Over the years I've found that most nonprofit leaders make the following two key mistakes when approaching marketing:

1. They forget that a high quality program/service is their best marketing tool.

2. They jump immediately to creating a web site, brochure, logo, etc. without thinking more critically about the audience they're trying to market to.

With that in mind, I created a simple one-page marketing plan template to help my nonprofit clients approach marketing. This template does two things:

1. It reinforces the marketing importance of a high quality program/service.

2. It provides the following set of simple questions to help you clarify your market and tactics:

• Who, specifically, is your organization's target client/customer?

• What, specifically, are their key needs that your organization can meet?

• How, specifically, does your organization uniquely meet their key needs?

• How, specifically, will you tell your target clients that your organization can uniquely meet their needs (web site, network alliances, email newsletter, etc.)?

You can download the template here: One-page Marketing Plan Template. Note that these questions aren't original to me. I learned a variation of these questions from Robert Middleton, a marketing expert that's been in the business for thirty years. His practical and timeless advice has helped tens-of-thousands of people worldwide gain greater clarity about their marketing efforts. Of course, there's a lot more to marketing than simply captured on this template. But I hope that you find the template's focus and simplicity helpful.