Nonprofit Communications

ALT tags are the bits of text that you can attach to images on webpages and in email messages and e-newsletters. As I explained yesterday, using the ALT tag is essential when including images in email campaigns and e-newsletters, because if the people reading your email have image blocking turned on, they won’t see the image, but they will likely see the ALT text. ALT tags are also needed by visually impaired people who rely on screen readers.

ALT stands for alternative — this text will be shown as an alternative to showing the image itself. Many people advocate that you simply describe what is in the photo, especially for ALT tags on websites. But ALT tags can also be used as marketing text, and this approach makes sense for email where you are most likely trying to encourage some type of action on the reader’s part.

Here are a few tips for your email ALT tags.

1) Always use them! You don’t need them on decorative items like bullets, but use them on all photographs and artwork of significance.

2) Keep them short, but not too short. Don’t use “Logo” when you can use “Smith Community Library Logo.” Shoot for three to seven words.

3) Use words that are meaningful to your readers. Treat writing your ALT tags like you do headlines and captions. Use keywords that will grab your readers’ attention. Don’t say “Kittens at the shelter” when you can say “Kittens ready to be adopted today at the shelter.”

4) Encourage readers to turn images on. Your newsletter will look much better and be more effective if people see the images you placed there. You can use the ALT tag to encourage them to turn on the images. For example, ALT tags like “Turn on images to see why Jim is smiling” or “Turn on images to see what your donations purchased last month” give the reader an incentive. A tag like this on every image would be annoying, but using them sparingly may convince some of your readers to take that extra step to see your images.

I taught my course on writing for the web and e-newsletters this week as part of the Duke University certificate program in nonprofit management. I always enjoy seeing the light bulbs go off over people’s heads as we move through the course and they realize that their websites are missing some of the most basic elements. Here are five items that any nonprofit website should have — and you’d be surprised how many organizations are missing at least one.

1) An email newsletter sign-up box. If you send out an email newsletter, make sure your website includes an easy way for people to subscribe to it.

2) Use headlines and subheads on every page. One of the easiest ways to make your website more user friendly is to include headlines and subheads on every page. Headlines tell your visitors what’s there, allowing them to quickly scan the page and decide if it’s worth reading.

3) Registration forms for events. If you hold any kind of event that requires registration or even a simple RSVP, include a registration form. At the most basic level, you can use a “sendmail” or “formmail” program that emails the form’s results to you. More complicated forms can be integrated with shopping carts to collect registration fees.

4) Links to other meaningful sites. Good links build your credibility by showing your visitors that you understand their needs and know your field well enough to direct them to other sites they will find helpful. It’s a rookie mistake to think “but if we include links on our site, people will leave our site, and we want them to stay.” They are going to leave your site anyway! Give them good recommendations on where to go next, and it will increase your stature in their minds.

5) Wish lists. Many nonprofits do a great job educating their visitors about their issues and getting them fired up to help, but then leave them hanging, with no guidance on how they can help or act. Let people know what you need and how they can help. Wish lists can take many forms, from tasks that volunteers could do, to the types of in-kind donations you can use, to menus that outline what various levels of cash donations can pay for.