Writing copy for your non-profit’s website

Your website is an essential marketing tool—this is no surprise. In fact, some may argue that in today’s digital world, your website is even more important than the sign on your front door because it is often the first point of contact for clients and donors. In a recent blog post, we wrote about what businesses need to know to create great websites that get clients calling. 

While that blog specifically speaks to small business websites, the advice is just as relevant for non-profit organizations as well. On either small business or non-profit websites, content is king—it encourages visitors to stick around, and helps them understand who you are, what you do, why you do it, and why it’s relevant to them. A visitor who doesn’t understand what they’re reading, and why they need to be reading it, will simply leave. Even though there are a lot of similarities between small business websites and non-profit websites, there are some differences as well. 

Know who you’re writing for. This is important for any website—business or non-profit—but understanding who you’re writing for sometimes gets lost on a non-profit site. That’s because many organizations have two primary audiences, the donor and the client. Frequently, they are not the same person. 

Unless there’s a strong case against it, write your non-profit website with the profile of your ideal donor in mind. Before writing, ask yourself who they are, where they work, how they invest their time and money, and why they care about what you do. Your donor is the one who funds the programs and services your clients need, and content that speaks directly to them will lead to greater engagement (read: increase donations).

You may serve your clients, but your website is a donor communications tool first and foremost. 

Use the power of storytelling. If you want to compel your audience to act, you need to pull on their heartstrings. Storytelling is the most important way in which we communicate with each other as it allows you to directly show the impact your organization has made on someone’s life. Donors make decisions on an emotional level and storytelling invites your audience to be an active part of the solutions. 

Choose your words carefully. Focus on being clear and concise, and in getting your point across in as few words as possible. Large paragraphs are hard to read on the screen so minimize each paragraph to one to three sentences each. Also, stay away from industry-specific jargon and acronyms that your audience may not understand. 

Where possible, change the pronouns you use from ‘we’ to ‘you.’ Doing so places your audience directly into the story and creates greater impact as it shows them how they can make a difference.

Have strong calls to action. Great copy that compels actions means you know who you’re writing for and what you want them to do when they read it. Use strong verbs (e.g. support, help, impact, donate) to create a sense of urgency. And most importantly, make sure your ‘donate now’ button is not only easy to see but leads donors along a clear path. Potential donors are not going to click on what they can’t see and will abandon their donation if the process is too complicated.

Finally, it goes without saying that before you publish, proofread, proofread and proofread to avoid any embarrassing mistakes. Regardless of how good your content is, you’ll lose credibility if your copy is littered with errors.