As the Nonprofit Leadership column continues discussing marketing for nonprofits, this article will focus on the marketing materials.
In the first two articles we discussed how to determine the target audience and the desired outcome.
We are now going to put both steps to good use and develop the brochures or marketing materials. There are several important steps to consider when developing the marketing materials.
Again I will stress the importance of an organization, when going through each of these steps, taking time to plan or hire a marketing firm to assist in the planning and implementation.
If the organization does not take the proper time and rushes the process they may risk experiencing a very expensive endeavor that will not produce an ROI (return on investment) for the nonprofit.
The first step you should take in developing the marketing material is to describe in detail the benefits, services and/or programs of the organization. Many nonprofits already have this written out but may not realize it. This is usually inserted into a full grant proposal and rarely changes once it is finalized.
I would encourage you to start with this section of the grant narrative and tweak as necessary to match your currently identified, for the marketing plan, targeted audience and the desired outcome.
The second step that you should take in developing the marketing material is to focus on your call to action. In all materials that your nonprofit hands out I strongly suggest you have at least one call to action. The call to action should identify either donation and/or volunteer opportunities. With this call to action ensure that you also create a sense of urgency.  In other words why is this important, now?
The final step in developing the marketing material is to ensure the materials reflect and emphasize the values of your organization.
Now I know many of you reading this are asking your self what do the values of the organization have to do with marketing?