With so many communication options available—email, phone calls, social media, advertising, direct mail, and more—how do you decide where to focus your efforts?
One thing I hear a lot from my clients is, “We just stick to what we know,” but that approach often leads to underwhelming results. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry—you’re not alone! In this guide, I'll show you how to reach your audience by developing a strategy that actually works. Spoiler alert: it all starts with understanding who you’re trying to reach.
Before we dive into the “how,” let’s talk about the “why.” For non-profits, connecting with your audience isn’t just about gaining donors or volunteers; it’s about building relationships with the people who will support your mission. Whether you’re trying to reach beneficiaries of your services, community partners, or donors, understanding their needs and motivations is crucial to delivering a message that resonates.
When you try to talk to everyone, your message often ends up feeling watered-down, generic, and disconnected. The key is to zero in on who really benefits from your work and craft your messaging around them. This is how you turn casual interest into lasting support.
So, how do you reach your audience? The best way is to start by developing a strategy. Let’s go step-by-step through the process of creating an Audience Profile and building a strategy that will help you communicate effectively and build long-term relationships.
Before we begin, it's essential to document this somewhere. Don’t keep it all in your head! You could use a Word or Google Doc, or a dry-erase board in the office. I suggest placing it somewhere your team can access it. You can also download my Audience Profile Template to use here.
Creating an Audience Profile is essential to reaching your target audience. Who exactly do you want to reach, and who is benefiting from your non-profit’s work? You’ll want to think about your primary audience—the people who are directly impacted by your services—and your secondary audience, like donors, community partners, and volunteers.
Let’s start with the basics. Pick a few people you know your organization is helping and use them to build out audience personas. It’s helpful to think of at least two very specific people who benefit from your services, but don’t go overboard—four to six people should be your max to avoid the “people-pleasing” issue (trying to cater to too many audiences at once and ending up with a generalized message).
Once you’ve thought of those specific people, turn them into a generalized persona. This helps you think more objectively and makes it easier to define communication strategies that reach them.
For example, let’s say you run a non-profit that helps low-income single mothers get back into the workforce. Two potential personas might be:
Give each person a name that makes sense to you—it could be something general, like "the mother," or something specific like "Lisa." You’ll want to leave space below their names to fill in more details.
Now that we have names, it’s time to dig deeper into demographics. For each persona, identify some or all of the following traits. The more specific you get, the more useful the profile will be in creating a communication strategy.
For example, Lisa might be a 32-year-old woman living in a suburban area, with an annual income of $35,000, who is politically moderate and attends church on Sundays. Meanwhile, Maria may be a younger millennial, living in an urban area, with a lower income, and navigating life after trauma.
Each persona should be distinct, but realistic. The more grounded in real life your personas are, the easier it’ll be to understand their needs and motivations.
Demographics are just one piece of the puzzle. Next, we need to dive into personality and motivation. For each persona, write a few sentences that describe them as a person. What gets them out of bed in the morning? What are their fears and frustrations? What simple joys do they experience in their day-to-day life? What do they appreciate about your organization?
For Lisa, maybe it’s the opportunity to land a stable job and provide for her kids. For Maria, it could be finding a supportive community that empowers her to rebuild her life. These insights are critical for understanding how to connect with them on a deeper level.
You should also think about the role your non-profit plays in their life. Are you providing direct services? Advocacy? Education? Understanding their relationship with your organization will help you shape messaging that speaks to their specific needs and aspirations.
Now that you’ve defined your audience personas, it’s time to create a communication strategy that speaks directly to them. The key to any successful outreach is to meet people where they are, so the next step is figuring out where your audience spends their time and how they prefer to communicate.
For each persona, define 4-5 preference sentences. These are specific insights into their daily habits, communication preferences, and behavior. Let’s walk through some examples:
Once you’ve written these preference sentences, it’s time to make some inferences about where and how your personas are most likely to engage with your messaging.
For Lisa: Since she’s often on Instagram and listens to podcasts during her commute, a digital ad on Instagram or a well-targeted podcast sponsorship could be a great way to reach her. She’s also likely to respond well to personal outreach through email or face-to-face communication, so consider a more hands-on, relationship-driven approach.
For Maria: Since she’s less active on social media but spends time on Facebook and relies on her church for support, a Facebook ad campaign or community outreach through her local church might be the best way to connect. And since she prefers texting, text-based communication could be a more effective way to share information or ask for donations.
By mapping out these behaviors, you can begin to identify the most effective channels for reaching each persona—whether that’s email, phone calls, social media, advertising, or direct mail.
Now that you’ve defined your audience’s preferences and behavior, it’s time to choose the right channels for your outreach efforts. Instead of spreading yourself thin across every possible platform, I recommend focusing on one or two channels to start. Concentrating your resources will help you see results faster and allow you to fine-tune your strategy as you learn more about what works.
Now that you’ve chosen your channels, it’s time to launch your strategy. But remember—no marketing strategy is static. It’s important to track your progress, measure your results, and be willing to adjust your approach as you go.
Use data analytics to understand what’s working and what’s not. Are people opening your emails but not clicking through? Are your social media ads driving engagement but not donations? Pay attention to these insights and tweak your messaging and channels as needed.
Hi, I'm Hannah Zachry - founder of Say When Design Studio. I have a ton of experience developing marketing campaigns that work. My specialty is developing concepts that delight audiences by making uncommon connections. I create all kinds of advertising campaigns: display ads, native ads, outdoor, ambient media, animated typography, email drips, and direct mail.
