Tag Archive for: WordPress Website

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Advice for Nonprofits

Getting Along While Getting Stuff Done

I have some advice for nonprofits. I have been creating websites and assisting with marketing for nonprofits for most of my career. I have worked with large national organizations and small community groups. Some are official 501(c)(3) organizations, some aren’t. I have found no matter the size, they all have one thing in common.

Nonprofits have to work together, despite different backgrounds, personality types, education, geography and skills.

Sounds like a typical workplace environment, doesn’t it? We need to get along with our co-workers and customers/clients at work and elsewhere. And when we volunteer, we have to get along with the people we are teamed up with.

Getting along with others isn’t always easy

Occasionally, one of my nonprofit clients struggles with this. Some people have very strong personalities and can be overbearing. Trying to steer every decision to their way of thinking. Volunteers can get frustrated. Arguments start, bitter emails are sent, it gets out of hand. Sometimes good volunteers leave the organization to preserve their own mental health. Afterall, when you are volunteering, who needs the extra anxiety or toxic interactions? I don’t like conflict or confrontations. I try to stay calm in these situations and work through it. I always encourage open communication and honesty. Respect and taking personal responsibility.

My job is to make my clients happy

That’s my primary goal, happiness. Yes, I want to give my clients a nice, functional website or membership system they can manage moving forward. I want the experience with me to collaborative. I want my clients to know that no question is a bad one. I’m here to answer your phone calls and emails.

Everyone learns in different ways. That’s why I provide support with written documentation, videos, zoom sessions, phone calls and in-person training. I want every client to fully understand what I created for them and how it will help their organization today and into the future. So, how can I provide happiness? By proving the following tips for nonprofits.

What’s my advice?

Here we go, it’s pretty simple, really.

1. DEFINE WHO’S RESPONSIBLE NOW and MOVING FORWARD.

Before we start working together, I want to fully understand the dynamics of the people on the team. I ask questions to determine who will be managing the website after it’s launched. For my clients who use MembershipWorks, I want to be clear who will be keeping it updated in the future, following up with members who don’t renew or helping them complete their online profile for the Membership Directory.

Many times volunteers do this work. And that’s great. Many are eager to learn what needs to be done. Sometimes I continue to be the website administrator because clubs don’t have someone with WordPress skills to take on the website management. I have several clients who ask for MembershipWorks help just once a year for an annual event.

It’s important for everyone to know what roles they will play and what the expectations are for the future. It’s best to work with a small group or one liaison when creating a new website or installing MembershipWorks. When the teams get larger than 8-10 it’s much more difficult to come to a consensus, make decisions, and set up zoom meetings that have to fit into so many schedules.

Once everyone is clear on the role they will play during the project and after, then we proceed.

2. LISTEN.

My second piece of advice is to listen. Even if someone is younger, older or less experienced, they still provide value in regards to the experience you want for your members. Great ideas come from brainstorming when everyone feels they can contribute without being judged or shot down immediately. Everyone involved has value. Sometimes you get more ideas than we can implement! That’s when I start a list for “phase 2” improvements to consider after the initial project is complete. We don’t want good ideas to be lost just because the timing isn’t right at the moment.

3. BE A LEADER.

Some of my best experiences working with nonprofits are when they have a leader who really leads. Someone who empowers others and encourages participation and input. A leader checks in with the progress, knows what’s going on, and who might need some extra support to fulfill their responsibilities. Leaders are observant but don’t micro-manage the project. They keep the overall goals and timeline in mind. I love it when the leader uses tools to create an environment where the team can stay focused and get the project done on time. Happy leaders create happy teams.

Know Your Strengths

I’ve worked with all sorts of personality types and skill levels. In fact, I often have the StrengthsFinders strengths assessment in my mind when I start working with a new group. I like to understand how people are wired and what makes them good at what they do. You can learn more about my top five strengths by reading a post I wrote on the subject. Here’s a clue, my top strength is Activator. I love getting stuff done!

In the end, it’s about happiness. I want my clients to be happy.

Please let me know if you have any questions about how your nonprofit should proceed when starting a new project with me. I’m happily available and ready to help! 🙂

Michelle Aspelin
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services, LLC
Learn more about me and read the recommendations from my happy clients on LinkedIn.

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Move to Grand Junction website

Move To Grand Junction

Michelle and Paul Aspelin Move to Grand JunctionI just launched a new website called Move to Grand Junction for my husband, Paul Aspelin. Paul is now a licensed Realtor® with The Christi Reece Group in Grand Junction, Colorado.

He wanted a blog/website where he could showcase the Grand Valley area that encompasses Grand Junction, Fruita and Palisade. He’s writing posts about the area, tips for homebuyers like facts about property taxes, etc. and offering his services to buyers, sellers, builders, developers and real estate investors. This is a prime example of content marketing services I can provide.

He’s sharing our story about the research we did, why we finally chose to move to Grand Junction, and all sorts of tips and funny stories along our journey that will benefit others.

The focus is on the blog posts with just a few static website pages. The focus keyword phrase is “move to Grand Junction” and is used as the name of the website and on many pages and within posts.

We are using advanced techniques to increase his SEO (search engine optimization) with this style of content marketing. The site is attracting users from across the United States. Stats are being recorded with Google Analytics and will be used to aid in future blog posts.

After just a couple of months, we are ranking either #1, 2 or 3 (it fluctuates) for the keywords Move to Grand Junction Colorado, Move to Fruita Colorado and Move to Palisade Colorado.

All photos on the website were taken by Paul, myself, or a couple from our daughter, and I give her photo credit. That helps to keep it authentic.

Please check out movetograndjunction.com!

 

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How to earn revenue with MembershipWorks

How to earn REVENUE with MembershipWorks to offset the cost of the membership software – a monetization opportunity

By Michelle Aspelin of Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services LLC

View my MembershipWorks Developer Profile

If you are considering implementing MembershipWorks (MW) on your WordPress website but want to defray the costs of this amazing membership software, you will like what you read here. If you already have MW, you can still add some of these elements to your website to help offset the cost of your monthly membership with MembershipWorks (see pricing). Keep in mind, these are in addition to the customary ways that websites can defray costs like selling advertising on their website. Even if you choose just one of these, it could be all you need to essentially get MembershipWorks for free! MembershipWorks is an opportunity to monetize your website.

First, I will say that the same opportunity exists with the first three elements/features on the list below. You can charge a posting fee for these elements either to your members, nonmembers, or both. It’s easy to earn revenue with MembershipWorks.

You can include the opportunity to post in one of these elements as a benefit to your members for the amount of your current membership. Gaining you more members who value this benefit.

You can create a new Membership Level or Membership Add-on and upsell your current membership.

You can offer your members a discount on the cost of making a post on one of these first three revenue ideas.

1. Classified Ads Posts – create a community or member only marketplace. Give your members and website readers first dibs on items your members are selling. Helps generate website traffic as well as revenue for your company, organization, club, nonprofit, etc.

2. Announcement Board Posts – bring your members to your website vs relying on Facebook or other third-party sites. Your Announcement Board can be a public board anyone on the website can view or for members eyes only. Posts can be specific to your organization and offer a benefit to members and others. Helping your website be the “go to” site for news in your industry. See DEMO Announcement Board

Announcement Board screenshot

3. Job Board Posts – allowing posts like this on your website could help your site become a career hub. You could charge employers a fee to list jobs on your board that your members would be interested in. Or your members might be the ones doing the hiring for their own organization. Here’s what MW says about the Job Board feature:

“Job Boards are a powerful retention tool. Members who find a job through your website are more likely to renew their membership so that they can stay on top of career opportunities. If you make the Job Board only available to current members, prospective members are also incentivized to join.”

4. Shopping Cart – create a Shopping Cart to sell items on your website to your members only make the marketplace public and sell to everyone. Items can be physical products you mail or ship to your buyers or digital content. You can offer item options, quantities, and limits. You can sell sponsorships for your events, expos and other opportunities by using the Shopping Cart.

5. Forms – use a Form for a one-time thing like signing up for a class or workshop where you can charge a registration fee. You can also use a Form for sponsorships for a one-time opportunity.

6. Events – similar to Forms but instead you use the Events feature to create an event on your calendar and sell “tickets” to that specific event, helping not only to offset your MW software fee but the event costs as well!

7. Donations – offer a list of suggested donation amounts or allow the donor to fill in the amount they want to donate. And if you are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, be sure to let your donors know that all or part of their donation could be tax deductible and they should as their tax preparer. Donations can be for your general fund or for specific funds you choose to promote. Great for annual giving campaigns.

8. Membership Directory – let’s not overlook the obvious here. Some clubs are free to join, and that’s great if you don’t ever incur any costs for the club, group or organization. But if your club has expenses, then creating a very specific list of membership benefits and charging a Membership Fee is a great way to offset your costs. See DEMO Membership Directory

 

Membership Directory screenshot

 

9. Specialized Directory – MembershipWorks is all about the Member Directory, but did you know that you can add other Specialized Directories and charge a fee for the listing? For example, several of my clients are dog clubs and they have a Breeder Directory in addition to their Member Directory. Members pay an extra fee at the time they renew their annual membership. Members themselves can add or remove this directory listing at any time, making it easy for your administrators!

10. Credit Card Processing – Some of my clients worry about offering online payments to their members because of the extra fees that credit card processors charge. First, you need to know the laws in the area you are located. You may be able to increase the cost of the item or membership dues to cover your costs. For example, if you are charged 2.5% for credit card processing, simply add that amount to the cost of your item’s price. If your item is $35, the 2.5% fee is $0.875 so you could charge $36 to cover the fee and a little extra for your organization.

We highly recommend using Stripe for your payment processing because they don’t charge a monthly fee and if you are a nonprofit, ask them for a discount off the fee published on their website. Here’s what Stripe has to say about passing along their credit card processing fees to your clients, customers or members.

“You can pass Stripe fees on to customers by including them in the final charge amount, but it’s essential to ensure compliance with any applicable laws pertaining to your business. Calculate the gross amount, taking into consideration that increasing the final amount also increases the Stripe fee. Be aware that charging processing fees may be prohibited by law in some jurisdictions, so always act in accordance with the applicable regulations.” Read Full Suggestion by Stripe

Revenue Reporting

When I customize the ways you can earn revenue with MembershipWorks, I can indicate what type of revenue you are collecting so you can run reports and upload the revenue to QuickBooks. Revenue can be classified as membership, donations, events, cart items or other. Make sure your treasurer or bookkeeper is an Admin on your MW account so they can login and get the sales revenue on a regular basis.

Don’t let the monthly membership software fee prohibit you from using MembershipWorks to strengthen your organization.

It can add so much regarding the organization of your membership, promoting your members, reducing administrative time and increasing accuracy and transparency. Having a system like this makes it easier to pass on the tasks and responsibilities to the next volunteer or employee who does this important work.

My clients claim that the benefits MWs offers far outweigh the monthly fee.

Ask about a custom DEMO to explain all the benefits of using MembershipWorks AND how you can use it to help generate revenue! Read about the DEMO on my website and watch the 3 short introductory videos about what MW is and how it works.

Call me with your questions!

Michelle Aspelin
952-484-6015

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Need a New Website?

What Do Clients and Customers Think of Your Website?

Do clients and customers ever tell you what they think of your website? Probably not. What about prospects or potential members for your organization? They might share with you if they like it, but if they are turned-off by your website, they just go away and you never even know why you lost them.

First impressions are very important in business and for nonprofit organizations. What does your website say about you?

It doesn’t matter if you dedicate time and resources for nice business cards, brochures and other marketing materials if online users never get past your website.

Need a new website?

I work with clients to review their current websites and discover what’s working and what’s not. I make sure that their message is in alignment with their other marketing materials and that the message is clear and attracts their ideal client.

I have recently worked with several clients where we reviewed their Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, website and print materials to get them all looking and saying the same cohesive message.

I create websites and blogs primarily using WordPress because it’s search engine friendly naturally. Plus, I can customize the design to fit my client’s style. For some clients, Weebly is the best platform for a website. See my post about Weebly vs WordPress.

Clients give me an idea of what features they need like online forms, a calendar for events, videos, password protected pages, shopping cart, downloadable documents, etc. I create a proposal based on my client’s needs. We work together on design style and content until the site is launched.

Once the website is live, I teach my clients how to maintain their site. I offer tips on effective blog posts and how to stay fresh. I do as much or as little as my clients want me to do. Some clients want to take it over and run with it, others want me to make the updates. I’m fine either way. You can read my “How I work” post. I offer advice and training to empower my clients. However, many just don’t have time to work on a website, they are busy serving their customers, members and clients.

I enjoy taking on an outdated website and giving it new life. I love creating websites and blogs my clients are eager to share. If you need a new website, or want to update your current website, I’d love to hear from you.

I have more recommendations on my MembershipWorks profile if you are looking for a website for your nonprofit that includes features like Membership and Event management, online Donations and Custom Forms.

More information at WordPress Websites and Blogs

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Helping Nonprofits Get Organized

Rottweiler Health FoundationI’m so happy that the Rottweiler Health Foundation found me during their online search for a WordPress Website Designer. They were looking for someone to help update their website AND help them complete their nonprofit membership integration with MembershipWorks, a task they had been trying on their own for over a year.

I was able to create a whole new WordPress website for them and finish setting up their membership process in MembershipWorks to help manage their members, multiple donation campaigns, and sync it up with MailChimp (for email marketing) to keep their lists updated automatically. They were fantastic to work with. Their Board members are all over the country so we did everything over Zoom and it worked out great, see rottweilerhealth.org.

“Our non-profit was looking to move our membership management to MembershipWorks. However, we had issues with several other things and had stalled out. I found Michelle on a google search and contacted her to see if she could help.
After speaking with the people involved, she presented a proposal and got to work!!
Michelle helped to work through our issues. She was right there, guiding us were we needed it, and letting us get comfortable with MembershipWorks. She also was able to fully integrate our WordPress system, and helped us get all of our other issues taken care of, including updating our website.
The Rottweiler Health Foundation is now moving along smoothly with our system. We are hearing good things from our Board and our members. All of the issues were done on schedule and on budget too.
As Membership Chair, I am thrilled with how easy it was to work with Michelle. And I know if I run in to any questions in the future, she will be right there to help.” Pat Carkoski, Membership Chairperson

If you know of a group or nonprofit who is struggling to manage their membership, volunteer or donor databases, have them reach out to me! I will see if my strengths and experience match their needs so we can find solutions for them.

You can view other completed websites to see the clients I have helped, view their websites and read their story.

Connect with me to learn more about how MembershipWorks can help your nonprofit membership management. Read more review on my MembershipWorks profile.

Michelle Aspelin
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services LLC

MembershipWorks Developer

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Check your PHP version and update

Hello!

It’s time to log into your WordPress website and see if you have a warning about the need to check your PHP version of the software. Its software that resides on the server computer where your website is hosted. Most of my clients sites are hosted with BlueHost.com but I know others use GoDaddy and other host services.

When you log in, you will see a warning on the Dashboard. If you don’t see the warning then you are all set. If you do see the warning then you need to alert your hosting company and ask them to update your PHP software. Most times, there is no effect to your website. Check your site immediately after the update to make sure everything still looks ok and links and forms are working properly. I have had one client who’s theme was outdated. The theme maker quit making updates for it. Therefore, it wasn’t compatible with the most recent PHP software version and her site “broke” and wouldn’t display at all.

The good news was that all of her content was still there, we just needed to find a new theme. We chose one from the same provider as the original theme to make the transition the easiest and most cost effective. It only took 2 hours to convert and give her website a whole new look. It’s much more updated looking, it’s simple and easy to navigate.

If you need help to check your PHP version of the software or fix your site if your theme is outdated, let me know. There are some scans I can run ahead of time to see if your site might have issues. It’s important to keep all of your plugins updated as well as your theme and WordPress version. Updates are typically done to improve security, speed, fix bugs, and add options.

Let me know if you have any WordPress or website hosting questions. For questions about BlueHost, visit my Resources page. To see all of the services I offer, view my Virtual Administrative and Marketing Services page.

Click here to learn what technically PHP is.

Michelle
952-484-6015

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What About Weebly?

So, why Weebly?

Because I want to offer my clients exactly what they need. What I have found is that for SOME of my clients, WordPress is just too much. It is so robust and offers so many features and settings, that it becomes too much for them to edit, update and manage moving forward. I got turned on to Weebly from a fellow website developer who noticed the same thing and is now making Weebly vs WordPress websites for her clients.

Wordpress websites and blogsI am still a firm believer in WordPress. I believe it will continue to be popular and the right choice for some of my clients. But, having this secondary option, is refreshing.

Weebly has about 100 themes to choose from vs WordPress’s 1200 themes, and then there are enhanced WordPress themes you can purchase.

Weebly offers a simple “drop and drag” building interface that makes it easy to see exactly what your site will look like once published.

WordPress is King when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Plus, it offers almost an unlimited assortment of plugins you can add to the platform to give your site extra functionality. Weebly is a good option if SEO isn’t vital to your site, like you aren’t trying to attraction readers from the entire world, maybe just your geographic location.

As far as price, it’s less expensive to host a WordPress site than Weebly. $4.95/month vs $8.99/month (using BlueHost.com)

There are tons of other, more detailed comparisons I could make, but I prefer to meet with my clients and listen to what they want from their site FIRST before I recommend one or the other. See my page about How I Work.

If you are considering a new website or blog, or updating a current site, give me a call. We can meet, with no obligation, to determine what’s best for you.

Here’s some info on Website/Blog consultations

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