money on the table.

So – where to start? Be sure to follow some of the best practices for website design. Only when you do can you ensure that your audience is actually having a positive experience. This means that you create a flow that users go through when interacting with your website. This will leave them with a positive impression of your brand. The result? They take you seriously and are able to more deeply connect with your cause. At this point, a donation is much more likely.

3) Implement Personalized Communication

We have mentioned the importance of segmentation numerous times. And for good reason – no matter what you do, your audience responds better to more personalized communication. A person wants to feel like they’re more than just a number. This is true for any customer, but even more so for an individual that donates their hard-earned money. If you want an effective donor experience that delights, segmentation is how you do it.

The first action you can take is to implement simple merge tags. These are wonderful if you implement email marketing (and you should). Because merge tags allow you to include a person’s name in your emails, the reader will always feel like you are speaking directly to them. You might also consider having your audience “self sort” what they are interested in hearing about. This can make for much more personalized content that your audience is practically guaranteed to be interested in.

But it doesn’t stop there. It’s equally important to acknowledge what donors have already done. If somebody has donated far more than others, for example, you should call this to attention. Not only does this show donors you really are talking directly to them – but it demonstrates your appreciation. Which brings me to our last point…

4) Express Gratitude

A nonprofit is dependent on donors. Indeed, their contributions are what make a nonprofit’s actions possible. Without their funds, an organization simply can’t function. Simply put, a donor wants to know that these donations are appreciated. It’s your job to ensure that they do.

While there are a ton of different ways to express this appreciation, you don’t need to get too fancy. A simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way. And if you do want to do more? Consider sending handwritten notes or even creating personalized thank-you videos to genuinely express your gratitude. Your donors are guaranteed to appreciate it.

Our Favorite Tool For a Superior Donor Experience

Looking for a tool guaranteed to improve the donor experience? Here is what we recommend:

FundraiseUp.

This is a tool designed to engage with donors and increase your total revenue. Here are just a few features that make FundraiseUp so valuable:

Campaign Pages: Raise more with optimized donation pages designed to maximize giving
Elements: A fundraising UI kit for your website that makes it easy to create engaging calls to action
Machine Learning: AI-powered optimizations that right-ask amounts and intelligently upgrade donors

Ready to improve your donor experience and increase total donations?

Click here to check out FundraiseUp.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Successful Customer Relationship Management

Posted on October 13, 2023October 13, 2023 by Eric Schenck

Customer relationship management (or CRM) is one of the most important things to pay attention to. It’s not enough to just sell – any business can do that. You want your customers to be delighted, and to actually enjoy their interactions with you.

You do that with high-quality customer relationship management. Today we are talking about what exactly this is and why it’s important. We will also give you actionable advice for how you can put your own system in place. A system that not only values your customers, but leaves them delighted in their interactions with you.

What Is Customer Relationship Management?

At its most basic, customer relationship management is everything you do to manage your relationship with customers. Not just getting them to buy, but everything that comes after that.

This includes basically any interaction you have with a customer after they become a customer. Whether it’s onboarding practices, communication via email, or anything that puts you into contact with somebody that has bought, customer relationship management is far-reaching.

Think about it for just a moment, and you can start to see why these practices are so important. Happy customers are what you build a business off of. Not only do they buy, but they buy repeatedly. In addition, the happier they are, the more likely they are to spread the word about your offer.

In other words, customer relationship management is how you create more satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, profitability.

5 Tips For High-Quality Customer Relationship Management

1) Effective Communication

Perhaps the most important part of customer relationship management is communication. Whether it’s through your onboarding process or long-term email marketing, communication is how you keep customers informed. The importance of this can’t be overstated. After all, an informed customer is a happy one.

Effective communication is also how you set expectations. What will your customers receive and when? How can they most ideally use your product, and what kind of best practices should they be aware of? These are all things that need to be communicated.

For the best results, make your communication as personalized as possible. The kind of messages you send should be based on individual behaviors and preferences. This is where segmentation comes in. Engage your audience at the right time, on the right platform, with the right content, and good things will follow.

2) Customer Feedback

When it comes to CRM, feedback is gold. If you want to build customer relationships that matter, you simply need to listen to what they are saying.

The point of this is not to overly focus on the positive. Words of appreciation are always nice to hear, of course, and they can even make great material for social proof. That said, it’s the negative things people say, the criticism, and the suggestions for improvement that are your biggest opportunity. Not only to give people what they want, but importantly to show people that you are actually listening to them.

We have all done business with an organization that didn’t properly communicate with us – and we have all hated it. Communication is how you come to an understanding of the people you are serving. Take it seriously.

3) Staff Training

Like anything else, CRM can massively benefit from staff members that know what they’re doing. Your relationships with customers are wide-ranging, and can take place on a number of different platforms. Which actions do you take? Who is responsible for what?

These are questions that have a clear answer once you implement staff training. This isn’t just useful for your organization – it’s essential. After all, your staff members are the ones who have the most contact with customers.

As for how you train your staff? Have very clear standards for how all workers should deal with your audience. Set up a lost of the most common inquiries that customers will have, as well as the ideal way to answer. Also consider implementing the right tools. Useful software is one of the best ways to insure your staff-customer interactions are beneficial to both sides.

4) Streamline Processes

A well-oiled machine operates at maximum efficiency. In the world of CRM, this means timely, seamless delivery of superior customer experiences.

That’s why streamlined processes are so important. You should aim for a very clear sequence of what happens when, at every step of the user journey. Just like the last tip, be very clear about who on your team does what – and when.

You go about this but first identifying bottlenecks and eliminating them. This is what allows you to be as efficient as possible with your various actions. What are the major roadblocks between you and a predictable (and repeatable) customer journey? Only when you eliminate these can you approach a customer relationship management system that works for the long-term.

5) Multi-Channel Engagement

The fact is, when it comes to interacting with you, your customers will prefer a variety of channels. Some people will prefer live chat. Some will prefer email. Still others will want instead to reach out via social media.

A modern day customer relationship management system takes this into account. People simply have different preferences. A successful business will always take this into account, and aim to meet them where they’re most comfortable.

Of course, like everything you do, ensure consistency across all channels. Reinforce your brand image, creating a coherent tapestry of interactions. Your customers expect to have the same experience regardless of where they’re communicating with you. Make sure you make it possible.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Content Marketing For Financial Services

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Eric Schenck

Content marketing is useful for just about any organization. It’s how you position yourself as a trusted expert, educate your audience, and provide so much value that your lead decides to do business with you.

But what about content marketing for financial services? Is it any different? And if so, how can you maximize its impact for your own organization?

If you work in financial services, this is exactly what we are covering in this post. We will cover three things to keep in mind regarding content marketing for financial services, as well as four tips for doing it correctly.

Content Marketing For Financial Services: 3 Rules

Here are three main ideas to keep in mind when you are approaching content marketing for financial services:

Simplify complicated topics. The financial industry can be confusing for your audience. Regardless of the product or service that you offer, there is going to be a fair amount of people that need help educating themselves. That’s where your content comes in.
Envision the kind of life your audience has. Depending on the exact product or service you offer, you are going to be working with a very different kind of person. Perhaps your target customer is a middle-class worker with less than 5,000 dollars in savings. Or maybe your ideal client is an upper management professional with multiple investment portfolios. Whoever it is you are serving, do the work of researching what kind of life they have. Only then will you be able to tailor your message accordingly.
Offer a solution. When it comes to money, most people don’t want theory. They want specific actions they can take for specific results. This is how your content should look. While it’s great to give people information that makes them more informed, more effective is content that actually helps them solve a problem. Approach your content creation with this angle at the forefront and good things will follow.

4 Tips For Content Marketing For Financial Services

1) Educate With Authority

People are serious when it comes to their money. They only want to do business with the organizations that they trust. That’s why your content needs to clearly establish your authority. This can take multiple forms. Here are just a few options you have:

In-depth guides. The more detail you include (while still keeping it readable), the better. Your audience doesn’t want fluff. Take your content seriously.
Evidence-based articles. Don’t just state your opinion, Back it up with studies and statistics that actually support your claims.
Webinars. These are perhaps the best way you can demonstrate the authority you have in your space. Not only is it a chance to educate your audience, but they are able to put a face to your name.

The goal for all of these content forms? To explain complex financial concepts in simple terms and build trust with your audience. Indeed, this is what your audience needs the most.

2) Leverage Thought Leadership

Do you have somebody on your team that has a ton of expertise in your sector? Perhaps a colleague that has an opinion to share that could be valuable? Or maybe an interesting work experience that somehow differentiates them from the rest of your industry?

If so, consider engaging in “thought leadership.” While this sounds somewhat complicated, it doesn’t have to be. Simply showcasing your team’s knowledge through thought leadership pieces can be enough. Combine it with email marketing and you are on your way to success.

As for what you share? The topics can be varied, but first and foremost should be about something your audience will actually care about. No use writing something that’s of no use to anybody! Consider sharing your insights on industry trends or providing solutions to common financial challenges. Your audience will thank you for it.

3) Create Interactive Tools

Remember – your audience wants actual solutions to actual problems. And one of the best ways to give them these solutions?

Tools? While your choices vary, they should be in line with the kinds of content your organization is already creating. Do you help people budget for the future? Consider creating a branded “budget planner” that helps people take their finances into their own hands.

Maybe you specialize in helping people choose the right investments? It might be time to create your own version of an “investment calculator.” The point here is not to overcomplicate things. Instead, make something simple and easy to use that your audience actually benefits from. This is the kind of “content” that gets shared and grows your organization in the process.

4) Case Studies

If there is one thing that gets people to buy into your organization, it’s the power of the case study. People want to know that what you offer actually works. And remember, when it comes to money, people are especially protective. Expect a certain amount of skepticism.

The way you surpass this skepticism is by showing your audience the story of somebody that’s just like them – and has succeeded. What they have succeeded in, of course, depends on your offer.

Regardless, be sure to follow case study best practices. Make it easy to access. Write in a clear and compelling manner. Describe in vivid detail what their life was like before they started working with you, as well as how it’s improved since working with you. This is one of the best ways to improve your content marketing for financial services.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Lúgh Studio’s Ultimate Guide To Marketing Funnels

Posted on October 5, 2023October 11, 2023 by Eric Schenck

In today’s digital age, nonprofits are constantly seeking effective strategies to drive donations and achieve their missions. One powerful approach that has gained popularity is the use of marketing funnels.

Funnels are a series of steps designed to guide potential donors through the donation process. The goal, ultimately, is to drive more overall donations.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore why marketing funnels are essential for nonprofits. We will also dive into several tips that you can use to optimize your own funnel, as well as recommend a few resources for your further education.

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

What Is A Marketing Funnel?

Why Marketing Funnels Are Important for Your Nonprofit

7 Tips For Your Marketing Funnel

Resources for Your Nonprofit

What Is A Marketing Funnel?

A marketing funnel, in its most basic understanding, is a structured approach to guiding individuals from first discovering your cause to actively contributing. If you want to understand what a marketing funnel is, it helps to summarize the common steps that somebody will go through before they actually donate.

Here are a few steps future donors will typically experience:

Awareness: People are only just hearing about your nonprofit and the kind of work you do.
Interest: These same people are now somewhat interested in your cause, or the work that you have done. They are not yet considering donating their own money, but are more actively engaged in your message.
Consideration: Here, potential supporters evaluate your organization’s credibility and impact. Maybe they consume your organization’s case studies or success stories to see if they actually want to donate to you.
Support: A person has finally decided to become a donor. They part ways with their hard-earned money to support your cause.

As you can see, these are all very different stages, and the people within each one will interact with your organization in a slightly different way. Taken together, these four steps help clarify what a marketing funnel actually is…and how you can use it to your advantage at a nonprofit.

Why Marketing Funnels Are Important for Your Nonprofit

When people hear the term “marketing funnel”, the first thing that comes to mind is often private businesses. This is a limited way of looking at things, and can severely undermine your ability to drive donations.

Marketing funnels are just as relevant to nonprofits, and done correctly, can completely change the game for your organization. Here are three reasons why marketing funnels are important for your nonprofit.

1) They Help You Understand Your Donor Journey

There is a specific “journey” that most of your audience will go through before they become donors. Not everybody (in fact, almost nobody) will simply land on your website and donate. Instead, the donation process is more of a journey. Perhaps people need to interact with your content first. Maybe they look at your “About” page. Maybe they check out your social media accounts, or read some of the case studies of the things that you have done.

Regardless, the donor journey will be slightly unique to each potential donor. Setting up a marketing funnel (and examining it deeply) will give you a good idea of how potential donors interact with your brand.

The result? By breaking down the donation process into stages, from awareness to conversion, you can analyze how donors interact with your organization at each step. This makes it easier to identify areas for improvement and enhances the overall donor experience.

2) They Make It Easier To Nurture Donor Relationships

Once you understand the donor journey, it becomes much easier to pinpoint how exactly you need to communicate with each person. People don’t just want to give their money to any organization that asks for it. Instead, they feel more comfortable donating to an organization that gets results – and can effectively communicate it.

This is one of the biggest benefits of a marketing funnel: the constant contact that it allows. This nurtures your potential donor like nothing else. Whether through email, physical newsletters or customized campaigns, a marketing funnel lets you finesse your communication with donors.

The benefit is heightened trust and clarity on your organization’s mission. This naturally leads to increased, and more reliable, donations.

3) They Lead To Predictable Donation Growth

Taken together, these first two benefits of a marketing funnel lead to perhaps the most important one of all: predictable donation growth. This is essential. Indeed, the main end goal of a nonprofit’s marketing funnel should be to drive more donations.

The reason? With a marketing funnel comes heightened clarity on how your donors interact with you. This leads to a natural understanding of where you should devote your time and resources for a better donor experience. Once these areas are systematized, things flow much more naturally and predictably.

Think about it. By monitoring the performance of each stage in the funnel, you can gauge the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. This lets you make data-driven adjustments to optimize your donor conversion rates. The end result? A stable foundation for your fundraising efforts that can be depended on.

7 Tips For Your Marketing Funnel

No marketing funnel will be perfect. It will require constant testing and iteration to continue driving results.

That said, there are some actions just about any nonprofit can take to improve their results. Spend the time on just a few of these, and you will start to see improvement over time.

1) Define Clear Goals

Before implementing a funnel, outline specific and achievable goals for your nonprofit. What do you want to achieve with your marketing funnel? There are plenty of things that a marketing funnel can help with – be sure you are starting with this clarity.

Is your final goal all about increasing your total number of monthly donors? Or maybe you want to increase the total amount that each individual donor chooses to give. Perhaps it’s something closer to the top of the funnel when people are first interacting with you. In this case, a solid goal would be to increase the number of people that see your content.

Whatever it might be, it pays to be clear about the main goal of your marketing funnel. Only then will you know what to focus on, and where to put your attention when it’s time to act.

2) Identify Target Audience Segments

As we mentioned, one of the biggest benefits of a marketing funnel is that it helps you understand your potential donors more intimately. Who are the people most interested in your organization? What are their donation habits, and what kind of messaging will they respond best to?

These are questions you can answer when you start looking at your funnel more in-depth. That said, what you actually do with this information is essential. That’s why we recommend setting up several segments that describe your typical audience members. What are their interests, past interactions with your organization, demographics, and even donation history?

Segment people on these kinds of factors and you can more effectively tailor your messaging. This makes it more possible to resonate with their unique needs and motivations. It also gives you insight into the kinds of content they respond best to, which brings us to tip #3…

3) Create Compelling Content

In just about any online marketing endeavor, one of the most important elements is the content you create. Content marketing is how you build an audience and get people to trust you. It’s also how you educate people about your cause, and the true difference they can make with their donation. Plus, with something like user generated content, a solid content plan isn’t even something you have to devote a ton of time to.

As for the content throughout your marketing funnel? Well, the kind of content you create will differ at each stage of the funnel. Think about the top of the funnel, before people have donated to you and maybe even before they know what your organization does. You might begin the “convincing process” with informative social media posts or blog articles.

Once people have agreed to hear from you (through email, for example), you can then send more detailed content. Maybe these are informative emails about what your organization has done, or in-depth impact stories about the people you have helped.

Regardless, don’t skip this step. Compelling content keeps donors engaged and motivated to take the next step in their journey!

4) Optimize Landing Pages

Landing pages are critical components of your funnel. That’s because they are the entry points for potential donors. This makes landing pages the first time many donors will interact with you. It’s also important to keep in mind that different stages of the funnel will have different kinds of landing pages. The page somebody lands on to sign up for your email list, for example, should look different from the one people see right before they donate.

So, how do you ensure that your landing pages are contributing to an effective marketing funnel? Well, it’s all about the user experience. Your landing pages should not only be visually appealing but easy to navigate. Make them clear regarding the “next action” you want somebody to take.

Also ensure that the design of your landing pages is consistent with your organization’s overall branding. Get this wrong and there will be a mental disconnect when people come to your landing pages. The result is likely less donations because people have a moment of mistrust.

5) Implement Marketing Automation

When it comes to marketing funnels, the name of the game is automation. This is just as true for a nonprofit as it is for businesses. But why is automation so important? Essentially, automation ensures things run smoothly without you needing to always take action. It also makes constant communication a possibility, which is one of the foundational benefits of a well-tuned marketing funnel.

The natural result of this is a funnel whose performance is more streamlined. Not only do you save time and increase your efficiency, but it makes more personalized donor interactions a possibility. Here are just a few of the things automation can do for your marketing funnels:

Automated email sequences to nurture leads to the point where they are ready to donate
Personalized content that makes each individual in your audience more likely to bond with your organization
Conversations with potential donors who haven’t yet completed the donation process.

Convinced? If you want to take advantage of automation in your marketing funnel, tools are how you make it happen. Don’t miss our last section on “Resources” if you want some software recommendations.

6) Utilize Retargeting Strategies

One of the most powerful strategies in a marketing funnel is to retarget people. Who has spent some time on your website? Who has interacted with your content? Which people have ended up on a landing page but didn’t sign up for your email list? These are all people that are more likely to donate than just about anybody else. This makes them valuable and worth contacting is much as you can.

As for how you do it? Creating ads on platforms like Google or Facebook is a great place to start. The majority of the people that have the chance to donate won’t actually take that step. Still, sometimes all you have to do is follow up and remind them of how important their donation would be.

Just like our tip about “automation”, there are plenty of tools that will help you take advantage of the power of retargeting. Check out one of our favorite options in the “Resources” section.

7) A/B Test and Optimize

If you want a powerful marketing funnel that results in more donations, it’s essential that you test things out. We’ve mentioned it numerous times on our blog but it’s important to repeat: you can’t base your marketing activities on a hunch. Instead, put in the work to get meaningful data, and then act on it.

You never know where meaningful interactions with potential donors are going to take place, and you never know which kind of content at each stage of your funnel is going to perform best. The only way to know is to actually test it.

Regularly A/B test different elements of your funnel. This can include aspects as diverse as your email headlines, to the copy on your call-to-action buttons, to the kinds of images you use when running a new fundraising campaign. Serious about crafting a marketing funnel at your nonprofit that brings results on autopilot? Data-driven insights combined with consistent action is the only way you’ll get there!

Resources For Your Nonprofit

If you want a marketing funnel that works, you need to constantly educate yourself. While our ultimate guide is a solid place to start, it helps to have other resources organized.

Here are a few you might consider:

Zapier: If you want to make automation work in your favor, this is a great place to get started. While there is a bit of a learning curve, there’s not many automations you can’t set up with Zapier.

DonorPerfect: Looking for your “ultimate tool” for increasing donations? That’s the ultimate goal of your marketing funnel, and this software will help you get there.

Mailchimp: A good marketing funnel, in one way or another, will require emails. And if you want to take your email marketing to a higher level, MailChimp is a great place to start.

Ultimate Guide to Retargeting Udemy Course: As we mention in our ultimate guide, retargeting is one of the best strategies you can implement throughout your marketing funnel. Check out this course if you’re ready to take that next step.

Unbounce: If you want people to take action on beautiful landing pages, Unbounce is a software that can make it happen. Easy to use and effective, this tool makes creating wonderful landing pages a breeze.

Conclusion

Marketing funnels, done right, can be a game-changer for nonprofits seeking to drive more donations in a structured way.

By understanding the importance of funnels, implementing certain best practices and utilizing the right resources, your nonprofit can benefit greatly from them. Take action on our ultimate guide, refer to it whenever you need to, and let us know if you have any questions!

Download your PDF version of this guide here.

Nonprofit Success In Q4

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Eric Schenck

As the year comes to a close, quarter four (Q4) represents a great opportunity for nonprofits to drive more donations. That said, the end of the year presents unique opportunities and challenges you might not have to face for the first nine months. So how do you set yourself up for nonprofit success in Q4?

Today, we are exploring three reasons why you need to take Q4 seriously at your nonprofit. We’ll also share five actions you can take to increase the odds of nonprofit success in Q4.

Nonprofit Success In Q4: Why It’s So Important

There are three reasons why Q4 for nonprofits is so important. Keep these in mind as you are planning your various end-of-year campaigns.

1) Year-End Giving Opportunities

Q4 is known as the giving season. Many individuals and businesses are looking to make charitable contributions before the end of the year. This trend has many reasons, but is most usually attributed to tax reasons for business and a heightened feeling of charity for individuals. This makes Q4 a great time for nonprofits to strategically tap into the feeling of generosity.

2) Meeting Annual Goals

For many nonprofits, Q4 represents the last chance to meet annual fundraising goals. Perhaps you have fallen short throughout the year – the last few months are a great time to make up ground. Plus, it’s not just about your numbers for this year. Finish strong, and you can also set the tone for the upcoming year.

3) Increased Online Engagement

During the holiday season, people are more active on social media and online platforms. This makes it the perfect time to reach people with your message. Nonprofits can take advantage of this increased engagement to not only connect with their audience, but increase total donations.

5 Tips for Nonprofit Success in Q4

1) Tailor Your Message for Year-End Appeals

Many nonprofits bring in the bulk of donations at the end of the year. This is when both large organizations and single individuals choose to give, so it makes sense.

That’s why you need to pay attention to the message you send. Think about the emotions that your audience is feeling at this time. Maybe more giving than usual? Maybe excited to see family, and sensitive to the fact that not everybody can?

Regardless, it’s worth your time to match the message to the time of the year. Create compelling and personalized year-end appeals that resonate with your donors’ emotions. Highlight the impact of their contributions and the difference they can make during the holiday season. This is relevant for all your marketing assets, from content and social media to emails and ads.

2) Launch Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaigns

We have talked before about the power of peer-to-peer fundraising. Here are just a few benefits of this type of campaign:

Increased reach and visibility
More engaged donors
Higher donation rates

Q4 is a wonderful time to launch this type of fundraiser because it empowers your audience to make a difference. As for how you do it? It all starts with clear communication. What kind of peer-to-peer campaigns are you running, what are the exact details, and how can your audience take part?

Encourage them to reach out to their networks and share your cause.Give them any assets they might need to spread the word. And, of course, try to incentivize them for doing so!

3) Match Gifts

Matching gifts is a powerful strategy to bump up Q4 donations. We all want our money to have the maximum impact, and are more likely to donate when we think it will. A great way to make that happen is through matching gifts.

Pledge to match whatever your audience donates (usually up to a specific amount). The great thing is that this amount doesn’t even have to come from your organization. Consider collaborating with corporate partners or philanthropists to match donations made during this time.

You’d be surprised at how much more funding this can bring in. Be sure to run your matching campaign effectively for the best results.

4) Plan Virtual Fundraising Events

Q4 for nonprofits is a time of potential. However, a nonprofit that neglects the power of virtual events will underperform in driving end-of-year donations. The fact is, in-person events are, in many ways, limited in scope of how much attention and engagement they can drive.

Of course, the kind of virtual event you run is quite varied. These can be everything from online auctions to live streaming events that allow supporters from anywhere to participate. Virtual events offer convenience and broader reach while maintaining the spirit of togetherness.

Looking for ideas? Check out some of the best virtual nonprofit conferences for inspiration!

5) Send Impactful Year-End Reports

If you want your nonprofits work to have maximum impact, share the results. People want to hear about what you have been up to. And if they have donated money to your cause, keeping them informed is a must!

This is why year-end reports are so important. Plus, the effect is two-fold. Not only do you reassure past donors that they have made a good decision in donating, but you lay the foundation for more donations at the end of the year. After all, a year-end report is its form of proof.

So how do you do it? Most importantly for driving donations, be sure to share your successes. This will encourage people that are on the fence about donating to your campaigns. Also be sure to showcase the impact of donors’ contributions and express gratitude for their support. Above all else, this will build trust with your donors.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Email Marketing For Nonprofits: 10 Tips

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Eric Schenck

Email marketing is an invaluable tool for any organization. Do it correctly, and it’s a highly effective strategy for connecting with your audience and providing value to them. But how do you approach email marketing for nonprofits?

In this blog post, we will explore eight actionable tips to make the most out of your email campaigns. If you work at a nonprofit, any of these tips consistently implemented can greatly increase the impact of your email marketing.

Email Marketing For Nonprofits

1) Craft Compelling Subject Lines

Your subject line is the very first thing your recipients see. You need to ensure it’s attention-grabbing and relevant. Here are some things to keep in mind to make your subject lines effective:

Personalization: People want to be spoken directly to. That’s why you’ll want to use merge tags.
Urgency: To get anybody to act (especially if it’s a time-limited fundraiser), you need to implement urgency. Use words that get people to act.
Curiosity: Are people so interested in your subject line that they feel a need to open your email? If so, you’re implementing curiosity correctly!

2) Segment Your Audience

In email marketing for nonprofits, segmentation can lead to higher engagement rates. This results in a more valuable list through more personalized communication.

There are numerous data points that you can segment your list on. These can include geographic location, interests, and even engagement levels.

Most of the best email service providers allow you to do this quite easily. You can then send highly targeted emails.

3) Use Storytelling

One of the best marketing strategies for any organization is storytelling. A good story is how you make people feel connected to your cause, as well as get them invested in what you have to say.

Email marketing for nonprofits works exactly the same. Each email you send is a chance to tell impactful stories that resonate with your audience.

As for the stories that you tell? An effective story for your nonprofit can take many forms. Consider success stories of the people you have helped, testimonials from individuals that have benefited from your projects, or real-life examples of the difference your nonprofit is making.

Like anything else, try to use emotion. Emails fueled by emotional stories are how you inspire donors to take action and support your cause.

4) Use Visuals Wisely

Many organizations will choose plain text for their emails. There’s a good reason for this: many people actually prefer simple over heavily designed emails.

However, depending on the kind of of emails you choose to send, visuals can actually help your cause. Eye-catching images grab attention and make your content more engaging. Often, they can also tell your story quicker and more effectively than plain text emails ever could.

Of course, if you’re going to implement visuals in your emails, make sure they are the right ones. Infographics explaining your fundraising goals and photos of your direct recepients, for example, can have a lasting impact on the people reading your emails.

5) Create Compelling Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

What is it you want your email subscribers to do? What action would be considered a “success” for any specific email you send?

You always want your subscribers to actually do something when you send an email. This is where clear and direct CTA’s come in.

Clearly communicate the actions you want your recipients to take. Whether it’s making a donation, signing up for an event, or sharing your content, make your CTAs easy to follow. Use action-oriented language and place them strategically in your emails.

6) Optimize for Mobile Devices

People are increasingly using mobile when they are online. The fact is, many of your donors will interact with your campaigns and fundraisers on their phone.

This is why you should ensure that your emails are mobile-friendly. Test your email templates on various devices to ensure they are easy to read on smaller screens.

7) Create a Welcome Series

One of the best things you can do in email marketing for nonprofits is to craft a welcome series. A well-crafted welcome series does two things: establishes a strong connection with new email subscribers, and engages them immediately. This makes it more likely that they contribute to your fundraisers down the road.

Here are some idea of what you might include:

An introduction to your organization and what you do
Content that your audience will find valuable
Social proof of the people you’ve helped and individuals that have benefited from your organization

The big thing here is to remember that it’s not about you. With this in mind, try to strike a balance between talking about your organization and focusing on the people or causes you have helped.

8) Leverage Automation

Quality email marketing never forgets the value of efficiency. And one of the best ways to be efficient? By leveraging email automation.

Plus, it’s not just that automation is efficient. In addition, automated emails are a superior way of nurturing relationships and maintaining consistent communication with donors.

A welcome series is just one of the ways you can implement automation to your advantage. Depending on your organization and what exactly you do, there are various automated workflows that you might consider implementing.

Here are just a few you might consider:

Donation acknowledgments
Event reminders
Follow-up emails

9) Monitor and Analyze Results

Just like anything else, effective email marketing will be based off of numbers. To reach your goals, it’s necessary to regularly monitor the performance of your email campaigns.

To do this, start by analyzing key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. These are some of the most important numbers to know.

Once you have, you now have a good idea of what’s working well, as well as the areas that need improvement. You can now dig into the various methods of improving them.

10) Show Appreciation

Email marketing for nonprofits should should be based on concrete goals. That said, one thing you should never forget is that your donors make everything possible.

That’s why you need to utilize your emails to express gratitude and appreciation. Acknowledge their contributions and show them the impact of their support. A simple “thank you” can go a long way in fostering donor loyalty.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Website Design Trends: What’s Current

1) Dark Mode

2) Minimalistic Design

3) Voice User Interface (VUI)

4) Immersive Experiences

5) Sustainability

Website Design Trends: What’s Next

1) Data Storytelling

2) Advanced Accessibility

3) Personalization

4) Geometric Shapes And Patterns

What is Social Media Animation?

Why is Social Media Animation Important?

1) Captures Attention

2) Increases Engagement

3) Tells Compelling Stories

4) Boosts Brand Recall

5) Drives Conversions

3 Things to Keep in Mind

1) Not all social media platforms are the same

2) Your social media content should be relevant

3) Always keep copyrights and licensing in mind

9 Tips for Effective Social Media Animation

1) Know Your Audience

2) Keep it Short And Sweet

3) Use Eye-Catching Colors and Designs

4) Maintain Brand Consistency

5) Test Different Formats

6) Add Subtitles

7) Tell a Story

8) Incorporate Calls to Action (CTAs)

9) Optimize for Mobile

Useful Resources

Conclusion

Why Interactive Content Is So Useful

Enhanced Engagement

Increased Brand Awareness

Valuable Data Insights

Personalized User Experience

Lead Generation Opportunities

6 Steps To Make Interactive Content For Small Businesses

1) Identify Your Audience

2) Set Clear Objectives

3) Choose the Right Tools

4) Create Compelling Content

5) Track and Analyze Performance

6) Iterate and Optimize

What Is Website Design?

Why Is Website Design Important?

Website Design Elements

Website Functionality

How To Get Better At Website Design

Conclusion

13 Ways To Convert Leads Into Customers

1) Understand Your Audience

2) Segment Your Leads

3) Nurture Your Leads

4) Offer Value As Much As Possible

5) Create Compelling CTAs

6) Provide Social Proof

7) Optimize Your Website

8) Follow Up

9) Provide Exceptional Customer Service

10) Offer A Guarantee

11) Create Urgency

12) Leverage Remarketing

13) Simplify the Buying Process

Why Influencer Marketing Matters For Small Businesses

1) Increased Brand Visibility

2) Authenticity And Trust

3) Targeted Reach

4) Cost-Effective Advertising

3 Steps To Influencer Marketing For Small Businesses

Find The Right Influencers

Build Relationships With Influencers

Create Compelling Influencer Campaigns

User-Friendly Platform

Innovative Video Integration

What is Average Customer Value?

Why Average Customer Value is Important