{"id":11548,"date":"2020-10-08T16:01:55","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T20:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newpirdev.wpengine.com\/for-orgs\/learning-center\/resources\/play-ball-how-to-market-your-new-org-website\/"},"modified":"2024-06-26T20:07:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T00:07:27","slug":"play-ball-how-to-market-your-new-org-website","status":"publish","type":"learning-center","link":"https:\/\/pir.org\/for-orgs\/learning-center\/resources\/play-ball-how-to-market-your-new-org-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Play Ball! How to Market Your New .ORG Website"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>By Jim LeFevre, Senior Director of Marketing, PIR<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>This article is part 4 of an 8-part series called &#8220;Bootcamp for Mission-Driven Organizations&#8221;.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the beloved late-80s American baseball film, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Field_of_Dreams\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Field of Dreams<\/strong><\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, James Earl Jones whispers to Kevin Costner, \u201cIf you build it, they will come.\u201d A website, of course, is different from an Iowa cornfield turned baseball diamond that attracts spectators by the droves (rent the movie, it\u2019s a good one!). Simply creating one won\u2019t pull in viewers. So, how do you get people to visit your website and stay until the final inning? To drive engagement, you must<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">market your site once it\u2019s built. And in marketing, like baseball, good pitching is essential. In other words: \u201cIf you promote it, they will click.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you market your new .ORG website? We\u2019ve assembled the following tips to help you break out of the minors and play in the major league.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Get to Know Your Fan Base<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re trying to reach Yankees fanatics, don\u2019t spend too much time pitching lifelong Red Socks groupies. Meaning, learn as much about your audience as you can. We recommend creating written \u201csuperfans,\u201d personas of your ideal member, volunteer or customer, so you can tailor your message to resonate with folks with similar interests. Keep in mind that some regions have privacy laws that impact how you reach your audience, so do your research and consider your audience\u2019s:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hobbies and interests;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media platforms of preference;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">News sources or websites they may frequent; and<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Organizations they may already support.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flesh out your superfans as much as possible, including things like common interests and activities. <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/creativescience.co\/nonprofit-target-audience\/\">Defining your target audience<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will help ensure your marketing efforts reach the right people.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Throw Out the First Pitch<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re getting ready for opening day, you\u2019ve likely spent many hours building the site, writing clear and cohesive content, choosing appealing colors and images, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Search_engine_optimization\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>paying attention to search engine optimization (SEO)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Now it\u2019s time to launch. Consider these tips to boost success:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include your superfans in the story. Draw them in with an email\u00a0 introducing your new site and invite them to check it out (note: in some jurisdictions consent to email marketing materials is required). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A YouTube video link featuring a video message is another great way to make your announcement pop;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Send out a press release and post it on your site;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invite your entire team to promote it. Encourage everyone in your organization to share your website via interactions with customers, donors, and volunteers (and make sure the web address is included in all email signatures);<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incentivize. The virtual equivalent of free swag for superfans is to offer access to a helpful webinar or exclusive event. Have them fill out their contact information on your website to draw in traffic, but make sure to comply with all privacy rules and regulations when collecting user data.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Keep the Hits Coming<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that you\u2019ve been at bat, you\u2019ve got to build on the momentum to hit a grand slam. Great ways to put power behind the swing of your bat include email marketing, advertising, and stepping up your social media:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good email marketing strategy says you care about your audience and encourage their participation. Make sure your emails are succinct, and if you need some guidance, <\/span><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classy.org\">www.classy.org<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> offers ideas for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classy.org\/blog\/nonprofit-email-marketing-9-examples\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>generating great copy<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take advantage of low- and no-cost advertising on such platforms as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google. Google Ad Grants offers in-kind advertising to qualifying non-profits. To see how these grants have helped other non-profits, check out this article on <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.elevationweb.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>www.elevationweb.org<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And for more free marketing advice, consider <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nonprofithub.org\/free-guides\/\">these guides<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nonprofithug.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>www.nonprofithug.org<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media platforms are some of the best tools you can use to market your non-profit. Share bits of news your superfans can use, like mission, event photos, testimonials, volunteer stories, and more. Facebook offers a \u201cDonate Now\u201d button for your page, so take advantage of that!\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Sustain Your Winning Streak<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To keep your website in game-day shape, you\u2019ve got to use the site to promote itself. That means optimizing the experience for your superfans with such ideas as:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An email opt-in pop-up to generate more subscribers;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Videos capturing the imagination and attention of visitors;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A captivating \u201cAbout Us\u201d page that shares your story and mission; and, of course;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A donation form so users can easily contribute to the cause.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember: If you promote it, they will click!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><br>Resources<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Launching your non-profit or good for the world business website can be overwhelming, but it also can be an exciting opportunity to drive your message. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/johnrampton\/2016\/04\/12\/first-10-things-you-should-do-when-launching-a-website\/#4dc52dd37632\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Here are some important things to think about<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when you\u2019re getting ready to launch. Here is an example of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdmfun.org\/creative-discovery-museum-launches-new-biofuels-website\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>launch press release<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And, here are some great tidbits to build your non-profit\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nonprofithub.org\/nonprofit-branding\/five-ways-build-nonprofit-brands-buzzability\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<strong>buzzability<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t forget to research any local requirements and rules for outreach via email and use of personal data.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":11549,"template":"","article-type":[577],"bit-type":[],"learning-center-category":[567,476,578],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.5 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Importance of Website Marketing for Success - PIR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Website marketing: key strategies to drive engagement and increase traffic. 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