Get your raffle picture above the fold

Most likely your Charity or Non-Profit has it’s own website. This is obviously going to be “step one” in your online marketing efforts. You’ve already got it, people already know it’s there and hopefully you are driving people to that site with both on and offline advertising. I’ve looked at literally hundreds of organizations websites and very often see a few simple, but critical, mistakes.

When it comes to your raffle advertising on your organizations website you’re dealing with two groups of people. Group “A” are the people that have no idea you are holding a raffle and are visiting your site for something totally unrelated. Group “B” are people that have heard about your raffle and want more information. Keep these two groups in mind.

Mistake:

Not placing a raffle picture on the front page and above the fold. Sound minor? It’s CRITICAL.

When you are holding a raffle you’ve got to get it in front of as many eyes as possible. You’ve already got a built in “eyeball base” at your organization site. Take advantage of it. Place a picture of your raffle prize on the front page of the site and in a position where is shows when someone opens your site on their computer screen. In a position where there is no scrolling necessary to see your raffle. “Above the fold” is the term used for this placement…same idea to what you see on the front page of a newspaper when it’s folded up. Here to the right is a screenshot of OldCarRaffle.com as it appears when it’s first opened in a web browser. Notice the red Corvette? That is in the “Featured Raffle” spot on the website, above the fold. I put that in that spot because I want that to be one of the first things people see when they visit the page. No need to scroll down. It hits them right off the bat and can’t be missed. Place a picture above the fold to ensure that everyone who visits your site sees it. The people there looking for something else will now suddenly be aware you’re holding a raffle. The folks that are visiting your site looking for the raffle can find it fast. Don’t make anyone have to “look” for information!

Simple test. Grab someone..friend…family…the Postman…anyone. Sit them in front of a computer. Give them your organizations website address and tell them to find your fund raising raffle on the site. If it takes them longer than 3 seconds (seriously!) you’re missing out on a huge resource. Get to it. Thanks! Bill