eTip #10: Nonprofit Is Not Non-impact

If you work in a nonprofit organization, you know budgets can be tight and lean. But that does not mean the impact of your marketing pieces should be lean as well. Below are some pointers to make sure your marketing efforts profit from the greatest impact:

Don’t make the piece too slick looking
You certainly want to create an impactful and well-received piece, but be careful about how slick your marketing pieces come across. You do not want your audience to interpret that your organization spent a great deal of money on the pieces, but rather for the cause your organization stands for.

Good marketing pieces do not mean 4-color
In fact, your marketing pieces should print 1 to 2 colors at the most. A piece that is printed in 4-colors does not necessarily mean it is better. It just means it used more ink and therefore was more costly than a 1 or 2-color piece.

Use uncoated paper rather than coated paper
If you are marketing automobiles, then coated paper would be a good choice to show off the colors and details because of the finer coated surface. There are hundreds of uncoated papers available and uncoated paper can make a strong and bold statement when the message, colors, and concept are working together.

Don't use expected and overly-used photos and images
Unfortunately, photos and images of hungry children and adults have been overly-used in the last few decades and have little effect on people. Try using photos and images that communicate a concept quickly and memorably. Sometimes a concept works best with an illustration.

More impact with less
You don’t have to say too much. You can actually get your message across quickly by saying less in the concept of the piece. Allow the audience to be engaged and captured by your concept first and then they will want to read more about the piece.

 

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