In this workshop, I addressed the importance of creating a Marketing Mindset and prioritizing marketing for nonprofit success.

1. Grow your organization through
profitable marketing
January 2015
Randye Spina, MBA
(203) 559-8838
randye@myaffordablemarketing.com
www.myaffordablemarketing.com

2. What exactly is nonprofit
marketing, anyway?
The complete cycle of bringing your service or product to
market. This includes its name, pricing, packaging, sales
strategy, target market definition, distribution channels,
timing, branding, slogan, logo, font, even how the phone is
answered as well as all other means by which the right
stakeholders find out about your nonprofit at the right time,
with the intention of making a donation, volunteering, or
making a purchase for the first time or as a repeat
stakeholder.
Copyright 2015
Affordable Marketing $olutions

3. Marketing Landscape
– Most nonprofits do not have a documented marketing strategy
– Only one-half of those who do, measure their results
– Event marketing was next biggest marketing activity
– A study of young (20-35) donors found that 56% preferred donating
online via an organization’s website; 21% indicated they preferred
donating via a donation site
– Time on marketing is just 1-2 hrs/wk vs. 6 for Small Business
– More competition – registered nonprofits grew 21.5% from 2001-2011
(‘over 50’s’ as a 2nd career)
– Too many rely solely on social media but don’t get it right:
• 98% on Facebook; for 80% of those it is their primary marketing
focus
• YouTube & Instagram follow close behind
• Most don’t actively convert followers to donors
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Affordable Marketing $olutions

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5. Getting the Basics Down
• Email signature block
• PR everything
• Tell a great story
• Proof – using photos/videos/stats, etc.
• AFTO & the Donate Button
• Business card
• Phone message
• Materials the public sees – clear & consistent in their
verbiage/colors/logo
• Website as both marketing channel & product/service
• Create long-term, compelling meaningful dialogue with
constituents (Can your stakeholders clearly state the organization’s
mission-driven messaging?)
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Affordable Marketing $olutions

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Affordable Marketing $olutions
Marketing “isms”
• Marketing is the lifeblood of a nonprofit
• Factors of success - 60% list/audience; 30% copy; 10%
design
• On average, it costs up to 10x more to acquire a new donor
than to keep an existing one
• Reach vs. Frequency – Frequency performs better, only the
largest of marketing budgets can afford both
• 80/20 Rule – 80% of your support will come from 20% of your
customers
• Target Market – Represents the 20% that will be your
best/most enthusiastic supporters over time
• Good copy beats ‘pretty’ all the time – Your message is more
important than your design

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Why most nonprofits
struggle with marketing
• Marketing is not their passion or core expertise
• Seen as too salesy
• No dedicated marketing staff or budget or goals
• Mistake ‘slacktivism’ for true organizational
engagement (Unicef ad)
• Inconsistent messaging/branding to their
stakeholders
• Consider marketing an expense – it’s an investment
• Difficulty creating a cohesive messaging platform
• Don’t do anything / Do too much of the wrong things
• One shot deal vs. ongoing efforts

9. Centers of Influence
• These are people, organizations, platforms or
networks that can provide access to your
audience that you can’t get on your own
– Retailers – cause-related marketing partners
• Macy's 'Shop for a Cause'/Stop & Shop 'Cash for
Causes’/Jenny Boston Boutique
– Chambers of Commerce
– TisBest.com – charity gift cards
– GreaterGood.org
– Other noncompeting organizations
– #GivingTuesday
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Affordable Marketing $olutions

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Tips for Success
• Know what your competition is doing
• PR can be your best friend if you do it right
• Have a call to action on materials for everything you do
• Websites require ongoing effort for it to perform
• Don’t get scattered with too many efforts that tug on
time/budget resources
• Repeat touches are necessary to move some to action
• Tangibility helps you stand out
• Partner with Centers of Influence
• Maximize all opportunities - #GivingTuesday
• Ensure your strategy and execution are in synch

11. Strategic Marketing Elements
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Affordable Marketing $olutions

12. Strategic Marketing Elements
(cont’d)
How to apply the right techniques, to the
right audience, at the right time, with the
right offer is critical to your success:
– Acquisition – Phase I, most expensive, hardest
– Retention – Phase II, less expensive, tethering to the
organization
– Reactivation – Phase III, hard but doable
Copyright 2015
Affordable Marketing $olutions

13. The Donate Button
DonorCommunity.com says:
• Place it above the fold – Make sure it’s prominently placed & highly
visible – not just a tab in the navigation bar
• Change ‘Donate Now’ To ‘Support’ – Research shows that the
word “support” followed by the name of your cause or even your specific
pledge can increase your donation rate by 16% per page view
• Add to it – Adding a photo and a suggested dollar amount also
increases donations. Some effective campaigns state what the amount can
get.
– We pay more attention when there is a photograph
– Providing a picture will tie the cause to a person/action/cause
• Stand Out With Size and Color – Donations increase by 2% per
page view when the page contains a donate button that stands out (larger
size, brighter color, etc) against the rest of the page
Copyright 2015
Affordable Marketing $olutions

14. The Donate Button
(cont’d)
• Donation Landing Pages – One study found that the average
nonprofit with a donation page within their website raised five times more
than a nonprofit that sent donors to an external, unbranded donation site.
– The landing page to process the donation should be as simple as possible.
Gather the important information you need, but keep it simple. Getting rid of
fields such as title and phone number increased donations by 11%. You can
gather further information through a follow-up email.
• Test, Test, Test – What happens once your donate button changes?
Or, suggested amounts are added/changed? Did you test ‘support’? What
about days of week or times of day? These are fast, inexpensive ways to
see what’s proved better/best before spending too much.
• And, finally – Is your donation form easy to fill out? No distractions?
Mobile-friendly? Fields verified as they’re completed?
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Affordable Marketing $olutions

15. Sample promotions
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Affordable Marketing $olutions

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20. Ready to get started?
How to Get Affordable Marketing
Book a Marketing Session - Get a 50-minute phone consultation
+ after the call you’ll receive a complimentary write-up of the
‘minutes’ of our call, along with suggested next steps to
jumpstart your marketing effort
Call NOW!
203-559-8838
Copyright 2015
Affordable Marketing $olutions