The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause

by Kivi Leroux Miller, Katya Andresen (Foreword)

A nonprofit's real-world survival guide and nitty-gritty how-to handbook This down-to-earth book shows how to hack through the bewildering jungle of marketing options and miles-long to-do lists to clear a marketing path that's right for your organization, no matter how understaffed or underfunded. You'll see how to shape a marketing program that starts from where you are now and grows with your organization, using smart and savvy communications techniques, both offline and online. Combining big-picture management and strategic decision-making with reader-friendly tips for implementing a marketing program day in and day out, this book provides a simple yet powerful framework for building support for your organization's mission and programs. Written by one of the leading sources of how-to info and can-do inspiration for small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations, Kivi Leroux Miller is,among other things, a communication consultant and trainer, and president of EcoScribe Communications and Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Professional Development, Reference, How To

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2010

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been almost a year since I read this, but it was extremely helpful, even for someone with a BA in marketing and an MBA.

[CTEP]

For the March book club I read LeRoux Miller’s “The Nonprofit Marketing Guide”. The reason why I chose this book is because a lot of my virtual programming at CTEP has been slower than normal because our old marketing methods aren’t possible right now. For example making sure to have flyers or paper booklets with all of the class information and doing pop up library events/community outreach events. We had to switch to digital advertising which, while effective for some audiences, isn’t necessarily reaching everyone that needs basic computer help. This book was recommended to me by a librarian at my site as both a good introduction to marketing and also has a lot of examples of marketing. Before reading this, in my mind marketing was just reaching out to the customers to convince them to use/buy the products that the company has. However after reading this book I realize that marketing, especially nonprofit marketing, is a conversation between the consumer and the organization. It’s essential to take into account what the consumer needs and wants out of your organization, if you directly respond to that then it will be more likely to get more involvement. It will also show them that the organization is there for them and that they care about the community's needs rather than just having an organization that cares about statistics or wants to brag about what they’re doing for the community.
As for this book affecting my CTEP service, the book gave me a few ideas for marketing at my site. Firstly I want to put out a survey on what kind of computer classes they want, in order to just put this on the website I’ll need to go through our publicity librarian so we’ll see about that, however I think I could easily send out a google form to people who have signed up for my classes. While there are some classes that are really important to have (such as computer basics), I don’t teach classes because I like the sound of my own voice, it’s to meet community needs. While a lot of this book was a little too high level for my current position, I do think it could spark some discussions with my supervisor and other library staff members.
I would recommend this book to CTEPs if it’s relevant to their work (for example if they have input of marketing of their services) or if the member is especially interested in marketing. However I wouldn’t say that this is an essential read for everyone just because it is specifically targeting

[Bakari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful guide

This book could certainly be undated with a full chapter devoted to using social media for nonprofits as well as online planning and productivity tools. But overall this guide provides a good introduction to the subject, and it points to various other resources for nonprofit marketing.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview that I will certainly come back to for thoughts and advice as I build a marketing program for a non-profit. Some of it is basic stuff but as we all, me included, have a tendency to rush toward marketing tactics before we consider the target market and the nature of the message, we need to be reminded of this constantly!

[jarl sigurgeirsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Fun to read and full of useful stuff.

[Sarah Darrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super dated by the time I read in 2020, but still some good tips.

[Clinton T. White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Concise. Simple.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very readable and very practical. I put many suggestions to work the same day I read them.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 101 level, Marketing for Dummies, book and exactly what I need. The information is easily understood and clear examples are provided throughout.

[Lavonne Jarosz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of information for marketing your non-profit.

[Carolyn Appleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have shared themes from this book in two public presentations, the Crescendo Interactive Practical Planned Giving Conference in 2012, and the AFP DFW Philanthropy Conference in 2013. During each discussion - which have focused on social media communications, with an eye toward major gift and planned giving donors and prospective donors - I urge audience members to purchase this insightful book.

I enjoyed a day-long seminar with Kivi Leroux Miller at Austin Community College in spring, 2012. In my opinion, if all nonprofit fundraising and communications staff would read her book, their lives would be made so much easier, and the success of their efforts would improve greatly.

Kivi provides a wide range of advice from identifying your audiences (plural); messaging; becoming an expert source for media; crafting (e- and paper) newsletters; using social media to best advantage; improving your online visibility; to the importance of thank you notes (a favorite topic for me); and budgeting. In a nutshell, "The reality is that most people will never, ever care about your mission .... here's the good news: if you focus your limited marketing resources on the people who really do matter most to your organization's success, you'll spend a lot less money and time, and you'll get better results."

I also greatly appreciated Kivi's assertion that there is no "general public." Here is a link to Kivi's bio, from her website: http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.co.... You will find more helpful information on the website as well.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are People Featured? Every nonprofit, even those focused on saving whales, needs to have pictures and stories featuring people on its website. Donors write checks to support the work of people trying to save the whales, not the whales themselves. Whale pictures are fine, but also feature your donors, volunteers, staff, partners, clients, and other people on your website doing the work they love on behalf of your cause. - 136

Slacker Brother - He knows he's supposed to get your something but he doesn't want to put any throught or effort into it, let alone money, so he is going to re-gift to you something he got for his birthday. Slacker Brother nonprofits fill their publications with articles from other sources, with little original content, because it's quick and easy and they want to check the newsletter off the to-do ist. Some of it may be helpful, but it's a toss-up most of the time. - 162

You can turn buddies into fans by thanking them personally for what they do and reporting back on the difference they are making. Always reinforce that when they do take some kind of action, it really does make a difference. Think about ways to reward your buddies, by offering them some kind of special status or publicaly acknowledging them at in-person events and through your social neworking connections. - 174

[Sara Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I say I've finished reading this book, but this will be a resource I return to often as when I was taking notes, I was practically writing everything in the book down.
What intrigued me most about this book was the section on creating marketing plans. I am creating plans for 22 programs, all unique in their own way, and the comprehensive plan this book offers allows me to customize it based on each programs needs.
Seasoned nonprofit marketers may hesitate to pick up something so broad, however the authors offer a lot of ways for marketers to talk to their bosses and their coworkers about marketing in terms that make sense to those who are not professionals. For example, there are several parts where I'm given tools to walk into my boss' office to explain not only what I think we need to do, but why we should do it and how.

[Emily D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great handbook for any nonprofit marketer or anyone whose job included doing some marketing for their nonprofit.

It's an easy read. People without any marketing background can follow along.

Even for someone with a marketing background, this is still worth a read. I have an MA in Communications with a focus on marketing. While I was aware of the many comms concepts and theories, I still found it useful because of all the case studies, practical checklists and suggestions, and suggested programs and online tools. Another great thing is that it has a companion website so you can get the latest tools and recommended sites when the ones mentioned in the book are already outdated.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly readable book that makes marketing accessible for smaller organizations that don't have much of a budget to spare for marketing. The author discusses the benefits of marketing, particularly building and managing relationships to support an organization or the organization's cause. One quibble is that she really discusses marketing in those two terms--supporters and funders--she doesn't really discuss how a nonprofit may use marketing to reach its mission by encouraging its focus audience to act on its services. Otherwise, she is full of useful ideas for ways to tailor marketing activities to the organization and support its functioning.

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I learn more for work about marketing strategy for nonprofits and how best to use social media, I will use this book as a reference point. The language is easy to understand and the text gives lots of examples on how other nonprofits are using the tips Miller is providing which always helps me visualize how an idea should work in the real world. I highly recommend this if you are looking to develop a social media strategy or other marketing strategies for your non-profit.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful for beginner marketer's. Even though I have a degree in Communication Theory, I was struggling to run the marketing part of a small non-profit. This book set me on the right path. It's a friendly, easy read. Also easy to skim if you're short on time. Con: some of the websites she mentions are outdated or gone now, but there is an updated companion website to mitigate that.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very informative. I went into knowing next to nothing about marketing and came out the other side with a solid plan of how to market. It teaches you how to listen to other websites/blogs, the most important aspects of marketing, and how to go forward with your marketing plan. I'm looking to start a small cat rescue and this book made me feel much better prepared.

[Abdulaziz Alzain · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a nonprofit fan! This book will help you how to use marketing for your nonprofit. The good thing about this is its gives you practical steps and low cost ways for your project. Now you have no excuse to spread the word about your org.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primer - I've recommended this book to people who want to "get into non-profits" or start fundraising for their small non-profit. I've read Kivi's blog for years, so there weren't a lot of new ideas for me here. It's a go-to for the NP marketing basics.

[Ali Crain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great thing about reading books like this is I end up with a long list of ToDos because my head is working overtime with ideas.

[Su · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this much more valuable and helpful on the second read. Guess I wasn't in the right frame to appreciate it the first time round. Great stuff that's stood the test of time!

[Reza Putra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it back and forth. It's like a second SOP for new hires in NGOs.