ZenHouse Media » News

The View From the Mountain

AlyssaBurtt — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:40:37 +0000

The sun shines, the rain falls. I’m in the mountains, breathing fresh air. With views of trees and snow, a raven flies by. Sometimes, high on the mountain is the right place to get your best work done.

Every prompt to the creative process comes from clearly defining what it is you want to produce, then letting it go, allowing the artistic side of brain room to maneuver. By taking a break from the purely linear approach to creativity, intuitive intelligence can often bring new insight, a Eureka moment, or just a simple solution borne of a fresh point of view.

Technology is the great enabler of this process. Armed with a laptop and a 3G wireless connection, Skype, cloud software, e-mail and Google Docs, entrepreneurs and creative types can flex their spatial hemispheres by getting “the heck out of dodge”, all in the name of innovation, creative thinking and hatching their brightest ideas yet.

When we set our compass first, then give ourselves the freedom to take a few detours along the way, it not only enriches the process, but we might end up somewhere even better at the end of the journey.

When did you last have a change of scenery? Make a plan to “get out of dodge” sometime this week, even just taking a different route home from work…

About Alyssa Burtt

Alyssa Burtt is Creative Director and Co-Founder of ZenHouse Media. She loves designing for web and usability and helping small business owners find practical strategies for success. An avid iPhone photographer, snowboarder and visual artist, she loves supporting local community and the arts.

8 Steps for Creating an Effective Content Marketing Strategy

AlyssaBurtt — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:14:54 +0000

As a small business owner, freelancer, artist or entrepreneur, you can now (more than ever!) reach and influence your audience directly through content, just by updating a simple blog, uploading some photos or shooting some video (even just with a smart phone). The opportunity to connect and spread your message directly to your audience is huge and can help you drive traffic and sales (even on a small business budget), often much more effectively than an expensive newspaper advert or direct mail campaign. Thinking about getting started, but not sure where to begin? Go as in-depth as you like, or keep it simple. Follow these 8 steps for best results:

1) Define your Goals

Is your overall marketing goal to…
• Increase sales? (online vs. physical location?)
• Increase brand awareness?
• Educate prospects on what you do?
• Attract new customers?

2) Define your Audience

…and get to know them.
• Do they actually read blogs? Watch online video? Do they prefer visuals and eye-candy? Or spreadsheets and pie charts?
• If you already have an active blog: check Google Analytics, which of your current blog posts perform best?
• If you have a Facebook page: look at your Facebook Insights, which posts get the most likes and comments? What is the gender balance of your audience? Geographical location? Age range?
• If you have an active Twitter account: which posts get the most mentions, retweets, and the most interactivity?

3) Choose your Medium(s)

(Video, Articles, Photos, Graphs, eBooks, etc.)
• Assess your available resources: who will be in charge of creating and updating the content? Internal staff? or will you outsource? Are there budget or time constraints?
• Assess your natural abilities and what comes easily: Are you comfortable in front of a camera? Do you or your staff have the basic equipment and know-how to maintain a video blog? Are you or your staff members confident with writing? Is there a photographer or talented artist on staff? Get creative and think outside the box!

4) Create a Content Calendar

Decide how frequently you plan to update your blog and stick to it. Daily or weekly is ideal, but don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Brainstorm topics and assign them to a calendar date ahead of time. This is a vital step that will make it significantly easier when the time comes to fit writing a blog post into your busy schedule. Don’t forget to consider upcoming seasons, holidays, industry events and trends when planning out your blog post topics.

5) Create Quality Content

Ask these questions when creating your content:
• What need does your content fill, or what question does it answer? How can you best provide value to your audience?
• Define your content’s purpose: is your content meant to entertain? to educate? to inform or spark discussion?
• Can you provide an insightful, well-researched opinion? Do you have a unique point of view on an industry issue or hot topic? Are you a natural joker or comedian?
• What tone or mood will your audience relate to? Formal? Informal? How can you best use your natural and authentic “voice”?
• Did you check for grammar, spelling and factual errors?

6) Search Engine Optimization

Make sure you optimize your content (whether written, video, or image) for search engines. Do your keyword research (see our slideshow presentation on Effective Keyword Research Strategies), optimize your titles and meta descriptions (in WordPress, install the Yoast SEO plugin for great results), and encourage links and sharing via Social Media share buttons. *Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your web developer for this step.

7) Publish on your Channels

(YouTube, e-Newsletter, RSS, Social Media, or all of the above)
Make sure your audience can easily access and share your content. Find ways to automate or simplify the process of publishing your content, post it on your blog, on your various social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, etc.), content aggregation sites (like Digg and Reddit), Vimeo or YouTube, Flickr, etc.

8. Analyse your Results and Correct your Course

Once you have started posting content regularly, you will need to check your Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and Twitter statistics on a regular basis to see how your content is performing. Correct your course if certain topics are more popular than others, if certain posts fall flat and others take off.

Keep in mind, the longer you keep at it and the more consistent you are with your efforts, the more your content strategy will pay off! Your website visits will increase, as well as your brand awareness, visibility, brand authority and most significantly, your sales!

Need help getting started? Feel free to get in touch for a free consultation and content marketing assessment.

About Alyssa Burtt

10 Things You Should Know About Pinterest

Shireen Nabatian — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:44:21 +0000

1. What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is s social photo sharing, or social bookmarking website. Users create pinboards to plan weddings, decorate homes, collect visual inspirations and organize favorite recipes, amongst others. Users can also browse pinboards created by other people.

2. Who is using it?

82% — 97% women aged 25-34, depending on the source you read. Did you know that women are actually the top 85% consumers of EVERYTHING?

3. How many people are using Pinterest?

Pinterest grew from 40,000 users to 3.2 million users in one year from Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2011. This rate of growth is faster than Facebook and Twitter experienced in their formative years. For some major brands, Pinterest is now driving more traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace COMBINED!

4. How much time are users spending?

American users of Pinterest spend an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes on the site, well ahead of Twitter (36 minutes), LinkedIn (17 minutes) and Google+ (6 minutes).

5. What brands have found success with it?

Here are some of the top corporate Pinterest boards:

Etsy (53,784 followers) Real Simple (34,517 followers), HGTV (17,824 followers), Nordstrom (9,886 followers), West Elm (11,547 followers); ModCloth (11,813 followers), Whole Foods (14,217 followers), Better Homes and Gardens (15,127 followers), Kate Spade (16,371 followers)

Discover techniques big brands are using on Pinterest to engage their audience here!

6. Why do people LOVE it?

Pinterest has quickly become one of the top 100 websites for a lot of different reasons. Here are four of them:

It’s visual. Apparently we don’t like reading! Users don’t have to spend time reading status updates or clicking on shortened links to see if an article is of interest. You’ll know immediately if something has caught your eye and you want to see more.
There’s less pressure to keep up a conversation like on Twitter or Facebook. Users can like, comment or tag another user, but these features are secondary.
It’s a fun, beautiful place to be. Pinterest is purely eye candy, like flipping through a magazine. Instead of the potential chaos of cutting out and saving photos from magazines, you can add images to your pinboard with just one click.
User control. If you have Facebook friends who post things that don’t interest you, you’ll appreciate Pinterest because you don’t choose the person to follow, you choose the boards that interest you. It’s the ultimate user-curated content system.

7. What’s in it for you?

“If a picture is worth a thousand words then a single pin is worth 71.4 tweets”, says Meghan Wilker (hard-core Pinterest user)

But keep in mind, If you’re not promoting a product, idea or lifestyle that is visually compelling, Pinterest may not be the right fit.

8. Are there marketing opportunities on Pinterest?

YES! Pinterest can be an inbound marketing haven for the right brand…

Use the images on your website by having a Pin It button on each product item, allowing users to share your product on their own pinboards.

Get yourself a profile and pin images that inspire you. People will get to know your brand, your inspiration and how you interact with your community, not just what you sell.

From there, you can track referrals to different products from Pinterest.com and see if that referral traffic results in an increase in purchases.

Check this out to get more awesome Pinterest marketing tips.

9. Should your business jump onboard?

Here are 3 questions from Horizon Media to help you decide if you should drop everything and start pinning:

Is your audience there?
Is the conversation that’s happening one that you want to participate in?
Are you equipped to participate, when it comes to content, resources and people, to keep the presence active?

If the answer is yes to all 3, go for it!

10. How do businesses measure their ROI from Pinterest?

Honestly, the analytics are still being figured out, but here is a great resource to get you started, examining custom reports, referral reports and tracking landing pages through Google Analytics.

Follow ZenHouse Media on Pinterest!

Further reading:

http://www.arikhanson.com/2012/02/21/18-compelling-stats-to-help-sell-your-boss-on-pinterest/

http://www.arikhanson.com/2011/12/13/whats-behind-the-pinterest-craze-15-super-users-share-their-thoughts/

http://mashable.com/2012/03/20/why-is-pinterest-so-addictive/

About Shireen Nabatian

As Operations Manager at ZenHouse Media since 2008, Shireen handles project management, copy writing, account management and public relations for ZenHouse Media. Shireen’s work experience also includes tour guiding in the Rockies, property management and market research. Shireen is trilingual in English, French and Spanish and speaks a smattering of Farsi.

Lessons in the Power of Social Media from Two Nations Under Threat of War

Shireen Nabatian — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:12:27 +0000

NOWRUZ MOBARAK (Happy Persian New Year)!! Nowruz, literally translated means ‘new day’ so in the spirit of a new day, the harbinger of spring, today we’re offering a fun and inspiring read on the power of social media.

With the controversial KONY 2012 campaign receiving millions of views within a matter of days, Arab Spring revolutions organized via Facebook and Twitter, and the Occupy Wall Street movement gathering traction through major cities around the World, the world is waking up to the power of social media to inspire social change, spread ideas and connect people and cultures. Just this month, a new campaign has attracted international attention for bridging the communication gap between the people of two nations under threat of war: Israel and Iran.

Just before Nowruz (Persian New Year), an Israeli graphic designer named Ronny Edry launched a colourful poster campaign called ‘Israel Loves Iran’. Hundreds of posters have been created and shared via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and the story has also been picked up by many news sites with the following message: ‘Iranians We Love You, We Will Never Bomb Your Country’. The campaign has reached global status and has begun a dialogue between the people of these 2 nations that aren’t even able to phone each other. That’s right, you can’t phone Israel from Iran because their governments won’t allow it. But you can chat on Facebook and send photos and post inspirational poems and YouTube videos of your favourite Persian singer. And you can vow online, with a global audience as your witness, that you will never participate in a war that you don’t believe in.

Israeli Peace Activists Create Viral Campaign

The ‘Israel Loves Iran’ official Facebook page has gained over 50,000 likes, the campaign is getting press and attention from all over the world. Poster memes are popping up & Iranians are posting their responses with “Iran loves Israel” posters.

Why are we telling you this? Sometimes we like to be a bit more Zen than Media. Why? Because that’s who we are. We get juiced up by the possibility that Israel and Iran may find peace because one guy published a pink and green poster on his Facebook wall.

We are passionate about communication and we are passionate about helping visionaries like you find success by sharing your vision with a potentially global audience. We call it authentic marketing.

So get personal, get passionate! Social media is about connecting on a human level, so let your brand show off your glorious personality! A campaign goes viral because it does more than just offer value to a given audience, it usually goes a little extra mile to tickle a funny bone, take a stance or inspire. When starting any social media or viral campaign, think about what will ignite the passion of your audience and inspire them to share your message with the world.

And ya, we know we’re a week late wishing you a Happy Persian New Year, but Shireen (our Operations Manager) is only half-Persian so you can’t really blame ‘er, LOL!

Do you have an inspiring social media campaign you’d like to share? Or a personal story to tell? Share it in the comments!

About Shireen Nabatian

5 Basic Questions to Consider for Success in Any Marketing Campaign

AlyssaBurtt — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:50:44 +0000

First things first. Before you shell out the big bucks or spend hours writing a catchy ad or tweeting any new marketing campaign, ask yourself these fundamental questions to make sure your efforts are exerted in the right direction. Fine tune your current marketing efforts by taking the time to revisit the fundamentals. You might surprise yourself with the assumptions you have made, or the opportunities you did not consider.

1) What is the purpose of your current or new marketing campaign?

Is it to sell a particular product or service? Raise brand awareness? Fill seats at your next event?

2) Who are you targeting?

Soccer moms? Latino-Canadian couples in Vancouver? Describe the characteristics and culture of your best customer, their income level, the kind of car they drive, their interests and hobbies. Talk to them, ask them questions. What are their greatest challenges and needs? It might be different than you think. Put yourself into the mindset of your customer to better understand what motivates them.

3) What is the key benefit of your product or service to your target audience?

Forget about telling people all about the fancy features or widgets your product or service has, people make buying decisions based primarily on emotion. Get to the core of how your product or service will actually benefit your customer or fill their real need. Will it give them peace of mind? Bring them success? Increase their desirability?

4) Where do your customers put their attention?

Are there certain magazines or online blogs they read? Are they heavy Facebook users? Do they spend countless hours glued to their smartphones? Within the niche culture of your customers, who are the big influencers? Who are the vocal, active and passionate members? Follow these people on social media, attend their meetups, join their online forums, listen to what they are saying. Brainstorm ways to add value to these environments (ie. contribute interesting, entertaining or insightful content, comments or ads) and you will naturally attract customers to you.

5) Think about tone and voice.

Who is talking when you are writing your blog or interacting on social media? Is your voice casual, like a big sister? Or more formal, like a mentor? Be authentic. You will get much further with authenticity and a genuine interest in helping people. It can help to define your voice and tone, and this is a vital step if you are considering outsourcing your blogging and social media efforts.

In summary, figure out exactly who you are talking to, get to know their real needs and desires and think about how your product or service fulfills them. If you can communicate this clearly with the right tone and voice and in the right place at the right time, you will succeed with flying colours!

In answering these questions, did you think of any new opportunities or ideas for connecting with your audience? If so, please share in the comments!

About Alyssa Burtt

Help Google Help You: Effective Content Marketing Strategies for SEO

AlyssaBurtt — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 02:38:09 +0000

Search engines have no innate ability to discover and single out quality, relevant content on the web; they have no inherent means to judge the beauty of an artwork, or the degree of humour in a YouTube video, or how well-informed an opinion is expressed in a blog article. They rely on humans for this ability, and so it goes that the content people discover, view, share, link to and comment on the most will win Google’s vote and support, and Google will then boost that content’s exposure further with a good ranking.

Many people make the mistake of writing, optimizing and tailoring their content for search engine robots instead of for the human audience meant to enjoy that content. Sure, it’s important to do your keyword research and include the top keywords in your content, but keep in mind that the value of earning one good web link from an authoritative source is far higher than the value you might gain from carefully sprinkling your content with a 5-7% keyword density.

So the most fundamental challenge of a content marketing SEO strategy is less about choosing the perfect keywords as it is about attracting comments, links and shares from an engaged audience.

First and foremost, start by creating quality content consistently; then find unique ways to build an engaged audience; and once those first two fundamentals are in place, then strengthen your content with good keyword research. Search engines will start rewarding you by ranking your content.

Here are 3 effective tactics to expand your content’s reach quickly:

1) Express your opinion on a hot topic. Add your unique point of view, and find a way to relate it to your field of expertise or your brand. Share this article (or video, graphic, etc.) via social media, making use of trending Twitter hashtags, news forums and Facebook groups related to the topic.

2) Find an influential person in your industry or a related field that shares the same target audience as you, and approach them for an interview. Include the interview on your blog and your interviewee will likely share the link with their audience, giving your content increased exposure and views.

3) Find a blog that already ranks for the keywords you would like to rank for and proposition them to write a guest blog post on their site. Make sure you research their target audience and past posts first and pitch a topic they haven’t yet covered that would provide value to their audience. Include an author’s bio with a link back to your website.

Do you have any tips that have worked well for you to increase your audience and exposure quickly and effectively? Please let us know in the comments!

Find out if our Pay-for-Results Search Engine Optimization is right for your business. We will get you on the first page of Google, or it’s free!

About Alyssa Burtt

Increase Productivity through a state of Non-Attachment

AlyssaBurtt — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:06:09 +0000

There are times when all the best productivity tips in the world don’t seem to help. When undertaking a task that seems daunting, intimidating or that simply requires a bigger investment in energy, how much of your life force goes into worrying about the outcome? Submitting that big proposal, making that difficult phone call, planning that public speaking engagement, asking for a raise…

For entrepreneurs, these sorts of challenges come up all the time as we are constantly faced with the paradigm of risk and reward.

We begin most of our actions by weighing out the likelihood of a positive result; this is how we make smart choices in life, avoid undue pain and embarrassment and even how we set out to achieve our goals. However, there is a vital step in this process required if you want to find true success and fulfillment, and that is simply: let go of attachment to the outcome of your actions.

Easier said than done, but when you unplug yourself from worry and fear about the results of a certain activity, an incredible amount of energy gets freed up that you can then channel into rocking the task at hand.

Here are a few tricks that work for us:

• Start by recognizing the symptoms and call it what it is! If you can see it and name it, it can’t have the same power over you. Productivity barriers like avoidance and procrastination are often symptoms of fear or worry. When that comes up ask yourself, ‘what am I afraid of?’

• Acknowledge the fear and then just shake it off… literally! Blast some music, have a 5-minute dance party or go outside for a brisk walk. Just find a way to move through that stagnant energy. We need to get out of our minds to come to the present tense and what better way to do it?

• Break the task down into sizable chunks, delegate what you can and give yourself a special reward for completing each part of it. The more you celebrate and congratulate yourself on your successes, enjoy the moment and just let go of the outcome, the more room you make for further successes.

When we enter this state of trust and non-attachment, solutions are more likely to appear at the right place and the right time, as if by magic!

Do you have any zen productivity tips that work for you? Please share them in the comments!

About Alyssa Burtt

Add this to your Reading List in 2012: The New Rules of Marketing & PR

AlyssaBurtt — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:53:23 +0000

This January, one of the books I’ve been reading is the third edition of “The New Rules of Marketing & PR”, a must-read by David Meerman Scott.

A Review

In his book, he points out some of the biggest marketing mistakes many organizations make… Marketing tactics that may be repelling customers rather than attracting them. Many businesses are still trying to “push” their message onto potential customers, interrupting them with ads, radio and TV spots and other unsolicited, one-way broadcast-style advertising. These traditional methods can still be effective, but businesses need to make sure they are carefully targeting their messages and measuring their results to ensure they aren’t wasting their efforts.

The “new rules” of marketing and PR are based on studies of changing consumer behaviour, showing us that in an online world, your business needs to understand and implement online marketing strategies where the reach is huge, our messages can be more effective, and our efforts are easy to measure and inexpensive compared to traditional ads, TV commercials, etc. The “new rules” of marketing involve “pulling in” customers through inbound marketing practices such as Search Engine Optimization, social media, content strategy and blogging.

One of my biggest aha! moments

One of my biggest aha! moments in the book was when he talked about traditional PR tactics, where the common tactic is usually to send unsolicited story pitches to reporters or journalists who receive and ignore hundreds of these pitches every day. Instead, try following the personal blog or twitter account of the media personalities you would like to get exposure through and listen to what they write about. Try tailoring your pitch to a topic that interests them, and post a thoughtful comment about it in response to an article or tweet they publish. You’ll be much more effective at getting their attention with this strategy than by competing with their overcrowded inbox.

Word-of-Mouth has gone Global

He says in the Foreword, “something has changed in the past 10 years. Well, for one, we have Google now, but that’s only a part of the puzzle. What really has happened is that the word-of-mouth network has gotten more efficient — much, much more efficient.” Engaging with your audience, listening, providing them with a human face, a story and valuable relevant content can connect you with thousands of qualified potential customers if you do it smartly. This kind of activity empowers your customers to find and relate to your business through the principles of charm, social influence and the simple tactic of showing up in the right place at the right time.

Marketing has always been about attracting attention to your business. In this video, he points out the four major ways of getting attention, 3 old and 1 new:

1. You can buy it (with ads, email lists, etc.)
2. You can beg for it (PR pitches, media exposure)
3. You can bug for it (with aggressive sales pitches, unsolicited marketing)
or 4. You can earn it (by publishing fantastic content on the web and attracting a qualified audience)

Watch him speak in this video below and pick up his book on Amazon or the Vancouver Public Library. It’s a fantastic resource for any small business trying to navigate the world of marketing in 2012.

How to generate attention for your business from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

About David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott is an American online marketing strategist, public speaker and author of several books and a very popular blog. He once worked at Microsoft, was VP of marketing at NewsEdge and now writes for the Huffington Post and is on the board of advisors for Hubspot.

TAKEAWAYS: How are you leveraging the “new rules” of marketing in your business? What challenges are you facing and what successes have you experienced? Leave a comment below!

About Alyssa Burtt

2012: What’s your Game Plan?

AlyssaBurtt — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:06:21 +0000

Deep down, we all nurture a desire to truly thrive.

As a business owner, what does that mean for you?

In pursuit of our entrepreneurial dreams, we have poured our money, time and resources into our businesses, not always with the results we would hope for. Traditional methods of advertising are increasingly becoming less efficient and we often feel like we are shouting over the clamor, barely being heard.

2012 is the year to stop shouting and start engaging; stop surviving and start thriving. Changing consumer behavior indicates that inbound marketing efforts such as Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Blogging and E-mail Marketing make it easier to attract the right customers, measure your results and achieve your business goals.

Start by creating a marketing plan that serves your greater vision as well as the health of your bank account. It’s easier than ever. Inbound marketing allows you to measure every move you make and even accurately predict your potential for success before you lay down a single dime. No more moving blindly in the dark and hoping for the best. Plan to take your business to the next level in 2012. Make this year your game changer.

We’re changing our game in 2012, are you?

We started with building our own brand new mobile-friendly website this past fall and in 2012 we are expanding and supercharging our services to become an ROI-driven inbound marketing agency. Check out our Pay-for-Results Search Engine Optimization and subscribe to our monthly E-Newsletter to stay in touch.

About Alyssa Burtt

Online Strategies for Non-Profits

Shireen Nabatian — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:52:42 +0000

We’ve had the pleasure of working with some great non-profit organizations this year. Following are some questions you might want to ask yourself if you are thinking of redeveloping your organization’s website in the coming year.

Is social media important to my organization?

Social media can be helpful, but only if you’re using it for the right reasons. For non-profits, social media is about building relationships, raising awareness and keeping your ear to the ground. Listen and engage! This may not convert directly to new donations or new volunteers, but it may be hugely valuable to developing your next ad campaign, learning about public opinions and educating people about your cause. Ask yourself exactly what you want to accomplish via your social media channels and develop a strategy before you jump right in.

What is e-governance?

Your Board of Directors is an incredibly important asset to your organization, but are they operating efficiently? Board portals allows board members to log in to view meeting agendas and minutes, confirm meeting times, participate in committee workrooms and much more with much less administration than the usual rounds of group emails and hours required to keep everyone up to date and in the loop. There are expensive software solutions to this end or you can start by having a password-protected page where Board members can access information, requiring much less admin time for your staff.

Who will update the new website?

Make sure your new site is built using a content management system! (CMS) This means once the site is built, your developer hands it over and you have the ability to make updates and changes in-house without incurring extra charges. There are many solutions out there, depending on your needs. At ZenHouse Media, our preferred CMS is WordPress, an internationally renowned and sophisticated platform known for its easy-to-use back-end and huge availability of community-developed themes and plug-ins, allowing for rich customization. A system like this allows you or your staff to independently update the content of your site. You just won’t have to pay a developer or company to do things like post pictures from your most recent gala fundraiser or add an FAQ section about volunteering in Bolivia. Unless of course you want to!

Who is my audience?

• donors
• alumni
• members
• volunteers
• parents
• government agencies
• corporate sponsors
• grant makers
• potential volunteers/board members/other stakeholders

Write down all that apply, and all the ones we’ve missed, too. Who do you need to reach out to more than anyone else? Be very clear about your target audience when you start redeveloping your website and bring this list to the table when you meet potential web developers.

What am I trying to accomplish with my website?

Make them FIND you. Consider SEO and online marketing to make sure your beautiful website gets found!

Make them STICK to you. Once a user comes to your website, do you have updated content? Fun stuff like videos? A slideshow? Relevant, current content? If not, those folks are going to leave your site within 30 seconds and they might not come back.

Make them JOIN you! Use call to action buttons that make it easy for viewers to sign up for the e-newsletter, sign up to be a volunteer, or donate through Paypal.

Make them TALK about you. And make it easy for them, too! This means share buttons, Facebook like buttons so that people can spread the word effortlessly. Post interesting information. Become an authority on your cause so that people come to your site to learn.

Web design and user architecture standards will help you navigate this terrain and come out with a website that is working effectively for your organization, whatever its needs. Let’s get started!