Marketing / Outreach / Advocacy [Knowledge Base Index]

Online outreach is more than just putting up a Web site; its about planning and acting strategically, finding and posting to appropriate Internet discussion groups, sending emails directly and APPROPRIATELY to current and potential customers, perhaps even starting an online community of volunteers, supporters and others. The most important thing to keep in mind is that online outreach should be MISSION-BASED; it should be tied directly to the primary mission of the NGO. Online outreach and online service delivery should accurately reflect an agency's mission and culture. It's not only what you say, but how you say it. The Internet is about connecting humans, not machines! Treat it as such.

There are lots of web sites that can help online volunteers help NGOs in marketing, outreach and advocacy activities. We suggest:

• Promote Responsible Net Commerce
  A Web-based campaign to combat mass unsolicited e-mail advertisements and to promote responsible Net Commerce.

• Volunteer Activism via the Internet
  Before engaging in ANY online advocacy, read this! It provides links to help you know what activities staff and volunteers can engage in legally regarding lobbying, advocacy, and other public policy activities, as well as links to web sites that outline what works -- and what doesn't -- in online advocacy activities.

• Is It Outreach, or Is It Spam?
  NetAction's tips for email outreach, featured in Mother Jones Magazine. NetAction is a not-for-profit organization with lots of great advice for organizations looking into mobilizing activism via the Internet, including accounts of what's worked and what hasn't for various agencies.
   

• Promoting Your Not-for-Profit Organization Online and Marketing Your Organization's Web Site
  Though these pages were created for not-for-profit and public sector agencies. Includes information on how to identify and post to appropriate online discussion groups. Web sites are great - but they are passive. E-mail is pro-active. It's a GREAT way to drive people to your web site, as well as provide information that a person can easily forward to others, reaching new readers and, potentially, new supporters.

• Building Contacts
  Tips for online volunteers charged with researching contact information for outreach activities by organizations in developing countries.

Requesting Links to a Web Site

• Before you contact any webmaster to ask for a link to an NGO web site, make sure you have WRITTEN permission from the NGO to do so! It's a good idea to submit a draft request to the agency, so that staff can approve of the requests you will be submitting on their behalf.

• Identify web sites that already provide a list of links to organizations similar to yours. If the web site isn't already linking to other sites, its probably not going to link to yours.

• When requesting a link from a web site to an NGO, make your request about why it's appropriate for the webmaster to create this link. Define how this link will add value to his or her web site.

• Name the exact URL(s) and title(s) of page(s) you would like a link from.

• Do NOT ask for a link exchange; you should only add links to other web sites that add value to your web site.
   
• A sample request for a mythical organization:
  I would like to request a link from your web site to the Organization to Save All Rain Forests Everywhere [URL HERE]. You have a page that links to international nonprofit organizations that promote the preservation of rain forests at [URL HERE], and OSARE has a similar focus to the  sites you have listed. In fact, we collaborate with many of these organizations ourselves. We mobilize more than 1,000 volunteers each year to help preserve rain forests throughout the world. We also have a guide on our web site on how to train for eco-tourism activities. Thank you for your consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon.