Welcome to Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Hosted by NTAP / Pro Bono Net June 22, 2007

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Our goals today Introduce and discuss recent successful marketing practices for SWEBs Explore and discuss SWEB marketing challenges – and their solutions Learn planning and evaluation strategies that can help you market your sites effectively

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Well explore four areas: Marketing to clients Marketing to advocates Marketing on a shoestring Guerilla marketing

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Participating panelists Vince Morris, Arkansas Legal Services Partnership Cynthia Vaughn, Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation Jerald White, New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas We asked… Who is involved with marketing your statewide website? What is your marketing budget? What is your biggest marketing success AND challenge--large or small? What do you hope to learn from this training?

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Survey says… [Insert survey results]

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing myth-busting The Internet will do your marketing for you You have to hire a professional to get any results You have to make headlines to have an impact You have to spend a lot of money for your campaign to be successful

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing boils down to four steps 1.Doing research to know what your users want and need 2.Designing your product 3.Promoting it 4.Evaluating

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas You have a head start! Marketing starts at your front door with everyday interactions -- your reception area, voice mail message, website front page. It continues with the positive relationships you develop with people you work with and serve (staff, clients, volunteers, funders). And extend to relationships you develop with new partners and audiences.

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing to clients -Vince Morris -

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing to clients – other creative examples LawHelp.org/NY elected official outreach campaign TexasLawHelp outreach project made it easy for partners to promote the site themselves by providing downloadable brochures and posters

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas -Cynthia Vaughn, Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation Marketing to advocates

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing to advocates Other creative examples -Iowa Legal Aid offers CLE registration discount for probono.net/iowa members

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing on a shoestring - Jerald White, New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing on a shoestring Other creative ideas WashingtonLawHelp.org Whats New e-newsletters Start a blog -- see texasriograndelegalaid.blogspot.com) Press releases for new content, major milestones Nominate your project for an award

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Guerilla Marketing Montana Legal Services Association Coaster Campaign

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Guerilla marketing Other creative ideas: Fans at the state Fair (IA) Adhesive stickers (WA) Bookmarks (WA) Call in to radio talk show to pitch your site (MT) Put your URL on a pen (CA courts)

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas What do these have in common? -Planning -Understanding ones audience -Clear, consistent message -Building credibility -Flexibility, creativity, opportunism… -Leveraging people and partnerships to get the word out

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Key elements of planning Develop a plan -Who is your audience? -What do you want them to know? -How will you reach them? -How often? -Who will implement the plan? LawHelp Resource Series article on developing a marketing plan: A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. - Proverb

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Develop a marketing schedule 2007 Marketing/Outreach Initiatives Ja n F eb M ar Apr il Ma y Ju ne Ju ly Au g Se pt Oc t N ov De c What's New E-NewsletterX X X X X X Direct mail brochures X X Press release on EITC content X Palm card for state fair X Community presentations/PR X X X X

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas What do you want them to know? LawHelp.org/NY Spanish site – A new web site providing hope and answers to Spanish-speaking New Yorkers struggling with legal problems. TexasLawHelp.org – Knowledge is Power Probono.net/LA - The Online Resource for Louisiana Advocates Serving the Public Interest." [Other examples of effective tag lines?]

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Communicating your message Headline & Sub- head summarize news release, draw readers in Most important info in first ¶ Contact info at top Quote in 2 nd ¶ repeats message that site solves a serious problem

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas November 16, 2006 MEDIA RELEASE New Internet web site available to pro bono (volunteer) attorneys in North Carolina (Raleigh, NC) – A new Web tool that will enable lawyers to substantially increase their volunteer assistance to low-income North Carolinians was launched today at The Web site was developed by Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) in partnership with the NC Bar Association (NCBA) and the NCBA Foundation. LANC seeks to expand the outreach of the legal aid community by posting actual legal cases, projects and training opportunities that are available for pro bono (for the public good) service by the private bar. We developed the pro bono site to provide resources and make it easier for attorneys to volunteer their time and expertise to the representation of low-income and economically disadvantaged clients in North Carolina, said Janet Ward Black, a Greensboro attorney and president-elect of the NC Bar Association. The majority of the over-one million families eligible for legal services in our state are working families living in the shadow of prosperity, and they often need legal help to preserve basic necessities. Volunteer lawyers from private practice are essential to help meet the tremendous need. Its our professional obligation, added Black. The partnership intends to become "cyberspace central" by linking attorneys to the multitude of volunteer lawyer opportunities available through the legal aid organizations in North Carolina. Bar Association (NCBA)NCBA FoundationJanet Ward Blackwww.probono.net/NC Probono.net/NC press release 3 nd paragraph sends message that site solves a serious problem Most important info in first paragraph Headline summarizes news release, draw readers in

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Evaluating your marketing efforts Sample metrics Gather baseline usage stats and track over time Surveys: ask users where they heard of your site (client and advocate) Survey stakeholders / access partners about referrals to the site Monitor referral traffic in WebTrends (client) Track media coverage (Google alerts) Number of inbound links Its an art and a science!

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas You dont have to do it alone Many people charged with marketing are accidental marketers Cultivate evangelists – people who can speak for you (clients, advocates, stakeholders) Go beyond your circle of like-minded organizations –reach out to for-profit companies with strong social interests that can help spread the word. –reach out to a business / marketing class at your local university to help design or implement your campaign.

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Marketing: the long view Marketing is an ongoing process – its never done. But its not necessarily about adding new activities or expenses, its about integrating these activities into what you already do. Look for quick wins to build momentum.

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Resources Probono.net/statewebsites online support library LSTech Resource Center Fenton Communications Free, online best practices resources by the largest public interest communications firm in the country. Getting Attention blog (NPO Marketing blog) Free Range Thinking (free newsletter – Good Ideas for Good Causes

Best of Statewide Website Marketing Ideas Questions? Other ideas?