Nonprofit Marketing: The Savvy Nonprofit’s Ultimate Guide

Marketing your nonprofit is essential for raising awareness and winning support. Learn to create an effective nonprofit marketing strategy.

By Carl Diesing

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Title of the post, "Nonprofit Marketing: The Savvy Nonprofit's Ultimate Guide"

There are more than 1.8 million registered nonprofits in the United States alone. That means your nonprofit faces a lot of competition in its quest to earn support.

To reach the right audience and inspire action, you need a strong understanding of nonprofit marketing essentials and a thorough strategy.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about nonprofit marketing to get your strategy started:

At DNL OmniMedia, we specialize in helping nonprofits elevate their technology solutions and strategies to accomplish more for the communities they serve. We understand how marketing and technology go hand-in-hand, and throughout this guide, we will focus on how to apply nonprofit marketing best practices using your organization’s technology.

Want to raise awareness and win more support? Get marketing assistance from Team DNL! Contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions About Nonprofit Marketing

What is nonprofit marketing?

Nonprofit marketing refers to the strategies an organization uses to promote its cause, mission, and services.

Unlike businesses that market their goods or services for the purpose of making a profit, nonprofit marketing tends to focus on goals like:

  • Raising awareness of the nonprofit’s cause and educating the public about key issues
  • Engaging supporters in the organization’s operations (fundraising campaigns, volunteer opportunities, events, etc.)
  • Raising funds to support the nonprofit’s programs, services, and long-term goals
  • Mobilizing supporters to participate in advocacy activities
  • Strengthening the organization’s reputation

A variety of activities go into effective nonprofit marketing, from developing a strong brand to crafting messages that resonate with your audience.

What are the benefits of nonprofit marketing?

There are several advantages to marketing your organization. These include:

  • Increased visibility: Before someone can donate to or volunteer with your nonprofit, they need to know it exists. Through marketing, you can raise your organization’s profile and get more eyes on your cause.
  • Stronger supporter and community relationships: Marketing provides natural opportunities to connect with people who support your mission, from low-level donors to corporate sponsors. As you continue to market your cause and personalize your communications, you can encourage loyalty and support.
  • More fundraising revenue: There’s a direct link between marketing and increased fundraising dollars. Research shows that 32% of donors are most inspired to give by social media marketing, followed by email (30%), nonprofits’ websites (17%), and printed materials (15%).
  • Increased involvement in other areas of operation: Giving a monetary gift isn’t the only way your supporters can make a difference for your mission. Marketing can also get the word out about volunteer opportunities, upcoming events, advocacy projects, and more. This way, your community learns how to get involved with your cause in the way that works best for them.
  • Enhanced credibility: People want to support organizations that they trust. And though trust in nonprofits is up in 2024 after a four-year decline, organizations like yours still need to proactively cultivate trust. As you present your nonprofit’s story and mission in an authentic way and deliver on the promises made in your communications, you will establish a reputation as a nonprofit that is true to its word and makes a real difference.
  • Enhanced access to your services: Marketing allows your beneficiaries to find you faster. As you help more beneficiaries, you can increase your impact and get closer to your vision for a better tomorrow.

What challenges do nonprofits face when it comes to marketing?

Understanding the obstacles you may have to overcome to successfully share your mission will empower you to create an effective, pragmatic marketing strategy.

Let’s look at some of these challenges in detail:

  • Limited budget: Nonprofits are familiar with operating with limited resources. Luckily, there is still a lot that can be accomplished on a lean budget, and you can refine your strategy over time as your organization and its budget grows.
  • Striking a healthy balance between fundraising and sharing your mission: Marketing is essential to pulling in support, but avoid constantly bombarding your supporters with fundraising appeals. Determining the best times to make a fundraising ask requires iteration. Pay attention to how your messages are received to identify the best balance of outreach content for your organization.
  • Measuring the effectiveness of your marketing efforts: Set yourself up to track your marketing efforts’ success by measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) like return on investment, click-through rate, conversion rate, and more. This way, you’ll gather data that allows you to identify the aspects of your strategy that are and aren’t working to drive results.
  • Connecting with several different audiences: Nonprofits have several audiences to keep in mind, including donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, sponsors, and more. Each of these groups has different preferences and expectations, requiring nonprofits to consider how they can appeal to each segment.
  • A lack of marketing expertise: Keeping up with evolving marketing trends, tools, and best practices requires constant learning and adaptation. If your organization is a small shop, you may need to put in a significant amount of work upfront to launch your first marketing strategy. Take advantage of training opportunities and consider working with a consultant for assistance when adopting new solutions or strategies.
This image lists some benefits and challenges of nonprofit marketing, explained in the text above.

What is the difference between inbound and outbound marketing?

As you research nonprofit marketing, you’ll likely come across the terms inbound and outbound marketing. Here is the difference between them:

  • Outbound marketing refers to methods where your team is actively reaching out to its audience. Your organization might use Google ads or set up a booth at a local event to connect with potential supporters, for example.
  • Inbound marketing revolves around creating content that encourages your audience to essentially convert themselves to your organization. This can include strategies like search engine optimization (SEO), posting organically on social media, or creating blog content on your website.

The best nonprofit marketing strategies include both inbound and outbound marketing. Outbound marketing allows you to broadcast your mission to a wide audience, potentially getting your cause in front of prospective supporters for the first time. In contrast, inbound marketing arms your nonprofit with the necessary marketing collateral for supporters who want to research and explore your cause. This is because outbound marketing is great for attracting new people to your organization, while inbound marketing typically helps you strengthen relationships and deepen engagement with people who may already be familiar with or interested in your cause. In other words, to reach as many people as possible, try utilizing both inbound and outbound marketing strategies.

How much should my organization spend on marketing?

There’s no hard and fast rule for how much money your organization should invest into its marketing efforts. The rule of thumb is to allocate somewhere between 5-15% of your total budget, but this depends on your organization’s priorities.

You may also choose to set a specific budget to be spent on different aspects of your marketing strategy, such as sending emails, creating print materials, and SMS messaging.

Who can help me with nonprofit marketing?

Your team may find that in order to drive results, you need to work with an outside expert. There are several marketing consulting firms out there to choose from, including our top recommendation, DNL OmniMedia.

Screenshot of DNL OmniMedia website

DNL OmniMedia is a full-service digital agency with over 15 years of experience working with nonprofits to help them leverage their technology to drive positive change. Team DNL offers a variety of nonprofit marketing services, including:

  • Nonprofit marketing strategy design
  • Email marketing campaigns
  • Campaign strategy
  • Analytics and advanced reporting
  • Content creation and copywriting
  • Search engine optimization (SEO)
  • Social and organic content creation

The best part about working with Team DNL is that we bring more than just marketing skills to the table, from web development to CRM management. This means that we take a holistic view of your technology and marketing strategies and discover how one can support the other, whether that means building a data warehouse that stores high-quality information about your supporters and informs your messaging or building custom integrations between your marketing platforms and your CRM to prevent data silos and improve your workflows.

Want to learn more about the work we do?

Check out our services page!

7 Key Marketing Channels to Master

There are many ways to get your marketing messages out into the world, and familiarizing yourself with core channels is essential. Let’s explore seven of them in this section.

This image lists the marketing channels explored in the section below.

Email

Email is a tried-and-true marketing strategy. It allows you to send out long-form written and multimedia content to educate, update, inspire, and thank your audience.

What the Research Says

How to Get Started

To be successful with emailing, you’ll need a regular email cadence. Consider starting up a monthly or quarterly newsletter that supporters can subscribe to on your website.

You can also set up email campaigns that trigger when supporters take certain actions, like donating to your nonprofit, signing up to volunteer, or registering for an event.

Technology Solutions You’ll Need

An email marketing platform can help you create, organize, and track your email campaigns’ performance. Popular options include Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Hubspot.

Best Practices to Know

  • Learn how to write a great subject line. Subject lines should be simple and concise—about 50 characters or less. You should also personalize your subject lines when possible and include an action verb such as discover, explore, or give.
  • Include calls to action in the body of your email. Calls to action are eye-catching phrases that encourage the reader to do something (e.g., “Give now to fight cancer!” or “Snag your spot at our next workshop!”), and they’re often presented as clickable buttons. Every email should include a single call to action to drive support and avoid confusing supporters by pulling their attention in multiple directions.
  • Use your email marketing tool to A/B test different elements. A/B testing is the process of testing out two versions of something by only changing one element. For example, you might send half of your list of contacts an email that opens with a short anecdote about a beneficiary and send the other half a similar email that includes a video interview with that beneficiary. This gives you the opportunity to test different strategies and see what your audience responds to best. (Hint: This tip applies to any form of marketing. Don’t be afraid to A/B test social media posts, direct mail appeals, and other marketing materials.)

Your Website

Your nonprofit’s website is a powerful tool for marketing your mission. Here, you can post educational blog content about your cause, share updates on your operations, publicize events and volunteer opportunities, and host important tools for taking action, such as donation forms.

What the Research Says

how to get started

To design or revamp your website, follow these basic steps outlined in greater detail in our nonprofit website design guide:

  • Outline the parameters for your website, such as the goals for the design project, the budget, and the timeline.
  • Choose a content management system (CMS) and purchase your domain name.
  • Design your website’s theme and basic pages to align with your organization’s brand identity.
  • Create and add content to your web pages.
  • Test your website’s user experience.
  • Launch your website.

This can be a lot for nonprofits to handle on their own, especially considering all the other day-to-day work that goes into managing your operations. Consider partnering with a web development firm like DNL OmniMedia to take the heavy lifting of web design off your plate.

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS YOU’LL NEED

To manage your website, you’ll need a user-friendly CMS, also known as a website builder. Popular options include WordPress, Drupal, Squarespace, and HubSpot.

BEST PRACTICES TO KNOW

  • Prioritize web accessibility. Making your website accessible ensures visitors of all abilities can read and engage with your content. Familiarize yourself with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and implement best practices such as adding alternative text to all images, providing subtitles or transcripts for video and audio elements, and using high-contrast colors throughout your website.
  • Optimize the site for mobile visitors. 92.3% of internet users access the internet using their mobile phones. This means you should prepare your website to offer a great mobile experience. Most website builders make content mobile responsive so it resizes to fit different screens automatically. However, you should always check what your web pages and content look like using a mobile device. Ensure that buttons and calls to action are easy to click, images and text are legible, and pop-ups are minimal and easy to exit out of.
  • Develop a robust SEO strategy. SEO is a type of inbound marketing in which you optimize your web content to improve its visibility on search engines like Google. While some aspects of SEO are technical in nature, you can still launch a strong initial strategy. This will typically involve improving your site’s UX, regularly updating your blog, optimizing your content for specific keywords related to your cause, using headers to organize your content, and building backlinks to your website.

Word-of-Mouth

Word-of-mouth marketing occurs when individuals share their experiences, opinions, or recommendations of an organization, product, or service. This organic type of marketing typically happens via social media or face-to-face conversation.

What the research says

  • 92% of consumers believe suggestions from family and friends more than advertisements.
  • 78% of social media users talk about the brands they follow online.
  • 21% of people will lose trust in a brand (whether they have been a customer or not) because of negative word-of-mouth.

how to get started

Word-of-mouth marketing happens organically, but you can start the conversation by providing great services to your beneficiaries, maintaining transparency with your community, and being a key player in addressing local needs.

Technology solutions you’ll need

Monitor online conversations about your brand using social media management tools. Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social are popular picks.

BEST PRACTICES TO KNOW

  • Provide great experiences for everyone who interacts with your nonprofit. Whether it’s a beneficiary tapping into your services or a volunteer giving their time on the weekend, strive to make everyone’s experience with your organization a positive experience. This will enhance your reputation and give people positive things to say when they talk about your nonprofit.
  • Encourage social media sharing. Social media is where many word-of-mouth conversations about brands take place. You can get the conversation started by creating shareable content like infographics or short videos or starting a hashtag related to your cause or an ongoing campaign.
  • Ask for testimonials and reviews. Asking beneficiaries, donors, and volunteers for positive testimonials about your organization that you can share through your website, email campaigns, or social media. This form of social proof can inspire others to get involved with your work.
  • Partner with influencers. Influencers have a broad reach on social media and can serve as online ambassadors for your nonprofit. When searching for influencers to partner with, look for people who embody your organization’s values and create content related to your work.

Direct Mail

Send your supporters a variety of printed materials, from personalized invitations to events to fundraising letters, via direct mail.

what the research says

  • 70% of people say that direct mail feels more personal than digital marketing methods.
  • Marketers report an 18% increase in direct response rates when direct mail is included in their multichannel marketing strategies.
  • 72% of Gen Z would be disappointed to no longer receive mail and are excited to see what the mail brings each day.

how to get started

To begin sending direct mail, identify what messages you will send via mail. Maybe you want to turn your most recent annual report into a colorful brochure to send to donors or plan to send out postcards reminding volunteers about an upcoming opportunity. Next, get started designing your printed materials.

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS YOU’LL NEED

Creating, printing, and mailing direct mail can take up a lot of time. While there are tools that speed up the material creation process, such as Giving Mail, you may also want to consider working with a direct mail service. Allegiance Group and Meyer Partners both offer direct mail assistance for nonprofits.

best practices to know

  • Include eye-catching visuals. Remember, your marketing materials need to stand out in your supporters’ mailboxes. Include photos of your beneficiaries to put a face to your mission, and incorporate elements of your visual brand so recipients can recognize who the mail is from at a glance.
  • Always include a call to action. Encourage your direct mail recipients to take action after reading your message. This might be donating, signing up for an event, or filling out a survey. Getting recipients to engage and take a next step is key to seeing results from direct mail.
  • Integrate your direct mail strategy with digital strategies. Using digital strategies in tandem with direct mail can inspire further engagement across multiple channels. For example, include a QR code on a postcard that leads donors to a video about your new program.

Social Media

Your nonprofit can use social media to establish its presence online and interact with supporters and beneficiaries from all over the world. There are several social media sites you can use, including:

  • Facebook: On Facebook, your nonprofit can create a page and post content like written posts, images, and videos. You can also create Facebook groups where supporters can gather to discuss your cause. It even has features that allow you to create event pages and online fundraisers.
  • X (formerly known as Twitter): With Twitter, you’re more limited in what you can post. Posts (called Tweets) can only be 280 characters, but you can supplement them with images. This platform is best for sending out timely updates. Note that there is an ongoing conversation in the nonprofit space about whether nonprofits should be using X or shifting to other platforms, given recent changes made to X under new ownership.
  • Instagram: Instagram is the best social media platform for sharing image-heavy posts, and it also has a story feature like Facebook. Instagram also recently started its own Twitter-like social media site called Threads.
  • TikTok: TikTok is a video-only platform, and videos must be between 3 and 60 seconds long. To succeed on this platform, you need some video editing skills to add engaging transitions, text, and audio to your videos.
  • LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a formal and professional social networking site. Your nonprofit can create a profile to connect with individuals and organizations interested in your cause. You can also use LinkedIn as a tool to market open positions for your nonprofit, post news updates, and follow industry thought leaders.

Note that in addition to posting organically on each of these platforms, you can also pay to create and share advertisements on them.

What the research says

How to get started

Signing up and creating a profile on the social media platforms listed above is easy and will only take minutes. To make your profile look professional and legitimate, incorporate your branding into your logo, header, and other customizable elements. Then, kick things off with an introductory post.

technology solutions you’ll need

As your social media approach matures, you may need to invest in a social media management solution to manage content creation, posting schedules, and engagement metrics. Consider a platform like Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, or Later.

Additionally, consider using a social media listening tool to monitor conversations about and perceptions of your brand online. Population choices include Talkwalker, Mention, and Brandwatch.

Also, integrate your technology with your social media platforms. For example, you can set up your website to feature a live view of your Instagram feed. Or, you might integrate your CRM with your social media tools to capture information about your supporters and their online behaviors that can inform your engagement efforts.

Best Practices to know

  • Focus on the platforms your target audience uses. Clearly, there are many options when it comes to selecting which social media platforms to use, and each one has its own rules that your organization must adhere to in order to be successful. To make your social media marketing efficient and effective, focus on the platforms your audience already uses. This way, you can be confident that they will respond to the content you share.
  • Post consistently. 39% of nonprofits post social media content 3-5 times per week. Posting frequently helps your organization stay top of mind, but ensure your posting schedule is sustainable. One substantial and high-quality post per week will likely help your marketing efforts more than posting several half-baked updates.
  • Engage with your followers. Social media is all about interaction. When your followers comment on your posts or send you direct messages, respond to them. This makes followers feel seen and helps you build long-lasting relationships. As your social media presence grows, leverage a social media management tool to monitor conversations with supporters.

Google Ads

Have you ever googled something and noticed an entry on the search results page that is marked “Sponsored”? What you’re seeing is a Google Ad.

Nonprofits can create Google Ads to promote their services, events, and campaigns. These ads appear at the top of Google search results for related keywords and link to the nonprofit’s website.

Nonprofits can tap into this channel for free using the Google Ad Grant. This program provides $10,000 in monthly ad credits, which nonprofits can use to bid on keywords related to their work. Plus, as long you keep your account active and continue to meet the eligibility requirements, the grant will renew each month. If your nonprofit goes over this allocated amount, you can pay to bid on additional keywords.

what the research says

  • Since the Google Ad Grants program began in 2003, Google has given over $9 billion in free advertising to over 115,000 nonprofits in more than 50 countries.
  • As of 2023, the Google Ad Grants program had driven over 14 billion clicks to nonprofit websites.
  • 98% of users click on a result on the first page of Google results.

how to get started

To take advantage of the Google Ad Grants program, you first need to check your eligibility. Here are the requirements your nonprofit must meet:

  • Have a current 501(c)(3) charity status
  • Agree to the Google Ad Grant required certifications
  • Have a functional website that has useful content about your work
  • Have a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate on your website to ensure site security

If you are eligible for the program, sign up for Google for Nonprofits and make sure Google Analytics is installed on your website. From there, you can apply for the Google Ad Grant through your Google for Nonprofits account.

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS YOU’LL NEED

The only technical solutions you need to succeed with Google Ads are Google for Nonprofits and Google Analytics. However, you may consider partnering with a Google Ad Grant management firm to make maintaining eligibility and keeping up with your ads easier on your team. Nonprofit Megaphone and Getting Attention are leaders in the space.

best practices to know

  • Bid on specific keywords. To increase your ad click-through rate and reach the most interested internet users, choose specific keywords. A keyword like “food bank volunteer opportunities in Boston” will likely yield better results than “food bank volunteering.”
  • Write compelling ad text. Even though your ads will appear at the top of the search engine results page, you still need copy that stands out. Ensure your ad text is aligned with the keyword for the ad, and be clear about what action visitors are invited to take, whether it is donating, volunteering, or registering for an event.
  • Optimize your conversion pages. Prepare your website for Google Ads traffic by sprucing up your conversion pages. Revisit key pages you will feature in your ads, such as your donation page, events registration page, and volunteer sign-up page.

Text Messaging

Text messaging is a fast and easy way to reach your supporters. Use texts to send out updates and reminders or even to collect donations.

what the research says

how to get started

Before you start sending texts, you need to build your subscriber lists. Ask supporters to opt into text messages from your organization on your website when they complete donation, volunteer, event registration, or other forms.

From there, use a text messaging platform to send out mass texts. You can send messages about events, campaign updates, or donation asks.

technology solutions you’ll need

To manage your text messaging strategy, your nonprofit needs a platform for writing, sending, and automating responses to texts. Snowball, Tatango, and EZTexting are top options for nonprofits.

best practices to know

  • Personalize messages when possible. Using a supporter’s name, referencing their past donations, and citing their involvement history can increase engagement with your texts.
  • Keep it brief. Make your messages concise and to the point. The most successful texts are easy to read on the go. If you want to include more information, link out to a page on your website or another resource.
  • Choose memorable shortcodes. When text recipients want to take an action, you will likely ask them to text a shortcode to trigger a link to a resource such as a donation page. Shortcodes that are concise and memorable will be more successful. For example, something like “GivingTuesday24” will be easier to remember and type than “DonateToOurGivingTuesdayCampaign2024.”

What channels should you use in your marketing strategy?

You may look at the list above and wonder if you should use all of these channels or just a handful. The truth is that it depends on your audience’s needs and preferences, your cause, and your resources.

However, to attract the widest audience possible, consider spreading your marketing efforts across multiple channels. This technique is called multichannel marketing, and it increases the likelihood that you will connect with your target audience by creating multiple touchpoints. For instance, a potential donor may see a flyer for your nonprofit’s upcoming event at the community center and also notice an ad for the event on social media a few days later. By seeing your messaging in multiple places, a prospective supporter is more likely to take notice of it and engage with your cause.

As your marketing strategy matures, you may also try omnichannel marketing. This technique involves connecting all the channels you use to offer audience members a seamless experience with your organization that is unique to their specific donor journey. Here is an example: A potential donor decides to attend your event. The day after the event, they receive a text message thanking them for their attendance. Then, the day after the event, they also receive a survey in their email asking them to provide feedback on their experience at the event. Finally, in the mail, they receive a request for a donation.

The main difference between these two techniques is that in multichannel marketing, you spread the same message across every channel. Omnichannel marketing requires integrating backend marketing operations to create a seamless, personalized supporter experience.

How to Create a Robust Nonprofit Marketing Plan

To engage your audience and see results from your marketing efforts, you need a strategy that is both thorough and flexible. Follow these steps to build out your nonprofit marketing plan:

This image and the text below list the steps to creating your own nonprofit marketing plan.

Get to know your audience.

Understanding your audience is key when marketing your mission. Leverage your data to understand who your audience is, what their goals are, and how you can reach them. Specifically, dig into your data to review:

  • Demographics: These are basic details about your audience, such as geographic location, gender, age, educational level, marital status, and income bracket. Some of these characteristics may influence your marketing messages. For example, if you know your nonprofit’s supporters are localized to one area, you may build your marketing content around how your organization makes a difference in that geographic location.
  • Communication preferences: As your audience engages with your nonprofit, you will discover how they like to be communicated with. For instance, some people may prefer to receive your email newsletter but opt out of text messages. Others may prefer to interact with your nonprofit solely on social media. You will also notice trends in communication frequency preferences. Certain groups may like hearing from your nonprofit once a month, while others prefer receiving communications once a quarter. Pay attention to these preferences to avoid overwhelming supporters with too much communication or missing them on channels they regularly use.
  • Involvement history: Your audience’s level of involvement impacts how you market your organization to them. First-time donors, for example, may want to receive educational content about your cause. Long-time donors may be more interested in hearing about their favorite programs or your nonprofit’s impact metrics.
  • Interactions with previous outreach efforts. Look at how your audience responded to previous outreach efforts. Did they click through an email newsletter to your blog? Did they visit your donation form after you posted about it on social media? This can help you create more tailored materials like email streams or fundraising letters.

One exercise for marketing teams is creating audience personas. This is a fictitious person who has all the characteristics of a segment of your audience. Developing personas gives you someone to picture as you create your marketing materials and work to appeal to the average audience member.

Define your goals.

What do you want to accomplish with your marketing efforts? Set goals to guide your strategy and track your progress. Note that you can adjust your goals as you refine your marketing skills and new priorities arise.

Here are some examples of goals your nonprofit might set:

  • Grow our social media following on Instagram by 40% over the next six months.
  • Improve website traffic to our online donation page by 50% using Google Ads.
  • Increase brand awareness through a targeted 6-week social media campaign.
  • Improve donor retention rates by 25% before the end of the year using a personalized email campaign.
  • Launch a brand ambassador program in the next year and recruit 25 influencers to the program.

The best goals have a timeline attached to them and are quantifiable. For example, a nonprofit aiming for the first goal in the above list would have six months to reach its goal and could track the total number of Instagram followers. The nonprofit could dive deeper by monitoring post performance to see what content and messages drive people to follow.

Outline your budget.

Typically, a nonprofit spends 5-15% of its total budget on marketing.

To iron out the specifics of your budget, work with your board and financial team to determine how much you can spend and in what areas. Ensure that your entire team is aligned on your budget amount and how you intend to allocate it. Having everyone on the same page will save you stress and gridlock down the line.

Select your channels.

To ensure that you select the channels for your marketing strategy, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What channels do our target audience currently use the most?
  • What has worked in the past?
  • What channels does our team have experience with?
  • What kind of content do we want to produce?
  • How can we best convey our organization’s core messages?
  • Can the channels we’re interested in scale with our organization?

If you have the budget available, you may also want to outsource some of your marketing work to an agency. Determine what work you will outsource to find consultants with experience in that area, whether it is SEO, Google Ad Grants management, or social media management.

Build your brand identity.

Every organization has a brand, whether it’s intentionally cultivated or not. Branding is what makes an organization memorable and recognizable. For instance, if you see a logo of a panda bear, you might immediately think of the World Wildlife Fund.

Your organization’s brand should be reflected in your marketing materials so your audience associates your messages with your organization.

To develop your brand identity, consider creating a brand book or style guide that outlines the following elements of your brand:

  • Visual elements, such as your logo, color scheme, image style, and typography
  • Non-visual elements, such as your mission, vision, values, tone, and brand personality

A brand book allows you to standardize all of your marketing materials and ensure your brand will always be represented consistently. For instance, instead of seeing three different versions of your logo across your email newsletter, direct mail fundraising appeals, and social media profiles, you can ensure your entire marketing team uses the same version. This will enhance your organization’s professionalism in the eyes of your audience, too.

Develop consistent and inspiring messaging.

Your messaging, or what you say to the world about your cause and your organization, goes hand-in-hand with the rest of your brand and should also be applied consistently across channels. However, the exact presentation of your main message depends on the channel you’re using.

For example, say your organization is an animal welfare nonprofit that helps homeless pets find their forever homes. Your central message might be focused on saving lives and encouraging people to adopt rather than shop when looking for a pet. On your website, you might have an entire section of your “About Us” page where you go into detail about your mission and why you feel so strongly about pet adoption. On social media, however, where there is limited space, you may have to pare your message down to “Adopt, don’t shop!” in your posts.

It will take some practice, but soon, you’ll be able to easily adapt to the requirements of whatever marketing channel you’re using and still retain the full integrity of your nonprofit’s central message. You can include examples of how to do this in your brand book to help other members of your team strengthen this skill.

Create and share your marketing content.

Creating marketing assets usually involves a combination of graphic design, copywriting, and different technical solutions to prepare and send out to the world.

You may find creating a content calendar useful for keeping different marketing campaigns organized. This will help your team meet deliverable deadlines and send materials out at the right times.

Monitor your results and make improvements.

Once your marketing materials have been sent to your audience, you can start monitoring your results. Depending on your objectives, you may track marketing metrics such as:

  • Social media engagement rates (number of likes, shares, or comments relative to your total number of followers)
  • Click-through rates
  • Response rates
  • Conversion rates
  • Return on investment (ROI)
  • Website traffic sources

Once you have data to work with, you can make informed decisions about future campaigns. This way you can continue iterating your nonprofit marketing plan so that you continually see better results and reach your goals.

Want to raise awareness and win more support? Get marketing assistance from Team DNL! Contact us.

6 Tips to Take Your Marketing Efforts to the Next Level

Now that you understand the basics of nonprofit marketing, popular marketing channels, and how to build your own marketing plan, review additional best practices to incorporate into your strategy. Here are some tips to drive results with each marketing campaign you run:

  1. Personalize marketing materials when possible. Your audience wants to feel seen and valued as the unique individuals they are. Small touches like using donors’ names in emails or referencing past volunteering involvement in a text message can make your messages feel personal. Do this at scale by practicing segmentation, grouping your audience into different segments based on shared characteristics, and customizing your messaging accordingly. You can also automate personalization, like inputting first or preferred names into your email newsletter. Note that major donors or other highly involved individuals should receive custom communications rather than relying on strategies like segmentation.
  2. Use the power of storytelling. Storytelling inspires your audience. Write stories into your marketing materials by including relatable characters, compelling conflicts, and satisfying resolutions. If appropriate, position your audience as the heroes of your stories. (Ex. “Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to save Fluffy’s life and find him a new home.”) You can enhance your storytelling efforts by including eye-catching visuals.
  3. Optimize your marketing materials for accessibility and inclusivity. Ensure that everyone feels welcome in your nonprofit’s community by making your marketing materials accessible and inclusive. With digital materials, implement web content accessibility standards. In general, consider the language you use or the visuals you incorporate into your messaging. Does your language make it sound like everyone, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or education level, can engage with your work? Do the images you use reflect your diverse community?
  4. Use social proof. Social proof is a psychological concept that says we are influenced by others. You can tap into social proof by using testimonials on your website or sending out beneficiary success stories in your email newsletter. Showing others’ positive interactions with your organization will encourage new audiences to support you.
  5. Experiment with emerging technologies and trends. Nonprofit technology develops quickly, and your organization should explore new technologies and trends. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) has created a buzz in the marketing community as people experiment with new generative AI tools to create marketing materials. Experiment with new techniques and tools to figure out what works best for your organization.
  6. Focus on building relationships. At the end of the day, marketing should help you build strong relationships with everyone who interacts with your nonprofit. Beyond likes, response rates, and donations are real people who care about your cause. When you develop a rapport with your audience, you strengthen your organization over time and yield long-lasting results.

Nonprofit marketing is an essential part of running a successful organization. In this guide, we have covered everything you need to know to get started building your own nonprofit marketing plan.

Remember, if you need marketing assistance or help with specific marketing solutions, DNL OmniMedia has you covered. Reach out to us today so we can help your organization make a difference.

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