How to format your nonprofit’s website copy

For beginners

Marlene Oliveira www.moflow.ca Copywriter and communications consultant @mo_flow

Hello!

Marlene Oliveira

•  Copywriter and communications consultant to nonprofits, moflow

•  Founder, Nonprofit MarCommunity

•  Creator, Write Better Nonprofit Websites online course

POLL:

What’s your web writing experience?

TODAY’S GAME PLAN

•  Why formatting copy for online publication is important

•  Mistakes experienced nonprofit communicators are making

•  7 editing and formatting tweaks

•  How you can take all of this to the next level

•  Q&A

THEME: TAKE IT EASY Writing for online publication isn’t

complicated. In many ways, it’s easier.

Why focus on formatting?

Questions about nonprofit website content

•  How to format your copy?

•  How to attract people (and search engines) to your

content?

•  Where to start?

•  How to get visitors to take action?

Nonprofit MarCommunity blog

Authors:

• Experienced nonprofit communicators

• Might be less experienced when it comes to writing for the web

POLL: How much of the text on a web page

do you think the average visitor reads?

A word on SEO: on-page elements

•  Title

•  Meta description

•  Content

•  Keywords

•  Links

http://www.imaginecanada.ca/blog/ranking-charity-rankings

TAKE IT EASY Grammar rules can be broken (or relaxed)

Short sentences and even sentence fragments are okay!

moflow.ca/blog >> enter ‘donate page’ in blog search box

Example: The secret to writing a better volunteer or donate page

When was the last time you updated the ‘volunteer’ and ‘donate’ page or section of your nonprofit website? When were these pages written in the first place, and by whom? If getting website visitors to support your organization is a priority, good copywriting of this content is critical.

Before:

If getting website visitors to support your organization is a priority, good copywriting of your volunteer and donate page is critical.

After:

http://abclifeliteracy.ca/fld/family-literacy-day

TAKE IT EASY Take the pressure off.

Just get to the point.

Longer sentences and paragraphs to break up into bullets Present information in list vs. paragraph form

It’s work, but this kind of planning helps you to prevent or overcome copywriting roadblocks such as writing under time pressure, not having enough background information or direction and not being able to properly guide supporters as they attempt to follow through and take action.

Before:

Planning helps you to overcome nonprofit copywriting roadblocks It’s work, but planning helps you to prevent or overcome copywriting roadblocks such as:

• Writing under time pressure • Not having enough background information or direction • Not being able to properly guide supporters as they attempt to follow through and take action

After:

http://www.pathwaystoeducation.ca/en/results

http://maytree.com/grants/maytree-grants

TAKE IT EASY You don’t have to smooth absolutely

everything together. Painful segues be gone!

If you don’t know what you want website visitors to take away, how will they know?

Before:

The secret to writing a better volunteer or donate page After:

http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/5-nonprofit-tech-trends-for-2015

Help readers to zero in on what’s important

http://www.pathwaystoeducation.ca/en/results

The secret to writing a better volunteer or donate page

If getting website visitors to support your organization is a priority, good copywriting of your volunteer and donate page is critical.

Don’t assume that your volunteer page and donate page only need to offer mechanisms for bringing in support; they should be written to inspire support. So, what’s the secret to writing copy that inspires support? Planning.

Example:

Readers know what links look like.

Before:

Separately and for each audience, drill down into who your potential supporters are as much as possible, creating marketing personas.

After:

Separately and for each audience, drill down into who your potential supporters are as much as possible. Click here for information about creating marketing personas.

http://www.furniturebank.org/furniture-donation-tackle-poverty/

TAKE IT EASY You don’t have to work awkward

instructions into your copy – at least not as often as you might have thought!

Keeping your content brief

Using an inverted pyramid structure

Using subheadings, bullets and lists to break up the copy

Using meaningful page titles, headings, subheadings

Using bold or italics to add emphasis as appropriate

Including key words and phrases

Including links and using them wisely

POLL:

Which web copy formatting tip will you use right away?

Two FREE course registrations

Enter until midnight February 23 (ET) by telling me your #1 web writing challenge

Questions?

Marlene Oliveira Copywriter and communications consultant

@mo_flow

moflow.ca