How could that be? Because her nonprofit is just getting started online. The case studies presented were thorough and in-depth, but they were presented by organizations and agencies that are beyond the basics. (NPA is hosting the DMA conference materials. You can find the conference material here - http://www.npadvisors.com/DMANonprofit.) This attendee didn't need next steps. She needed to know how to get her organization started. 

Here, we have pulled together our thoughts on getting started. We have referenced previous articles for more in-depth information - hoping to provide the foundational principles that should anchor any online efforts.

1. Understand what it is you are doing: engaging donors through another channel. It is different from mail in some respects, but the basic premise is the same. NPA’s Donor Development Model demonstrates the four steps in an online relationship:
   
   We believe that the most crucial step is conversion. Once you’ve got that right, you can spend time and money driving traffic to your site.
   
2. Often the biggest challenges  facing online efforts are internal. Your organization needs to acknowledge the complexity of the web and determine to get past it. Otherwise, your efforts will be undermined by others. If your leadership is dragging their feet, read an article on 6 Ways the Web Impacts Your Entire Organization. Or send them to us - we're happy to have those discussions.
   
3. Develop an integrated strategy that gives everyone involved a clear road map. This will help provide focus and a benchmark to measure ideas against. If done correctly, it will also provide you with clear actionable steps.
   
4. Start sending email. Append email addresses to your mail database to grow the list. Send an email as often as you have something to say. This is an area that we have written about extensively. Learn how to effectively communicate via email. Here are two of our most popular articles:
   
   a. “9 Things to test in an email.”
   b. “10 Actions to ask your email readers.”

If you are still overwhelmed or overworked and need some help, call us or send an email. We love to talk about this stuff.

heather@npadvisors.com
rick@npadvisors.com

January 2008