Four great posts from around the web

Welcome back from the holiday.  We got so caught up in work (and excitement for the long weekend) at the end of last week that we forgot to bring you Three Things on Thursday.  Our sincerest apologies and don’t worry, they’ll return this Thursday.

To kick off the unofficial summer season, I thought I would highlight a few posts from other blogs that I’ve been pondering over the last week.

First, Seth Godin, in his typical short but powerful post reminds us that while it doesn’t hurt to ask, it can hurt to ask to soon.  The relationship is more important than what you’re asking for, but if build it well, you should get lots of both.  

The next two are from Email Insider - another great resource for thinking through how to get the most from your email program.  First, Loren McDonald gives a great primer on the various metrics and how they should be used.  The take-away: “the scalpel is handy, after all, but you wouldn’t use it to carve a turkey.”  In other words: decide what you’re trying to improve before choosing the right metrics.

In a related post, Stephanie Miller poses a few questions that can help you decide where to focus your email communications.  Instead of segmenting your list by demographic or some other static characteristic, what about segmenting it by level of engagement.  Adjusting one of her questions for use by non-profits:  ”Are subscribers more likely to take multiple actions in the first 30-60 days after subscribing?”  Definitely worth some further thinking.

Finally, everyone is always looking for examples.  Smashing Magazine has a great article, “Non Profit Website Design: Examples and Best Practices.”  Cameron Chapman gives us 8 best practices and 20 great examples for non-profit sites.  Check them out for ideas for your next redesign.

Do you have a post that adds to anything discussed above?  Share it in the comments below.

-Stephen

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