my community channel

I'm thinking of getting a swear tin for my desk in 2007 - at least when I'm driven crazy searching for campaign information on charity websites my favourite good cause - Westnell Nursery Society by the way - will benefit.

So to reduce the stress levels of myself and others wanting to find out more about charity campaigns - journalists, supporters, donors and the like - here are 5 tips to make our lives easier and your campaigns potentially a whole lot more successful.

Tip 1 - HOMEPAGE LINK

If you're running an awareness/ fundraising campaign in 2007 then you need a homepage banner or text link to further information at least three months prior to it kicking off.

Why? Because that's how much in advance journalists will be organising their stories, teachers will be planning their class fundraising events, diarists will be writing their content and so on. It truly amazes me how often I come across charity websites where, even during their major annual campaign, there is nothing on their homepage to indicate it is taking place.


Tip 2 - CAMPAIGN LOGO

One great way of increasing awareness about your campaign is to create a specific logo for your event. If you've only got the resources to have one logo then don't make it too big - 120x120 pixel max and avoid any animation - keep it simple. Then create a download file for it on your campaign resources page or provide the javascript coding which includes the link back to your site.

Then contact some of your partner charities/ supporters to get them to carry your logo as examples and post links to those sites so potential hosts for your logo can see how it works. These logo links will not only help create greater awareness of your campaign but improve your search engine ranking too! Don't forget to have these hosts remove your logo after your event if your logo is dated or if the content it is linked to is removed.

Tip 3 - POST FUTURE DATES FOR ANNUAL CAMPAIGNS

If your campaign happens regularly on the same date, or during the same third week in the same month, then make sure future dates are posted clearly in your campaign resources area. This saves you getting hassled for the dates and allows calendar planners such as myself to get your event posted early on our sites. Your campaign will then benefit from year-round exposure not just when it is happening.

Tip 4 - PROVIDE GENERIC WRITE-UPS

Charities are increasingly creating specific themes for their annual campaigns and while valuable this often materialises at the last minute. As a stop gap I strongly advise charities highlight the overall aims and objectives of their campaign with a generic overview of the event. This can be updated with details of the theme when that becomes available. Too often everything is put on hold and websites carry nothing on their big annual event until a month or less before the launch.

Tip 5 - LINKS, LINKS, LINKS - make sure they work

Having just done a quick tour of charity sites running campaigns next month I was reminded of another profanity inducer - links that don't take you where you expect. Here's three common blunders:

1. Broken links - on large sites these always happen from time to time but avoid at all costs on your campaign pages during your peak traffic time.
2. Links to old information - a month before your campaign I would not expect to click on your event name and expect to find info from last years' event - just how seriously do you expect me to take you?
3. Email links to campaign staff who have moved on! Oh dear.....