Take the We/Our Versus You/Your Test

Who is the target audience for your United Way’s website? For most United Ways, the target audience for their website is donors or potential donors. Your website is where your donors and potential donors turn for more information about what your United Way does, results of your work, and even how to give to your United Way.

Your Website’s Target Audience

If the target audience for your website is donors and potential donors then it is important to write for them. When you use words like “we” and “our” on your website, you are typically referring to your United Way. For example, in phrases like “We fund 47 partner agencies and 56 programs” or “We help 137,678 people every year” the word “we” is referring to United Way – not the donor.

When you use words like “you” and “your,” you are including the donor or potential donor in your work. Here are two examples of using “your” instead of “we”: “Your contribution provides essential funding to 47 partner agencies and 56 programs” or “Your donation helps 137,678 people every year.” All too often, United Way websites are all about United Way – using words like “we” and “our” in every other sentence.

Take the Test

Try conducting this simple test on your United Way’s website. Using Google, enter each of these four statements into the Google search field, including your United Way’s URL address and note how many results you get for each one:

site:www.[replace this with your United Way’s URL address].org "you"

site:www.[replace this with your United Way’s URL address].org "your"

site:www.[replace this with your United Way’s URL address].org "we"

site:www.[replace this with your United Way’s URL address].org "our"

For example:

Add together your results for “you” and “your” and compare them to the results from adding together “we” and “our.”

Do You Have a Lot More of We/Our?

If your United Way’s website has a lot of “we” and “our,” know that you are not alone. In our experience, most United Way websites (perhaps 80%+) have significantly more “we” and “our” results. Fortunately, it is not difficult to fix this problem. Looking at the Google search results for the word “we” or “our,” you will likely find that the word “we” or “our” occurs frequently on a couple of your pages – often your home page. In many cases, changing the words “we” or “our” to “you” or “your” is not difficult and does not require changing more than a word or two in a sentence. In no time at all, you can change the entire tone of your webpage to be much more donor friendly.

If the target audience for your website is donors and potential donors then it is essential to use words like “you” and “your” more often than words like “we” and “our.” Here’s hoping your United Way’s website passes the “we/our” versus “you/your” test.

BONUS: If your “You/Your” total is more than TWICE your “We/Our” total, shoot us an email at info@perspectives4uw.com and we’ll give your United Way a free webinar from our upcoming 2020 Diversify Your Resources Webinar Series starting November 10!