5 Tips For Online Direct Response Optimization

There's always something new and exciting popping up in the world of Web technology. At the turn of the century, Web 2.0 technology took the industry, and to a lesser extent the nonprofit sector, by storm.

And everyday new ideas are finding their way onto the scene, many of which the third sector is slowly but surely utilizing to navigate the uncertain world of Web direct marketing.

"The ability to target emails based on your subscribers' behaviors on your Web site -- what pages they're reading, what they're downloading -- is the newest and most exciting trend in email marketing," said Liz Murphy, online strategist and partner at RedBoots Consulting in McLean, Va.. Murphy suggested looking into whether a service provider can integrate email with Web analytics data, which she said can increase online revenues by three to nine times.

Murphy offered several more tips for online direct marketing:

• Design emails to be compatible with most programs. An email shouldn't be one big graphic, neither should the first 2-to-4 inches at the top of an email. Instead, design the headline and offer in html form.
  
  
• Include a search engine optimization (SEO) expert on your Web redesign/development team -- this way you won't lose your rankings and traffic from site links when you change your Web site. And no, a 404-error page is not an effective or donor- friendly solution.
  
  
• The landing page is responsible for 50 percent or more of the success of an online campaign. It should fulfill the promise or offer, which should be stated in the headline and text, and should have the same graphic look and feel as the promotion vehicle that drove prospects there. The call to action should be at the top and graphically prominent.
  
  
• Test elements, such as headlines, graphic images, text, links, and placement on your landing pages and forms to get the best conversions. A range of software providers now offer tools for A/B (single-split) and multivariate page testing.
  
  
• Double your visibility in the search engines by using paid search ads (on right side of search results page) and SEO (on left side) for the same terms. Visitors will see your Web site listing whether they tend to look for information on the left or right.