Study poverty – the words of the great Pat Jackson. Non-profits that spend like for- profits have lost their way. Taking the nonout of non-profit is easy to do. If your annual report is nicer than Ford’s, if your website is better than Amazon’s – then asking for funding might be dicey. Do just enough, nothing more. Be professional be smart, but don’t be the Rolls Royce of non-profits. Let someone else make that mistake. Focus on mission, not on sizzle.
Start a blog. Yes, it is a lot of work, but how much time are you spending now on social media and not seeing results? Blogs can be marketing gold - the post needs to target the questions that you want to answer- they give you SEO, and most of all they give you good social media content that goes back to your site… not bad!
Break out of the circle: Ever feel like you are talking to yourself? Or to the same people? Talking in a closed room is not spreading the gospel – or getting at your mission. Get out of your comfort zone and seek out the markets you don’t know. Try face-to-face meetings, new conferences, and fresh outreach to break the cycle. Even joining a board or two.
Drop the newsletter – think about how many newsletters you get each weekday: do you read them all? Do you have the time? Move your news to a blog, push it out via social media, and use short drip-style emails to bring your readers back to your website. Remember, that styled newsletter sent to mass lists usually ends up in the spam folder, or just gets deleted. Unless your audience is saying – we want a big monthly e-newsletter, then think about shifting the flow of news to your website. Create sharable, memorable content – and reach beyond your base to make others your line of communications.
Partner – working with a local landmark or business can open new doors. Not only is this a way to raise new awareness, it is a way to get to your mission- and often commercial entities that might seem to be on the wrong side of an issue can be brought around via partnership and dialog.
