Get a picture in your mind of the type of person you hope to reach. Ask yourself a few key questions:

Are my reader’s mostly male, female or a mix? If they are a mix, what is the ratio?
Are they single or married?
What is their age group or groups?
What is their level of education?
Besides your organization what are their other interests?

People in the nonprofit arena tend to be hands-on and quite knowledgeable about their donors, volunteers and clients. With a little brainstorming you can come up with more questions that can help you drill down into the probable likes, dislikes, habits, characteristics and demographic data of your readers. If you take a few minutes to give your best guesses to a few key questions, you’ll get a good idea of the type of reader you have. Keep your reader-types in mind throughout the newsletter production process. It’s particularly important to keep this archetypical reader in mind when choosing article topics and writing.

There are going to be audiences common to many non-profits that you’ll want to serve with your newsletter like: clients, supporters, volunteers, your board, and others.

Your clients or consumers will want to read the newsletter to find out about programs they may have participated in. They will be interested in any changes in programs and will want to know about any new programs they may eligible for.

Your agency’s supporters, both financial and in-kind, are valued and appreciated. To help encourage continued support they should be recognized in every newsletter. The names of individual donors are too many to mention but you can certainly thank them as a group. Some corporate or foundation supporters require their name be publicized as a condition of a financial grant. Don’t forget to do so.

Your volunteers are as valuable, maybe even more so, than your financial supporters. The volunteers who give their time and talent to your agency deserve your appreciation and gratitude. The newsletter is a perfect place to show how much you care about their efforts and to trumpet their successes. Your volunteers will be looking to be mentioned.

Your board of directors is a busy bunch and is often disconnected from the day-to-day operation of the agency. The newsletter keeps them informed about the events and accomplishments of the agency. They will be looking in the newsletter for accomplishments they can brag about to other community leaders.

Other stakeholders with an interest in the newsletter include staff, vendors, sister organizations, elected officials and other community leaders. Don’t forget to include these audiences in your mailing list. You can also send out a survey with your first few issues and learn even more about your audience.

Remember, an interesting newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce so get the most out of it by making it a newsletter people want to read. One important key to a successful, well-read newsletter is to use careful consideration when you identify your audience. Think about your audience and they’ll think of you and your agency.

In a for-profit corporation newsletters have always been used to help bring in new customers. In the non-profit world, the newsletter’s primary purpose is to promote your agency’s mission. Many grant applications ask that to attach a copy of your latest newsletter. It is also used to recognize your volunteers, communicate your services to your clients, inform your board of directors, thank your financial supporters, and to plead your case to community leaders or elected officials.

A well-crafted newsletter can help bring in some financial or in-kind support. Don’t have high expectations. The cost of producing, printing and mailing a newsletter will almost always exceed any donations you may receive. Look at the newsletter as more of a communications channel rather than a fundraising tool. You may sell advertising in your newsletter. Even so, your newsletter is not going to bring in significant amounts of money to your agency.

Don’t underestimate the amount of work it takes to produce a newsletter. Be ready to devote the time and resources it deserves to get the maximum return. For small nonprofits, be realistic. Think about doing a one-page newsletter three or four times a year. Forget about expensive paper and printing costs. Go for the four cents per copy deals at your local copy shop. You can mail a few newsletters but save money by distributing many of them by hand. Establish a grass roots network of volunteers, staff, partner agencies and others who can help with distribution.

A larger nonprofit can think about devoting more resources to newsletter production. Figure between thirty and forty-five hours to write and edit the content of an eight page newsletter. Just counting printing and mailing costs it can put you back ten thousand dollars or more to publish an eight page full-color newsletter four times a year.

Moving your newsletter through the approval process can take one or two weeks depending on how many management levels you’re dealing with. Printing can take a week or two. If you prepare the publication for bulk mailing in house, look at another week. It’s not unusual for a newsletter to take a month or more from the start of the editorial process to final delivery to your readers.

Don’t underestimate the commitment and don’t commit to a publication schedule until you’re ready. Publishing on a regular schedule gives your organization credibility. Don’t tell your audience you’re doing a monthly newsletter only to have your issues trail off to nothing after 6 months. That’s one way to blow your credibility.

Newsletters can be divided into two main types, internal and external. Internal newsletters are targeted at those folks inside your organization like employees or volunteers. It’s difficult to justify the resources required to produce an internal newsletter unless your organization has a couple of hundred employees. Small nonprofits should focus their efforts on the production of an external newsletter aimed at those interested audiences who are external to your organization. Don’t include content aimed at internal audiences in your newsletter targeted at external audiences. Your external audience probably doesn’t care about Joe’s birthday or the news that Nancy had her baby.

Remember, the newsletter is primarily a communications tool not a fundraising tool. It will probably operate at a loss. Learn to love the paper newsletter for what it can do. Promoting your agency’s mission and getting the word out about the work you’re doing is essential and the good old-fashioned, paper-based newsletter is one of the best ways to do it.

Let’s take a look at some ways to pick a memorable color scheme that fits your organization’s personality and creates a brand identity

If you’re a person who is good with color, then simply pick colors you like. Many people have experience with crafts, visual arts, home décor or other artistic pursuits. Many artistic, creative people are well suited to picking colors that are pleasing to the eye and that will represent your organization well.

Take a look at some web site templates. Web site designers put a lot of thought into color and you can benefit from their hard work.  (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/08/100-excellent-free-high-quality-wordpress-themes/)

(lemon twist theme) This light green coupled with the dark green is not my cup of tea but maybe if you’re part of an environmental organization this works for your mission.

(adreu2 theme) I like these two basic blue colors. They are neutral and pleasing to the eye. The light green accents look good too, probably because they are only used to set off a few parts of the site.

(autumn) Here’s a site that uses a rose color with tans, goldenrod, green, lavender, and white. I think this color combination evokes childlike images. I think these colors would be great for a nonprofit that serves children.

Microsoft Publisher has a lot of pre-defined color sets.  (video of exploring and commenting on a brochure template)

Here’s a color scheme generator at colorspire dot com. (http://www.colorspire.com/)

Let’s say I want my base color to be blue. Move the slider up and down on this color bar until you get blue.  The brighten button moves the little target circle toward the top. The darken button moves the target toward the bottom. The saturate button moves the circle toward the right where there’s more blue color and desaturate moves the target to the left where the color gets more washed out.  Click each of the five boxes on the upper left to see how a set of colors might look on a web page.  Click the random button for fun.

That’s just a brief survey of colors and how you can pick a few to help brand your organization.  The concept with colors is the same as your logo, the simpler, the better. What’s more important is to remember regarding colors and branding is to use your color scheme consistently across all your electronic and printed marketing materials to help make and keep your agency memorable.

Thanks for watching, for Mission Marketing, I’m Chris Howell.

Your logo has to be both a symbol and, if possible an explanation of your mission. When it comes to logo design, the simpler the better. Your logo can be the name or initials of your agency. Initials work well if your organization’s name is already well known. Stick with one or two colors. Cheaper to print and it will also look good in black. Eventually your logo will get photocopied and faxed and you want it to still look good.  Typeface is important. Consider how well a typeface looks when enlarged or reduced in size. There are so many different fonts available in Microsoft Word or Photoshop that you’re sure to find one that fits your purpose.

Let’s look at some logo examples from nonprofit organizations:

(Look at Senior’s First logo)

Here’s the logo from an area nonprofit that provides meals on wheels and other senior services. I like the two simple colors which will be easy to reproduce across printed and electronic materials.  Their name reflects their mission of serving seniors. I like that they work the agency tag line in there.  The little house highlights the fact that they provide in-home services. The butterfly is a nice touch and helps show the organization’s gentle, caring attitude.

(Look at Coalition for the Homeless logo)

Here’s the logo of an organization that provides homeless services. Again they use two simple colors. The symbol makes a home out of a heart shape. That does a wonderful job of demonstrating the welcoming nature of the organization. The agency has a fairly long name but they have incorporated the name into the logo in a very clear, smart way.

(Look at Second Harvest logo)

Here’s the logo of our leading area food bank. I like the simple, stylized spoon that ties together the organization with it’s commitment to hunger issues. The name is so prominent and easy to read. The three primary colors work well and also looks good in black and white.

That’s a quick look at some of the most basic considerations when thinking about a logo for a new organization or maybe a redesign of a logo for an existing nonprofit agency.  Your logo is an important part of your brand. Because a simple design is better, you should be able to design a good logo with little time and effort.

Most people find the planning and design the easier parts of creating the brochure. Many nonprofit professionals get tripped up on the words, the writing, what’s it going to say. There’s no need to hire a professional marketing copywriter because you can do this. After all, you know your agency better than anyone. You don’t have to be a copywriter; you just have to think like one. The agency brochure is important, but don’t take it too seriously. I’m sorry to say that most people will end up throwing your brochure away. Make it good but don’t worry too much about it.

Let’s go over some things to keep in mind when you start creating content for your brochure – what’s it going to say?

The most important thing to keep in mind is the object of the piece is to clearly and concisely communicate. If anything is unclear – rewrite or delete.

Look at the brochures of other nonprofits in your area. If any share your mission, pay attention to what they have written and what they have emphasized. Include your mission statement. If there’s room, include a brief one paragraph history of your organization to demonstrate your stability in the community. Briefly describe as many of your agencies programs or services as space allows. If room is limited, and it is, describe your most significant programs and simply list the others. Talk up the benefits of your organization and its programs. Detail how clients benefit. The writing should be compelling and emotional. Include a client success story or testimonial. Use short sentences, short paragraphs and clear photos. Use bulleted lists where appropriate. Use clear and concise headings and subheadings to set off subjects. Use statistics sparingly, if at all. Your brochure is no place to bore your readers.

Do not write to fit the brochure design. Write your copy on a separate page. Make sure it says what you want it to, then try to fit the words into the design. It’s almost always possible to say the same thing with fewer words.

There are two must haves – devote one panel to a donation form. You won’t get donations if you don’t ask. People want to support your agency so make it easy for them. Also – be sure to include all your contact information in a large, easy-to-read font. After you’ve written your brochure content, rewrite it. You will have to rewrite it at least two or three times.

Those are just a few considerations when writing the text for your agency brochure. Thanks for watching. For Mission Marketing, I’m Chris Howell.

The agency brochure has a big job to do.  But there’s really no need to hire a professional graphic designer or copywriter, you can do this. Here’s a helpful hint – try not to invest a lot of time.  The agency brochure is important but let’s face it – many people will simply throw it away.  So don’t sweat it.  Let’s look at some design considerations when creating your agency brochure.

Take a look at the brochures of other agencies like yours.  Pick out the things you like.  See what works.  Avoid the things that don’t.

Are you producing your brochure on a desktop printer or sending it out to a print shop?  If you’re producing it in house then you can include timely information because you have the ability to change it and print a few more when necessary.  If you are sending out to a print shop you’ll probably be making more than 500 due to cost.  Include content that’s less likely to change,  that will last a year or more.  Check with your print shop ahead of time to see what file formats they accept.

No need to be fancy – make your brochure two-sided, on eight and a half by eleven paper with two folds. Color is best but to save money black and white will do.

Be sure to use your branding – that’s your agency logo and color scheme.  Use a larger font for easier reading. Resist the temptation to reduce font size to get more words on the page.  It’s almost always possible to say the same thing in fewer words. Use bold, italic, or underline font gimmicks sparingly.

Resist the urge to use clipart. Use photographs of people. Actual clients of your organization if possible.  Studies show that people enjoy seeing pictures of other people more than inanimate objects.  If you work with kids or animals you must use pictures of them.

People tend to browse a brochure so your content may be read out of order.  Chunk the information – that means write it so each section can stand on it’s own without depending on surrounding information.

Some designers say can the columns but i think columns can be a helpful way to organize information and are easier for people to follow.  To avoid information overload include plenty of whitespace around your text and photos.

Set important information like phone numbers or email addresses off in a box to make it stand out.

That’s a quick look at some design considerations when creating your agency brochure.  By following a few design rules and with a little planning, you can create an eye-catching design.

I’m here to show you that creating professional marketing collateral is easy to do and won’t cost a lot of money.  In fact with just a few computer tools and some creativity you can get a lot done.

If you don’t have these things – get them. They are the barest essentials.

One – a computer. It doesn’t have to be the latest but make sure it’s not more than a couple of years old.  It doesn’t matter if it’s an apple or a p-c.  Either will do, although p-cs tend to be much more common, cheaper to buy and upgrade and easier to find software for.  And no, you don’t have to have an apple computer to do a lot of professional level graphics work.

Two- a printer.  It doesn’t have to be new – it doesn’t even have to be color, although that would be nice.  If you work for a small nonprofit black and white will do, however do upgrade to color whenever it becomes practical.  Your printed material will have much more impact in color.

Three – a camera. Today’s digital cameras are cheap and powerful. You’ll want to take a lot of pictures to show everyone what your agency is doing.  Take some time to read the instruction booklet that comes with it.  Getting to know its features and capabilities will help you get the highest quality photos out of an inexpensive camera.

Four – software. Here’s where it gets tricky. I have a set of software tools that I’ve used down through the years that works for me.  Others have their favorites.

For right now I’ll just mention what I use and save the details on other software options for another episode.  Starting with office 95, I have always used the Microsoft office suite.  I currently use office 2003 which has word, excel, PowerPoint and starting with the 2003 version – the page layout and graphics tool publisher.  The office suite also has InfoPath and access but I don’t really use those on a daily basis. This package has been updated through the years but I have to say that I get by just fine with this older package of tools.  If there are some compelling advantages to a newer version I’m not aware of it.  For photo editing I use adobe Photoshop.

That’s the barest essentials when it comes to software. There are many more tools you can get and quite a few cheaper alternatives but I’ll have to save that information for another episode.

Medium to large nonprofits can afford to allot some resources to marketing communications.  Small nonprofits often don’t have the resources to produce the marketing collateral necessary to kick an organization up to the next level.  How does a nonprofit get the word out about all the good work they are doing in the community?  For small nonprofits it’s a catch-22. Most of the time there’s no money for marketing materials – but at the same time it’s difficult to raise significant funds without some marketing materials.

Even a small nonprofit should make a marketing plan, even if it’s an informal plan, and find some resources to produce a simple set of marketing collateral.  Nonprofits exist to advance their mission so they have an obligation to grow to serve a larger community.

This Mission Marketing video series is designed to provide real solutions. I’ll cover topics like branding and logos; brochures and flyers; how to write and produce a catchy newsletter, press releases, direct mail tips, web sites and I’ll provide information about the newer communications channels of email, social media, and video.  What I hope to do is provide small nonprofits with information to easily and inexpensively create high-quality marketing materials that will help advance their organizations.  Medium and large organizations are probably already creating marketing collateral but I hope they can learn something too.

Marketing is often a lower priority for small nonprofits.  It takes a lot of time and the rewards tend to come slowly at first so it’s difficult to see the benefits.  As a nonprofit professional I’m sure you’d rather be spending your time serving your clients.  But like any other investment, marketing communications will help your organization expand.  You owe it to those you serve to invest in marketing to help grow your organization now and into the future.