tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:00:02 +0000email usagedisaster reliefemailingtoolsessential website informationDIYdomain nameonline donorshow tohuman rightsanalyticsdebit and credit cardsCAP codelawyeronline fundraisingonline marketingbuilding supportsuccessful website developmenttipsfuture of social mediastrategic objectivesnot for profitonline donationsblogsemailsmother's daycontent presentationadvicepredictions for 2012effective emailsyoung peoplemistakestrackingstorytellingachieveonline askssuccesshow to do project managementobjectiveshow to bloglegalSERPSstylebest practice blogginginformation designsearch engine rankingsoftwarenfp sectorEU Amendmentdigital storytellingtweetwhy tweetweb writingtweetsduplicating contentonline givers2011 reviewbloggingcontentICOdirect debitsusersTwitterKindlebenefitsinformation architecturecharitiesdigital communicationsfundraisingsearch engine optimisationeffective campaigningsocial networking#BAD11Ed Vaizeygurustweakingplanningbest practicecelebritiescampaignsusability criteriae-newslettersnot-for-profittarget audienceincome generationFacebookusabilityBritish governmenttweetinguser experienceeffective project managementeffective online writingimplicationseffectively online writingcookiesnew year's resolutioneffectivenessgreetings cardscelebrity endorsementscontrol panelinteractive multimediagoalsmonitoringYouTubeJakob Nielseneffectivewriting for the webfuture of emailonline tone of voiceawarenessEU directivedatabasespublicitycostsdevelopment goalswebsite developmentSEOfoodFlickrvolunteeringMedia Trustproject managementone-off donationssocial mediadatae-commerceInteresting internet, fundraising and social networking news.http://www.charitybuzz.net/noreply@blogger.com (Sue Fidler)Blogger651125http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/CharityBuzzNewshttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-9182105352099853323Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-02-28T11:00:02.190Zdigital communicationsdigital storytellingeffective online writingBy now, we have all heard that we need to tell our story if we want to communicate powerfully with our supporters and wider audiences online. Hopefully this is now a given, so our challenge becomes how to do so most effectively.A lovely new piece published by NTEN and written by the filmmaker, Danny Alpert, tells us what he believes are the key features of an effective story. He’s somewhat of an http://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/02/how-to-tell-your-story-effectively.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-3752430059830208525Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-02-21T11:00:10.874Zduplicating contentsearch engine optimisationsearch engine rankingA really interesting and timely reminder has been published by dotSearch: Duplicate content - 8 common pitfalls (and how to overcome them). Duplicate content can really jeopardise your search engine rankings (or even cause your site to be removed from a search engine altogether), so it’s worth making sure you’re doing everything you can to avoid it.What is duplicate content?Content that is eitherhttp://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/02/why-how-you-should-remove-duplicate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-2285253612018358045Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-02-14T11:00:02.629Ztarget audienceyoung peopledigital communicationsfuture of social mediaQuite a few of our clients want to know how to develop relationships with a younger audience. Traditional communications tools don’t seem to reach them and, understandably with trends often appearing to change so rapidly, nobody wants to invest time, money or energy investing in the wrong tool.So a recent piece on NTEN, From Phones to Facebook: How to Engage Youth on the Front Lines of Social http://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/02/getting-your-message-across-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-6420121228637058037Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-02-07T11:00:08.600Zdigital storytellinginteractive multimediaAt the start of 2012, we promised an occasional blog about new developments that might be useful and/or inspiring. This one is potentially both, I think...If you’ve followed this blog over time, you’ll know that we have (well, all right, I have!) a bit of a thing about the need to tell stories online if we are to connect with people as effectively as possible. So I was very interested when I camehttp://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/02/new-ideas-for-new-year-2-new-frontiers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-2865761352259800621Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-31T11:00:02.684Zonline donationsonline donorsonline fundraisingonline giversI was fascinated – and, in fact, very disappointed – to read a Third Sector story last week revealing that charities are still failing to make the most of online fundraising. According to a new report by Nomensa, charitable giving in the UK remained static in 2011. Add to this the fact that government funding is set to decrease by almost £2.8 billion over the next 4 years and you can see that it http://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/01/4-ways-to-make-sure-you-dont-miss-out.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-8425497206757055531Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-24T11:00:02.779Zwhy tweetTwitter<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>http://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/01/its-official-sue-is-now-do-gooder-5.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-616801752165586789Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-17T11:00:00.082Z2011 reviewpredictions for 2012future of emailfuture of social mediaemail usageI love reviews of the year – lists of highlights from the year’s books, films, music... and now, in new technology.Many thanks to Vertical Response’s marketing blog for drawing my attention to the interesting research carried out by the Radicati Group, a technology market research group.Here’s what they tell us about 2011:2.8 million emails were sent every second – email is definitely not dead!http://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/01/what-we-know-about-email-and-social.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-3075537018927546085Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-10T11:00:17.607ZblogspublicityKindlebest practice bloggingA new year deserves some new ideas, so here’s the first in an occasional series of ideas – things you might not yet have tried which could be worth exploring.At least 3 people I know (none of them major techies) were given Kindles for Christmas. Which in my book now makes the Kindle a mainstream possession. Thousands of bloggers are blogging via Kindle, though not too many charities yet (looking http://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/01/new-ideas-for-new-year-1-ever-thought.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-3395865737587877560Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-03T11:00:00.286Zdigital communicationsstrategic objectivesnew year's resolutionLike lots of you, we are back to work today after our Christmas & New Year break. And it’s that time of year, of course: time to make a stack of resolutions about how you’ll do things differently this year...Looking back over our 2011 blogs, I’ve rediscovered a wealth of good advice that we found online (and off) last year. It set me thinking about work-related resolutions for the new year and http://www.charitybuzz.net/2012/01/new-years-resolutions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-7974169319540324204Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:06:00 +00002011-12-13T10:07:24.765Z (This blog first appeard on the Ask Charity Blog December 5, 2011 and Guardian Voluntary December 5th) Our recent CharityBuzz blog entitled “Email vs social media: which is better?” caused quite a stir. Some comments came in saying “surely it depends on what you are doing” while others asked “couldn’t you tell us which to use?”. The title was, of course, being provocative and the blog went http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/12/email-or-social-media-its-simple.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sue Fidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-7283812488034609104Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +00002011-12-06T11:00:00.416Znot-for-profitwebsite developmentsuccessful website developmentOh my word... I’ve just followed a tweet to such a practical, solidly sensible blogful of advice that I’ve got a big smile on my face. See what you think...We are involved in a lot of web development at Sue Fidler Associates – and we are frequently brought in to work on websites that haven’t worked, despite a lot of time and money being thrown at them. We've seen what it can be like: how the http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/12/6-ways-to-make-sure-your-new-website.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-8201385522232995805Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +00002011-11-29T11:00:06.489Zeffective emailssocial mediafuture of emailfuture of social mediaLet me get straight to the point: the answer, of course, is that it depends on what you’re trying to do. I’ve been around long enough to have seen new technologies come and go, each one trumpeted on its arrival as The New Thing that will replace everything that has gone before. But each time the new technology has settled into its place, finally getting used for what it’s best at. And the older http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/11/email-vs-social-media-which-is-better.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-2834233647781479280Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +00002011-11-22T11:00:07.518Zsocial medianfp sectorvolunteeringAs we all know, volunteers are crucial to not-for-profit organisations. Dedicated people -willing to work for expenses only – make a huge difference to what we can achieve. But most organisations have well-established ways of finding volunteers. So why am I bothering to suggest that we should use social media? Is it a case of desperately trying to justify these tools? Or do social media actually http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/11/3-reasons-why-its-worth-using-social.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-8593067871353372981Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +00002011-11-15T11:00:09.867Zsocial networkingeffectivenesssocial mediasuccessThanks to Natasha in the excellent and ever-informative E-Campaigning Form for bringing this really great web interview to our attention. It’s an interview with the people at ONE, the huge grassroots campaign fighting against extreme poverty and preventable diseases – and it sets out to investigate how they’ve managed to be so successful with their use of social media.It’s quite a long piece, http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/11/how-to-be-massive-social-media-success.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-8932712292177119484Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +00002011-11-08T11:00:06.020Zsocial networkingcampaignscelebrity endorsementscelebritiesfundraisingcharities“Find us a celebrity to help publicise this campaign!” This is a common cry in the meeting rooms of charities across the UK whenever a new campaign is being prepared. I’ve been part of those conversations – and have frequently been one of the voices insisting that getting celebrity endorsements will do untold good in boosting the profile of the campaign. So it was very interesting – and http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/11/4-top-tips-for-recruiting-celebrity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-7002639473383835262Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +00002011-11-01T11:00:03.249Ze-commerceusabilityGiven our obsession at Sue Fidler Associates with things content-y, I am thrilled to see this endorsed again this week by the experts, this time by the latest Nielsen Norman Group (NNG) report on E-commerce Usability.Reporting on how usable e-commerce sites are, NNG says that the situation is definitely improving. 11 years ago their study showed a 56% success rate across 496 task attempts: this http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/11/2-things-that-routinely-drive-away.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-8578176325985001702Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-10-26T11:00:15.614+01:00effective emailsfuture of emailemail usageThis month marks the 40th anniversary of email. You may protest that it can’t have been that long - but it was in 1971 that the first email was sent to test whether messages could be sent between computers. The person who sent it can’t remember what it said – but suspects it was nonsense, which is probably what many of us think of many of the emails that we receive, anyway!For most of us, our http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/10/happy-birthday-email-long-live-email.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-4879247234370098423Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-10-19T11:00:16.724+01:00social mediaJakob Nielseneffective online writingOne of the central tenets of the effective online writing training sessions I run is ‘So what?’ (I’ll explain this properly below, so keep reading...)Can you imagine how thrilled I was to see a tweet by one of my web gurus, Jakob Nielsen, referring to his recent useit.com alert talking about exactly the same thing? There’s nothing better than discovering that the things you usually advise are http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/10/so-what-if-in-doubt-leave-it-out.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-7282738156457920388Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-10-16T11:00:05.249+01:00#BAD11development goalsdisaster reliefhuman rightsfoodWe at Sue Fidler Associates love blogging. So we were really keen to be part of Blog Action Day today. But then we found out it was about food... and what on earth does a digital consultancy for the charity sector have to say about food? Apart, of course, from the fact that we do rather like to eat it, which any of you who know any of us will already be well aware of!But then – and you are http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/10/whats-food-got-to-do-with-it-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-6218244586727664964Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-10-12T11:00:04.296+01:00how to do project managementeffective project managementproject managementWe are nearing the end of our series of expert tips from the crew at Sue Fidler Associates. And I’m delighted to be featuring the expertise of the newest shipmate, Milo Connolly. (All these nautical references are in honour of Sue’s passion for sailing and things watery!)Milo is a real expert on project management and if anyone knows what it takes to manage a project successfully, it’s him – and http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/10/4-helpful-hints-for-managing-all-your.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-7936094812535083338Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-10-04T11:00:12.685+01:00datadatabaseseffectivenessThis week it’s the turn of the delightful and expert Angela McCormack, who leads for Sue Fidler Associates on all matters database.Databases are, for most of us, either terrifying or dull. But Angela doesn’t consider them to be either. And she should know, having worked on more databases than most of us have had foreign holidays! As she says:“When I think about databases, I think about that line http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/10/you-and-your-database-4-vital-facts-our.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-6082177990823958368Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:09:00 +00002011-09-29T11:15:19.898+01:00search engine optimisationSEOsearch engine rankingSERPSThis week it’s the turn of another of the digital consultants at Sue Fidler Associates, the charming and friendly Jon Parsons. One of Jon’s areas of expertise is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): that is, helping your website to do as well as possible in the search engine rankings.Jon knows loads of great ways of making sure your search engine ranking is as high as possible. And the good news is http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/09/5-things-you-should-do-with-your.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-8539167807985402118Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-09-20T11:00:02.608+01:00effective emailsemailsemailinge-newslettersThis week it’s the turn of another of our merry band, Julia Sampson (known to us as Jools). One of Jools’ specialities at Sue Fidler Associates is CharityeMail (www.charityemail.co.uk), our powerful and popular e-marketing system.Jools is one of the people in our support team, helping the organisations that use CharityeMail (and a very friendly, timely service she gives, so I hear...) She tells http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/09/3-tips-for-making-sure-your-emails-look.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-7443574609301969177Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-09-13T13:10:13.045+01:00This week’s it’s the turn of our ‘leader’. Sue Fidler herself. I should really have started with her – but she’s the busiest of us all, so it took a good week to pin her down!Here’s what she said:“I have so many things I could say were top of my list of what I’m passionate about - but at the moment top of the list is making your website useful and usable.It doesn’t matter how pretty your website http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/09/4-tips-for-making-your-website-useful.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4896486838203745655.post-189897078791068718Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-09-07T11:00:06.173+01:00information architectureeffective online writingcontent presentationcontentWe’ve been thinking about the things we love best about our work - we being the consultants who work with Sue Fidler Associates. There’s quite a lot of overlap in our skills and experience but - not surprisingly - each of us has certain areas that we love best (and, funnily enough, there isn’t much overlap there...)Mine is content - and how to present it most effectively on the web. So I thought http://www.charitybuzz.net/2011/09/3-things-you-must-check-if-you-want-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (susie@suefidler)0