I came across a series of articles in the Washington Post ballyhooing the five-year anniversary of the iPod. This article chronicled the conversion of a Mac skeptic to an iPod addict. The reason why? The convert says:
"My conversion to iPod is like a proverb: You can't criticize something for being ‘too easy'... It's not because I can't figure out computers-it's just easier."
The coverage also featured people frustrated by iTunes' incompatibility issues and iPod's reported lack of durability, but even the skeptics all grudgingly admired the simplicity of the iPod. No wonder it sells so well. The same could be said for Scooby Doo - the simplicity is part of its decades-long appeal. I watched it when I was three, and so does my daughter many years later. Everyone cites iPod ad nauseum as the gold standard of easy. Another oft-cited example of easy is: Staples' Easy Button.
The point for do-gooders is we need to make it very easy for people to interact with us and take action. Are we in the iPod/Staples class of elegant simplicity for our supporters, or do they have to work to find our Donate Now button on our home page or expend a lot of mental energy to grasp the call to action in our year-end appeal?
Make a pledge this week to make something about your marketing easier. Way easier. Use some of the following tips:
- Have at least one prominent Donate Now button on your homepage, and every page of your site.
- Have a search function box on every page (in the upper right hand corner).
- People skim websites, so focus more on compelling imagery than lengthy paragraphs.
- Have a guessable web address.
A great example of an easy and straightforward nonprofit homepage (only I'd make that "join" button bigger):
