Whether you’re focused on environmental defense, providing shelter for the homeless, or advocating for political change, you need a powerful base of support to push your nonprofit’s mission forward. A good way to acquire and retain that support is to spend time marketing your cause and sharing powerful messages that inspire people to get involved.
There’s a lot of opportunity to connect with larger audiences in the online world, especially when compared to traditional direct mail and face-to-face outreach. However, a lot of other worthwhile causes realize this, too, and you’ll need to know a few best practices if you want to stand out across your online and offline efforts.
With plenty of time to test out different strategies, marketing experts have done a ton of research on what strategies perform well versus which tend to fall short. In this guide, we’ll share some of these insights so that you can connect with existing supporters and engage prospective ones more easily.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
As we head into the new year, now’s the perfect time to rethink your marketing strategies. Spend time understanding what works well for other nonprofits as well as for your organization. Every organization has a unique audience, even if it’s pursuing a similar cause as others. Let’s dive in, so you can start making the most of every dollar you spend on promotion.
Your website is the first place people go when they want to learn more about your cause. Whether they are searching the web for a mission like yours or land on your website after seeing a social media post your nonprofit shared, your site needs to help users emotionally connect to your cause and inspire them to get involved. Whether you just need to make some tweaks or completely overhaul your site, here are some strategies to focus on:
Even once you launch any changes to your site, don’t assume that it will continue working perfectly forever. You’ll want to update and test everything regularly to make sure it’s secure and usable. Cornershop Creative's guide to nonprofit website maintenance explains that “it’s a lot easier and a lot less stressful to perform regular maintenance than it is to deal with outages, site slowness, hacking, or site errors.”
At least a few times a year, double-check that everything is working properly, including forms, links to important pages, and any multimedia. Update any plugins and your HTTPS certificate to ensure the site’s fully secure, so you can protect your supporters’ data. You’ll also want to make sure any information is updated and accurate, including contact information, campaign status, and engagement opportunities. All of these updates will help ensure your website prioritizes the user experience and continues educating users about your cause.
Merchandise fundraising is a classic marketing and fundraising idea rolled into one. The reason why causes still use this method even after several years is because it works.
Think about it: how often do you see someone wearing a t-shirt for a race they participated in, or drinking from a mug with the logo of an organization they support?
Especially with apparel, branded merchandise opens up the opportunity for new people to come into contact with your cause, even if they don’t have a prior connection to it. Even passersby who don’t feel compelled to ask the person about the cause can quickly do a quick Google search on their phones. If you’ve already optimized your website, they can easily get involved from there!
Venturing into the world of merchandise marketing isn’t all that intimidating. You don’t need to be a design expert either! Here are a few methods you can leverage to help spread the word about your cause:
No matter how you go about it, just make sure any merchandise you put up for sale is branded to your organization with its colors, logo, and any other recognizable elements. Remember, the reason so many nonprofits turn to this strategy is because it’s a great marketing tool. You’ll miss out on this benefit if no one knows your organization is behind the design.
Be sure to spend time finding the right t-shirt fundraising platform, too! A platform like Bonfire that doesn't charge inventory or upfront costs will help ensure you take home every dollar that you earn.
It can be frustrating to spend a significant amount of time developing fantastic content that gets buried underneath ads on Google. Paying for ads online can be costly, and it’s a luxury that most nonprofits can’t afford. That’s why Google developed a program to help nonprofits stretch every marketing dollar they spend.
Available in more than 50 countries, Google Ad Grants help you share your message with more people searching for causes like yours. Eligible nonprofits gain access to up to $10,000 per month in search ads on Google’s search engine results pages — there’s no catch!
This program is great for increasing conversions like donations, event registrations, newsletter signups, and advocacy campaign participation and connecting with a much larger audience than ever before.
Not a lot of organizations are aware of this great marketing opportunity, which means they’re missing out on an incredibly valuable (and completely free) promotional strategy. If you’re one of those many organizations, here’s a rundown of how Google Ad Grants work:
Of course, there’s more to it than simply picking what keywords will help you get in front of the right audience. Make sure you understand how to set your Google Ad Grants campaign up for success and continue properly managing your account. So long as you comply with the program’s guidelines, you’ll continue to receive the $10,000 grant each month.
Don’t let your marketing efforts fall short in 2022. Start the year off right by optimizing your marketing efforts. Between improving your online efforts and selling quality merchandise, you’ll start increasing awareness among your current supporters and connecting with brand new ones in no time at all.