This is lesson one. This is towards one of our missions. Education. You’ll learn everything about marketing — from the basics to the most advanced strategies — for free, thanks to VellumWorks.
Not everyone should get the same message, and that’s a good thing.
The STP model helps you stop trying to reach everyone and instead focus on reaching the right people, with messages that truly resonate.
For charities and mission-driven projects, this means understanding who you serve, who supports you, and how to speak to them in ways that inspire real action.
What Is STP?
STP stands for Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. These are three steps that make your marketing more personal, focused, and effective.
It’s about moving from “We help people” to “We help this group of people in this way, and here’s why it matters to you.”
Let’s break it down.
Segmentation: Understanding Your Audience
You can’t connect with everyone. But you can deeply understand the groups that matter most.
Segmentation means dividing your broader audience into smaller groups based on shared traits, such as:
Demographics: age, income, location
Psychographics: beliefs, values, motivations
Behaviour: how they interact (donors vs volunteers vs beneficiaries)
Engagement: frequency of giving, event attendance, newsletter opens
For charities:
Think about your donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, and partners. Each has different needs, motivations, and ways they measure trust and impact.
Example: A local animal shelter might have “monthly donors,” “event volunteers,” and “pet adopters” as three clear segments — each needs a different message.
2. Targeting: Choosing Who to Focus On
Once you’ve identified segments, you decide which ones to prioritise. And this can sometimes be the most difficult part.
You can’t talk to everyone at once, so you focus on the groups that align most with your goals and capacity.
Ask yourself:
Who has the strongest reason to support us?
Where can we make the biggest difference right now?
Which group is the easiest to reach and serve well?
For charities:
If your goal this quarter is to increase monthly donations, your main target might be existing one-time donors, not new leads.
Example: A health charity might focus this campaign on “donors who gave during last year’s appeal but haven’t donated again.”
3. Positioning: Standing Out in Their Mind
Positioning is how you want to be perceived by your audience — what space you occupy in their minds and hearts.
It’s the answer to: “Why should someone support you instead of someone else?”
To get this right, you need to clearly define:
Your unique value: What makes your cause, approach, or story different?
Your message: How you express that difference consistently.
Your proof: Evidence that you deliver real impact.
For charities:
If there are 10 organisations helping children, how does yours stand out? Maybe it’s your local focus, your transparency, or your long-term community work. Positioning is about making that difference crystal clear.
💬 Example: “We don’t just give meals — we teach families how to grow their own food.”
That’s strong positioning: it defines the cause, the method, and the lasting impact.
Why STP Works for Charities
Because it helps you spend less time shouting and more time connecting.
When you know your audience and speak directly to their motivations, you turn general support into real engagement.
STP also makes your campaigns more efficient:
You target fewer people, but convert more.
You write less content, but it resonates deeper.
You serve smaller groups, but create a bigger impact.
Example: Instead of sending one generic newsletter to 5,000 people, send two segmented versions, one for donors, one for volunteers. Watch engagement soar.
10-Minute Exercise: Map Your Audience
Set a timer and sketch this out:
Segment: List 3–5 key audience groups.
Target: Circle the one you’ll focus on this month.
Position: Write one sentence that explains why your organisation matters specifically to them.
Here are some examples:
Segment: Donors, Volunteers, Corporate Partners
Target: Volunteers
Position: “We empower volunteers to create real local change — fast.”What is needed to have that relationship in marketing?
Why is this important to know?
Because without clarity on who you’re speaking to and why, even the best marketing frameworks fall flat. STP ensures your efforts aren’t scattered — they’re strategic.
When you know your audience, you don’t just communicate better — you connect better. And that’s the foundation of every powerful charity story.
At VellumWorks, we believe knowledge should be free. That’s why this series will guide you, step by step, through everything from the basics to the most advanced strategies in marketing: no jargon, no gatekeeping, just education that empowers.
