feb 1, 7, 14, 21, 22

Atlanta Urban League, Inc.

100 Edgewood Avenue

Suite 600

Atlanta, GA. 30303

404-659-1150

Chicago

4510 South Michigan Avenue

Chicago , IL 60653

(773) 285-5800 Main

(773) 285-7772 Fax

Foundation Center-Atlanta
50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 150
Atlanta, GA 30303-2914
Tel: (404) 880-0094

Georgia Center for Nonprofits,

100 Peachtree Street, Suite 1500, Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 800-959-5015

Score Atlanta

Harris Tower, Suite 1900233 Peachtree St, Atlanta, GA, 30303-1504

30303

(404) 331-0121
New York Urban

204 West 136th Street

New York, New York 10030 - 212.926.8000

"We need to out innovate, out educate, and out build the rest of the world" "Thats how
we'll win our future." - Obama, State of the Union, 2011

Nonprofit Marketing Impact: The Two

Keys to Gaining Traction
All action and no traction. That’s what most marketing is, nonprofit and for profit. A
series of discrete actions—a direct mail invite for a fundraising event, a two-part email
campaign to introduce a new program, a blog launched for an advocacy campaign—with
no connection between them, no plan.
That’s what evaluation expert Edith Asibey calls “the tactical syndrome—broad or
undefined goals leading to that laundry list of communications tactics.” Planning is the
only antidote—front end planning (including planning the evaluation approach) followed
by evaluation on an ongoing basis.
Consider these strategies two halves of a whole—they work best together. Without them,
you’re simply throwing your marketing resources away.

Step One: Planning Impact

Here’s the problem. All too frequently, I hear nonprofit communicators who are “just
doing it”— reaching out without taking the steps necessary to make sure they are
engaging the right people in the right way to reach their goals. Without planning, that is.
I understand that you’re pressed for time and sometimes you just have to get something
out the door. But usually that effort to get that one web page updated or the e-news article
written and out the door is all action, no traction.
What you get from that is marketing product. What you don’t get is impact. And you may
be alienating loyal and prospective audiences by missing the mark.
It’s hard, very hard, to take the time to plan. Because none of us have a minute of extra
time, and planning seems like a real chore. But here’s what planning gets you, according
to Sandra Jordan, Director of Communications & Outreach for the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID):
1. Directs your focus.
 • Only when a path is clearly defined can you stay on it.

• A clear path ensures you make the most of your effort and budget.
2. Forces you to articulate concrete, measurable objectives so you, and the decision
makers who make staffing and budget decisions:

• Know what you are working towards (critical for buy in).

• Make the right decisions on how to get there.

3. Provides a definitive means of tracking progress (or lack of progress).

• Against stated objectives.

4. Doubles as a pithy overview of your work to engage colleagues and funders.

• Marketing is an all-organization responsibility.

• But to engage your colleagues (or prospective funders) you need to be able to
show them what you’re doing and why.
5. Makes it easy to draft your day-by-day work plan.

• By breaking down the big ideas that comprise the master marketing plan into
nitty-gritty execution.

• Clarifies elements for your work plan and roles and responsibilities, so you focus
on priorities and capitalize on each staff member’s or freelancer’s skill set.

Step Two: Evaluating Impact

The e-word alone frightens many nonprofit communicators away because it’s human
nature to avoid facing what we’re not doing well. I expect that’s why our 2007 survey
showed that only 37% of nonprofit communicators track impact.
But evaluation is just as crucial as getting your campaigns out there. Without it, you’re
driving blind.
Here are just a few of the insights you’ll get from proactive, all-the-time evaluation:
1. What’s working.

• So you can do more of that, and less of what’s not working as well.
2. What segments of your base are engaged, and which segments you have to get to know
better so you can speak to their wants and preferences.

• So you know who you’re still courting and who you’re nurturing for the long run.

• So you know how to best court those who aren’t yet engaged.
3. What their habits are.

• When and how much do they read, how often and when do they participate in
your Facebook fan page or download a report.

• So you know how to reach out to them in the way most likely to motivate action.
4. What content is most compelling to your base.

• So you can develop more content on those topics.

5. What messaging generates action, and what doesn’t stir the pot.

• So you know what messaging to use more often, and what needs to be cut or
revised.
Here are three surefire ways to evaluate your marketing impact, easy to tackle even if
you’re a one-person shop:
1. Launching periodic online surveys of five questions or less to get to know your base
and prospects, and solicit their input. Use Survey Monkey (free).
2. Forming an ad hoc marketing advisory group.
3. Setting up and analyzing Google Analytics (free) for your website and blog.