Developing an Information Management Master Plan

Training Module for Electronic Community NGOs and other interested parties

Developing an Information Management Master Plan

A Primer for the Development of a Long Term Technology Plan

Index

What is an Information Master Plan?

Why should my organization have an Information Master Plan?

Plannaging – Planning and Managing Change with your Information Master Plan

Taking Inventory

Backplanning

Budgeting for Your Plan

Explanation & Example of the Template

View & Save A Blank Template

  Search the Internet: Everytime you use the Electronic Community Searchpage to search the Internet, The Electronic Community receives a small contribution to further our important work. Click here to place this page in your toolbar favorites.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

What is an Information Master Plan?

An Information Master Plan is a carefully drafted, organic, plan for adding and utilizing technology related to information systems. Carefully crafted because it requires you to think through the process of adding or upgrading technology based upon the needs of your organization and its financial capability; Organic because it is an evolving, growing and changing document reflecting the above. In other words as your organization grows, shifts mission focus, sees changing financial support patterns, etc. your IMP should be revised to reflect these changes. Thus allowing you to monitor your success and shortcomings.

An IMP allows your organization to utilize technology as it was intended. Owning a computer or printers are not an end in and of themselves but , rather, they are a means for achieving the mission of the organization more efficiently and effectively. Otherwise your hardware is in danger of becoming little more than an expensive paperweight sitting on your desk – or the desk of a colleague or employee.

If the development of an IMP does not reflect the mission and goals of your organization – and,hopefully, an overall long term strategic plan that you have adopted – then it will do little to assist you in either budgeting or enhancing your mission.

The three most important questions to ask about an IMP are:

    1. Does it reflect the mission and goals of my organization?

    2. Does it reflect the mission and goals of my organization? And ,

    3. You guessed it - - Does it reflect the mission and goals of my organization?

In truth, there are indeed important questions to ask yourself about an IMP but none is more important than the question of whether it helps you reach the goals that you have set for your organization – no matter how humble or grand.

    Why should my organization have an Information Master Plan?

    Table of Contents

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Why should my organization have an Information Master Plan?

While engaged in the never ending struggle for funds to keep your organization alive sometimes seems as if it is the measure of your success and strength, the real strength of an organization comes not from financial capital but from its human capital . . . in other words, the people within your organization and those that you serve are the lifeblood of your organization and its reason for being.

Effective planning for information systems that enhance the ability of your organization’s staff to carry out their mission will add tremendously to your capacity to serve the people your organization was intended to serve. Unplanned, additions to your hardware or software or training capacity may contribute little to the effectiveness of the organization and its mission and may drain critical financial resources that could have been used for other mission specific activities.

This primer is intended to assist you in the development of an IMP by describing the considerations, the categories and the methodology of crafting a plan. However, it is largely dependent upon your vision as an organization. If you find that you are simply guessing about numbers of staff, computers, printers telephone lines etc, then you have probably not done long term strategic planning for your organization – or you are not utilizing the planning that you have done. Every organization should be “visioning their future” and attempting to determine where it will be in 5 years based upon its mission and the changing landscape. This does not necessarily mean that your organization will be bigger. Perhaps your mission does not require growth in terms of numbers of employees. It does, however, mean that you will be more effectively and efficiently fulfilling the tasks that you have set before yourself to accomplish.

Plannaging – Planning and Managing Change with your Information Master Plan

Table of Contents

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Plannaging – Planning and Managing Change with your Information Master Plan

There are many methodologies that have been developed for creating long term plans – whether they are general plans of technological ones. One of the simplest and most efficient methods for doing this is a method developed by Fred Jervis who is the spark behind an organization called the Center for Constructive Change, located in Durham NH, USA.  Their term for it is “Plannaging” an abbreviation for planning and managing change but very simply it can be viewed as “Backplanning”.

What is “Backplanning”?

Simply put Backplanning involves 3 simple steps:

    1.) Taking inventory of where you are now.

    2.) Envisioning where you would like to be in a specific period of time; and,

    3.) Planning backward to create a timeline for achieving your goals.

Be sure to create measurable goals and benchmarks, so that you have a means for determining whether you are sticking to your plan or diverging from it: For each aspect of your IMP create an inventory statement (or simply a number); a measureable statement about where you will be in 5 years. Then, fill in the space in between with measurable goal statements or numbers describing where you will be at each particular point in time.

    Taking Inventory

    Table of Contents

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Taking Inventory

Unlike an inventory that a grocer or shop owner would take, your inventory will require you to look at both technology resources, human resources and goals (preferably already outlined in a general long term strategic plan for your organization). It will require you to take stock of where you are, to envision where you hope to be and to construct a “roadmap” of how you will utilize technology for getting there.

When you have finished reading this and answered the questions, go to the IMP form and fill them in. Or download an excel spreadsheet template for easier updating and fill it in. If you use the HTML form, be sure to leave the form open in order to fill in all the information.

      Mission Driven Inventory

What is the overall mission of your organization? Okay, you’re getting tired of being told this. However, it is critical that you consistently keep this in mind as you inventory, envision and map your technologic future.

How many offices do you currently have? Are there too many, too few, or just the right number to serve your mission today?

How many phone lines do you have currently? Are they sufficient to meet your current needs?

Personnel Inventory

How many people are employed by your organization? Are they dispersed among various offices or all under the same roof? Is your staffing adequate to meet your current needs?

What are the technology skill levels of your employees today? Are they adequate? What changes need to be made to assure their adequacy - particularly in, light of where your IMP will take the organization?

Equipment Inventory

How many computers, printers, laptops, servers, etc., does your organization have currently? Are there enough to meet your current needs? (Don’t forget that if you don’t have employees who know how to use the computers they will not be of any use to you and the longer they sit idle the greater the chances become that they are less helpful in meeting your needs and more intimidating to your staff).

Are there other types of technological equipment that your organization might need to more successfully fulfill your mission? Ie: Scanners, binding equipment, sound or video editing equipment? How will you plan for adding these things?

What is Backplanning?

Table of Contents

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Backplanning  Utilizing the two ends of the spectrum that you have created, plan backwards for achieving the goals you have outlined, using measurable objectives in the form of a number or a statement. 

A measurable objective is exactly what it sounds like. An objective that you can measure, thus allowing you to determine at any point your progress in meeting the goals outlined in your masterplan.

What if you haven't met your objectives?

There are several possible reasons for an organizations failure to meet their measurable objectives.

    * Unrealistic Goals: Perhaps you hoped for too much. If this is the case you will want to make revisions to your master plan to make it more realistic. An Information Master Plan is only helpful to your organization if your goals and objectives are realistic. Overstating those goals will lead to frustration among your staff, and disappointment among your supporters. Review your Information Master Plan, in all areas and determine if you need to make revisions that reflect more reasonably your operating environment.

    * Organizational Crisis: Perhaps an unexpected problem within the organization created a more immediate crisis that required the expenditure of either human or monetary resources that diminished the capacity to reach your goals. Assess first whether this crisis is really unique or whether you just failed to anticipate at least one unexpected problem that would require immediate attention. How often does your organization experience these kinds of "urgent" problems and how does that effect your ability to focus attention on those things that are "important". If you are regularly trying to put out "fires" within your organization, this may be a sign that your planning process is flawed. It is critical that your organization does not lose sight of what is important to its mission because it is always facing a crisis that is urgent.

Understand that you are not obligated to the first number or statement that you put down. As you look at the plan on a line by line basis and on an overall basis, you may see inconsistencies. Go back and make adjustments to reflect a realistic point of view.

    Budgeting for Your Plan

Table of Contents

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Budgeting for Your Plan

Now that you have what you consider to be a well thought out roadmap to your technological and mission driven future, how does this plan impact your budget? Can you raise sufficient funds to match the challenges that you have set out for yourself? Are there ways of achieving similar results with less expenditure (for example – peer to peer training may be sufficient for some kinds of skill training. It is less expensive – but you must still plan for it and execute your plan).

Using the Excel Template you should fill in a budget estimate for each of the items that you list (each of your measurable objectives). At the bottom of your template you will note a budget total line where the running total for that year appears. This is the bottom line cost for your goals. If it is unrealistic in terms of your fundraising abilities then you must rethink your IMP or your strategies for fundraising - whichever seems a more likely avenue for success.

Rethinking the IMP requires of course that you substitute new (realistic) budget estimates next to each of your measurable objectives and determine whether you now have a budget that is within reach of your fundraising capacity.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sample IMP Matrix

              Today                           One Year                           Two Years                           Three Years                           Four Years                           5 Years             Measurable Outcome Statement                                          

Mission              

Offices             A separate plan should be created for each office with an overall plan for the full organization              

Personnel              

Total             2                           10             There will be ten employees              

Management             1                           2 employees will manage the enterprise              

Technical                           1                           1 technical person will administer the technology              

Mission Oriented             1                           4 people will focus on the mission of the organization              

Public Relations                           1 person will do publicity & media relations              

Development/Funding                           1 person will focus their energy on fundraising & development              

Maintenance                           1 person will maintain the facilities              

               

Hardware                           All mission critical staff will have a computer              

Desktop Computers             1                           3                           5                           6                           7                           9             All auxilliary staff will have access to a shared computer              

Laptop Computers             0                           1                           2              

Servers             0                           1                           1              

Telephones             1                           2                           3              

Cellular Phones             0                           1                           2              

Printers              

Software              

General Compatability              

Unified Platform              

Mission Specific              

Website              

Training              

Technical Training             Intro for 1 staff                           1 intermediate, 1 beginner             1advanced, 1 intermediate, 1 beginner              

Unified Software Training                           Inform Staff             Unified software training                           All staff will utilize a unified selection of software              

email Training             1 person trained                           Peer to peer training for all             Peer to peer training for all             Peer to peer training for all             Peer to peer training for all                           All staff will be trained to send and receive email (              

WWW Training             1 person trained                           Peer to peer training for all             Peer to peer training for all             Peer to peer training for all             Peer to peer training for all                           All core staff will be trained to browse & use the Web              

Mission specific software Tr             None Currently                           Acquire mission specific software              

                            Procure training for current employees             Peer to peer training for all mission staff             Peer to peer training for all mission staff             Peer to peer training for all mission staff                           Will have mission related software              

Infrastructure                           & proved training for all mission specific personnel              

Network             None                           Peer to peer network              

Printers             one              

email             None                           1 address & email                           Desktop email for mission critical, shared email for auxillary staff              

WWW Access             None                           1 Access Point                           10 Access Points             Desktop access to WWW for all Mission Critical, Shared for Auxilliary

Website                           Web address & email link             Informational Page                           FR, ENG, PTG                           Commerce Enhancing             Full Commerce             A website with an electronic storefront selling member products              

               

Data Management              

              No Data management             All staff able to manage individual             Create Server for Shared Files             All employees able to utilize network                           By year 5 all data management will be overseen by a Technical specialist

              desktops appropriately             & other documents. Institute Unified             to manage data effectively              

              Software Platform. Remove all other              

              unauthorized software              

User Management              

Backup Management              

Budget Costs              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Blank Information Master Plan Matrix

              Today             Budget             One Year             Y1 Budget             Two Years             Y2 Budget             Three Years             Y3 Budget             Four Years             Y4 Budget             5 Years             Y5 Budget             Measurable Outcome Statement

Mission              

Offices              

Personnel              

Total              

Management              

Technical              

Mission Oriented              

Public Relations              

Development/Funding              

Maintenance              

               

Hardware              

Desktop Computers              

Laptop Computers              

Servers              

Telephones              

Cellular Phones              

Printers              

Software              

General Compatability              

Unified Platform              

Mission Specific              

Website              

Training              

Technical Training              

Unified Software Training              

email Training              

WWW Training              

Mission specific software Tr              

               

Infrastructure              

Network              

Printers              

email              

WWW Access              

Website              

               

Data Management              

User Management              

Backup Management              

Budget Costs              

                                                                                                                                                                                       

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Conducting an Annual Campaign

A Primer
An annual campaign is a fundraising campaign conducted every year to raise unrestricted operating revenues for your organization. By unrestricted we mean that the revenues accrued can be used for any purposes within the mission of the organization.
Many organizations send only one annual campaign soliciation per year. However, in most cases we believe that an organization should set a goal for the future to have quarterly mailings for annual campaign contributions. There are many reasons for this but primarily there are two important ones: “share of mind” and budgetary.

“Share of mind” simply expresses the need to keep your organization in front of the support base as often as possible - without going overboard. For those who are only able to make small gifts, it helps make you the principle recipient of their charitable giving. For those able to give more it provides them with additional opportunities. In the future these “share of mind” efforts should extend to anything sent to your support base – for example your newsletter and annual report should have a response card and envelope in it.
Budgetary reasons are often the principle impediment to “larger” gifts from modest donors. If they are given more opportunities to give, they will often take advantage of those.
______________________________________________________
"Lillies of the Valley"


Order this image as card or print, here.
Would you like to use this image as a fundraising instrument for your nonprofit organization or school? Follow this link to learn more.
______________________________________________________
Bulk vs. First Class Mailing
Generally speaking the mailings should be sent bulk, with one first class mailing per year as a means to update your database. If you are going to use your database system to send to a smaller “universe” of donors and potential donors you will want to create a code system to designate the “quality” of the donor. We recommend that at least 2 of the mailings go to the entire universe – and we’ll be discussing the universe of donors more later in this primer.
You can do bulk mailing in-house but it is very labor intensive and you will be better served to use a bulk mail house to do the mailing for you. In addition to having them code and sort the letters, we recommend that you also have them do the output of the actual letters, and the folding and stuffing as well. You can do this yourself, of course. However, again you will be using up several valuable days of time in this process. Between sorting, coding, printing, stuffing and mailing if you do this in-house you can plan on using four to six days of labor for an organization with a list of 1500 people. Multiply this times four mailings a year and you see that somewhere between three and seven weeks of time will be consumed by this task (all day x five work days per week). The mailhouse has everything automated and can do the task in 2 days once they have your text and list (obviously not including printing time if anything needs to be printed).
Creating the Appeal

There are two different schools of thought about appeal letters. Both have merit so we will describe them for you.
1. Short and Sweet
As suggested by its name this letter is short – one page preferably. This letter should be designed to tug at people’s heartstrings either through the memories it evokes or because of who is the writer. This type of letter should NOT be written by a committee and frankly it's best not to have it edited by a committee either. It should be a letter that comes from the heart and in order to hold together editing should be minimal.

There are four important considerations in such a letter:
First, it must be personal and use the word YOU when addressing the potential donor (and use it OFTEN).
Example (For a camp):
Don’t: Summer is fast approaching and we need new boats for the waterfront.
Do: Summer is fast approaching and we need your help to assure that the happy sounds of children boating will continue to reverberate across Smith Lake.
Second, be sure to clearly state the action you want them to take. Example: I’m asking you to sit down right now and make a contribution to assure the future of our beloved camp.
Third, it must be formatted in an appealing way. Use bold format and underlining sparingly – but use it. Bold and underline the one or two sentences that directly address the urgency and the personal nature of the appeal. Example: Delta would not be here without you. Your generous gift keeps the dream alive for generation after generation of boys and girls.
Fourth, always use a PS (in bold) to reiterate your main message. Throughout the process keep the following in mind: Current market research shows that the average busy person (read: our typical donor) receives 30 to 50 pieces of mail a day. Of those, one half go into the wastebasket in no more time than it takes to move his or her hand from the pile to the basket. 25% receive less than 2 seconds of time to look at the return address, flip from front to back, and then cast them into the trash; The remaining 25% of mail will be opened. Of those opened 2/3 will be thrown away in less than 1 minute. The trick is to make it into the last 25%. In fact, the return address of your organization, if you have a loyal base of support, in most cases will assure that.
If you make it that far, you want to be sure that you are making one or two statements that will cause that person to place you in his or her “to do” box. The bold statement within the letter and the PS are your best hope. From time to time an envelope with a special message printed on the front or back will also help.

2. Information Rich Appeals
An information rich letter is based on the assumption that donors want to have lots of details on what you have been doing, what it costs, why you need their help etc.
Often these letters are five or six pages long. We don’t like them, and we almost never read them, but the evidence from professional journals is that they are effective. This is the sort of letter that would be written by the director or a member of the board and provide substance to the “ask”.
Nevertheless, the rules stated above regarding use of the word YOU, the PS and the formatting objectives still apply. In fact, they are even more critical because you have to catch the attention of those who are not inclined to read such a long missive.
Try to put one critical sentence on the first page. If possible, use both sides of your paper and have the PS at the end be on the back page so that an individual who flips over the four pages after looking at only the front page sees the bold PS reminder.
Example: This year we have traveled around the US visiting 20 different states and 30 cities and towns. We have held twenty recruitment receptions and attended eight camp fairs to help spread the news about Delta. In this complex world it is always a challenge to get families to take the time to see the importance of the Delta experience. But once we have their attention they begin to see what you already know. You know the importance of Delta to the development of a child. Delta is not just a place to have fun. . . since our earliest days, Delta has been in the character development business.
Printing & Preparing the List
Every mailing should contain the following:
1. Appeal Letter
2. Response card
3. Return envelope
4. Mailing envelope - may be standard envelope or specifically designed for the appeal with a particular text message on it. Be sure that it has the bulk mail indicia.
The response card should carefully outline choices for contributing. Be sure that individuals have the opportunity to note whether their employer has a matching gifts program.
If you are doing the letter in-house you can print personal letters directly from your database. You can also print labels as well. The challenge thereafter is to be sure that the right letter goes into the right envelope. This may sound silly but you would be surprised at how easy it is for mistakes to happen when you have been stuffing envelopes for two days straight. If you are having the mailing done by a mail house here is what we recommend:
Use your database to identify your “donor universe”. Sort by zip code for bulk mail purposes.

• Export those names with the following information

• Title
• First Name
• Last Name
• Second Name (spouse with different name, companion)
• Address 1
• Address 2
• Town
• State
• Zip
• Salutation

• Open the list up in an Excel spreadsheet (use text setting for the Zip Code or 0’s will be dropped from the front of numbers). This will allow any mail house to use your address document.
• Provide the printer/mail house with a text file of the letter, including a scanned signature.
• Have them print the letter, merging the names and addresses into it. If they can’t do this, you have the wrong mail house.

Your Donor Universe
The donor universe is the term used to describe the parameters you use to define your list for solicitation. You define your universe by using your database system and the various codes that you create to distinguish between contributors.
If your database contains several different members of a (nuclear) family, you will want to code the primary family member to receive mailings. There are few things that turn off donors faster than to have five solicitations come to the same address. The message this sends is that you don’t spend their hard earned money very wisely.
At least two of the annual appeal letters should be sent to this full universe, one of which should be sent first class because it will help you to clean up your database on an annual basis. If you wonder why this is, 46 million Americans move every year. . . ‘nuf said.
You may wish to focus on a smaller universe in other mailings but try to add at least some of those who are not regular donors. Do not assume that a lack of a history of giving on the part of any individuals means they should not be asked, for various reasons they may not have given yet but may if you keep at it or if you happen to strike the right cord with them.

Add to your Universe

Finding Lost Supporters
Every year you will lose some members of your donor community. If you have been wise and left their names in the database with a coding indicating that they are lost, you are halfway to expanding your base of support. If you have removed them, try to track down a paper trail that will allow you to add them back in.
You can pay for a service that will help find individuals, but unless you have a feeling that there would be a big payoff we recommend you use existing free resources on the Internet. Save your money to spend on potentially big donors that you have lost by using the technique described below.
The technique of tracking people down via the Internet works exceedingly well for people with unique names or for whom you have some idea of their location. It does not work well for people with common names
USSearch.com is the Website for a company called US Search. This website allows you to do a general search for people in their database. It is a teaser for the use of its service, but can be very useful for hunting down someone who is lost.
Parameters within which you can search: First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name, City, State and Age. The parameter that is required and most useful is Age because that will often help you to hone in on the correct individual.
A real example. Let’s assume that Moosewood President Wayne King is lost. He graduated from Camp Mowglis in 1969 (it was a great year by the way!) at the time he should have been 14 (he was 12 but we’ll ignore that) so he should be 49 today. He’s lost so we don’t know where he is. So we fill in his name, age and leave the city and state blank and do a search.
The computer database responds that there are too many Wayne Kings and that you need to narrow your search. If you know that his middle initial is D., that will help (you’ll get 158 Wayne D. King’s). Perusing this list you will see a Wayne King who is the right general age in Rumney, NH and Campton, NH, and a Wayne King, age unknown, in Laconia NH. Since we know that Wayne came from NH that’s a pretty good shot. Now you have narrowed down the field considerably. Now you go to any of the many Internet people search engines (we use http://people.yahoo.com/) and do a search on those three towns for Wayne King. Yahoo shows no Wayne King in Campton (probably because he grew up there but no longer resides there) and no Wayne King in Laconia . . . but in Rumney there is one on Stinson Lake Road with a telephone number! Pick up the phone and check him out or send him a quick note.
Service Providers, Contractors, Consultants, etc.

Don’t define your donor database too narrowly. Anyone with whom you have a relationship should be included in the full universe of donors and potential donors. For example: any business with which you have a relationship should be on your database and should be solicited. Given the amount of business that you do with your printer, for example, they should be making a generous donation every year to your organization. Likewise other local businesses will see the efficacy of making a contribution and if they don’t you should consider changing your provider – where competitive services are available, of course. A for-profit business would expect this kind of relationship and so should you. 

3407 Flight Crash Stills Vital Voices

The crash of Flight 3407 on the evening of February 12, 2009 has stilled 50 voices, all of them
important, all of them loved. Four of those voices are among the many who have used their lives in areas that have affected me personally.

For those who, like myself, find themselves inexorably drawn to the joy and tragedy of the African experience, the death of Dr. Alison Des Forges is a terrible blow. Des Forges was a leading authority on the Rwanda genocide and has been a Senior Advisor to, and board member of, the world's foremost human right organization, Human Rights Watch, for nearly twenty years. Dr. Des Forges' example and wisdom have served to help us to better understand the triumphs and failing of the human condition and to see broadly the complexities of relationships between countries and ethnic groups. More

Guerilla Marketing on the Internet

An Overview
By Wayne D. King

The Term “Guerilla Marketing” has become an oft-mentioned one in recent years. For the most part, it describes a state of mind in which one uses sometimes unorthodox, and always carfully-targeted, cost-effective methodologies for marketing a business.

One of the most effective mediums for this kind of marketing is the Internet. This has been true since the Internet’s inception. However, with the development of many new technologies now linked to the Internet, it is particularly true.

Understanding the way various technologies work and keeping up with the latest innovations is the key to effectively harnessing the technology for your guerilla marketing efforts. But keeping up with these technologies is nearly impossible for most small businesses. This article is intended to provide you with a better understanding of the technology available on the Internet and how to most effectively use it to enhance your marketing efforts.
Let me start by saying that Guerilla Marketing is NOT SPAM. If you are trying to keep your identity secret or using a fake return address or doing anything that prevents a person from removing themselves from your lists or making a direct inquiry, you are being a spammer, not a guerilla and probably breaking the law. A true Guerilla always provides a legitimate address and follows the letter of federal law when using the Internet.
The techniques, ideas and opinions below have been learned through a combination of experience designing marketing campaigns with an Internet component; and, most recently, through publishing magazines, websites and blogs that relied on advertising for their main revenue stream. The eye opening experience of being on the “selling side” rather than the buyer side of Internet advertising has revealed many of my previous efforts on the “buying side” to have been ill-conceived at best and wasteful at worst. Fortunately for me, most of the efforts were successful despite my inadequate understanding of the media. This article is intended to share with you some of those experiences to allow you to avoid the pitfalls and embrace the most effective ways of marketing on the Web. I’ll just touch on some of the basics here, but you can find much more detailed information by following the web links throughout this article.
Your Business Website
Do you even need a business website? The answer to this for almost every business is an unequivocal YES. What you spend to create this site and how it is used is another matter entirely, that will be addressed in a few moments.

More and more people are doing research, even local research, on the web before the make purchasing decisions for products or services. You may not see it. In fact chances are good that you won’t see it. However, these days when a customer walks into your business or showroom, or calls on the telephone, better than 65% of the time they have done research on the Web. They probably have a pretty good idea of who your competitors are, what they are offering for your product or service line. In short they are more informed than buyers have ever been before. If you don’t have a website consider yourself lucky that they are even visiting. Or thank one of the many websites like Google, Verizon, or Yellow Pages etc. , that have free business directories online.

Do you need a fancy website? Not necessarily. Most businesses can get by with nothing more than what is termed a “billboard” website. It simply provides basic information about your business and its products or services and information about how to find out more by contacting you or downloading more details. You don’t even necessarily need to have a domain name (www.yourbusinessname.com) although as you get better at employing the Internet for marketing, you’ll probably want this.

Website Primer - Frequently asked questions about Developing a Website
10 Tips for Effective Web Writing

Email
If you aren’t getting an email address from every customer or prospect that you come in contact with you are missing an opportunity to really keep in close contact with your business base and it’s costing you. For every letter you put in the mail, ask yourself if you could have achieved the same effect by firing off an email. This can be done for everything from invoices to marketing pieces. The key to using email effectively for your business is to minimize the intrusiveness and maximize the usefulness (to your customer) of your marketing efforts. An email is going to be more readily acceptable if it contains useful information as well as your pitch.

Develop different email lists that are for different things. The more you know your customers the better you will be at creating lists that are well targeted. For example, if you are a real estate business and you are sending commercial listings out to people who are looking for a residential home, it won’t be long before everyone has asked to be removed from your list. On the other hand, if you are sending out a weekly email with your latest residential listings and some tips on how to find the best rates on a mortgage one week and how to choose a home inspection company the next, you are both providing a service and encouraging the use of your services. If you are a beginner at this, take some time to learn the email system you have and how to utilize it in the least intrusive, most informative way that you can.

Website AdvertisingWebsite advertising is by far the least expensive electronic medium for generating interest in your product or services. A banner ad or a skyscraper ad on a website with adequate traffic can generate substantial traffic for your own website, and leads for your business. The technologies associated with website advertising have come a long way in just a few years. While many websites are still charging for space on a monthly basis with their charges at least somewhat related to the number of overall visitors to the website, others have moved to more sophisticated systems that give the guerilla marketer opportunities to advertise on line far more effectively and at substantial savings. Those websites that have deployed newer technologies can provide the advertiser with the opportunity to place ads based on a precise number of views and the specific interest of consumers, even as specific as keywords. These are the kinds of websites that the guerilla seeks out for advertising online.

Lets say you have a sports equipment business. You can choose only those pages that relate to outdoor sports. You can be even more specific and advertise on only skiing related pages during the winter and hiking pages in the summer. Best of all you can specify how many times your ad will be seen and pay only for the actual number of views. No more buying ads and hoping that people will see your banner, you purchase 1000 or 10,000 views and then your banner ad runs until 10,000 people have seen it, whether that takes 10 minutes or 10 months. The guerilla likes this venue for advertising because it effectively targets the market and can cost as little as one-half cent per view.

One of the newest forms of advertising, contextual advertising links allows the guerilla to hone in on a keyword or words and have a single line text ad appear within the content of the story. So for example a company that specializes in foliage tours might choose the word autumn as a keyword, the website software would then identify stories where the word autumn appears and place a link like the one below

• 15% off foliage tours at Tourmasters.com [click here].

The ad is still an ad, and distinguished from the content by its placement and appearance, but it is so closely targeted to the content that the chances of a visitor clicking through are enhanced dramatically.

These simple tips alone will make a substantial difference in your marketing efforts.

Tips for Effective Writing on the Web

Tips for Effective Writing on the Web

By Wayne D. King

Writing for the Web is just not the same as writing for a publication or penning the great American novel. Let’s face it, the medium is much different. The average Web browser wants information . . . and wants it quickly. Unlike the reader who sits down before the fire with a great book, your visitor wants you to convey your message personally, directly and fast.

However, don’t get the impression that words don’t matter. In fact they matter very much. It is simply a matter of which words you choose that dictates the success of your Website.

Here are 10 tips for writing effective web copy:

1. Give them Substance in “Web Bites”.
You’ve heard of “sound bites” before. It is the phrase used to describe how a political figure or a public figure phrases a message quickly. The message has substance, but they know that they have only a few seconds on TV or the radio to give you that message so they paraphrase what they want to say. Your relationship to your Website visitor is very similar to the public figure’s relationship to the camera or mike. Your visitor will give you a few seconds, but if you don’t deliver, he’s likely to be gone.

Keep your paragraphs and sentences short and interesting. Try to minimize the number of words and maximize the reach of your point. You are trying to communicate, not impress.

This does not mean that your Website has to be a vacuous lump on the Web (as so many sites are). If you want to be more detailed or flowery, go ahead, just place this content deeper into your Website. Those who want the more detailed information will drill deeper and those who don’t won’t run away.

2. Keep it Real
There is a rule of thumb in fundraising and development that a letter soliciting donations should have the word “You” peppered throughout it. This applies to effective Web writing as well. Make your writing more personal, as if you were writing to a friend.

3. Remember your Mission
Your visitor has come to your site for a reason. Perhap to make a purchase, perhaps to find something out or to subscribe. Keep driving them toward fulfillment of their mission: Give them quick links to more information, keep them interested, invite them to drill deeper into your site.
.
4. Content is King
Remember. The average Website visitor is still connecting to the Internet with a dialup account. If your Website is filled with all kinds of cool graphics, animation and large images, many people are just going to move on before the even see your message. Unless you are speaking to an audience that you are sure employs high speed connectivity, it is best to keep the mega-giga-cool-stuff to a minimum.

5. Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
It is a useful exercise to place yourself in the shoes of your potential visitors as they open their favorite search engine. What are they likely to type into the search box if they are looking for a service like yours? Program those keywords into your page. More importantly, use them in the content of your message. Weave them into your phrasing.

6. Headlines Matter
Did you know that the headlines in a newspaper are almost always written by an Editor and not the writer? This is because Editors know how to write, but more importantly, they know how to sell newspapers. The headline of your page is the first thing that will catch the eye of your visitor. Make them interesting and they will keep reading. Bear in mind the advice about keywords above as you write your Headlines.

7. Titles Too
When you open a Webpage, the wording at the top of the page is the title. It is programmed into the page during its design. Most major search engines use title information as their principle source of cataloging information. Be sure to get important keywords into the title, without making it too cumbersome.

8. Reference other Reliable Sources
Referencing reliable sources is always important to creating and maintaining your credibility. Make your point at the same time. For example, if you want to demonstrate how many people visit New Hampshire during the course of the year, you don’t have to quite an entire report from the Institute for NH Studies. Give your visitor the meat of the information and then create a link to the Institute’s site, and in particular the page that provides your support. Engage other sites in the process of sharing reciprocal links with you.

9. Your “Webside Manner”
If you are selling products or services on your site, emphasize the personal benefits of the product rather than the finer technical details. Place the technical details on the Website, just don’t make them the first stop. Your visitor wants to know how your product can change their life more than they want to know how fast, big, and nifty it is. Don’t forget to use the word YOU.

10. Proof Read
Even the best writers have editors and proofreaders. Don’t assume because you can write will that you can also edit and proof read. Aha . . . caught you. The above sentence escaped the beeping of my sophisticated spellchecking software. So let’s try again: Don’t assume because you can write well that you can also edit and proof read. Use spell and grammar checking software but don’t rely solely upon them for proofing. Have others read your copy and don’t be defensive about it.

About the Author
Wayne King is a recovering politician, political commentator and President of Moosewood Communicaions in Rumney, NH. He blogs from his space in the Blogosphere, Unified Visions: UnifiedVisions.Blogspot.com where he advocates for a post-partisan approach to governing; and from the Moosewood Communications Blog MoosewoodCommunications.blogspot.com. 

King holds a BS Degree in Environmental Conservation and a Masters Degree in Earth and Space Science Education from the University of New Hampshire, Durham. 

A three term former State Senator from New Hampshire, Wayne King was the 1994 Democratic nominee for Governor. King is also the founder of The Electronic Community, a group of social entrepreneurs working on social and development issues in Africa. 

Senator King has served on the Board of Directors of many state and local organizations: he was a founding member of the NH Community Loan Fund, and a long time member of the Common Cause NH Board of Directors. Additionally he served for almost 15 years on the board of the Northern Community Investment Corporation, one of America's foremost Community Development Corporations. 

King is also an accomplished photographer. His images can be found in galleries from Maine to California. His images are a celebration of life, blending the real and the surreal to achieve a sense of place or time that reaches beyond the moment into a dreamlike quintessentialism designed to spark an emotional response. Using digital enhancement, handcrafting, painting, and sometimes even straight photography, King takes the viewer to a place that is beyond simple truth to where truth meets passion, hope and dreams. His photoblog is Photoexpressionist.blogspot.com.