What it takes to be a nonprofit marketer

Look inside the heads of great marketers like Seth Godin & Steve Jobs and you’ll be surprised by the number of skills these guys and gals have that might not necessarily be tied to marketing. You’ll see things like interview skills, giving good feedback, and even kissing butt. Sujan Patel, Single Grain 

Wow, I thought. Maybe this is why I see myself as driven!

The DNA in a marketer includes a relentless desire to get better and better at what she does. She is always trying to improve and to help her team members improve also.

So, I’ve developed a short list of what I feel it takes to be a superstar nonprofit marketer.

1.  A hunger for knowledge about great marketing and lessons from great marketers:

• Top 10 Non-Profit Marketing Blogs to Read 
  
• Lessons from the Greatest Marketers of all Times 
  
• Ten Blogs Every Marketer Should Read 

2.  Be open to learn from great marketing campaigns:

• The Ten Greatest Marketing Campaigns of All Times  
  
• The Top 4 Nonprofit Social Media Campaigns of 2013 (And What You Can Learn)  
  
• A Facebook Simulated Alzheimer’s and It Will Stop You in Your Tracks  
  

3.  Great writer in multi-mediums – annual reports, web, online newsletters, press releases, SM, etc:

• Ten Tips for Writing Your Nonprofit Story
• 8 Tips for Writing Great Nonprofit Web Content
• Nonprofit Writing 101

4. Prolific content generator across mediums – written, video, audio, & photo:

•  9 Tips for Nonprofit Social Media Content Marketing
• 7 Tips for Creating Compelling Infographics that Get Shared
• Are You Content Creation Impaired? Here’s Some Tips & Resources 

5.  Marketing generalists – new & traditional media:

• Content Marketing Mistakes Nonprofits Make  
• How to integrate Search, Social Media & Content Like a Rockstar 
• Using The Post Method to Guide Marketing Communications

6.  Proactive communicator & connector – A marketer understands that the more people you know the more opportunities, ideas and help you will have. So you need to spend a good chunk of your time connecting with people, be it on social media, at conferences, networking meets and even lunches.

7.  A committed leader – As a nonprofit marketer most likely you will work with a team to accomplish your goals. A great marketer is a great leader, always recruiting and encouraging her team to accomplish goals from start to finish.

8.  Driven by metrics:

• Which Social Media Metrics Should Nonprofits Keep Track of?
• Measuring Your Marketing: A Plan for Being More Effective
• Nonprofit Marketing Dashboard: Key Metrics to Monitor

9.  Donor-Centric Focused – The truly great nonprofit marketer obsesses about her donors & other stakeholders: her needs, wants, desires, dreams and problems. Every marketing conversation begins with the “customer”—and how she will benefit.

10.  Be a Decision Maker – You have access to a ton of information. But, you’ll never have enough. Or, as I do sometimes, you may get paralyzed by information overload. Analyze the data, make a decision and then learn from your mistakes. A true decision maker doesn’t let fear stop her from moving forward.

Most importantly you must love what you do and celebrate that you are making a difference in the world!

Any suggestions to add to the list? We’d love to hear from you!