When you hear the term “marketing,” do you sometimes feel like you’re not really sure what that has to do with your nonprofit? Marketing is for businesses trying to turn a profit, right? Well, not necessarily. Marketing is for any nonprofit that wants to grow, whether that means serving more clients, increasing awareness of their cause, or any other goals they may have as an organization. Now, you might be thinking, “Okay, that sounds great. We want to grow, but how does that work, practically speaking?”
At Beeline, we take a very customized approach to nonprofit marketing, so our marketing plans look very different from client to client. But in this blog post, we wanted to give you a concrete example of a nonprofit organization that we’ve worked with that has seen great success using marketing to grow their nonprofit: Connected Families.
Connected Families is a Christian nonprofit organization based near Minneapolis that helps parents better connect with their kids through their live workshops, one-to-one parent coaching, free online content, as well as some paid content.
Connected Families is different from many of the nonprofits we work with as a nonprofit marketing agency in that they are often able to turn their clients into donors. For most nonprofits, their client list is completely separate from their donor list, but at Connected Families, there is a lot of overlap. They find new clients and subscribers largely through Google Ads (using the Google Ad Grant), Facebook advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), and word of mouth.
How Our Nonprofit Marketing Agency Helped This Minneapolis Organization
One of the main ways our nonprofit marketing agency has helped Connected Families is by managing their Google Ads campaigns. Connected Families applied for and received the Google Ad Grant, which provides nonprofits with free advertising credit. Initially, they spent some time trying to run Google Ads on their own, but eventually they realized that they were using way too much of their valuable time navigating the Google Ads ecosystem and trying to figure out how to get the best response to their ads.
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That’s when they came to Beeline for help. Our nonprofit marketing agency took over their Google Ads management and greatly increased the number of visitors to their website from Google Ads. Once on the Connected Families’ site, those visitors were offered access to exclusive content by providing their email addresses. From there, Connected Families initiated a process of developing a relationship with these new subscribers.
This process starts with a “welcome sequence” of emails. These emails introduce new subscribers to the Connected Families ministry and point them to some of the organization’s most popular resources (which we helped them identify through a tracking system). All subscribers then receive free weekly content through email, like an article or a link to a new podcast episode.
The most engaged members of the subscriber list get added to the nonprofit’s “Insiders Team.” These insiders get additional emails asking them to take certain action steps on behalf of the organization or for their input. For example, the Insider Team may get asked to share content with their friends on social media or for their opinion on which graphic to include on the cover of Connected Families’ next eBook. It’s a way to deepen the relationship, while also allowing Connected Families to get valuable feedback from the people who are most invested in their ministry.
Twice a year, Connected Families asks for donations from their subscriber list. Typically, it’s a small ask, but anyone who donates—even a small amount—is then added to their donor list. The donor list receives monthly emails with “impact stories.”
Connected Families is a great example of a nonprofit organization that does an amazing job of keeping their subscriber list engaged and active. They provide them with tons of valuable content throughout the year and rarely ask for money. But when they do, they get a great response because their subscribers have been seeing (and experiencing for themselves) the impact of the ministry all year long!
As a nonprofit marketing agency, we love working with Minneapolis organizations like Connected Families because they understand how their marketing is connected to their mission! Marketing doesn’t have to be a distraction from the work you are doing as a nonprofit, and your marketing budget can feel like money well spent when it is furthering your organization’s impact.
Does your nonprofit’s marketing plan feel haphazard? Do you feel like you’re wasting money on tactics that are largely ineffective? Beeline would love to help! Our nonprofit marketing agency has helped organizations in Minneapolis and throughout the United States by creating marketing plans that get real results! Let’s talk. You can contact us by phone, by email, or schedule a free consultation to see if we’re a good fit for your needs.
