I enjoyed reading What every nonprofit should know about marketing. The focus of the post is Kivi Leroux Miller’s new book, The Nonprofit Marketing Guide. The three ideas outlined in the post are:

1. Tell stories.
2. Lose the jargon.
3. There is no such thing as the general public.

Marketing is a vital aspect of organizational sustainability. I’d like to expand on these three ideas and add one more.

1. Tell better stories about “them.” The biggest mistake a nonprofit can make is to talk about themselves. It’s not about you, never has been, and never will be. I want Soles4Souls to be thought of as an organization that helped someone else change the world. The other side of this coin is that we need to keep the focus not only on the donor but on the people who are most likely to receive the greatest benefit from our work. Stories connect us as humans. Pain and suffering are not bound by language or geography. Stories, then, become the fuel that keeps the sense of urgency ever present and offers donors are chance to spread such urgency through conversation with others.

2. Lose the internal jargon. Starbucks, In-N-Out, and Waffle House are great examples of organizations that have their own language. It was created in-house and intended to be used in-house. If you want to communicate in their house, then you’ll have to learn their language. While this may work for a select few businesses, it fails miserably when practiced in the nonprofit context. If I tell a great story that inspires someone to get involved, it’s my job to make it easy and comfortable for them to do so. That means using language and habits that are commonly understood and offering ways to respond that are easy to navigate.

3. There is no such thing as the general public, and there is no such thing as “every person is a prospect.” It’s important for us to understand who is most likely to identify with our work, get involved, and help us increase our capacity through regular, consistent funding. Too many nonprofits believe everyone is a prospect. I don’t. It’s not practical or realistic. Know your audience and communicate in ways and with messages that are comfortable for them. While I want to see everyone get off the couch and do something to make the world a better place, I know that doesn’t mean everyone is going to get involved with our organization.

4. Do something worth talking about. We’ve distributed more than 10 million pairs of shoes to people in need. We are giving away one pair or shoes every nine seconds and are committed to achieving one pair of shoes given away every second. These are measurable goals that are worth talking about. There has to be substance to the work a nonprofit does. People are skeptical, and there is a great deal of competing organizations and causes. Doing something that’s measurable becomes the source of stories that compel others to action, ensures jargon doesn’t cast a shadow over the need to connect with people who may not be familiar with our organization or work, and defines those who will join us or simply give us a nod of approval and move on to something else.

Marketing is a science, but it’s not rocket science. The key is to remember that marketing only works if there is truly a cause or organization worth talking about. All the money and marketing expertise in the world can’t sustain an organization that has created more of an illusion than achieved a measurable impact.

What have you learned about nonprofit marketing? What has been your biggest surprise or success?