Marketing with NO budget

You're tasked with a marketing project. But this one is different.

There's NO marketing budget. There are NO teams. You're the only marketer.

Ooof..

Introducing non-profit marketing.

Backstory

We partnered with Yeefu, a creator merchandise platform, and launched the first fundraising campaign for Selfless Together.

Selfless Together is a non-profit organization that provides education to refugee children in Penang – who don't have access to healthcare and education.

Why bother with nonprofit marketing?

First, we fully support Selfless Together's mission.

We share the same belief that education is the solution to poverty. Education is the solution to growing and building better companies. The fastest-growing companies constantly invest in learning. Bill Gates reads every day.

Second, there's a lot to learn by getting your hands on non-profit marketing. Having no budget forces you to get creative. It teaches you to be careful.

Today is the second day of campaign launch. It's early, but I wanted to share with you our marketing process so far:

How to do non-profit marketing

People think fundraisers can just ask for money from anyone. That's not true.

You still have to identify a few things. Who's the type of person who will support? What's in it for them? Where do you find them?

Turns out, marketing a non-profit isn't very different from marketing a business.

Step 1: Set up SMART goals

I've seen countless brands fail their marketing – because they didn't set up a goal and have action steps that would lead to success.

They say things like:

• We need to increase leads!
• We want to grow our revenue.

But specifically, how many leads or what revenue?

Good marketing goals should be quantifiable. Easiest system to use? SMART Goals.

Here's our SMART goal for Selfless Together:

• Specific: We want to raise RM3,500 for Selfless Together
• Measurable: To do that, we have to sell 100 T-shirts.
• Attainable: We've raised RM97k from donors in 2023. This round, they're getting a tangible product along with their donation, so we believe we can hit our goal.
• Relevant: One of our goals is to increase the reach of our work. With our audience wearing our merch, the word will spread.
• Time-bound: We'll share the merch fundraise on our social media channels every day. Our first fundraising campaign will be a 10-day sale.

Step 2: Identify the target audience

Now you've got your goal, it's time to figure out WHO you're marketing to.

This is important.

Because your messaging will be different. We don't speak the same way to a college student and a Fortune 500 CEO.

With Selfless Together, we figured our target audience would be working professionals. Not only they have experienced how education impacted their lives. But they also happen to have the means to contribute.

Bingo!

Step 3: Create key messaging

Once you have identified who you're marketing to, write to their desires and wants. What are their pain, fears, hopes, and dreams?

A fundraiser campaign for a non-profit is a little tricky. Mainly because it doesn't solve a problem for the donor.

Or, does it?

If we zoom down into our audience psyche, then yes – they actually solve a few "problems" when they donate or support the fundraise.

• They feel better about themselves.
• They become associated with their tribe of "givers."
• They want to feel respected & looked up to. (That's why fundraisers create leaderboards!)

The challenge is that these benefits are all implicit. You don't write copy saying, "Donate, and you'll be respected!"

It's the same how luxury goods are marketed. The benefit one gets from buying a luxury product is implicated in the marketing.

The best way to implicitly tell these benefits? Stories.

Here's what our draft key messaging for Selfless Together, looked like:

Step 4: Plan marketing strategies

Don't jump into this step before you complete everything before.

Most people make the mistake of planning their marketing strategies first, because they heard someone say TikTok is THE PLACE to market now, before even bothering to figure out who their audience are.

Here's what our marketing strategy looks like:

Pro tips: Keep it simple and focus on testing as many traffic sources as you can.

Our strategy was simply to tap into networks that we have access to – and get the fundraising campaign in front of as many people as possible.

Step 5: Measure and improve

The best marketers I know, have the mindset of a scientist. They are constantly experimenting and making tweaks.

The difference between those who get normal results and those who get GREAT results from their marketing campaigns, is a commitment to constantly shipping, testing, and improving.

When we launched the campaign, we shared it with friends and family – and asked them to purchase it. Then we started asking questions.

• Will you buy this? Why and why not?
• Who is one person you know would support?
• What would make this a no-brainer decision for you?
• How much would you donate?

What can you test and improve, in your business, RIGHT NOW?

Your turn: Help bring education to underprivileged kids.

I want to do my part to help the fundraiser. So when you purchase a t-shirt from Selfless Together here, I'll put you into a 90-minute workshop, where I'll detail exactly how we set up and marketed this fundraising campaign. You'll also get:

• Our marketing frameworks & sheets.
• Our storytelling framework.
• And behind-the-scenes lessons that I don't share anywhere else.

Just send me a screenshot of your receipt to reuben@dailycmo.net

And remember – you're not just buying a piece of clothing. It's a symbol of hope. It tells people about your generosity. The kind of person you are. More than that, you give a chance to a child to build a better future.

Thanks.