Company: Open Books Ltd.
Timeframe: 2008
In a city where 37% of the adult population cannot read well enough to fill out a job application or read a simple story to a child, Chicago-based Open Books executives had
their work cut out for them when they set a lofty goal: to make reading a fun and fundamental part of life for students at every level.
Dedicated to raising awareness about illiteracy and improving reading skills, the nonprofit bookstore, literacy community center and volunteer corps has enjoyed considerable
growth since its 2006 launch, boasting a volunteer workforce of over 700 and a program roster that includes everything from one-on-one reading with elementary school students to
tutoring adults in basic reading skills. The organization's Web site was an integral piece of that successful outreach.
However, in 2008, the team at Open Books wanted to streamline its marketing capabilities as well as more effectively spread the message of what every reader--not just those in
the Chicago area--can do to combat illiteracy. A redesigned Web site, the team decided, would be the most effective vehicle for spreading the word.
It Takes Two
One notable challenge was the organization's staffing limitations--in other words, the fact that the initiative would have to be pulled off by the nonprofit's two-person team,
executive director Stacy Ratner and marketing/public relations director Becca Keaty. Because budget was so tight, Ratner, who had previously worked on five start-ups as both co-
founder and creative director, decided to lend her 10-year background and expertise in Web design to facilitate the project.
"We were lucky I did so many other sites, so I didn't have to pay an outside agency," she says.
Prompting the redesign was the fact that the two-year-old Open Books, which is largely funded by individual donors, had grown exponentially since its inception.
"Our organization grew to the point that our original Web site wasn't working anymore," says Ratner. "It wasn't making sense. [The whole purpose for the redesign] was a needs-
based thing. But then we thought we had this great opportunity to redo this--how can we take advantage of this amazing chance to do it all over?"
Ratner and Keaty reviewed the different ways the site could be leveraged to communicate everything Open Books does in a way that would be lively and engage supporters and
volunteers. And, though they comprised the whole staff for the project, they were able to reach out to the greater Open Books workforce, which included six full-time staffers, 10
interns and approximately 1,000 volunteers.
"The first thing I did was to talk to them about the Web site, soliciting their feedback to find out what they wanted to see and what worked for them," Ratner says.
The planning/discussion phase continued as Ratner and Keaty considered what components should be included in the redesigned Web site and how it should be organized. Another
critical question they both mulled over was how to design around Open Books' variegated target audiences, which includes volunteers, book donors, those inquiring inquire about
literacy programs and reporters wanting to learn about facts regarding illiteracy in Chicago.
Meeting Of The Minds
When the Open Books staff convened to overhaul the old Web site, they devised three objectives:
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Make Open Books visible, accessible and exciting to a broad base of supporters;
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Provide accurate, timely and interesting information on opportunities to volunteers, educators and partners; and
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Convey this vision and vivacity of Open Books.
Then, research became critical to formulating a strategic plan behind the Web site's redesign. The team reviewed the original Open Books site (online from May 2006-February
2007), along with the site's traffic data and user comments. They also surveyed sites from other literacy organizations and bookstores to see what worked and what didn't.
Heavy Lifting
But besides the inherent size and budget limitations, Ratner and Keaty faced other obstacles. One challenge was making sure that the site reflected the energetic,
entrepreneurial and slightly quirky feel of Open Books, complete with the branding that characterizes the organization. The final snag was executing the redesign on a tight
schedule.
To fulfill their mission, the team developed several tactics that facilitated the program:
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They made virtually all information available in three clicks or fewer from the main page;
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Used main page space to feature rotating items of current interest;
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Used team and program photography (as opposed to stock photos) throughout the site;
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Incorporated casual, consistent icons for navigation throughout site;
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Committed to refreshing site content on a regular basis to keep it up to date;
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Integrated links to a blog, Flickr sets, Facebook/MySpace pages and other off-site content; and,
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Used collapse/expand coding, where only the first few lines of a paragraph load with the page and the rest can be seen by clicking a "read more" link.
An Open-And-Shut Case
The effort's return on investment was determined by increase in site traffic, volunteer numbers, program sign-ups, donations and feedback from volunteers, partners, donors,
media and other constituents.
When evaluated against these benchmarks, the redesigned Web site proved to be a smashing success. In the first month the site was unveiled, it garnered nearly 7,400 page views
versus the previous record month of 6,930. For Q2 2008, the traffic continued to climb, averaging over 8,800 views per month.
Also during this period, the Open Books e-mail list more than doubled, going from 798 volunteer subscribers to 1,512. Open Books also added three new programs to meet demand.
Book donations in Q2 following new site launch totaled over 40,000, making it a quarterly record. And, in late spring 2008, the site was selected for the "Why I Love My Web site"
panel at the Making Media Connections conference.
Once the Web site relaunched, Ratner says she "didn't [initiate] a lot of buzz surrounding it--we just kind of replaced the site." Though this may sound anathema to the basic
precepts of PR, the viral/word-of-mouth element did the "talking" and contributed to the success of the Web redesign. "All the metrics doubled and tripled in terms of sign-ups and
visitors doubled and tripled," she says.
Hindsight Is 20/20
According to Keaty, there was some media outreach, but only in terms of guiding interested reporters to the press page on the new site.
"For the most part, we did more communications internally," she recalls. "When talking to the media, we really wanted to highlight [the press page on our new site]. We really
wanted to establish ourselves as the go-to, media-friendly organization for start-up profits as well as us being a literacy cause."
Keaty admits that deciding against a big publicity push could have been a strategic blunder given the organization's location in a top-tier news market. However in the end, to
use a musty, old cliché, "it all worked itself out." Ratner agrees.
"It didn't seem like a big deal [why we didn't publicize it.] It was just us redesigning our Web site," she says. "It was a missed opportunity. But now seeing how successful
it's been, it's been an incredible marketing tool--that's something we didn't think to do, but we will if we ever do it again." PRN
CONTACTS:
Stacy Ratner, [email protected]; Becca Keaty, [email protected]
How To Develop A Media-Friendly Web Site
Looking for ways to improve your relationship with the media? How about starting with your Web site. Following are a few tips offered by Open Books marketing/PR director Becca
Keaty on how you can whip your newsroom/press page into tip-top media shape:
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Be organized and archive your news: "We have a long list of events we've participated in and all of our news stories are archived on the press page," says Keaty. "This
has helped the media remember who we are in the community and highlights what we're working on."
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Update your site regularly. This cannot be stressed enough. If you want your site to be taken seriously by the press, don't leave outdated information on your home or press
page ad infinitum. "It just blows my mind in this day and age how many nonprofits have sites whose landing pages are not updated," Keaty says. "Often they don't have the [right
name and contact information] of the current executive director. There's no excuse for it." To remedy this, Open Books staffers update information themselves using the site's CMS
system.
Building A Buzz-Worthy Site
For companies wishing to overhaul their Web sites for the purpose of generating additional buzz, Stacy Ratner, executive director of Open Books, has these best practices to
share:
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Solicit feedback from potential users: Before you do anything, it's important to "go out and talk to everyone you know who will be using that site," says Ratner. "If
Open Books had not done that, we would have designed a very different site, and that would not have served our audiences very well." Listen to your target audience base and
customize your site according to their needs.
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To increase employee engagement, use photography/artwork taken by staffers: Avoid stock photography. Not only are the visuals generic and interchangeable but also they
don't provide a tangible feel to users of what the site and organization are about. Also, if you're on a tight budget (as most nonprofit organizations are), then you'll want to
keep costs down, which is attainable through the usage of photos taken by staffers at company events. "This helped us because it was free and it kept staffers invested in the
program," says Ratner. "It gives the site a more authentic feel and more personality."