Strengthen Your Organization Online

At a fundraising conference in Maryland, nonprofit leaders offered up their inside advice on revamping your website to attract more visitors in a session called: "What's the Good Word? Re-Write your Website to Engage and Inspire Supporters." Here are the nine pieces of advice in no particular order:

- Lead the way with examples when you ask someone to take action. Create a place on your website where you can show what supporters and your organization are doing and encourage others to share what they're doing to help make a difference in the theme of your mission.

- Know your audience and condition your content for them. Microsites or sites catered directly at a certain campaign or a very specific message your organization is promoting can help break through to your target audience in a direct and efficient matter.

- Personal stories make a difference. Encouraging the people or groups your organization seeks to help to post their own stories, videos and photos on your website or YouTube channel can put a face to your mission and spark action and support.

- Create a voice for your organization and humanize the issues and staff. Sometimes real changes to your website can be a long process, however, advancing and evolving are necessary and the more interactive you become via microcampaigns and targeted emails, etc. the more your voice is heard.

- Get to know donors and volunteers to understand what matters to them. Sometimes all it takes is a Facebook page or a Twitter account where communication with your organizations is open and easy.

- Start all message development by asking the questions: "Why would our list care?" and "What would they want to hear?" Insiders say that if you cannot answer these two questions then change that message.

- Get feed back from constituents and encourage communication. It is important to make everything you do a team effort with constituents.

- Close the loop when you ask for support. Make sure your constituents know what changes their actions involved in your organization have made happen.

- Work smarter, not harder. Connect your online presences so when a message goes out from one, it updates them all.