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How to Tell If Your Non-Profit's Marketing Is Working
Updated: Oct 14
A board member asks, "How is our marketing doing?" The answer often arrives as a screenshot of follower counts. Followers show attention. Marketing in a non-profit earns its keep by bringing in donations, volunteers, participants and partners, and the numbers you report should say whether it does.
This post sets out a simple way to answer the question with five numbers and a 30-minute monthly review.
Pick one outcome per quarter
Name the single result marketing is accountable for this quarter. Choose one primary outcome and, at most, two supporting ones. Examples:
New monthly donors
Volunteer sign-ups for the spring program
Gala or event registrations
Partnership or sponsorship inquiries
Program applications from the people you serve
With one outcome named, every post, email and web page has a job to do, and you can see which ones do it.
Five numbers worth tracking
Completed actions (gifts, sign-ups, registrations, inquiries). This shows whether marketing produces the outcome you picked. Find it in your donor database, form submissions or ticketing.
Website conversion rate (visitors who complete the main action, divided by all visitors). This shows whether your website persuades. Find it in Google Analytics plus your action count.
Email list size and growth, with click rate. This shows the size and engagement of the audience you own. Find it in your email platform.
Source of new supporters. This shows which channels earn their time. Find it with one question on your donation and sign-up forms.
Cost per outcome (staff hours plus spending, divided by completed actions). This shows whether the effort pays back. A simple spreadsheet does the job.
For donor-focused organizations, add a sixth number: the share of first-time donors who give a second time. Repeat giving shows whether your messaging and follow-up keep people engaged.
Ask people how they found you
Analytics cannot see every route. A donor might read your newsletter, see a post, hear about you from a friend and then give after a search. Add a required question to your forms: "How did you hear about us?" with a short list of choices and an "other" field.
Analytics gives you the click path, and the form gives you the human story behind it. Together they give a reliable picture of where to spend your time.
Where followers and likes fit
Followers, likes, impressions and reach give a rough sense of attention. They help you diagnose a problem once the five numbers move. If reach rises and conversions stay flat, the message or the web page needs work. If both are flat, the audience may be too small. Keep these figures in the report as supporting detail.
A 30-minute monthly review
Book the same slot each month with whoever handles marketing and, ideally, the executive director.
Compare the five numbers to last month and to the same month last year.
Identify the activity that produced the most outcomes for the hours it took.
Choose one activity to reduce or stop.
Pick one thing to try next month and write down what result would count as a win.
Keep a one-page record of each review. After six months you have a clear picture of what works for your audience.
What to bring to the board
Three numbers, one story and one request keep a board update short and useful:
Three numbers: the primary outcome, the website conversion rate, and the cost per outcome
One story: a single supporter, volunteer or participant, in their own words
One request: a decision or a small budget change the numbers support
Next step
If you cannot yet say which marketing activity brings in your supporters, we can help you set up the tracking and the monthly review. Book a discovery call and we will walk through what you measure today. You can also read about our non-profit marketing work.
