Author: Ann Green

Your Attention Please

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, marketing, writing

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve written about the importance of engaging your donors.  One way is regular communication with them.  You may have created a plan and chosen donor-centered content, which is great.  Now you need to get their attention to get your messages across. 

Think short
You might have better luck with shorter more frequent messages.  Aim for every week or every two weeks.  If you only send out a monthly e-newsletter, your donor might miss your email due to a number of reasons – vacation, work, family.

You only have a few seconds
When sending email choose subject lines that will capture your donor’s attention.  February Newsletter is not as enticing as Learn How You Can Help Prevent Childhood Hunger.  The same goes for headlines in your newsletter and website.

Consistency is key
All your messages and materials, both electronic and print, should have a consistent look.  Your donors will start to recognize your brand, and hopefully see you as a reputable source.

Make it easy
Your donors are busy and are receiving messages from a variety of different sources besides your organization.  In most cases, they are going to scan your message, so make sure they still get the gist of what you want to convey.

Your messages should be easy to read and scan.  Use a white background with black type.  Use lots of white space and bold headings.  In addition, use at least a 12 point font (bigger is better).

Make it visual
Photos and graphics can tell a story in an instant, but in certain venues such as email, they can create problems.  Here are some ways to prevent this. Top Five Worst Nonprofit Email Marketing Mistakes: #3 Assuming Users Will See Your Graphics and here is a creative way to enable images. How to get donors to enable images in email
Photos are great in print pieces and on Facebook.

You need good content
That might seem obvious, but if your donor has come this far and is ready to read your message, don’t shortchange them. Put yourself in your donor’s shoes.  What would they be interested in?  In most cases personal stories triumph over a bunch of statistics.

When creating content, remember the four Cs – be clear, concise, conversational, and compelling. The 4 Cs of Writing Good Content 

Think multichannel
Use different channels.  Besides email, communicate by social media, on your website, and through the mail.  Measure which channels work best for you.  You can communicate the same message through different channels. For example, include links to your newsletter on social media.

Be mobile friendly
Many people read email and look at social media and websites on their mobile devices or tablets.  I am not a technology expert, but I do know that when I read content on my iPhone, I’m much happier when it fits nicely on the screen.  This will make your donors happier too, and that’s what you want.

Here are some resources about going mobile.

Four Strategies for Going Mobile
Mobile Resources
Be known but don’t be annoying
Some organizations are afraid of annoying their donors by communicating too often, but most don’t communicate enough.  Remember your donors might miss some of your messages. 

Staying in touch once a week and sending out short, engaging messages will help you get your donor’s attention.

Show Your Donors The Love

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising

Valentine’s Day is coming up. This is the perfect time to thank your donors and show how much you appreciate their support.   It’s also timely if you haven’t thanked them since you sent a thank you letter after you received their annual appeal.  You did send thank you letters after your annual appeal, didn’t you?

In my last post, I wrote about finding ways to engage your donors and one suggestion was thank you messages.

If you want to send out a thank you message on Valentine’s Day, you may not have time to do cards or a video, but going the electronic route is fine.  Send an email and post something on social media.  

In addition, put a thank you message on your home page. Keep it up all year, although you can change it periodically.  Phrase it something like this.
    
Thank you to all our donors! Your support makes it possible for us to (list ways in which you are helping the people you serve). 

If you prefer not to acknowledge Valentine’s Day, I still think February is a good time to send out an upbeat thank you message.  Unless you live in Florida or California, it’s cold and snowy, and kind of bleak.  People may be getting tired of winter and need some cheering up.

Share an update or success story 
Besides saying thank you, share a brief update or success story.  Emphasize how you couldn’t have helped someone without the donor’s support.  If you included some 2013 goals in your annual appeal, sharing regular updates of your accomplishments is a great way to engage.

Get creative
Make your thank you message really positive and fun.  One idea is a photo of people holding up thank you signs.  I’ve included links with a couple of examples below.  The first one is actually a video, but you could do the same thing with a photo.  By the way, this is a great example of a video.  Not only does it say thank you, but it showcases the work the organization does and the people they serve.

11 New Year’s Resolutions for Nonprofit Social Media Managers
HOW DO I THANK THEE, STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS…

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to feature cute kids.

Visual messages are a great way to engage.  Besides photos, create a thank you illustration, infographic, or word cloud. 

Keep it up
Keep thinking of ways to thank your donors!  You really can’t say thank you enough. 

If your budget allows it, think about sending out cards or creating a video. 

At certain times of the year, like Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving, people expect to receive messages of gratitude, but imagine how surprised your donor might be if they receive something in May or August?

And if you are looking for creative ways to say thank you, maybe these posts will inspire you.

22 Delightful Ways to Say Thank You!
Nine Clever Ways to Thank Your Donors
How are you thanking your donors?

Find Ways To Engage With Your Donors

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, writing

This post was featured in the February 2013 Blog Carnival

Have you heard the dismal news about donor retention?  It doesn’t need to be that way.  One solution to keeping your donors is better engagement.

Try to engage with your donors by email once a week.  If you use social media, you can communicate more often  –  generally once a day on Facebook and a couple of times a day on Twitter.

Quality counts
Whatever you send out, make it donor-centric.  Focus on success stories.  Show how the donor was part of that success.  And always show gratitude. 

Be welcoming
If you are not are already doing this, send a welcome message to your new email subscribers. Personalize it, say thank you, and give a brief summary of what types of information they will receive.

What about my newsletter?
Perhaps you send out an email newsletter once a month or every two weeks, and that’s fine.  While it’s generally recommended that nonprofits communicate with their supporters anywhere between once a week and once a month, I would aim for closer to once a week.

One issue with e-newsletters is that they are too long.  If you are sending out a monthly newsletter, keep it to a few articles.  People have short attention spans.

Testing time
Here is a good opportunity to test.  Measure to see how people respond to short weekly updates as opposed to your longer monthly newsletter.

You can still send out newsletters, and supplement them with short messages in between. 

What should I send out?
Remember to keep your audience in mind.  Also, keep your messages short.  Make them easy to read and scan.  Besides providing updates, here are a few other ways to keep your supporters engaged.

Surveys
Send out short surveys.  You can ask people their opinion on an issue or something else relevant to your work.  Make people feel included.  One nonprofit I know of that sells holiday cards asks folks to vote on their favorite designs.
If people respond well to your short surveys, perhaps you could do one a month.

Here is more information about creating surveys and other ways to get feedback from your supporters. HOW TO GET FEEDBACK FROM YOUR SUPPORTERS

Advocacy alerts
Send out an advocacy alert on a piece of legislation that affects the people you serve.

You’ll have more success if you make it easy to take action.  Provide a sample phone script, letter, or email template.  You could send out an existing advocacy email from another organization, if it’s too hard to create your own.  Be sure to credit that organization.

Another way to engage is to report back results on that legislation.

Say thank you
Why not make a point to send a thank you message to your donors each month.  Share a success story and let them know that you couldn’t have accomplished that without their support.

Always find ways to say thank you.

Invite people to join you on social media
Send an invitation via email to join you on Facebook and Twitter.  But don’t stop there.  Show your supporters what they will get out of it.

Remember that social media is social, so ask questions to engage folks.  Start a conversation.

Here some ways to build a community on Facebook. 7 reasons your nonprofit Facebook page has no fans 

Share photos and videos
Share photos of the people you serve.  Not all email providers display photos, so you’ll want to include a link to link to your website. Facebook is great for sharing photos.

You might not have the capacity to create a video, but if you do, make it high quality and short.  Share videos of the people you serve participating in activities or better yet saying thank you to your donors!

Other ideas include sharing testimonials and quotes.  I favor stories over statistics, but you could share some interesting statistics with a link to a story.  Phrase it, Did you know…..?

Get organized
If you use an editorial calendar, you shouldn’t have a problem coming up with and organizing your content.  Make it cross channel and include email, social media, website, and print.  Figure out what to send out and when.  Here is more information on creating editorial calendars.  Your Most Powerful Social Media Tool for 2013 

Keep measuring how people respond to your messages.  If you are not getting much of a response from your surveys, either do them differently or find another way to engage.

All roads lead to your website
While I’ve been emphasizing email communication, and to a certain extent, social media, often these messages include links to your website.
Keep your entire website up-to-date and engaging.  You never know if your supporters will travel from your web link to another page on your website.

It’s very important for you to communicate with your donors regularly and keep them interested and engaged in your work. 

Let’s hope next year at this time we won’t be reading all these dismal statistics about donor retention.

Your Audience Isn’t Everyone

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, writing

Have you or someone in your organization ever said “We want everyone to know about us.” Everyone, really?  I hate to break it to you, but EVERYONE is not interested in your organization, even though you may be doing great work.

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com points out there is no general public, and when you try to reach out to everyone, you reach out to no one.

In addition, just saying you want people to know about you (e.g. raising awareness) is a vague goal.  You need a call to action, such as donating, volunteering, contacting your legislator, or attending an event. With a clear call to action,you will also raise awareness.

Who is your audience?
Take some time to put together audience profiles or personas.  You can survey or interview your supporters, or just put together a profile to the best of your knowledge.  The more accurate you can make it, the better.

Here is more information on putting together audience personas.
Create Personas to Bridge the Gap with Target Audiences 

How to Develop Donor Personas for Your Nonprofit
Make a point to get to know your audience.  Listen to what they have to say about you.  Social media is a great platform for that.  

Communicating with your audience
Once you figure out who your audience is, visualize yourself communicating with them, or better yet, with one person.  Your messages should meet their needs and interests.

Remember that one size doesn’t fit all. Messages to donors will be different from messages to volunteers.  Come up with content which will persuade that group to take action. Create clear, concise, conversational, and compelling messages.  The 4 Cs of Writing Good Content
Your audience is a great resource
As you plan to find new donors, volunteers, and other supporters, you usually don’t have to look very far.

How many people who subscribe to your mailing list and follow you on social media are donors?   If they aren’t, they are great candidates to become ones.  Much more so than people who don’t know you.

Your volunteers are potential donors and your donors are potential volunteers.

Also, social media makes it easy for supporters to share information such as attending events, volunteering, and even donating with their friends.

You often don’t have to go far to find new supporters.

Track your audience
Of course, you will need to expand your audience and your best bet is people who will be most likely to support your cause.

Keep track of how your audience responds.  Who donated to your annual appeal?  Was it current donors, mailing list subscribers, or event attendees?  Who is more likely to volunteer – seniors, people in faith communities or colleges students?

Keep this in mind as you seek to expand your audience.

Finding an audience through media coverage
Getting media coverage is not as essential for publicity as it was in the past.  Now you can also communicate the same information via your website and social media.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek media coverage.  But plan carefully.  Besides coming up with a newsworthy story, choose publications that will be most likely to publish it and ones that have a similar audience.  Sometimes small and local will bring you better results.

Always remember that your audience isn’t everyone.  The more you know who your audience is and can create messages they will respond to, the more successful you will be.

Resolutions Nonprofits Need to Make

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing

Happy New Year! 

The New Year is a time when many people make resolutions in their personal lives. I’ve never been that fond of making personal New Year’s resolutions, but try to strive for continuous improvement throughout the year.

Nonprofit organizations do need to make resolutions. You have to plan and strategize in order to be successful. 

Here are some resolutions for you and your organization to make and use throughout the year.

Stick with your plan
One of the biggest problems with making New Year’s resolutions is that people don’t keep them.  In my last post I wrote about creating plans and strategies to prepare for 2013.  Do you create fundraising and marketing plans and then ignore them?

Make a resolution to stick with your plans and monitor your progress.  If something is not working, you can always make adjustments.

This Dashboard can help you monitor your progress. Library of Sample Dashboard Indicators 

Be realistic
If you want to lose weight, it’s unrealistic to say you will lose 20 pounds in a month.  It may also be unrealistic for your nonprofit to hold a huge gala or produce a glossy print newsletter. Figure out what will work best given the resources you have.

Make room for growth
In our personal lives, we might want to learn a new skill or take a class.  This should apply to our professional lives, too.  Make a resolution to learn something new or build on existing skills.

Your organization should also take advantage of new opportunities. Be realistic, of course.  As you look to increase your donor base, reach out to people who will be receptive to your cause.

Do your best
Always strive to do your best within your capabilities.  If it’s only feasible to send out a monthly e-newsletter, make it the best newsletter you can produce.  Give your readers interesting stories that show how you are making a difference. 

Be nice
Many people want to improve their personal relationships, and this should also apply to professional ones as well.  If you want people to be nice to you, you need to be nice to them first.

Be nice to the people who support you.  Send thank you letters right away.  Keep your supporters engaged and interested in your work.  Make your messages positive and conversational.  Always be warm and friendly.

Don’t give up
If something isn’t working, don’t give up.  Perhaps you need to do things differently.  Take a moment to assess what you have done.  Maybe your fundraising campaign didn’t do as well as expected because you targeted the wrong people or didn’t use engaging messages.

Figure out what adjustments you need to make and keep going.

Relax
Some of us work on reducing the stress in our personal lives, and the same should be true in the workplace.

You have a lot to do this year.  But that doesn’t mean you have to work every single minute and stress out about your to-do list. Take breaks and time for yourself.  Creating a better work-life balance will help make you more productive.

Remember that these resolutions are just as important in June as they are now, so keep them up.

Do you have any resolutions to add?

Best of luck for a successful 2013!

Get Ready for the New Year

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, marketing

It’s hard to believe the New Year has arrived.  I hope 2012 was a successful year for you.  But if your marketing and fundraising didn’t go as well as you would have liked, take some time to analyze what worked and what didn’t, if you haven’t already done so.

Creating plans and strategies can help. Here is some information that you can use as you can continue to prepare for 2013.

Marketing Plan
If you have never created a marketing and communications plan, now is a good time to get started.  A few things to keep in mind – Raising awareness is a vague goal.  You need a call to action, such as donating, volunteering, attending an event, or contacting your legislator.

Also, your audience is not everyone.  Target the people or groups who will be most receptive to your message.

Finally, don’t forget to measure your progress at least once a quarter.

How to Create a Marketing Plan
Fundraising Plan
You also need a fundraising plan, and it needs to include a donor relations component.  

Plan to raise money from a variety of sources and be realistic about what makes sense for your organization.

Map out each step of your annual appeal or an event.  And, remember to monitor your progress.

How to Create a Fundraising Plan
Donor Relations
You should spend just as much time on donor retention as donor acquisition.

Come up with ways to thank your donors all year round.  Of course, you must send a great thank you letter immediately after receiving a donation. 

Other ways to show gratitude include seasonal (Valentine’s Day, spring etc.) thank you notes or email messages, holding an open house or some other type of event for your donors, creating a thank you video, and providing donors with regular updates via a newsletter and social media.

Ideally, if you keep your donors engaged and interested in your work, not only will they give again, but they may give at a higher level.

Thank Your Donors All Year Round
Editorial Calendar
Does the idea of coming up with content to share with your supporters on a regular basis stress you out?  Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to.

Create an editorial calendar that lists important dates and events, as well as “evergreen” content – stories you can use at anytime. 

Be sure to have a collection of stories and profiles you can use in your newsletter or website.  

Remember that your updates need to focus on success stories that show your donors and other supporters how you are making a difference.

How to Create an Editorial Calendar
Taking the time to plan, strategize, and monitor your progress is time well spent.

Best of luck to you for a successful New Year!

Is Your Website Donor-Friendly?

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, website


December is the busiest month for fundraising, which means your website will be receiving an increased number of visitors.


Even if you mailed an annual appeal letter, many people donate online.  If you are sending out reminders by email and social media, you are also including a link to the donation page on your website. 

Are you ready for all your website visitors?  Here are some ways to ensure that your website is donor-friendly.

Your donation page
Take a moment to check your donation page.  Is it easy to use and navigate? Does it have a compelling message and photo?  Is that message consistent with the one in your annual appeal letter?

Read on for more information on creating a great donation page. 
How You Can Create A Welcoming Donation Page
Your home page
Let’s say you have a donor who wants to contribute, but doesn’t have immediate access to the link to your donation page.  That person will Google your organization and be taken to your home page.

This means your home page should not only have a prominent Donate Now button, but a friendly message letting people know your annual appeal is underway.

More information please
Having a donor-friendly website applies to all your web pages.  What if someone wants to know more about a program you mention in your annual appeal?  Does your site have that information?   Is it easy to read and understand?

Maybe you have a prospective donor who wants to find out more about what you do before they give.  Do you have some compelling stories and accomplishments to share?

Perhaps someone else wants to volunteer.  Do you have up-to-date and clear information on how they can get involved?

You never know what will happen once someone enters your website.  You need to be prepared for them to visit multiple pages, and of course, you’d like them to.   

Are all your web pages up-to-date and audience-friendly?  Use this website checklist to find out. A Website Checklist

This information is relevant all year round, not just during a fundraising drive.

The internet is still a popular place to get information, and now it is becoming the preferred method of donating.  Don’t miss out by not having a donor-friendly website.

Following Up On Your Annual Appeal

Ann Green Communications, fundraising

The giving season is here!  Many of you have sent out your annual appeal and the donations are coming in, but maybe not as quickly as you would like.  

Even though December is when most nonprofits see the highest level of donations, it’s also a very busy time for your donors.  That’s why you need to follow up with them.  If you haven’t already created a follow-up plan, here are few ways to do that.

In most cases, you will use a multi-channel approach.  This is contingent on the type of contact information you have.  You may not have email addresses or phone numbers for all your donors.

It’s also important to make your follow-up messages positive.  Don’t make your donors feel bad about not contributing yet.

WAYS TO FOLLOW UP

By email
Email is usually the easiest way to get your message across to a large number of people.  Chances are you have email addresses for most of your supporters.

Send friendly reminders each week in December.  At the end of the month, send out messages a couple of times between December 27 and 31. 

If possible, only send email reminders to people who haven’t donated.  If you can’t do that, be sure to thank the people who have already donated.  Continue to share success stories. You can also give updates on your progress, if you have a goal and a deadline.

Your email reminder should include a link to your user-friendly donation page.

By social media
Post similar reminders on Facebook and Twitter.  Provide updates and thank your donors.  You can post reminders several times a week, but if you don’t have that many followers, you probably want to spend your time elsewhere. 

Again, include a link to your website to make donating easy.

By phone
Sometimes a quick phone reminder is all it takes to spark a donation.  It’s up to you if you want to call everyone who hasn’t donated.  Your best bet is to call people who have donated in the past, especially if they have given at a higher level.

This is also a great opportunity to thank your donors.  Leaving a message is fine, but be sure to leave a call back number and the link to your website.

By mail
In this case, you may want to target a few select groups.  If a mailing address is the only contact information you have for a donor, then you’ll want to send a follow-up letter.  You can also send letters to higher dollar donors.  Be sure to include a pledge form and return envelope.  Always make things easy for your donors.


It may seem like you are communicating a lot with your donors, and of course you need to be mindful of contacting them too much, but the year-end surge of email and other forms of communication really works. Is Your Year-End Communication Up To Snuff?

Thank Your Donors All Year Round

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising

This post was featured in the November 2012
Nonprofit Blog Carnival.


Many of you have probably invested a lot of time this fall creating an annual appeal campaign, but how much time have you invested in thanking your donors?   

Donor relations needs to be part of your fundraising plan
Building relationships with your current donors is actually easier and less expensive than trying to find new donors, but many nonprofits overlook this.  According to Katya Andresen from Network for Good, the average nonprofit loses about 60% of the donors they had in the previous year. Don’t let that happen to you.   

Here are a few ways to build relationships and show appreciation to your donors all year round.

Thank your donors right away
Every single donor, no matter how much they have given or whether they donated online, gets a thank you card or letter mailed to them.  Thank you letters should be sent out no later than 48 hours after you have received a donation.  This shouldn’t be hard to do.  Carve out some time each day you get a donation and send out your thank you letters.

Go the extra mile when you thank your donors
Instead of sending out a generic thank you letter, mail a handwritten card and call your donors.  Calling your donors to thank them is something your board can do and is often a welcome surprise. Invest In Thanking Your Donors

Get creative and personal
If you can’t send out handwritten cards, get creative with your printed letter.  Don’t start your letter with “On behalf of X organization we thank you for your donation of….”   Open the letter with “You are amazing” or use one of the suggestions from this post. 22 Delightful Ways to Say Thank You!  Make your letter colorful, but tasteful, and include an engaging photo.

Add a personal handwritten note to the letter, preferably something that pertains to that particular donor.  For example, if the donor has given before or attended one of your recent events, you could mention that.  In addition, make sure all the letters are hand signed.

Let your donors know how much you appreciate them and highlight what your organization is doing with their donation. 

Here are some examples of great thank you letters.
How to write a perfect donor thank-you: A template and example
Tips for Better Nonprofit Thank You Letters
Donation Thank You Letter Examples

Stay in touch
You don’t want your communication with your donors to end after you send out your thank you letters.  In the letter, invite your donors to sign up for your newsletter and follow you on social media.

Communicate with your donors on a regular basis in ways in which you are not asking for money. Send out email between once a week and once a month.  You can post on social media more often, such as once or twice a day.

A newsletter is a great way to update your donors.  Make sure it is donor-centered and focus on success stories that demonstrate how you are making a difference with the donors’ contributions.  For example, I used to work for a mentoring organization and we would feature a different mentor/mentee match each month in our newsletter. 

Be sure to keep thanking your donors in your newsletter and social media updates.  Emphasize that you wouldn’t be able to do the work you do without your donors’ support.

Here is more information about communicating effectively via your newsletter and social media.

Choose Quality Over Quantity – Part One – Your Email Newsletter

Choose Quality Over Quantity – Part Two – Social Media

Other ways to show appreciation
Another good way to show appreciation to your donors is to hold an open house at your organization.  Offer tours so your donors can see the inner workings of your nonprofit.  Make your open house informal and fun, and provide food.  Include a brief program that might include a video/power point presentation or a few words from a client.  If cost is an issue, you could have food donated.  Even if your donors don’t come to your open house, they will appreciate the invitation.

Many nonprofits will send out Thanksgiving or holiday cards, which is fine even though most people receive a higher volume of mail at that time.  You are more likely to catch your donors’ attention if you send something out around Valentine’s Day or right before spring.

Here are some other ways to say thank you. 8 Ways You’re Probably Not Thanking Your Donors

The most important thing is to keep showing appreciation to your donors all year round.  If you treat them well, maybe they’ll treat you well the next time you send out your annual appeal.

How to Create a Marketing Plan

Ann Green Communications, marketing
This graph by Kivi Leroux Miller shows that many
nonprofit organizations
don’t have a formal marketing plan.
Some nonprofit organizations don’t spend a lot of time on marketing and communications.  They want to focus on raising money.  But marketing and fundraising are very much interconnected.  You can’t raise money without clear messages and a good strategy to communicate those messages.
 
If you have never created a marketing plan, you may want to start big and do a SWOT analysis and competitor study (see below for details).  At the very least, you should create a plan that covers how you will communicate with your audience(s).  Ideally, you should be looking at more than one year and your marketing plan needs to be consistent with your strategic plan.
 
Don’t make the mistake of not taking your marketing and communications seriously. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you put together a marketing plan.
 
Who are you?
What does your organization do and what makes you unique?  What is your message platform?  If you have never taken the time to create a consistent set of messages, you’ll need to do that.  Make Your Messages Clear and Consistent
 
What are your needs and goals?
Each nonprofit will have different needs.  Everyone needs to raise money, but perhaps you also need members, clients, or volunteers.  Come up with categories and goals and then create a strategy for each.  For example, if you need tutors or mentors, you need to come up with a recruitment plan.
 
Think about going beyond raising awareness.  You need a call to action, such as donating, volunteering, attending an event, or contacting your legislator.
 
Who is your audience? 
In most cases, it’s not everyone.  Sometimes it’s people who know you well, such as donors, and sometimes it’s not.  Personalize your messages to different audiences.
 
Communicating with people who know you
Just because someone has donated to your organization or subscribed to your email list, doesn’t mean they are thinking about you all the time.  They won’t be thinking about you at all if you don’t communicate with them.  These folks are precious resources and you want them to keep supporting you, so don’t ignore them.
 
Communicating with donors and other supporters needs to be part of your marketing plan. Update them on how you are making a difference.  Create an editorial calendar How to Create an Editorial Calendar and keep messages consistent across each channel.
 
Communicating with people who don’t know you
When you communicate with an external audience, target people and groups who will be most receptive to your message or call to action.
 
All nonprofits want media coverage, but plan carefully.  Target the right publications and choose the right stories.  You have lots of competition.  Pitch something newsworthy.
 
Measure your progress
Each quarter look at your goals and figure out what is working, what isn’t, and how you can make improvements.
More information on marketing plans
This template by Nancy Schwartz of Getting Attention.org will give you more detailed information to help you put together a marketing plan.
Nonprofit Marketing Plan Template — Ready-to-Use
The links below are quite detailed, but are helpful if you want to do a competitor study or a SWOT analysis. 
How To Do A Nonprofit SWOT Analysis
Framework for Basic Nonprofit Marketing and Promotions Plan
Again, don’t make the mistake of not having a marketing plan.  Yes, it will take some time to put together, but as with all types of planning, it is time well spent.