12 Steps to Weave Your Nonprofit Marketing Loose Ends Into a Tight, Powerful Plan

1. Moving marketing from support function to a strategic player is the game changer. (@stacyjclinton)
2. Stop acting as the in-house marketing agency at your organization, and take control of the situation (@egratto) A.K.A., “Stop taking the tickets and start driving the bus,” as Tara says.
3. Only 16 percent of nonprofits have marketing plans. You need one to make the move to strategic player. (@ksuzj)
4. A marketing plan is essential because it directs your focus and keeps you on a clearly defined path. (@elimcgon)
5. However, marketing planning is an ongoing series of refining and understanding. Don’t plan more than one year out. (@volmatch) Then break it down further to three-month chunks. @wendymarinaccio)
6. Rule of 3: Identify no more than three target audiences for your messages or you risk diffusing your efforts. (@stacydyer)
7. Meet your audiences where they are (channels and perspectives). (@weinrichc)
8. Your brand is not just “clothes you wear” (e.g., logo and colors). It’s your organization’s whole personality — the way you walk and talk. (@linzbilks)
9. Put all of your marketing material on a table; see if there is consistency through them. (@weinrichc)
10. Unless your blog is supporting your brand or a call to action, it’s just words. (@ksuzj)
11. A vital part of marketing planning is outlining every single task down to the nitty-gritty — who is doing what when. (@volmatch)
12. Failures are what our successes are built on. (@mkdm, @andystitt829)

If you don’t have a plan, or have one that lives in your head or hopes, is just notes, not formalized and approved, or simply not working, get on it right now! It’ll change your life, and your marketing impact.