In early 2024, I started working with Susan Haldane at Threads of Life to update specific sections of the nonprofit’s website. We developed a website content strategy for the programs and services section, but after sharing the strategy internally, the organization’s leadership team decided to build a completely new site. We then expanded the strategy, and as Susan started working on the new site build, I provided web copywriting support.
This isn’t the first time I worked with a client whose website content strategy ultimately shifted a project from partial updates to a brand-new website. This seems to happen when the organization recognizes the need for a new site but does not yet feel prepared to take it on. The website content strategy ends up providing a blueprint for organizing and doing the work that had previously felt too daunting.
To help nonprofit communicators who are planning a website update or overhaul, I invited Susan to answer a few questions. Here’s my interview with Susan in which she shares her reflections on starting a web project with strategy, the shifts and benefits she experienced along the way, and her thoughts on working with me.
Website content (strategy + writing): interview with Susan Haldane of Threads of Life
Why is strong website content fundamental to your nonprofit’s communications?
“As a small national organization serving a very specific group of people (workers and their families affected by workplace tragedies), our website is crucial to our outreach. We often hear from people, “I hadn’t heard of you until…” We need content to help people find us when they need us, and to draw people into our site when they’re looking for information and support.”
What motivated you to start with a website content strategy — and can you share why you chose to work with me?
“We knew for a while that we had some gaps in the content on our site, particularly for potential new members. We have lots of knowledge and experience among our staff and volunteers that we weren’t reflecting on our site.
Because of the longevity of most of our team in MarCom, we also needed a new perspective on messaging and language; over time, we’ve developed habitual ways of describing what we do and wanted to shake that up a little. A couple of us had been following Marlene for some time, so when we started looking for someone to help us with this project, her services were a perfect fit.”
How did the content strategy play a role in changing your plan from updating the site to developing an entirely new site?
“We started by looking purely at the portions of the site that focus on new potential members and existing members. However, the perspectives on this portion of the site, the flow of information, and refreshed or brand-new content Marlene developed for us, really highlighted the age and wordiness of the rest of the site. I keep thinking of the line from the movie Moneyball where Brad Pitt decides to trade his big star Carlos Pena and tells the other manager it’s because ‘he’s making the rest of the team look bad.’ I feel like the new content strategy and content were so good they were making the rest of the site look bad!
We wanted a similar strategic approach to the whole site. We were also overdue for a revamp of the entire site, so it was just practical (although a major step) to tackle the whole thing at once.”
How has your website content strategy helped you develop or tailor your web content to meet the needs of your primary audiences?
“We’ve used the content strategy as a roadmap and star chart as we’ve worked through the full development of a new website. The strategy has helped to focus the purpose of each page, and having a clearer path through the site for different audiences allowed us to write better-defined (and shorter) content.”
Can you share how the strategy helped you establish a hierarchy for content and calls to action on your new site?
“The process of developing the strategy – the questions and inquiries Marlene made with many staff – helped create clarity around what calls to action and content we most needed. It helped us to move away from trying to do everything for everyone.”
Did the strategy help to streamline the content review and revision stage?
“The strategy provided a clear and well-developed, systematic approach. Each step along the way was laid out with reviews and approvals. We were building consensus as we went, with ideas, purpose and outlines first. As a result, there was much less debate in later stages than we might otherwise expect. It didn’t hurt that we could point back to having the plan and much of the content developed by an outside expert. We used that argument shamelessly.”
Can you share any ways you benefitted from the process — and from working with me?
“I loved having someone with Marlene’s background, experience and empathy to talk through concerns and challenges. She asked terrific questions and really pushed me and my team to think deeply about who we serve and how we communicate with them. Working with Marlene gave us new language, and supported some of the discussions MarCom had been making internally regarding streamlining our forms and processes.”
How will your new website support your approach to marketing communications?
“With our new website in place, we’ll have far better options for landing pages, content links, etc. We were somewhat limited before by an older, clunky site and that often restricted what we felt we could do with campaigns, advertising, social media messaging, and email. We’ll feel much more confident now that our marketing communications strategies have a solid foundation.”
Takeaways and next steps
A big thank you to Susan for sharing her insights in this interview, including:
- The details about her shift from website updates to a new build (and her Moneyball reference!).
- How the strategy supported a systematic approach to content review and revisions.
- Hearing how happy Susan is with her experience working with me!
Susan’s responses reinforced something I’ve experienced with other clients: a significant website update or overhaul can be daunting, but starting with a website content strategy can help you organize the project. By planning the content you need to feature online, and then designing the home for that content, the entire process will feel more logical and intuitive.
Further reading about website content strategy
A strong website is absolutely fundamental to supporting your nonprofit’s online and offline communications. If you’re planning a new website for your nonprofit organization, here are two posts to get you started:
- Reasons why your nonprofit organization needs a website content strategy
- Elements to include in your nonprofit’s website content strategy
If you’d like my help with your upcoming website update or build, check out my nonprofit website content strategy package or web copywriting package details and get in touch.
