Nonprofits rely on donors to fund their initiatives. Budgets are lean, and maximizing internal resources is essential so there’s enough to support your vital work in the world.

To save on expenses, some nonprofits use interns or salaried juniors to oversee their marketing initiatives, as they assume hiring an agency is too costly to justify. The truth is that this approach may actually cost you more in the long run, and you may be missing out on skills and strategies that only a professional firm can provide.

To move your mission forward, we’ve outlined a few benefits that a marketing agency provides.

1. Specialized nonprofit marketing expertise means better results

Marketing for nonprofit organizations is a unique skill set. Plus, the marketing landscape, in general, is constantly evolving, especially in the digital realm. If you have an in-house employee overseeing marketing along with other day-to-day tasks, opportunities may be missed.

Typically, an in-house marketing person does not have the time to master a specific marketing medium. On the other hand, a marketing agency provides you with a highly skilled team of professionals who are experts in social media, email, SEO, and Google advertising, as well as fundraising best practices, all of which will help you reach more people and amplify your results. Hiring each of these experts individually would not be financially viable, but your agency engagement provides access to all of them, often at a fraction of the cost of a single full-time employee.

The right marketing agency will understand how to integrate fundraising strategies and a marketing psychology that’s tailored to your audience and their unique interests. They understand best practices and will therefore achieve more predictable results using proven techniques.

2. Save time (save money)

Marketing agencies provide you with a level of efficiency that’s difficult to get in-house. Your junior staffer may be great with social media, but that’s not the only way to reach people. Trying untested tactics, experimenting with free apps or platforms, and being unaware of marketing trends waste time and will not get you the desired results.

Hiring a marketing agency multiplies your results by implementing strategies based on proven best practices, providing detailed analytics to help you understand your audience better, and ensuring the messaging is appropriate and impactful.

3. Reduce costs, add value

Supporting a full-time employee with salary, benefits, and PTO adds far more to the budget than hiring an agency. Even if you’re considering hiring a dedicated marketing person, the recruiting process can be challenging, and there are no guarantees that a new hire will work out.

Nonprofit marketing agencies like LETTER 7 have deep marketing experience, and we know how to reach audiences. We approach the process by creating detailed personas to bring your donors into sharper focus. Once we understand who we are creating content for, we tailor the message and the medium to speak directly to them, addressing their motivations and desires.

Our integrated team creates unique media—including video—that tell your story and feature the impact you have on the world. We also implement visual storytelling tactics and leverage user-generated content to amplify your message. Our goal is to create content that keeps your audience engaged, excited, and up to date using targeted email campaigns, social posts, blogs, articles, free Google advertising, and other donor-focused communication.

If your in-house marketers are not getting the results you want, a fresh set of eyes from an experienced marketing agency could be just the thing you need. Working with an agency like LETTER 7 gives you access to a team of passionate marketing pros who understand the nonprofit landscape and know how to get results. Set up a call today, and let’s talk about your goals for Q4 and 2025.