I Think My Nonprofit Needs a New Marketing Plan

So, you realized it may be time for a new marketing plan. Now what?

We recommend you start by taking a deep breath. You are not the first person in a marketing role to have to re-navigate your marketing plan. Marketing is always evolving, so it's natural marketing plans will need to be tweaked to keep up with new trends.

Then, go back to your original marketing plan. Highlight the parts of your plan that really worked for your organization. Try to find where things started to not work. Was it not using social media? Or was it not having a clear marketing schedule (when communications within your organization went out, who sent them out, etc)? Whatever you find, write it down. We cannot stress the importance of writing things down enough. It is the most important part of any marketing plan. You need the data.

It's now time to fix (or start) your marketing plan. A crucial piece that marketers often miss, is putting yourselves in your audience's shoes. You're not creating your marketing plan for you, you're creating your marketing plan for them. Start with these three simple questions:

• Who is this organization?
• What do I want from this organization?
• What is it going to do for me?

These three questions, are simple, but they are going to help you kickstart your marketing plan. Time to translate these questions:

• Who is this organization → Focus on your mission statement. Does the audience feel who you are as an organization from reading your mission statement? This is your elevator pitch. This is going to grab people to get involved with your organization. Without even knowing it, you are creating a brand voice.
• What do I want from this organization → Your events are great to work on here. What do they want? They want to volunteer, they want to donate, money or food, they want to feel connected. No better way than to showcase what you're doing.
• What is it going to do for me → Testimonials, pictures and blog posts are great to focus on for this question. Instead of you telling people what you can do for them, let them learn for themselves by seeing what people are saying about your organization.

This can feel really overwhelming, and even scary.  Like we said earlier, anybody who has been in a marketing role has been here. It's what makes you a better marketer, you got this! While renovating your marketing, it's likely to include website changes. 

Here are a few tips from our experts on how to make your organization's homepage top-notch: 

A donation button should be one of the first things a visitor sees on your page. The button should say no more than “donate here.” Why they should donate will be answered in other places, without having to say it.

Your mission statement should be visible and clear. We suggest one to two sentences with inviting text. For example “Join us as we fight hunger…”

Your upcoming events should be front and center, whether it’s your annual fundraiser or a weekly event, make sure it’s easy for navigators to find your events. A lot of people come to events before they sign on with an organization.

In- action photos of people involved with your organization. Stock images are the easiest to find, but selling people on your Nonprofit is way easier when they see live photos. They get to see who you are.

Social media icons should be somewhere on your homepage to guide people to your Social Media (a live-feed is a bonus!) This shows the promotion of your future events, people involved in your organization and whatever else your social media page conveys.