Idealware seminars are designed to give you the tactical advice you need to make software decisions. They include all the candid advice and product comparisons of the reports and articles on which they are based, but offer plenty of extra guidance and insights straight from the author.

Each is just $40, and all you need is an internet connection and a phone line to participate.

Introduction to Website Analytics

THIS THURS! January 24th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST

How many people visit your Web site every day? What are visitors doing when they get there? Which features are most popular? Through demos of free tools such as AWStats and Google Analytics, we'll look at what these tools can tell you about your site, and what the statistics mean. We'll close with a discussion of when more advanced statisics packages - such as ClickTracks or WebTrends- might be useful. Read more or register >

Understanding Data Integration

Wed, January 30th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST.

Are you struggling to create a list of your constituents? In this session, we'll talk through the options for integrating data from multiple systems, including manual integration via spreadsheets, building programmatic feeds, and more. We'll discuss possibilities in integrating the software you already have, and what features you should look when choosing new software to prevent integration woes.  Read more or register>

Choosing eNewsletter Software
Thurs, February 7th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST

How do you effectively setup, send, and track hundreds or thousands of emails? We discuss desirable features and some of the reliable and affordable tools most commonly used for mass emailing, such as EmailNow, ConstantContact, NPOGroups, CampaignMonitor, Emma, Topica, and more. Read more or register >

Choosing a Low Cost Constituent Database

Thursday, February 14th, 1:00 - 2:30 EST

There are a number of solid and affordable options to track your volunteers, donors, partners, and other constituents. How should you choose? We'll walk through everything you need to know to pick the right database for your organization, and consider the pros and cons of commonly used databases such as GiftWorks, Metrix, eTapestry, Salesforce, DonorPerfect, and Democracy In Action. Register now>

View more information and more seminars >

Want all the information for half the price?  Check out our recordings of previous seminars>

Have a question that you'd like Idealware to take on?  In our Ask Idealware blog feature, we're offering candid answers about the software packages, areas, and choices you've been wondering about.

Send your questions about choosing software to ask@idealware.org!

We’ll chose several questions a month (so far, we've answered pretty much every question we've recieved!), send each on to experts in the Idealware community, and then post the question and the answers on our blog, Ann Landers style. 

Here are some of the best posts and resources from the Idealware blog last month.

Ask Idealware: What Online Surveying Tools are Available? (Idealware)
A helpful set of guidelines and tools from Simone Parrish of Innovation Network for those who are considering which online survey software they should use

How to Get Your Small Nonprofit Up on the Web, Part 1 (Confessions of a Nonprofit IT Director)
A fabulous overview of how to get yourself a domain - the www.YOURADDRESS.org web address that you can use for email addresses and your website.

Evaluating Free and Open Source Software (NTEN)
A nice overview from Michelle Murrain on the factors to consider when you're looking at free and open source software

Online Collaboration Tools Have Political Uses (ePolitics)
Colin Delaney talks through a mini-case study - from our MNTP event! - of a group of software developers who used a whole slew of collaboration tools to work together remotely

Web site monitoring tools (Beaconfire Wire)
Quick summary of tools you can use to monitor whether your website is up or not

Detailed comparison of Plone vs Drupal (Modulus)
If you're trying to make a choice between Plone vs. Drupal for a website content management system, don't miss this excellent and detailed comparison geared towards those with some content management experience. It goes into much more detail than our own article on the topic.

The ROI of Social Media (NTEN)
A summary from Beth Kanter of her (substantial) work in defining metrics with which one can judge the success of social media projects

The Lowdown on Colocation (Beaconfire Wire)
Very useful look at what colocated hosting is, and why you might want to use it for your website

Ask Idealware: Who's Using Salesforce? (Idealware)
Paul Hagen of Hagen 20/20 discusses what nonprofits are using Salesforce, what they're using it for, and how much it costs