Many not-for-profits treat their online marketing in much the same way as their offline – attracting patrons, asking them for a donation, and then – when the time feels right – asking them for another one using direct mail and email marketing.

Email marketing is a low-cost, easy way for not-for-profits to expand their reach to patrons and increase their donations. With this in mind, many NFPs have the somewhat simplistic view that all they need is a shiny new website and a bunch of people to target.

The reality, however, is that this method is neither scalable nor cost-effective. Online marketing is the most cluttered marketing environment in the world, so getting noticed requires more than just knocking doors. It requires taking a unique approach which is different to that of your competitors.

Take, for example, the charity Kiva.org. Instead of asking for straight donations, Kiva.org connects donors with entrepreneurs in the third world who need help with a particular project. When the fund target is reached, the entrepreneur gets his donation – which might, for example, be used to purchase farm machinery. The donor gets weekly updates by email as to how the entrepreneur’s business is doing. Eventually, if the business takes off, the donor gets paid back – enabling them to invest in another project, should they wish.

This web site, started in 2002, is run by 11 people and now receives over £10m of donations every year. How is this so successful, you may ask? The answer is that is it different – it connects with people, who tell others about it and so on.

My advice is not to try to compete online with a traditional message – your voice is not strong enough. Your challenge is to make your online message different so, like Kiva.org, you need to change your message to give people something to talk about. And guess what – they will!