When my son was much younger, he told me he thought my job as a marketer was to “lie to people to get them to buy things.”
Ugh. Broke my heart. He was so upset, and I hated the thought that he believed I wasn’t being honest.
So we talked about what I actually do. I told him my job wasn’t to trick people into buying something they didn’t want. It was to find the people who already loved what I was marketing and make sure they knew about it, whether that was ballet performances, classes, or community events.
That conversation stuck with me. In marketing, everything I do runs through the filter of honesty and authenticity. People are naturally skeptical of ads and promotions, so it’s our job to stay in our lane, represent the truth, and connect with those who will genuinely value what we offer.
How This Fits Into the Bigger Picture
In my first post in this series, we talked about building strong internal ecosystems — the structures inside your organization that keep you resilient.
In the second post, we zoomed out to your external ecosystem — how you connect to your community and why the future of the arts depends on coalition, not competition.
This post is where those two worlds meet.
Marketing is the bridge between your organization and your community. Done right, it’s how you live your mission out loud. It’s how you make sure the people who will love what you do can find you, connect with you, and keep coming back.
Marketing is Its Own Flywheel
A healthy marketing program isn’t just a to-do list of ads and social posts. It’s a flywheel — constantly in motion, with pieces moving in and out depending on what needs focus at any given moment.
Think of it like cogs working together. Your marketing flywheel is one set of gears, and your larger organizational ecosystem is another. When they’re in sync, they power each other forward.
This marketing flywheel includes:
- Strategy
- Data Analysis
- Web Updates
- Multimedia
- Mass Email
- Advertising
- Publicity / PR
- Copywriting
- Social Media
When one cog slips — say your email list stops growing, or your website isn’t updated — the rest of the flywheel has to work harder to keep things moving. And if you ignore a broken cog for too long, the whole system slows down.
The Foundation: Authenticity + Audience Focus
I get asked all the time: “Who is my audience, and what should I be saying to them?”
Here’s the truth: If you’re authentic and focused on serving your mission, the right people will find you. But — and this is the big contradiction — it’s also not about you.
It’s about them:
- Your patrons
- Your audiences
- Your members
- Your donors
The sweet spot is finding the overlap between what your mission offers and what your audience values most. That’s where the connection happens.
Your Marketing Flywheel Exists Inside the Community Ecosystem
Just like your organization is part of the larger arts and community ecosystem, your marketing efforts need to live inside that bigger system.
If you try to market in isolation — without understanding the needs, trends, and relationships in your community — you’re missing the point. The more your marketing connects to real community needs, the stronger your results will be.
The Challenge
Look at your own marketing flywheel. Which part feels the strongest right now? Which part needs the most attention?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear where you’re thriving and where you’re feeling stuck — because chances are, someone else is facing the same challenges you are.
Connecting your work to your ideal audiences, and streamlining your work to support your mission is what we aim to do! If you want to dive deeper into your flywheel, get in touch!