So you want to grow your member engagement? That’s good, but question is, where should you start?

We want to give you some simple and proven marketing methods that are widely used by technology companies but are not as common in the nonprofit sector. If you work in a nonprofit organization, you might think that technology startups are lightyears apart from you, or that you have absolutely nothing in common.

We’re here to bust that myth. The reality is that nonprofits and startups have a lot more in common than might initially meet the eye. They’re both driven by a passion to change the world and make it a better place. They’re both usually involved with building something from the ground up. They both usually lack budget and/or resources and have to bootstrap. They both face a lot of the same challenges, so really, it makes sense that their solutions are similar too.

Here are a few of the key things we think our nonprofit friends could learn from our technology startup allies.

1. Prioritize creating a marketing strategy

Start by creating a marketing strategy. You will save time, money, and energy by having a marketing strategy in place. Take yourself out of the day-to-day and look at the big picture. Ensure your strategy is focused on goals and results-based marketing – do not invest in any marketing without having clear goals or metrics for measurement established first. Once created, your marketing strategy is a working document. It needs to be continuously updated and fine tuned, so be sure to revisit your strategy every month to make sure you are investing in campaigns that deliver high returns. Set a calendar reminder if you know that you are likely to forget!

Download our free worksheet to create a marketing strategy for your organization

2. Invest in evergreen content

Evergreen content is content that is not timely – this means it can be drafted once, but used many times over. This is key to ensuring your marketing efforts are consistent and cohesive. If you focus your efforts on evergreen content, it will take you much further than on a singular trend or campaign. On that note, don’t be shy to repurpose quality content. Remember to always focus on quality over quantity – this applies to almost anything in your organization, but particularly your content.

3. Focus on your strengths not weaknesses

Sure, weaknesses are always going to be easy to find – especially from within (we are our own worst critics, after all). The reality? Your weaknesses won’t always be so obvious to your audience. If you focus on capitalizing and promoting your strengths you’ll be amazed how your audience’s perception of you skyrockets. Here’s a real-world example from our office: we recently realized that our team is great at running webinars and that our audience is actively engaged in them. So we decided to lean into this. We are doubling down on this strength and created a webinar schedule to ensure we are consistent and follow through.

4. Fail often, fail fast

Your organization’s efforts should be focused on remaining nimble and flexible. You should be continuously experimenting and improving with your marketing; after all it is an ever-evolving industry. Embrace trying new things, but be sure flexibility is ingrained in your team’s DNA. Think of it like exercising – every push up makes you stronger, but you need to do it again and again to build that muscle up. Here at Grype, we experimented with a number of different types of events. We held seminars at our offices, gave out free food, created meetup groups, etc. Through trial and error, we eventually discovered that short webinars, videos, and podcasts were the type of content that was really hitting the mark with our audience. We wouldn’t have had that clarity had we not tried other options out first.

5. Seek out strategic partnerships

We dove into this topic a little deeper over on this episode of our podcast. Don’t be shy to ask for what you need – you’d be surprised at how many people within your network are willing to help. The truth is that no one can predict what you need, you have to put the ask out there. Try applying your strength to a larger audience by partnering with someone with a greater reach. Or, you could also invite complementary partners whose capabilities greatly improve your own offering. Having (and leveraging) strategic partnerships should be a win-win for all involved.

6. Have an ongoing dialogue with your audience

Don’t assume that you know what your audience wants. Find different ways to reach out and never pass up an opportunity to dig deeper in a conversation. Understand the values and desires of your audience and formally document their feedback. Creating a document that lists out the problems they face, what they care about, and why will help you improve your offering.

7. Break it down, make it easy

People are busy and won’t always take the time to dig deep to find the inner meaning of what you are saying. If your offering is not crystal clear you could easily lose your audience. You don’t have to assume that your audience won’t understand it, but consider that they just may not want to spend the extra mental effort to decode the meaning of what you’re offering. This makes it essential to ensure not to leave things vague in your messaging. The best marketing messages are catchy, but it takes time to get there. If faced with a choice, start with clarity, being funny… then being catchy, in that order!

All in all, it might be beneficial to put on your startup hat to help you think outside the box. Don’t hesitate to try implementing solutions you see outside of the nonprofit world – especially from the startup community. They are notorious for getting creative on shoestring budgets. The overall key is to be nimble and to fail fast. Don’t be afraid to try new things – as long as you are measuring to see if it’s actually working for you. When it’s not, be flexible to pivot accordingly. At the end of the day your audience will let you know what they want – you just have to ensure you are primed to listen.

Farhad is a technology entrepreneur with a passion for solving real world problems with his digital skills. He is the founder and CEO of Grype Digital, a digital agency that  helps associations grow their membership by building membership portals that are engaging and easy to use. If you are looking to improve your member portal, take a look at his hands-on strategy workshops to get you started.