Brittany Hoversten

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Author: Brittany Hoversten

  • AI Search Optimization: A Practical Guide to Getting Found

    Ask ChatGPT about your organization. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

    If you’re like most of the leaders I talk with, the answer comes back close but not quite right. An old program name. A service you stopped offering. A description that sounds like your website from five years ago, because that’s the last time anyone wrote it down clearly.

    That gap is what AI search optimization is about. People are asking AI tools the questions they used to type into a search bar, and those tools answer by pulling from pages they can find, read and trust. If your best information isn’t on one of those pages, someone else’s version of you gets used instead.

    The good news is that most of the work is the same fundamentals good marketers already know. The bad news is that a lot of organizations skipped those fundamentals the first time around.

    What AI search optimization actually means

    AI search optimization is the practice of making your content easy for AI-powered search tools to find, understand and cite. That includes Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and whatever launches next quarter.

    You’ll see it called GEO, AEO, LLMO and a few other acronyms. I don’t much care what we call it. The job underneath is the same, and it has four parts:

    • Be reachable. The crawlers these tools rely on have to be allowed to read your site.
    • Be clear. Your pages need to state plainly who you are, what you do, where you do it and who it’s for.
    • Be consistent. What your site says should match what your profiles, directories and partners say about you.
    • Be worth citing. Specific, useful answers get pulled into responses. Vague brochure copy doesn’t.

    Notice what’s not on that list: tricks. There’s no secret file and no magic phrasing.

    What the platforms themselves say

    Before you buy a course or a new tool, read the source documentation. It’s short, and it cuts through a lot of noise.

    Google’s guidance on AI features and your website is refreshingly blunt. There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and you don’t need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup. A page needs to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. The rest is ordinary SEO, done well.

    OpenAI’s crawler documentation adds one practical step for ChatGPT search: allow OAI-SearchBot in your robots.txt. OpenAI says sites that opt out of that crawler won’t be shown in ChatGPT search answers. It also keeps the search crawler separate from GPTBot, the one used for training, so you can allow one and block the other.

    That distinction matters for many of the nonprofits and small businesses I work with. Plenty of them blocked “AI bots” as a group at some point, sometimes through a hosting setting nobody remembers turning on. Reasonable instinct. But a blanket block can also take you out of the answers your audience is now reading.

    If you want a refresher on the foundation underneath all of this, start with the SEO basics every marketing leader should own. AI search sits on top of that foundation. It doesn’t replace it.

    Step 1: Make sure the machines can reach you

    This is the unglamorous part, and it’s where I find the most problems. Sit down with whoever manages your website and walk through this list together:

    1. Open yoursite.com/robots.txt and actually read it. Look for rules that block Googlebot, Bingbot or OAI-SearchBot. Decide on purpose which AI crawlers you allow and which you don’t.
    2. Check your host, CDN and security plugins. Some block bot traffic by default, and a friendly robots.txt can’t override a firewall that turns crawlers away.
    3. Verify your site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Bing’s index feeds Copilot and other tools, so Bing isn’t optional anymore.
    4. Hunt for accidental noindex tags, especially on pages that were staged, redesigned or migrated.
    5. Get important content out of PDFs and images. If your service list lives in a scanned brochure, assume nothing will read it. Put it on a real page in real text.
    6. Fix your internal links. A page nobody links to is hard for anyone, human or crawler, to find.

    None of this is new. That’s the point. A lot of AI search visibility comes down to technical hygiene that got pushed to “someday.”

    Step 2: Write pages that answer real questions

    AI tools answer questions. So the pages that show up in their answers tend to be the pages that answer questions directly.

    I use a simple test. For each important page, can a stranger read the first two sentences and know who this is for, what it is and why it matters? If not, rewrite those two sentences before you touch anything else.

    Structure your pages for answers

    • Use headings that match how people ask. “How much does respite care cost?” beats “Our Approach.”
    • Answer first, then explain. Put the short answer in the first sentence under the heading.
    • Be specific. Name the counties you serve, your hours, who qualifies and what it costs. Specifics are what get quoted.
    • Keep one main topic per page. A page that tries to cover six services usually explains none of them well.
    • Add a short FAQ where it genuinely helps, and make sure any structured data matches what’s visible on the page.

    Say who you are, plainly

    Your About page is doing more work than you think. It should state your full organization name, what you do, where you do it, how long you’ve done it and who leads it. Write it the way you’d want it summarized, because it will be.

    This is also where brand discipline pays off. If one program goes by three different names across your site, don’t be surprised when an AI answer invents a fourth.

    Step 3: Fix the facts about you everywhere else

    AI answers rarely come from your website alone. They draw on directories, review sites, news coverage, partner pages, LinkedIn and business profiles. When those sources disagree, the tools have to guess, and they don’t always guess in your favor.

    So do a consistency pass. Start here:

    • Google Business Profile: name, address, hours, categories, services and description.
    • Bing Places, Apple Business Connect and the major directories in your sector.
    • Your LinkedIn company page and your leaders’ profiles.
    • Partner, funder and chamber sites that describe you. Send them updated copy. Most are glad to get it.
    • Old press releases and event pages that still rank for your name.

    Anyone who has led a rebrand knows this kind of cleanup. It’s tedious. It’s also what makes everything after it work. If you’re curious what that looks like in practice, some of my brand and web work is in my portfolio.

    Step 4: Measure what you can, and be honest about the rest

    Measurement here is imperfect. Say that out loud to your leadership team, then measure what you can:

    • Search Console. Google counts AI Overviews and AI Mode traffic inside the standard Performance report under the Web search type. It isn’t broken out on its own, so watch trends on the specific pages you’ve improved.
    • GA4 referrals. Build an exploration or a custom channel group for referral traffic from AI tools, such as chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and copilot.microsoft.com. The volume may be small. The visitors are often further along in their decision.
    • A monthly prompt audit. Keep a list of 10 to 20 questions people actually ask about your organization or category. Run them in two or three tools once a month. Log whether you’re mentioned, whether the facts are right and which sources get cited.

    That last one is low-tech, and it’s the most useful of the three. The cited sources tell you exactly which pages and profiles to fix next.

    One more opinion. Don’t respond to AI search by flooding your site with AI-written filler. Thin pages written to catch every possible question make you less trustworthy, not more. Ten clear, accurate, specific pages will do more for you than a hundred generic ones.

    Key takeaways

    • AI search optimization is mostly SEO fundamentals, done consistently and on purpose.
    • Decide which crawlers you allow. Opting out of OAI-SearchBot keeps you out of ChatGPT search answers.
    • Write pages that answer real questions in the first sentence, with real specifics.
    • Make your facts match everywhere they appear, not only on your own site.
    • Run a monthly prompt audit and fix the sources the tools cite.

    FAQ

    Is AI search optimization different from SEO?

    Mostly, no. Google says there are no extra requirements for AI Overviews or AI Mode beyond being indexed and eligible for a snippet. The difference is emphasis: clear answers, consistent facts across the web and deliberate crawler access matter more than they used to.

    Do I need an llms.txt file or special schema for AI search?

    Not for Google. Its documentation says you don’t need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup to appear in its AI features. Use structured data where it already fits your content, and keep it matched to what’s visible on the page.

    How do I know if AI tools are mentioning my brand?

    Combine three signals: AI referral traffic in GA4, page-level trends in Search Console and a monthly manual check of the questions your audience actually asks. The manual check also shows which sources get cited, which tells you what to fix first.

    / Work with Brittany

    Want to know how your brand shows up in AI answers?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • Photography Tips for Marketers: Light, Composition and Story

    You know the photo. Six people in a row, squinting into the sun, holding a giant check. Everyone is technically in focus. Nobody is going to remember it. Most marketing teams have hundreds of these, and most of them never needed a better camera. They needed better choices. These photography tips for marketers are about those choices: light, composition and story.

    Photography has been part of my toolkit across 10-plus years in marketing, from leading campaign photo work to telling client stories with care in nonprofit communications. I’ve learned that the gap between a forgettable photo and one that carries a campaign is rarely the gear. It’s whether the person holding the camera knew what they were looking for.

    You can learn to look. Here’s how.

    Start with the story, not the camera

    Before any shoot, answer one question: what should someone feel or understand when they see this image?

    That answer shapes everything else. A photo meant to show the scale of a volunteer day looks different from one meant to show a single moment of connection. A product photo for a website needs clean detail. A social post needs a human face and a reason to stop.

    Write a simple shot list before you go:

    • The wide shot. Where are we? Show the place and the scale.
    • The medium shot. Who is here, and what are they doing?
    • The close-up. Hands, details, expressions, the small things that make it real.
    • The moment. One image that captures the feeling of the whole event or story.
    • The practical shots. Headshots, logos, signage, anything you’ll need for future content.

    The shot list keeps you from coming home with forty versions of the same angle and nothing you can actually use.

    Photography tips for marketers: light is everything

    If you only improve one thing, make it light. Good light makes an average photo look intentional. Bad light makes a great moment look like an accident.

    Find the window

    Indoors, natural light from a window is your best friend. Put your subject facing the window or at a slight angle to it. Turn off harsh overhead lights if you can, since mixing light sources often creates odd color casts.

    Avoid the noon squint

    Bright midday sun creates hard shadows under eyes and makes people squint. If you have to shoot outside in the middle of the day, find open shade, like the shadow of a building or a tree, where light is even and soft.

    Use the golden hours when you can

    The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset give you warm, soft, flattering light. If you’re planning a portrait or a hero image for a campaign, schedule around it.

    Watch the background light

    A bright window behind your subject will turn them into a silhouette. Unless that’s the look you want, move so the light falls on your subject, not behind them.

    Compose with intent

    Composition is how you guide the eye. A few principles go a long way.

    1. Use the rule of thirds as a starting point. Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid over your frame. Place your subject along those lines or where they cross, not dead center every time.
    2. Leave room for text. Marketing images often need a headline. Shoot some frames with open space on one side.
    3. Get closer. Most snapshots are too far away. Take a step in, then take another.
    4. Change your height. Kneel down to a child’s eye level. Shoot from slightly above for overhead details. Eye level is the default. It’s rarely the most interesting.
    5. Clean the edges. Before you press the shutter, scan the edges of the frame for trash cans, exit signs and stray elbows.
    6. Shoot both orientations. Horizontal for web and presentations, vertical for stories and reels. You’ll thank yourself later.

    Look for lines and layers

    Hallways, tables, fences and rows of chairs create lines that pull the eye toward your subject. Shooting through something in the foreground, like a doorway or a blurred shoulder, adds depth and makes the viewer feel present.

    Capture real moments, not just poses

    Posed photos have their place. Headshots, team photos and sponsor recognition all need them. But the images that do the heaviest lifting in marketing are usually real moments.

    How to get them:

    • Arrive early and stay late. The best moments often happen during setup and cleanup, when people forget the camera is there.
    • Shoot in bursts. Expressions change in a fraction of a second. Take several frames and pick the best one.
    • Give people something to do. Instead of “smile,” try “show me how you set this up” or “tell her about the project.”
    • Be patient. Find a good spot with good light, then wait for the moment to come to you.

    Story comes with responsibility

    When your subjects are clients, patients, students or anyone in a vulnerable situation, consent and dignity come first. Ask permission, explain how the image will be used and never capture someone at their lowest moment just because it’s powerful. I wrote a full guide on ethical storytelling for nonprofits that covers how I approach this.

    Gear and the after-shoot workflow

    What gear actually matters

    You don’t need expensive equipment to get strong marketing photos. Modern phones do an impressive job in good light. That said, a few upgrades make a real difference:

    • Clean your lens. Seriously. A smudged phone lens is behind a lot of hazy photos.
    • Lock focus and exposure. On most phones, you can tap and hold on your subject to lock both.
    • Use portrait mode carefully. It can look great, but check the edges around hair and glasses.
    • Consider a dedicated camera for big moments. Low light, fast action and large prints are where a real camera and a good lens earn their price.
    • Bring a small reflector or white foam board. It’s a cheap way to bounce soft light into shadows.

    If you’re shooting video at the same event, plan both together. My post on event video production on a budget includes a shot plan that pairs well with this one.

    After the shoot: the step most teams skip

    Great photos are worthless if nobody can find them six months later.

    1. Cull the same day. Delete the blurry, the blinking and the duplicates while the shoot is fresh.
    2. Edit lightly and consistently. Straighten horizons, fix exposure and keep color treatment consistent with your brand.
    3. Name and tag. Event, date, location, people (with consent noted) and usage rights.
    4. Store it where your team can find it. A shared, organized library beats a folder on someone’s laptop every time.

    Organizing an image repository is some of the least glamorous and most valuable work I do. If your photos are scattered across phones and inboxes, my guide to digital asset management for marketing teams will help.

    Key takeaways

    • Decide what the photo should make people feel before you pick up the camera.
    • Light matters more than gear: find the window, avoid noon sun, watch the background.
    • Compose on purpose: get closer, change your height and leave room for text.
    • Real moments beat poses, and consent always comes before the shot.
    • Cull the same day, then tag and store photos where your team can actually find them.

    FAQ

    What are the most important photography tips for marketers?

    Focus on light, composition and story. Shoot in soft, even light, place your subject with intent and leave space for text, and plan a shot list built around what the image needs to communicate. These matter more than the camera you use.

    Can marketers use phone cameras for professional photos?

    Yes, in many cases. Modern phones handle good light well, especially for social media and web content. A dedicated camera helps most in low light, with fast action and for large prints or hero campaign images.

    How many photos should I take at a marketing event?

    Take more than you think you need, but shoot with a plan. Cover wide, medium and close-up shots, real moments and practical images like signage and headshots. Then cull hard, keeping only the strongest and most usable frames.

    Want to see how I put this into practice? Take a look at my photo and video work.

    / Work with Brittany

    Need photos that make people stop scrolling and actually feel something?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • Marketing Technology Skills: Why Marketers Should Learn to Build Their Own Tools

    Every marketing team has a request sitting in someone else’s queue. A landing page waiting on IT. A report waiting on the data person. A form that needs one more field, which apparently takes three weeks. The work is small. The waiting is the expensive part. That’s why I think marketing technology skills are some of the most valuable things a marketer can pick up, and I don’t just mean knowing which buttons to push.

    I mean being able to build.

    My path into marketing ran through web design and development. I earned an A.A.S. in Web Design and Development, and back in 2013 I took first place for Best Web Design at Collegiate DECA Minnesota. Since then I’ve worked in WordPress, HTML, Figma, Salesforce, HubSpot, Power BI, Google Analytics and Search Console. None of that makes me an engineer. It does mean that when a marketing problem needs a tool, I can often make a working version myself, and that changes how fast a team moves.

    Using tools vs. building tools

    There’s a difference between a marketer who uses technology and one who can build with it.

    A user knows how to send an email campaign in HubSpot. A builder can set up the list logic, design the template, connect the form that feeds it and build the report that shows whether it worked.

    A user can find a number in Google Analytics. A builder can set up a dashboard in Power BI that answers the question leadership keeps asking, refreshed automatically.

    A user can make a graphic in Canva. A builder can create a template system that lets twenty non-designers make on-brand graphics without breaking anything.

    Both are useful. But builders remove bottlenecks. Users are often waiting on them.

    Why marketing technology skills matter more now

    A few things have shifted that make this more important, not less:

    • Teams are smaller. Plenty of marketing departments are one to three people. There is no separate web team or analytics team to hand things to.
    • The stack is bigger. Even a small organization might run a CRM, an email platform, a website, a design tool, social scheduling and an analytics setup. Someone has to make them work together.
    • The tools are friendlier. No-code and low-code platforms, templates and AI assistants mean you can build more with less technical background than ever.
    • Leaders want answers, not exports. Being able to turn raw data into a clear view is a leadership skill now.

    This is the heart of being a T-shaped marketer. Breadth across the stack, depth where it counts.

    The builder’s skill stack: where to start

    You don’t need to learn everything. Here’s the order I’d recommend, based on what pays off fastest for most marketers.

    1. Web fundamentals

    Learn enough HTML and CSS to read a page and fix what’s broken. Learn how your CMS actually works, not just how to type into it. In WordPress, that means understanding blocks, templates, menus and basic site settings. This alone will free you from a lot of waiting.

    2. Data and reporting

    Get comfortable with spreadsheets beyond the basics: lookups, pivot tables, cleaning messy data. Then learn one dashboard tool well, such as Power BI or Looker Studio. Pair that with a working knowledge of Google Analytics and Search Console so you understand where the numbers come from. I cover the search side in SEO basics for marketing leaders.

    3. CRM and automation logic

    Understand how your CRM stores people, relationships and activity. Learn how lists, segments, workflows and triggers work in your email or CRM platform. Plenty of “we need a developer for this” requests are really automation problems a marketer can solve.

    4. Design systems

    Know the basics of a design tool like Figma, and understand how to build templates other people can use. A good template is a tool. I’ve built branded Canva brand templates for exactly this reason: they let a whole organization create on-brand work without a designer in every loop.

    5. Systems thinking

    This is the skill that ties it together. How does data move from a form to a CRM to an email to a report? Where does it break? Who owns each step? You can learn this by drawing your own stack on a whiteboard and following one contact through it.

    How to build skills without a bootcamp

    You don’t need to quit your job or spend thousands of dollars. You need a real problem and some stubbornness.

    1. Pick one annoying, recurring task. The weekly report you build by hand. The form that sends results to an inbox nobody checks.
    2. Build a small fix. A template, a formula, an automation, a simple dashboard.
    3. Test it with one colleague. Watch them use it. Fix what confuses them.
    4. Document it in five lines. What it does, where it lives, how to update it, who owns it.
    5. Repeat with the next problem. Each build teaches you something the next one needs.

    Over a year, that’s a portfolio of real tools that solved real problems. That’s also the kind of thing hiring managers actually want to see.

    Know when not to build

    Building your own tools is powerful. It can also go wrong. A few guardrails:

    • Don’t build what you can’t maintain. If you’re the only one who understands it, document it or simplify it.
    • Don’t bypass security or data rules. Work within approved systems and talk to IT before connecting anything sensitive.
    • Don’t build when a standard feature already exists. Check the platform first. Often the tool you need is already there.
    • Do hand off to specialists for big jobs. Custom integrations, complex databases and anything with serious security requirements deserve experts.

    The goal isn’t to replace developers or IT. It’s to stop sending them small requests that a capable marketer can handle, so their time goes to the work only they can do.

    What this looks like for leaders who hire

    If you’re hiring marketers, look for evidence of building. Ask candidates about a tool, template, dashboard or automation they created and what problem it solved. Listen for how they thought about the people who’d use it. The answer tells you more about how they’ll work than a list of platforms on a resume.

    If you lead a team, give people time to build. A few hours a month spent fixing workflows pays off for years. The lesson I took from leading a company-wide digital asset management rollout at Buyers Edge Platform: the software matters less than building a system people will actually use.

    Key takeaways

    • Marketers who can build tools remove bottlenecks instead of waiting on them.
    • Start with web fundamentals, data and reporting, then CRM and automation logic.
    • Templates and design systems are tools, and they scale your brand.
    • Learn by solving one real, recurring problem at a time.
    • Build what you can maintain, and hand big or sensitive jobs to specialists.

    FAQ

    What marketing technology skills are most in demand?

    Commonly valued marketing technology skills include CMS and web basics, analytics and dashboard building, CRM and marketing automation, and design systems. Just as important is systems thinking: understanding how data and content move between tools.

    Do marketers need to learn to code?

    Not necessarily. Basic HTML and CSS help a lot, but most marketers get more value from mastering their CMS, spreadsheets, a dashboard tool and their CRM’s automation features. Learn code when a real problem calls for it.

    How can I build marketing technology skills on the job?

    Pick a recurring task that wastes time, build a small fix for it, test it with a colleague and document it. Repeat with the next problem. Each project builds skills and creates a portfolio of real results.

    Want to know more about the path that got me here? Read more about my background.

    / Work with Brittany

    Need a marketer who can build the tool, not just request it?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • SEO Basics for Marketing Leaders: What You Should Own Yourself

    Here’s a meeting I’ve been in more than once. Traffic is down, someone asks why, and the room turns to the one person who “does the SEO.” That person might be a junior coordinator, a freelancer or an agency on a retainer nobody has reviewed in two years. The leader in the room can’t tell whether the answer they get is right. That’s the problem these SEO basics for marketing leaders are meant to fix.

    You don’t need to become a technical SEO specialist. You do need to understand enough to set direction, ask good questions and know when something is off. Search is often one of the biggest sources of people finding your organization for the first time. That’s too important to treat as a black box.

    I come at this from both sides. I have a background in web design and development, I use Google Search Console and Google Analytics regularly, and I’ve led website work, including at Tri-CAP, where I finished a rebrand already underway and grew engagement across social, newsletters and the website. The lesson from all of it: SEO is mostly strategy and discipline. The technical part matters, but it’s rarely where things fall apart.

    What SEO actually is, in plain terms

    Search engine optimization is the work of making your site easy to find, easy to understand and worth showing for the searches your audience actually makes.

    That breaks into three jobs:

    • Be findable. Search engines can crawl your site, read your pages and include them in results.
    • Be understandable. Each page is clearly about something specific, with titles, headings and content that match.
    • Be worth it. Your content answers the searcher’s real question better than the alternatives.

    Notice that only the first one is mostly technical. The other two are content strategy, brand clarity and knowing your audience. That’s leadership territory.

    SEO basics for marketing leaders: the five things to own

    You can delegate execution. You shouldn’t delegate these.

    1. The list of searches that matter

    Every organization should have a short, written list of the topics and phrases it wants to be found for. Not 400 keywords from a tool export. More like 15 to 30 real phrases, grouped by audience and tied to goals. “Food shelf near me” and “volunteer opportunities in St. Cloud” are different audiences with different intent. Your list should say so.

    2. One page, one purpose

    Every important page should have a clear job and a clear topic. When three pages compete for the same idea, they tend to weaken each other. When one page tries to cover six programs, it’s hard for anyone to know what it’s for. Owning your site structure is a leadership decision because it reflects how you want people to understand your organization.

    3. Titles and descriptions that sound like you

    The page title and meta description are often the first impression someone gets of your brand in search results. They should be accurate, specific and written by someone who knows your voice. Review the titles on your top 20 pages. If they read like “Home | Untitled,” you’ve found a quick win.

    4. A content plan tied to questions

    People search in questions. Your content should answer them. A simple way to start: ask your front desk, customer service team or program staff what people ask most often, then make sure your site answers each one clearly. That list will be more useful than most keyword tools. Feed it into your editorial plan. I share how in my post on how to build a content calendar.

    5. Protecting search value during big changes

    Rebrands, redesigns and platform moves are a common way organizations lose search visibility, often because old URLs disappear without redirects. If you lead a website change, make redirect planning a requirement, not an afterthought. I go deeper on this in how to rebrand an organization without losing your audience.

    Questions to ask your team or agency

    You don’t need to know every answer. You need to know what to ask. Keep these handy:

    1. Which searches are we trying to win, and how are we doing on each one?
    2. What are our top landing pages from search, and did any drop recently?
    3. Are there errors in Search Console we should know about?
    4. Which pages are we improving this quarter, and why those?
    5. How will we know if the work is paying off?
    6. What would you stop doing if your hours were cut in half?

    That last question tells you a lot. A good partner can name their highest-value work quickly. If the answer is vague, the plan probably is too.

    The one-hour monthly SEO check

    Here’s a routine any marketing leader can run, even without a dedicated SEO person. Block an hour on your calendar every month.

    • Search Console, performance report. Compare clicks and impressions to the prior period. Note any big drops by page.
    • Search Console, indexing. Check for new errors or pages that aren’t being indexed.
    • Top queries. Look at what people actually searched to find you. You’ll often spot topics you never planned for.
    • Top landing pages in Google Analytics. Are visitors from search doing what you hoped, like signing up, donating, or contacting you?
    • Spot-check three pages. Read the title, description and first paragraph as if you were a stranger. Does it answer the question?
    • Write down one action. One page to improve, one redirect to fix or one question to answer next month.

    One hour, one action. Over a year, that’s twelve real improvements and a leader who actually understands the channel.

    What not to worry about (yet)

    There’s a lot of SEO noise. If you’re getting the basics right, you can usually let these go for now:

    • Chasing every algorithm update headline.
    • Obsessing over exact keyword density.
    • Buying links or “SEO packages” that promise rankings. Be wary of anyone who guarantees a position.
    • Publishing a high volume of thin posts just to have more pages.

    The fundamentals hold up. Google’s own SEO Starter Guide is a good, plain-language reference, and it’s free. If someone’s advice contradicts it, ask them to explain why.

    A quick word on AI search

    AI-generated answers are changing how some people search. The basics still apply: clear pages, real answers, accurate information and a site that’s easy to understand. Strong SEO fundamentals are the best preparation for whatever search looks like next.

    Key takeaways

    • SEO is mostly strategy and discipline, which makes it a leadership responsibility.
    • Own the short list of searches that matter, your site structure and your titles.
    • Answer the real questions your audience asks, in plain language.
    • Protect your search value during rebrands and redesigns with redirect planning.
    • Run a one-hour monthly check and commit to one action each time.

    FAQ

    What SEO basics should every marketing leader know?

    Marketing leaders should understand which searches matter to their audience, how their site is structured, how page titles and descriptions work, how to read Search Console and how to protect search value during website changes. Execution can be delegated, but direction shouldn’t be.

    How long does SEO take to show results?

    SEO usually takes months, not weeks. Fixes like better titles or repaired redirects can show up faster, while new content often needs more time to build visibility. Track progress monthly and judge results over a quarter or longer.

    Do small organizations need to hire an SEO agency?

    Not always. Many small teams can cover the basics with a clear keyword list, a monthly Search Console check and a habit of answering common questions on their site. An agency or specialist makes sense for technical problems, large sites or competitive markets.

    For more practical marketing guides like this one, browse the Insights blog.

    / Work with Brittany

    Want a website that gets found by the people you’re trying to reach?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • How to Write a Five-Year Technology Plan That Finds Savings

    Most organizations don’t have a technology strategy. They have a stack of renewals. A software contract auto-renews in March, a laptop dies in June, someone signs up for a new tool with a credit card in September, and by December nobody can say what you’re paying for or why. A five-year technology plan is how you trade that pile of surprises for a set of decisions.

    At Tri-County Action Program, I served as Director of Communications, Technology and Data and built a five-year technology plan that identified $350K in savings. It also set up a move to outsourced IT. I’m a marketer by trade, which is exactly why I think marketers and communicators should be in the room for this work. A tech plan is a persuasion document as much as a technical one.

    Here’s how I’d approach it again.

    Why a five-year technology plan beats yearly budgeting

    Annual budgets ask, “What do we need to spend next year?” A five-year plan asks a better question: “What do we want to be true in five years, and what’s the cheapest responsible path there?”

    That shift matters because technology costs are lumpy. Hardware ages out in waves. Contracts lock you in for multiple years. A system migration costs more in year one and saves money in years two through five. If you only look one year ahead, every good long-term move looks expensive.

    A multi-year view also gives leaders something they rarely get from IT conversations: a story. Here’s where we are, here’s where we’re going, here’s what it costs, and here’s what it saves.

    Step 1: Inventory everything (yes, everything)

    You can’t find savings in spending you can’t see. Start with a full inventory, and expect it to take longer than you think.

    • Software and subscriptions. Every license, seat, plan and add-on. Check credit card statements and expense reports, not just the IT budget line.
    • Hardware. Laptops, desktops, phones, printers, network gear, with purchase dates.
    • Services and contracts. IT support, hosting, phone systems, copier leases, with renewal dates and cancellation terms.
    • Data systems. CRM, finance, HR, case management, email marketing. Note who owns each and how they connect, or don’t.
    • People time. Who spends hours each week keeping systems running or moving data by hand?

    That last category is the one most plans skip. Staff time spent re-entering data between systems is a real cost. It just doesn’t show up on an invoice.

    Ask the people who use the tools

    Spreadsheets tell you what you pay for. Conversations tell you what people actually use. A short staff survey plus a handful of interviews will surface the tool everyone works around, the shared password nobody should be sharing and the report that takes two days to build by hand. I’ve written about how to design a stakeholder survey that gets to decisions, and it applies here too.

    Step 2: Find where the money is hiding

    Once the inventory is done, patterns jump out. In most organizations, savings tend to come from a few familiar places:

    • Overlap. Three file-sharing tools, two project management platforms, a design tool bought by two different departments.
    • Unused seats. Licenses for former staff, or tiers that include features nobody touches.
    • Bad contract timing. Renewals that roll over automatically because no one had the date on a calendar.
    • Reactive hardware spending. Emergency replacements at full price instead of planned refresh cycles.
    • Support models that don’t fit. An in-house setup that’s stretched thin, or an outside arrangement that doesn’t match how you work.

    Savings aren’t always about cutting. Sometimes the right call is to spend more on one platform so you can retire three others. The plan should show the net effect over five years, not just the year-one bill.

    Look hard at your support model

    At Tri-CAP, the plan included moving to outsourced IT. That isn’t the right answer everywhere. But every organization should ask the question honestly: given our size, risk and needs, what support model gives us reliable coverage at a sustainable cost? Compare options on response times, security practices, coverage hours and total cost, not just the monthly fee.

    Step 3: Sequence the changes

    A five-year plan isn’t a list of everything you want. It’s an order of operations.

    1. Year 1: Stabilize. Fix security gaps, cancel obvious waste, get every renewal date on a shared calendar, and settle your support model.
    2. Year 2: Consolidate. Retire overlapping tools and move people onto the core platforms you’ve chosen.
    3. Year 3: Connect. Integrate systems so data flows between them, especially CRM, finance and communications.
    4. Year 4: Improve. Build better reporting, automate repetitive work and train staff more deeply.
    5. Year 5: Review and refresh. Reassess the whole stack and start the next plan.

    Sequencing matters because change fatigue is real. If you ask staff to learn four new systems in one year, they’ll learn none of them well. When I think about CRM rollouts, the same lesson holds. I cover it in more detail in CRM implementation best practices.

    Step 4: Write it for the board, then keep it alive

    This is where a communications background earns its keep. A technology plan has to be approved by people who don’t want to read about firewalls.

    Advising an executive team and a board taught me to structure the document around decisions and outcomes:

    • One-page summary. Current state, recommended direction, five-year cost, five-year savings and the top three risks of doing nothing.
    • The case for change. Plain language, real examples from staff, and what the mission gains.
    • The roadmap. One table by year: what changes, what it costs, what it saves.
    • Risks and mitigations. Security, staff capacity, vendor dependence.
    • Appendix. The full inventory and detailed numbers.

    Lead with the mission, support with the money. “This frees up staff hours for client work” lands differently than “This reduces administrative overhead,” even when they mean the same thing. If you want more on how boards read numbers, see my post on marketing metrics for a board of directors.

    Keep the plan alive after approval

    A plan that sits in a folder is just an expensive document. Build in a few habits:

    • Review progress quarterly with leadership, with a short update against the roadmap.
    • Keep the inventory current. Assign an owner, and update it whenever you add or cancel something.
    • Track savings as they happen, so you can show the board real results, not projections.
    • Revisit priorities every year. Five years is long enough for the tool market to change a lot.

    Key takeaways

    • A five-year technology plan turns surprise renewals into deliberate decisions.
    • A complete inventory, including staff time, is where savings start.
    • Look for overlap, unused seats, bad contract timing and reactive spending.
    • Sequence changes over years so staff can actually adopt them.
    • Write for the board: mission first, money close behind, details in the appendix.

    FAQ

    What should a five-year technology plan include?

    A five-year technology plan should include a full inventory of software, hardware, contracts and data systems, a clear picture of current costs, a year-by-year roadmap of changes, projected costs and savings, key risks and an owner for keeping the plan updated.

    Who should write an organization’s technology plan?

    Ideally a cross-functional leader who understands operations, budgets and communication, working with IT support and department heads. The plan needs technical accuracy, but it also has to persuade leadership and staff.

    How often should a technology plan be updated?

    Review progress quarterly and update the plan at least once a year. Keep the inventory current all the time, since every new tool or canceled contract changes the picture.

    If you’d like to see more of the strategy, technology and communications work behind this, browse my portfolio.

    / Work with Brittany

    Need a technology plan your board will actually read and approve?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • Using Responsible AI in Marketing: A Guardrails Checklist

    Somebody on your team is already using AI. Maybe it’s drafting social captions. Maybe it’s summarizing meeting notes or cleaning up a grant narrative at 10 p.m. The question isn’t whether AI is in your marketing work. It’s whether anyone has set the rules. Responsible AI in marketing starts with admitting that the tools showed up before the policy did.

    I work with AI every week. Analytics, strategic communications and AI are the deep end of what I do, so I’m not writing this as a skeptic. I’m writing it as someone who has seen how fast a helpful shortcut turns into a brand problem when nobody owns the guardrails.

    Good guardrails don’t slow a team down. They let people move faster because they know where the edges are.

    Why responsible AI in marketing is a leadership job

    It’s tempting to treat AI as an individual productivity choice. One person likes it, another doesn’t, everybody does their own thing.

    That works right up until:

    • Someone pastes donor or client details into a free tool with unclear data terms.
    • A generated statistic ends up in a press release, and nobody can find where it came from.
    • An AI image of “a family we served” runs in a campaign, and the family doesn’t exist.
    • Your newsletter starts sounding like everyone else’s newsletter.

    Every one of those is a trust problem, and trust is the asset marketing is supposed to protect. That makes AI governance a leadership responsibility, not a tech-support ticket. If you lead a team, the rules are yours to write, even if you write them in an afternoon.

    The guardrails checklist

    Here’s the checklist I’d hand any marketing team, from a solo nonprofit communicator to a department of twenty. Adjust the details. Keep the categories.

    1. Data: what never goes in

    • No personal information about clients, donors, patients, students or employees in any tool your organization hasn’t approved.
    • No confidential financials, contracts, legal matters or unreleased plans.
    • Know each approved tool’s data terms: does it store prompts, and can it train on them?
    • When in doubt, anonymize or summarize before you paste.

    2. Truth: what always gets checked

    • Every fact, number, name, date and quote gets verified against a real source before it’s published.
    • AI-suggested statistics are treated as leads, not facts. If you can’t find the original source, the number doesn’t run.
    • Summaries of long documents get spot-checked against the original, especially anything you’ll repeat to leadership.

    3. People: who stays in charge

    • A named human reviews and approves anything that goes public.
    • Sensitive communications (crisis statements, layoffs, condolences, anything about a specific person) are written by people. AI can help you outline. It shouldn’t hold the pen.
    • Final judgment calls on tone and timing stay with the communicator who knows the audience.

    4. Images and likeness: no synthetic “real people”

    • Never generate an image that implies a real client, donor, employee or event.
    • Don’t alter real photos in ways that change what happened.
    • If you use generated visuals for illustration, make sure they read as illustration.

    This one matters a lot in mission-driven work. I’ve written about ethical storytelling with consent and dignity, and the same principle applies here. A made-up face standing in for a real person’s story isn’t a shortcut. It’s a misrepresentation.

    5. Brand: does it still sound like you?

    • Keep a short voice guide that people can paste into a prompt or check drafts against.
    • Read AI-assisted drafts out loud. If it sounds like a brochure for nobody in particular, rewrite it.
    • Hold AI output to the same brand standards as anything else. Templates, colors and messaging rules still apply.

    6. Disclosure: when do you say AI helped?

    There isn’t one universal rule here, so decide yours and write it down. A reasonable starting point: disclose when AI generated a substantial part of an image, a voice or content presented as someone’s personal words. Don’t put a quote in a leader’s mouth that they didn’t write and approve.

    7. Tools: who decides what’s approved

    • Keep a short list of approved tools and what each is approved for.
    • Assign one person to review new tools before they’re used with real work.
    • Revisit the list a couple of times a year, since terms and features change.

    How to roll it out without a 40-page policy

    You don’t need a committee and six months. You need a page people will actually read.

    1. Inventory what’s already happening. Ask your team, without judgment, which tools they use and for what. You’ll learn more in a 20-minute conversation than in a formal audit.
    2. Draft a one-page guide. Use the seven categories above. Plain language, short bullets.
    3. Get a quick review from whoever owns risk. In a small nonprofit, that might be the executive director. In a larger organization, legal, HR or IT.
    4. Train with real examples. Show a good use and a bad use for each category. Examples stick better than rules.
    5. Make it easy to ask. A shared channel or a named person for “is this okay?” questions prevents a lot of quiet guessing.
    6. Review it twice a year. The tools will change. Your principles probably won’t, but the details will.

    If you want a deeper framework to borrow from, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework is a solid, free reference. You don’t need to adopt the whole thing to get value from its way of thinking about risk.

    Where AI genuinely helps (and where I keep it out)

    Guardrails are only half the picture. The other half is using AI where it actually earns its keep.

    Good fits

    • First drafts of routine content you’ll heavily edit, like event recaps or internal updates.
    • Brainstorming angles, headlines and subject lines to react to.
    • Summarizing survey comments or long reports so you can find themes faster, followed by your own read.
    • Repurposing approved content into different formats and lengths.
    • Helping with formulas, scripts and small automations when you’re building your own tools.

    Where I keep it out

    • Anything that requires knowing a specific person’s story.
    • Final messaging for sensitive or high-stakes moments.
    • Strategy itself. AI can help you pressure-test a plan, but it doesn’t know your board, your community or your history.

    AI is one tool among many. The marketers who’ll do best with it are the ones who already have strong judgment about audience, message and brand. The tool speeds up the work. It doesn’t replace knowing what good looks like.

    What to do this week

    If you have nothing in place yet, start small:

    • Send your team a three-line note: no personal data in unapproved tools, verify every fact, a human approves anything public.
    • Book 20 minutes to ask what tools people are using.
    • Draft the one-page guide using the checklist above.
    • Add AI review to your existing approval process, so nothing new needs to be invented.

    Those four steps cover most of the real risk. Everything else is refinement.

    If your team already uses brand templates, put the AI guide right next to them. Guardrails work best when they live where the work happens, a lesson I’ve learned building Canva brand templates for teams who aren’t designers.

    Key takeaways

    • AI is already in your team’s workflow, so the real question is who sets the rules.
    • Protect data, verify facts and keep a named human in charge of anything public.
    • Never use generated images or words to stand in for real people.
    • A one-page guide people read beats a long policy nobody opens.
    • Use AI where it saves time on routine work, and keep strategy and sensitive stories human.

    FAQ

    What does responsible AI in marketing mean?

    Responsible AI in marketing means using AI tools in ways that protect people’s data, keep content accurate, stay honest about what’s real and keep humans accountable for what gets published. It’s a set of team guardrails, not a single tool or setting.

    Do small marketing teams need an AI policy?

    Yes, but it can be one page. Small teams often carry the most risk because one person handles sensitive data, public content and approvals at once. A short written guide gives that person clear rules and protects the organization.

    Should marketers disclose when they use AI?

    Decide on a clear internal rule and apply it consistently. A sensible baseline is to disclose when AI substantially created an image, a voice or words presented as a real person’s, and to never publish AI-written quotes as if someone said them.

    Curious how I approach marketing, analytics and AI together? You can read more about my background.

    / Work with Brittany

    Want AI to save your team time without costing you trust?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • How to Design a Stakeholder Survey That Produces Decisions, Not Just Data

    Most surveys die in a slide deck. Someone spends three weeks writing questions, the team chases responses for another month, and the results get presented once to polite nods. Then nothing changes. If you want to know how to design a stakeholder survey that actually moves a decision, the work starts long before you write question one.

    I design and analyze stakeholder surveys in my nonprofit communications work, and I’ve watched plenty of others come and go over 10 years in marketing. The pattern is consistent. The surveys that changed something were built backward from a decision. The ones that didn’t were built forward from curiosity.

    Curiosity is nice. Decisions are the job.

    Start with the decision, not the questions

    Before you open a survey tool, write one sentence: “We are running this survey so we can decide ______ by ______.”

    If you can’t fill in both blanks, you are not ready to survey anyone. You’re ready to have a meeting about what you need to decide.

    Good examples sound like this:

    • We need to decide which two of our five programs to feature in the spring campaign, by March 1.
    • We need to decide whether donors want a printed annual report or a shorter digital one, before we sign the print contract.
    • We need to decide what our staff need most from the new CRM, so we can set training priorities for the first 90 days.

    Notice what those have in common. A real choice, a real deadline and a real owner. Every question you write later should earn its place by helping make that choice.

    Name who will act on it

    Write down the person or group who will make the call. A survey with no decision owner turns into a report with no reader. If the executive director is the one deciding, get ten minutes with them before you draft anything and ask, “What would you need to see to choose A over B?” Their answer is your outline.

    How to design a stakeholder survey, step by step

    Here’s the sequence I use. It’s not fancy. It works because it forces discipline at the points where most surveys get sloppy.

    1. Write the decision statement. One sentence, as above.
    2. List the unknowns. What do you not know that is blocking the decision? Usually three to six things.
    3. Map each unknown to one or two questions. If a question doesn’t map to an unknown, cut it.
    4. Pick the audience segments that matter. Staff, board, donors, clients, partners, volunteers. Decide in advance which groups you’ll compare.
    5. Draft, then cut by a third. Your first draft is always too long. Everyone’s is.
    6. Pilot with five real people. Watch them take it if you can. Where they pause is where your wording is unclear.
    7. Plan the analysis before you launch. Sketch the chart or table you expect to show for each question. If you can’t picture it, the question is probably vague.

    Step seven is the one people skip, and it’s the one that saves you. When you sketch the output first, you catch questions that would produce data you can’t use.

    Write questions that people can actually answer

    Bad questions are the most common reason survey data is mush. A few rules I hold myself to:

    One idea per question

    “How satisfied are you with our communication and events?” is two questions pretending to be one. If someone loves your newsletter and skips every event, what are they supposed to click? Split it.

    Ask about behavior before opinion

    People are better at reporting what they did than predicting what they’d do. “In the last three months, how often did you open our email newsletter?” is more reliable than “Would you read a monthly newsletter?” Opinion questions still have a place. Just anchor them to real experience when you can.

    Keep scales consistent

    Pick one scale and stick with it across the survey. If question four uses 1 to 5 where 5 is good and question nine uses 1 to 10 where 1 is good, you’ll get errors and you won’t know where they came from.

    Use open-ended questions sparingly, and on purpose

    One or two open-ended questions are gold. Ten of them is a homework assignment. My favorite is simple: “If you could change one thing about how we work with you, what would it be?” It’s specific enough to answer and open enough to surprise you.

    Watch for loaded wording

    “How much do you value our life-changing programs?” isn’t a question. It’s a press release with a slider. Neutral wording feels less flattering to write. That’s the point.

    Get the right people to respond

    A survey is only as good as who answers it. A few practical moves:

    • Send it from a person, not a department. A note from the executive director or a program lead tends to get more attention than a generic “info@” message.
    • Tell people why it matters and how long it takes. “This takes about six minutes and will shape how we plan next year’s events” is honest and specific.
    • Close the loop in advance. Promise that you’ll share what you learned and what you’re changing. Then do it.
    • Watch your segments as responses come in. If board members have all responded and clients haven’t, adjust your outreach before you close the survey, not after.
    • Make it accessible. Mobile-friendly, plain language, and offered in the languages your stakeholders actually use.

    For client or community surveys in nonprofit settings, think hard about trust. People who rely on your services may worry that an honest answer will affect their support. Say clearly that responses are confidential and will not change anyone’s eligibility, and make sure that’s true.

    Turn results into a decision memo, not a data dump

    This is where most of the value lives, and where most of it gets lost.

    When the survey closes, resist the urge to chart every question. Go back to your decision statement. Your report should answer it on page one.

    I use a simple structure that I’ve also written about for reporting marketing metrics to a board of directors:

    1. The decision we needed to make. One sentence.
    2. What we learned. Three findings, maximum, in plain language.
    3. What we recommend. A clear choice, with the trade-off stated.
    4. What we’ll do next and when. Owners and dates.
    5. Appendix. Every chart, for the people who want it.

    Leaders don’t need forty charts. They need the three that matter and the confidence that you looked at the other thirty-seven.

    Segment before you summarize

    Overall averages hide the story. If staff rate internal communication at 3.8 and frontline staff alone rate it at 2.6, the overall number is comforting and wrong. Always cut results by the segments you chose in step four before you write a single finding.

    Pair numbers with voices

    A short quote from an open-ended response, shared with permission and without identifying details, often lands harder than a bar chart. Use one or two per finding. Not ten.

    Mistakes that sink survey results (I have made a few)

    • Surveying because it’s that time of year, not because there’s a decision.
    • Asking questions you already know the answer to, so the survey feels thorough.
    • Letting every department add “just one question” until it takes twenty minutes.
    • Changing the questions every year, so you can never compare trends.
    • Never telling respondents what happened, then wondering why next year’s response rate drops.

    That last one matters more than people think. Each survey trains your stakeholders on whether surveys are worth their time. If you close the loop, you build a group of people who answer honestly. If you don’t, you teach them to ignore you.

    If your survey data lives in a CRM, plan for that from the start. Survey answers get far more useful when they sit next to the rest of the relationship record. Having helped shape a Salesforce CRM rollout, I’d put that on the requirements list early. I share more of that thinking in my post on CRM implementation best practices.

    Key takeaways

    • Write a one-sentence decision statement before you write a single question.
    • Every question should map to an unknown that blocks the decision.
    • Sketch your charts before you launch, so you only collect data you can use.
    • Report the decision on page one, with three findings and a clear recommendation.
    • Close the loop with respondents every time, so they answer honestly next time.

    FAQ

    How many questions should a stakeholder survey have?

    Most stakeholder surveys work best with 10 to 15 questions and a completion time under eight minutes. If you need more, you likely have more than one decision and should consider separate, shorter surveys for each audience.

    What is the difference between a stakeholder survey and a satisfaction survey?

    A satisfaction survey measures how people feel about an experience. A stakeholder survey is built to inform a specific decision, so it asks about priorities, behaviors and trade-offs from the groups who are affected by that choice.

    How often should an organization survey its stakeholders?

    Survey each major group once or twice a year, plus targeted pulse surveys when a specific decision comes up. Keep a few core questions the same every time, so you can track trends from year to year.

    If you want to see how this kind of thinking shows up across my projects, take a look at my recent work.

    / Work with Brittany

    Have a survey coming up that needs to change something, not just fill a slide?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • Event Video Production on a Budget: A Shot-by-Shot Plan

    The gala is over. The room was full, the speeches landed and people cried at the right moments. Then someone asks for “a quick video” for social, and all you have is 40 shaky phone clips, half of them vertical, a few with the DJ drowning out the speaker. Good event video production on a budget isn’t about better gear. It’s about walking in with a plan.

    I launched a corporate videography service line at Buyers Edge Platform that brought in more than $60K in its first year, and today I produce campaign photo and video work at a nonprofit where budgets are, let’s say, Minnesota modest. The thing that separates usable event footage from a pile of clips is almost always the same: a shot list, decided before the doors open.

    Here’s my shot-by-shot plan.

    Decide what the video is for before you film anything

    “Cover the event” is not a brief. Before you pack a bag, answer three questions:

    1. What’s the main deliverable? A 60-second social highlight, a two-minute recap for the website, a thank-you video for sponsors or a full recording of the program?
    2. Who is it for? Attendees, people who couldn’t come, donors, future sponsors or your own staff?
    3. What should viewers do after watching? Register next year, donate, share or simply feel proud?

    Your answers decide everything else. A sponsor thank-you needs logos and sponsor moments. A recruiting video needs volunteers and staff. A donor video needs the “why,” usually in the words of the people you serve, shared with their consent. (More on that in my post about telling client stories with consent and dignity.)

    The budget kit: what you actually need

    You can shoot a great event video with a modern smartphone. What you can’t fake is audio, stability and light. Spend there first.

    • Audio: a wireless lavalier mic or a small on-camera shotgun mic. Bad audio ruins good footage faster than anything else.
    • Stability: a small tripod, plus a gimbal or a handheld grip if you plan to move.
    • Power and storage: a battery bank, spare cables and plenty of free space. Clear the phone the night before.
    • Light: a small LED panel for interviews in dim rooms.
    • Backup: a second phone or camera running on a tripod for the main program.

    If you have a little more budget, the next best upgrade is usually a second person, not a second camera. One person can film. Two people can film, grab interviews and keep an eye on audio.

    Your event video production on a budget shot list

    Print this. Put it on your phone. Check it off as you go.

    Before doors open: establishing and detail shots

    • Exterior of the venue and the signage.
    • Wide shot of the empty room, then the room filling up.
    • Details: table settings, name badges, the welcome table, sponsor signage and the program.
    • Staff and volunteers setting up (this footage is gold for recruiting videos later).

    As guests arrive: energy and people

    • Greetings, hugs and handshakes at the door.
    • Medium shots of small groups talking and laughing.
    • Close-ups of faces reacting, smiling and listening.
    • A slow, steady walk through the room at hip height.

    During the program: the story backbone

    • A locked-off tripod shot of the stage for the full program. This is your safety net.
    • Tight shots of each speaker’s best lines. Mark the time on your shot list when something great happens, so you can find it in the edit.
    • Audience reactions during key moments: applause, laughter and quiet attention.
    • Wide shots that show the full room, so viewers feel the scale.

    Interviews: two minutes each, three questions

    Pull four to six people aside for short interviews in a quiet corner with decent light. Ask:

    1. “What brought you here tonight?”
    2. “What does this organization mean to you?”
    3. “What would you tell someone who’s never been here?”

    Ask them to answer in full sentences (“I came tonight because…”) so the clips stand alone in the edit. Always get permission before filming and confirm how the footage might be used.

    After the program: the closing moments

    • People lingering, hugging and saying goodbye.
    • The cleanup crew and volunteers (thank them on camera if you can).
    • A final wide shot of the room as it empties, or the venue sign at night.

    Shooting tips that save you in the edit

    A few habits make editing dramatically faster:

    • Shoot horizontal for the main video and grab a few dedicated vertical clips for stories and reels. Decide before you start.
    • Hold every shot for at least 10 seconds. Editors need room to cut in and out.
    • Move slowly or not at all. Fast pans look frantic. Let people move through the frame instead.
    • Get the B-roll. Hands, details and reactions give you something to cut to when a speaker says “um.”
    • Record room tone. Thirty seconds of the room’s natural sound helps smooth audio edits.

    Edit fast, then repurpose everything

    The value of event video drops quickly. Aim to post something within 24 to 48 hours, while attendees are still talking about it.

    A simple editing order

    1. Pull your selects: the best speaker lines, interview answers and reaction shots.
    2. Build the story with audio first (interviews and speeches), then lay B-roll on top.
    3. Add captions. Plenty of viewers scroll with the sound off, and captions make your video accessible.
    4. Add your logo and a clear call to action at the end.
    5. Export versions for each channel.

    One event, many assets

    From the same footage you can make a 60-second highlight, a two-minute recap, individual speaker clips, sponsor thank-you cuts, short interview quotes for social and stills for your website. Plan those deliverables up front and the editing gets much faster. My guide to a social media strategy for small teams shows how to spread one event across weeks of posts.

    Then file everything properly, with names, dates and consent notes, so next year’s team can find it. Your future self will thank you.

    Key takeaways

    • Decide the deliverable, audience and call to action before you film.
    • Spend your budget on audio, stability and light before cameras.
    • Work from a shot list covering setup, arrivals, program, interviews and closing moments.
    • Hold shots longer, move slowly and capture plenty of B-roll.
    • Edit within 48 hours, add captions and repurpose footage into multiple assets.

    FAQ

    How do you film an event video on a budget?

    Use a smartphone with an external microphone and a tripod, bring a shot list and focus on clear audio, steady footage and good light. Capture setup, arrivals, the program, short interviews and closing moments, then edit a short highlight within two days.

    What shots do you need for an event video?

    You need establishing shots of the venue, detail shots, guest arrivals, wide and tight shots of the program, audience reactions, short interviews and closing moments. A locked-off tripod shot of the stage gives you a backup of the full program.

    How long should an event highlight video be?

    For social media, 30 to 90 seconds is a good range. For a website recap or sponsor thank-you, two to three minutes usually works. Make the shorter version first, because it’s the one most people will see.

    Want to see event and campaign video in action? Visit my photo and video portfolio.

    / Work with Brittany

    Have an event coming up and want video you’ll actually use?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • How to Roll Out a CRM Without Losing Your Team: CRM Implementation Best Practices

    A CRM rollout rarely fails on go-live day. It fails quietly, six months later, when half the team is back to tracking contacts in personal spreadsheets and the expensive new system holds a partial, outdated picture nobody trusts. I’ve seen enough technology projects to know the software is almost never the problem. People are. More precisely, the way we ask people to change is the problem. That’s why the CRM implementation best practices that matter most have very little to do with features.

    I helped shape a Salesforce CRM rollout at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, and before that I built a five-year technology plan at Tri-CAP that identified $350K in savings. Both taught me the same lesson: technology projects are change management projects with a software budget attached.

    Start with the problem, not the platform

    Before anyone books a demo, get leadership to agree on what’s broken. Not “we need a CRM,” but the specific pain:

    • “We can’t see every interaction a donor has had with us.”
    • “Program and development teams keep contacting the same people without knowing it.”
    • “Reporting to the board takes a week of spreadsheet work.”
    • “When a staff member leaves, their relationships leave with them.”

    Write down the three to five problems the CRM must solve. Those become your success criteria, your training priorities and your answer every time someone asks, “Why are we doing this?”

    Only then compare platforms, and score each one against your list. Ask vendors to demo your actual scenarios, not their favorite features. Ask about total cost, including licenses, implementation help, integrations and the staff time to run it. A cheaper system your team can manage often beats a powerful one nobody has time to maintain. That same lens is how a good technology plan finds savings: you stop paying for capability you’ll never use.

    CRM implementation best practices: plan the people side first

    Name a real owner and a sponsor

    A CRM needs two people: an executive sponsor who clears obstacles and protects the budget, and a day-to-day owner who knows the system inside and out. If the owner is “IT” or “everyone,” it’s no one.

    Map how work actually happens

    Sit with the people who will use the system and watch how they work today. Where do they write things down? What do they hate re-entering? What reports do they dread? You’ll find the shadow systems, the sticky notes and the spreadsheet tabs nobody admits to. The CRM has to be easier than those, or it won’t replace them.

    Recruit champions in every team

    Pick one respected person from each department to help test, give feedback and answer their colleagues’ questions. Peer champions carry more weight than any memo from leadership, and they spot workflow problems before launch instead of after.

    Get the data right before you migrate it

    Bad data is the fastest way to destroy trust in a new system. If the first thing a fundraiser sees is three duplicate records for their biggest donor, they’ll decide the CRM is broken and go back to their spreadsheet.

    A practical data checklist:

    1. Inventory every source: spreadsheets, email lists, old databases, event sign-ups and paper files.
    2. Decide what not to bring over. Old, incomplete or unusable records can be archived instead of migrated.
    3. Define required fields and standard formats for names, addresses, phone numbers and dates.
    4. De-duplicate before import, not after.
    5. Agree on definitions. What counts as an “active donor” or a “client served”? Write it down.
    6. Test with a sample and have real users check it before the full migration.

    That fifth item matters more than it looks. If two departments define the same word differently, your reports will contradict each other, and leadership will stop trusting the numbers. Clean definitions are the foundation for the metrics your board actually cares about.

    Launch in phases and train for the job

    The temptation is to configure everything, migrate everything and turn it all on at once. Resist it. Phased rollouts give people time to learn and give you time to fix what breaks.

    A phased approach that works

    • Phase 1: Core records. Contacts, organizations and basic interaction tracking for one or two teams.
    • Phase 2: Key workflows. Donations, program enrollment, event registration or sales pipeline, depending on your organization.
    • Phase 3: Reporting and dashboards. Built on data people have been entering consistently.
    • Phase 4: Automation and integrations. Email tools, forms, websites and finance systems.

    Automation comes last on purpose. Automating a process before people trust the data just spreads bad information faster.

    Train for the job, not the software

    Generic CRM training is where good intentions go to die. People don’t need a tour of every menu. They need to know how to do their five most common tasks.

    • Build short, role-based training: one session for fundraisers, one for program staff, one for managers.
    • Record each session and keep the recordings next to the CRM login, not buried in a shared drive.
    • Create one-page quick guides for the most common tasks.
    • Hold weekly open office hours for the first two months.
    • Make the CRM part of regular meetings. If the weekly pipeline review runs from the system, people will keep it current.

    That last point is the quiet secret of CRM adoption. When leaders use the system to run meetings, it becomes the source of truth. When they ask for a separate spreadsheet “just this once,” the rollout starts to slip.

    Measure adoption and keep improving

    Go-live is the start of the project, not the end. Track a few signals for the first six months:

    • Logins and active users by team.
    • Record completeness for required fields.
    • Duplicate rate over time.
    • Report usage: are leaders actually opening the dashboards?
    • User feedback: a short survey at 30, 90 and 180 days.

    When adoption lags in one team, go sit with them. Usually there’s a real workflow reason, like a missing field or a process that takes too many clicks, and fixing it earns more goodwill than any reminder email.

    This is where marketers with technical range help a lot. You don’t have to be a developer, but understanding how the system works, how data flows and how to build a simple report changes the conversation. It’s a big part of why I believe in being a T-shaped marketer.

    Key takeaways

    • CRM rollouts fail because of people and process far more often than software.
    • Define the specific problems the CRM must solve before you choose a platform.
    • Name a sponsor and an owner, and recruit champions in every team.
    • Clean, de-duplicate and define your data before migration.
    • Launch in phases, train by role and run real meetings from the system.

    FAQ

    What are the most important CRM implementation best practices?

    The most important practices are defining clear goals before choosing software, naming an executive sponsor and a system owner, cleaning data before migration, launching in phases, training by role and measuring adoption for at least six months after go-live.

    Why do CRM implementations fail?

    CRM implementations usually fail because staff don’t adopt them. Common causes include poor data quality, unclear ownership, generic training and leaders who keep asking for separate spreadsheets instead of using the system.

    How long does a CRM implementation take?

    It depends on size and complexity. A small organization with clean data can launch core features in a few months, while a larger rollout with migrations and integrations can take much longer. Plan for at least six months of adoption work after launch.

    If you’re weighing a CRM project and want a partner who speaks both marketing and technology, learn more about my background.

    / Work with Brittany

    Rolling out a CRM and want your team to actually use it?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • Canva Brand Templates: Design Guardrails for Everyone on Your Team

    You can tell when a flyer was made by someone who isn’t a designer. The logo is stretched. There are four fonts. The photo is a little blurry, and the brand blue has turned into a slightly different blue. None of that is the volunteer coordinator’s fault. They needed a flyer by Friday and nobody gave them a better option. Good Canva brand templates are that better option. They let everyone on your team make something on brand in fifteen minutes without a designer looking over their shoulder.

    At Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, building branded Canva templates was one of the most practical things I did for the organization’s look and feel. Here’s how I approach it, and what separates templates people love from templates people quietly ignore.

    Why every small team needs design guardrails

    In small organizations and nonprofits, a lot of people make marketing materials. Program staff, development officers, event volunteers and executive assistants all need to make something occasionally. Telling them to “wait for marketing” doesn’t scale, and telling them to “follow the brand guide” rarely works, because brand guides are written for designers.

    Templates solve the real problem. Instead of asking people to learn the rules, you build the rules into the starting point. The goal isn’t control for its own sake. It’s making the right choice the easy one.

    The payoff is real, even if it’s hard to measure precisely:

    • Materials look consistent across programs and locations.
    • Staff spend less time fiddling and more time doing their actual jobs.
    • The marketing team stops being a bottleneck for simple requests.
    • The brand gets stronger with every piece people make, not weaker.

    Start with the Brand Kit, not the templates

    Before you design a single template, set up your foundation. In Canva, that means a Brand Kit with:

    • Logos: every approved version (full color, one color, reversed, horizontal and stacked). Delete the rest.
    • Colors: your primary and secondary palette with exact hex values, named so people know when to use each.
    • Fonts: heading, subheading and body styles set once, so nobody has to guess.
    • Photos and graphics: a curated set of approved images, icons and patterns.

    That photo set matters more than people think. If staff can’t find a good, approved photo, they’ll grab whatever’s on their phone or the first stock image they see. If your image library is a mess, my guide to digital asset management for marketing teams is a good place to start before you build templates.

    How to build Canva brand templates people will actually use

    Build from real requests, not imagined ones

    Look at the last six months of requests. What do people make most often? For most organizations, the core set looks something like this:

    1. Event flyer (letter size and a social version).
    2. Social media post templates for your main channels, in a few layouts.
    3. Presentation deck with title, section, content and closing slides.
    4. One-page program sheet or fact sheet.
    5. Email header and newsletter graphics.
    6. Simple certificates, name badges or signs.

    Start with five to eight templates. You can always add more, but a library of 60 templates is as overwhelming as having none.

    Design for the least experienced user

    Assume the person using your template has never opened Canva before and has ten minutes. That means:

    • Clear placeholder text that explains itself, like “Event name, 3 to 6 words.”
    • Image frames sized correctly, so any photo dropped in crops nicely.
    • Generous space, so a slightly longer headline doesn’t break the layout.
    • No tiny decorative details that look broken when someone nudges them.

    Lock what matters, free what doesn’t

    Canva lets admins lock elements in Brand Templates so they can’t be changed. Their help center has a good overview of the different Brand Template lock options, including locking position only, which keeps text styles fixed while leaving the words editable.

    My rule of thumb: lock the logo, the background and the layout grid. Lock text styles but leave the text editable. Leave photos swappable. If people can’t change what they need to change, they’ll duplicate the design and break it anyway.

    Name and organize them like a library

    Use a consistent naming pattern, such as “Flyer | Event | Letter” or “Social | Announcement | Square.” Group templates into folders by use, not by department. People search for “flyer,” not “Development Team Assets 2026.”

    Roll them out with a short launch, not a memo

    Templates fail when they show up in an inbox with no context. A simple rollout:

    1. Run a 20-minute demo. Show how to find a template, swap a photo, edit text and download the right file type.
    2. Create a one-page cheat sheet with the most common steps and which file format to use for print, email and social.
    3. Name a go-to person for questions, so people ask instead of improvising.
    4. Celebrate early adopters. When someone makes a great flyer, share it.

    Govern lightly and keep improving

    A template library needs a little maintenance, not a review board. Here’s my light-touch approach:

    • Quarterly review: retire unused templates and refresh the ones people use most.
    • Watch for workarounds: if people keep editing the same element, the template is wrong, not the people.
    • Spot-check finished work: a quick look at what’s going out tells you where the guardrails need adjusting.
    • Update after brand changes: if you’ve refreshed your identity, templates are the fastest way to roll it out everywhere at once.

    That last point is worth emphasizing. If you’re planning a refresh, templates should be part of the launch toolkit. I covered that in how to rebrand an organization without losing your audience.

    What templates won’t fix

    Templates are guardrails, not a design department. They won’t fix unclear messaging, a weak photo or an event nobody has explained well. They also won’t replace a designer for high-stakes work like an annual report, a major campaign or a new identity. Use templates to free your designers for that work, not to replace them.

    Key takeaways

    • Canva brand templates let non-designers make on-brand materials quickly and confidently.
    • Set up the Brand Kit first: approved logos, named colors, font styles and curated photos.
    • Build five to eight templates based on real requests, designed for the least experienced user.
    • Lock logos, backgrounds and layouts, but keep text and photos editable.
    • Launch with a short demo and cheat sheet, then review the library every quarter.

    FAQ

    What are Canva brand templates?

    Canva brand templates are designs that admins publish for a team to reuse, built with the organization’s approved logos, colors and fonts. Team members make a copy, edit the content and download it, while locked elements keep the brand consistent.

    How many Canva templates does a small team need?

    Most small teams do well with five to eight core templates, such as an event flyer, social posts, a slide deck, a fact sheet and an email header. Add more only when real requests show a gap.

    Can you lock elements in Canva templates?

    Yes. Canva lets admins and brand designers apply locks to Brand Templates, either fully locking elements or locking position only, so formatting and placement stay fixed while text or photos can still be edited.

    Want to see branded design work in context? Browse my portfolio.

    / Work with Brittany

    Want templates that make your whole team look good on deadline?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • Social Media Strategy for Small Teams That Can’t Post Every Day

    Here’s a hard truth nobody puts in the social media webinar: if you’re a team of one or two, posting every day on every platform is not a strategy. It’s a slow route to burnout and mediocre content. I’ve worked inside nonprofits and small businesses where “social media manager” was one line in a job description that also included the newsletter, the website, the annual report and, occasionally, setting up chairs. A realistic social media strategy for small teams starts by admitting that time is the scarcest resource you have, and then planning around it.

    The good news? Consistency beats frequency. Three strong posts a week, on the right channel, will do more for you than a daily feed of filler that nobody stops for.

    Why “post every day” is the wrong goal

    Daily posting advice usually comes from brands with content teams, agencies and budgets. When small teams try to match it, a few predictable things happen:

    • Quality drops, because there’s no time to plan, shoot or write well.
    • Posts become generic (“Happy Monday!”) because generic is fast.
    • The calendar collapses during the first busy week, and then the account goes dark for a month.
    • The person running it starts to dread it, and it shows.

    A sustainable cadence you can keep for a year beats an ambitious one you abandon in six weeks. Pick a pace you could keep during your busiest season, not your slowest.

    Build a social media strategy for small teams in five decisions

    You don’t need a 30-page strategy document. You need five clear decisions, written on one page.

    1. Choose one primary channel and one secondary

    Go where your audience already spends time and where your content naturally fits. A food shelf might focus on Facebook, where local families and volunteers are active. A B2B consultancy might put most of its energy into LinkedIn. Pick one primary channel to invest in and one secondary channel to maintain. Everything else gets a profile that points people to the place you’re active, or nothing at all.

    2. Set a cadence you can keep

    For most small teams, I recommend starting with two to three posts a week on the primary channel and one a week on the secondary. Stories and quick reposts are a bonus, not a requirement. You can always add more once the rhythm is solid.

    3. Define three to four content pillars

    Pillars are the recurring themes that tie every post back to your goals. For a nonprofit, they might be:

    • Impact: stories and outcomes (shared with consent).
    • Community: volunteers, partners and events.
    • How to help: donate, volunteer, attend, share.
    • Behind the scenes: the people and work most supporters never see.

    When you sit down to plan, you’re not staring at a blank page. You’re filling slots.

    4. Decide what success looks like

    Pick two or three metrics tied to a goal, not to vanity. If the goal is volunteers, watch link clicks to the sign-up page and sign-ups. If it’s awareness in your county, watch reach among local followers and shares. Check them monthly, not hourly.

    5. Decide what you won’t do

    Write it down. “We won’t chase every trend. We won’t open a new platform without dropping an old one. We won’t post just to fill a slot.” This list protects your time more than any scheduling tool.

    Batch, repurpose and schedule

    The single biggest time saver for a small team is batching. Instead of creating one post a day, set aside a two-hour block every two weeks to plan, write and schedule the next batch. Your brain stays in one mode, and the quality goes up.

    The one-to-many method

    Every bigger piece of content should feed several social posts. One event, for example, can become:

    1. A pre-event reminder with a photo from last year.
    2. A short video clip from the day.
    3. A photo carousel the following week.
    4. A thank-you post naming partners and volunteers.
    5. A quote or story from an attendee, with permission.
    6. A “save the date” for next year, months later.

    Same with a blog post, a newsletter or an annual report. If you made it once, find three more ways to use it. This is also where an organized photo library pays off. If your best images are scattered, read my guide to digital asset management for marketing teams before your next batch session.

    Build a simple social calendar

    Use a shared calendar or spreadsheet with columns for date, channel, pillar, copy, visual and link. You can build it inside your broader content calendar so social isn’t living on an island. Then use the native scheduler on each platform or a scheduling tool you already have.

    Make every post work harder

    When you post less, each post has to earn its spot. A quick checklist before anything goes out:

    • Does it stop the scroll? A real photo of a real person almost always beats a text graphic.
    • Is the first line strong? Plenty of people only read the opening, so lead with the point.
    • Is there one clear action? Read, register, donate, share or reply. One, not four.
    • Is it accessible? Alt text on images, captions on video and plain language.
    • Does it sound like us? Not like a press release, and not like a brand trying to be a teenager.

    Video deserves a special note. In my experience, short, simple video holds attention better than another polished graphic, and you can shoot it on a phone. When I redesigned a nonprofit YouTube channel, the focus was organization, consistent thumbnails and clear titles, not expensive production.

    Protect the person running it

    This part gets left out of strategy decks, and it matters. Social media can be emotionally heavy, especially in nonprofits, where comments sometimes come from people in real distress. A few guardrails:

    • Set response windows (“We reply within one business day”) and post them.
    • Turn off notifications after hours. The world can wait until morning.
    • Write a short escalation guide for hard comments, crisis messages and media inquiries.
    • Have a backup person who can log in during vacations and sick days.

    If you’re the whole department, my one-person marketing department playbook covers how to protect your time across every channel, not just social.

    Key takeaways

    • Consistency beats frequency. Choose a cadence you can keep during your busiest season.
    • Commit to one primary channel and one secondary, and let the rest go.
    • Use three to four content pillars so planning is filling slots, not starting from zero.
    • Batch content every two weeks and turn every big piece of content into several posts.
    • Measure two or three goal-based metrics monthly, and protect the person behind the account.

    FAQ

    How often should a small team post on social media?

    Two to three posts a week on your primary channel and about one a week on a secondary channel is a sustainable starting point for most small teams. Consistency over months matters more than daily volume.

    Which social media platform should a small business or nonprofit focus on?

    Focus on the platform where your audience is already active and your content fits naturally. For many local nonprofits and small businesses, that’s Facebook or Instagram. For B2B and professional services, LinkedIn is often the best primary channel.

    How can a small team save time on social media?

    Batch planning and writing into one block every two weeks, schedule posts in advance, use content pillars and repurpose each larger piece of content, like an event or blog post, into several social posts.

    / Work with Brittany

    Need a social media strategy your small team can actually keep up with?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.

  • How to Turn Your In-House Creative Team Into a Profit Center

    Every budget season, someone looks at the creative department and asks the same question: “What do we actually get for this?” If your in-house creative team can only answer with a list of projects completed, you’re on defense. You’re a cost to be managed, and costs get cut.

    I’ve been on the other side of that conversation. At Buyers Edge Platform, I launched a corporate videography service line that brought in more than $60K in its first year. It didn’t come from working harder. It came from running creative like a business inside the business.

    You don’t have to sell services externally to do this. “Profit center” can also mean proving, in dollars, what your team saves and earns. Here’s how to get there.

    Why in-house creative teams get treated as overhead

    Creative teams rarely lose budget because they’re bad at the work. They lose it because the value is invisible. A few patterns I see over and over:

    • Free work feels worthless. When requests cost the requester nothing, everything is urgent and nothing is valued.
    • No intake, no data. If requests arrive by hallway, text and email, you can’t report volume, turnaround or demand.
    • The team reports activity, not outcomes. “We made 300 assets” doesn’t mean much to a CFO.
    • Outside agencies set the benchmark. Leaders know what an agency invoice looks like. They’ve never seen one from you.

    Fix the visibility problem and the budget conversation changes.

    Step 1: Know what your in-house creative team costs and saves

    Start with a simple internal rate. Take your team’s fully loaded annual cost (salaries, benefits, software, equipment) and divide it by billable hours you can realistically deliver. That’s your cost per hour.

    Then compare it with what the same work would cost from outside vendors. Get real quotes for a few common deliverables, like a two-minute promotional video, an event photography half day or a campaign graphics package. The difference between the outside price and your internal cost is value you’re already creating. Most teams never write it down.

    Keep a running log for one quarter:

    1. Every project completed.
    2. Hours spent.
    3. What an outside vendor would have charged.
    4. The business result it supported, if known (a launch, an event, a sales deck).

    One quarter of that log is worth more than any slide about creative excellence.

    This works in nonprofits, too. You may never sell a single service, but a board that sees how much outside agency spending the creative team replaced in a year looks at that line item very differently. The question shifts from “Can we afford this team?” to “Can we afford to lose it?”

    Step 2: Productize what you already do well

    Profit centers sell products, not hours. Look at your request history and find the work that repeats. Then package it.

    What a creative product looks like

    A product has a name, a defined scope, a standard turnaround and a price (or an internal charge-back). For example:

    • Event coverage package: photo or video coverage, a highlight edit and a selects gallery delivered within a set number of business days.
    • Testimonial video: one interview, B-roll, a short edit and a social cut-down.
    • Campaign starter kit: key visual, social templates, email header and a one-page flyer.

    That’s the logic behind the videography service line I launched: a defined offering, clearly priced and easy to buy. When the package is clear, the value is obvious, both to internal teams and to paying customers.

    Pick what to say no to

    Productizing also means deciding what you won’t do. If the team spends hours on one-off requests that don’t connect to goals, the menu gives you a polite way to redirect them.

    Step 3: Build the workflow that protects margin

    Margin disappears in the gaps: unclear briefs, endless revisions, files nobody can find and approvals that sit for a week. These gaps are exactly what workflow fixes close.

    The workflow essentials:

    • One intake form that captures the goal, audience, deadline, budget owner and approver.
    • A defined revision policy, such as two rounds included and more by request.
    • Templates and a shared asset library, so nobody rebuilds what already exists.
    • A project tracker everyone can see, with status and due dates.
    • A kickoff and a wrap, even if each is five minutes.

    None of this is fancy. All of it compounds. A team that stops redoing work suddenly has capacity, and capacity is what you sell.

    Step 4: Price it, report it and grow

    Report it like a business

    Whether you charge internal departments, sell externally or just show what work would have cost, the reporting looks similar. Each quarter, report:

    • Revenue earned or charge-backs collected.
    • Cost avoided compared with outside vendors.
    • Volume and on-time delivery rate.
    • Two or three business outcomes the work supported.

    Put it on one page. Lead with dollars, then outcomes, then volume. If you need help choosing what leadership will care about, I wrote about the marketing metrics your board actually cares about, and the same rules apply here.

    A word of caution on charge-backs: they change behavior, not always for the better. Charge too much and departments start buying cheap outside work that’s off brand. Start with a “shadow invoice” that shows what work would cost without actually charging it. You get the value conversation without the turf war.

    Grow without breaking the team

    When the model works, demand goes up. That’s the good problem. Grow in this order:

    1. Systematize first. Templates, checklists and presets before headcount.
    2. Use contractors for peaks. A trusted bench of freelancers gives you flex without fixed cost. In my consultancy, Highbloom Digital, I managed a distributed bench of up to 30 contractors, and the work is always better when the brief is clear and the feedback is fast.
    3. Hire for the products that sell. Let demand tell you which role to add next.

    It also helps to build a team of T-shaped marketers: people who have one deep specialty and can still pitch in across photo, video, design and web. Small teams with broad skills absorb demand spikes far better than teams of narrow specialists.

    Key takeaways

    • Creative teams get cut when their value is invisible, so make it visible in dollars.
    • Calculate your internal cost per hour and compare it with outside vendor pricing.
    • Turn repeat requests into named products with scope, turnaround and price.
    • Protect margin with intake, revision limits, templates and a shared tracker.
    • Report revenue, cost avoided and outcomes each quarter on a single page.

    FAQ

    How can an in-house creative team generate revenue?

    An in-house creative team can generate revenue by packaging repeat services, such as video, photography or design kits, and selling them to customers, partners or other business units. It can also charge internal departments for work or report the outside cost it avoids.

    Should in-house creative teams charge other departments?

    Sometimes. Charge-backs make value visible but can push departments toward cheaper outside work. A good middle step is a shadow invoice that shows what the work would cost without actually billing for it.

    What should an in-house creative team report to leadership?

    Report revenue or charge-backs, cost avoided compared with agency pricing, volume and on-time delivery, and the business outcomes the work supported. Keep it to one page and lead with dollars.

    Want to see the kind of creative this approach produces? Browse my photo and video work.

    / Work with Brittany

    Ready to turn your creative team from a cost line into a value story?

    Hiring a marketing leader or need a hands-on partner for a project? See how we can work together or send me a note.