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Get in touch

Hello! I’m Julia, Nonprofit Marketing Leader.

Let me help your audience expand their marketing knowledge

As an experienced marketer of nonprofits and associations, I will inject marketing motivation into your event through keynote presentations, workshops, or breakout sessions. Whether it’s speaking about marketing plans, marketing campaigns, ways to use data, or effective storytelling techniques, your audience is sure to leave smarter, empowered, and ready to tackle big marketing challenges.

Book Julia

Speaking Topics

Marketing Planning

Julia’s deepest passion is talking about ways to go deeper with marketing strategy and tactics, plus tips for execution and measurement.

Storytelling

Good marketing comes down to quality storytelling and Julia loves to share her unique process for constructing stories that stick.

In-Kind Media (PSAs)

With two decades of experience in garnering in-kind media for her clients, Julia has secrets for unlocking maximum awareness.

Measuring Marketing Success

When the rubber (marketing) meets the road (the intended audience), Julia will share how to spot the data ripe for the picking and ways to use it.

What Attendees Are Saying

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From Top Nonprofits Nonprofit Changemakers Conference
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From Top Nonprofits Nonprofit Changemakers Conference
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From AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference
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From AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference
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From AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference
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From AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference
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From AFP Icon
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From AFP Icon
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From AFP Icon
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From ASAE Membership Webinar Series
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From NSPRA Seminar Workshop

About Julia McDowell

Julia McDowell is an award-winning marketer, having helped create marketing strategy and awareness (PSA) campaigns for some of the most well-known nonprofits and professional associations. She draws upon her roots in entrepreneurship and blends it with her creative spirit to develop and implement solutions to reach clients’ ambitious goals.

Her career blossomed while working up the ladder at one of the top ad agencies in the mid-Atlantic region. After more than 15 years and serving as President of the agency, she left to build Five Ones. Five Ones is a creative collaborative that delivers strategic guidance and exceptional execution for businesses that need visionary leadership and marketing momentum.

Julia wrote and self-published her first book, the Marketing Plan Workbook, for everyone in need of a marketing plan (book 2 is on it’s way!) It blends her passion for marketing, helping others harness their ideas, and create personal and professional success. She also publishes a regular video series, breaking down complex marketing tasks into five things you can do in five(ish) minutes. During the pandemic, along with a colleague, she launched Two Marketing Moms (now called Marketing Moms), a podcast covering the struggles, fails, and wins of marketers who are balancing being a boss, their home life, and (arguably the most demanding job) being a mom.

What Julia Brings to her Presentations

Laughter Over Things We Can All Relate To
50 %
Knowledge Bomb-Dropping
40 %
Experience-Trodden Industry Expertise
90 %
Creativity and New Ideas
60 %

Recent Presentations

Persuasive, Passionate Storytelling that Converts

Sharing stories of your impact and how you are changing lives is the key to connecting with your supporters. Included within storytelling tips, Julia presents and gets interactive on the process of becoming a more persuasive and passionate storyteller.

Marketing Planning: Strategic starters + 20 tactical ideas

Attracting and engaging members in today’s over-stimulated world is no small feat. Especially if you feel like you’ve tried everything before! Part workshop and part presentation, Julia shares 20 tactical marketing ideas that will leave you inspired to try new things.

Brand Awareness: The Rising Tide That Lifts All of Your Efforts

We all need it, but it’s often not a top priority: building brand awareness. And one of the easiest ways to do that is through Public Service Announcements. Julia demystifies everything you wondered about PSAs and how to make it work hard for your organization.

The Worst Nonprofit Marketing Advice I’ve Ever Received

As marketers, we’ve been privy to a lot of advice. Some of it’s helpful but it’s not all good. Julia offers 20 pieces of bad advice in this humorous, relatable talk and how nonprofit marketers can turn lemons into lemonade.

10 Ways Your Fundraising Data Can Help Your Fundraising Communications

Do you feel knee-deep in data, research, trends, and statistics, but not sure how to apply it to your donor communications strategy? This session distills data from 15+ industry reports (like Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report) and provide the takeaways that you can apply right away.

Marketing Planning Workshop: A How-to for marketing planning, strategy & execution

Developing a marketing strategy and plan is essential to your fundraising success. This workshop will provide you with a springboard to create a successful marketing plan. Julia covers the basics of a marketing strategy and provides ideas to get your message to your audience.

AI as Your Strategic Partner

This interactive session moves beyond content creation to explore how AI can revolutionize your communication planning and strategic decision-making. AI can be your new brainstorming partnership and help you develop actual communication strategies that position you as an indispensable strategic leader.

Marketing Fundamentals for Communicators

Tired of communication efforts that feel scattered or miss the mark? You’re not alone. Many communicators find themselves jumping from tactic to tactic without a clear strategy tying it all together. This interactive workshop will help you move from feeling overwhelmed by endless communication requests to confidently executing (and fitting everything into) a strategic marketing plan that supports your org goals.

Recent Presentations

Persuasive, Passionate Storytelling that Converts

Sharing stories of your impact and how you are changing lives is the key to connecting with your supporters. Included within storytelling tips, Julia presents and gets interactive on the process of becoming a more persuasive and passionate storyteller.

Marketing Planning: Strategic starters + 20 tactical ideas

Attracting and engaging members in today’s over-stimulated world is no small feat. Especially if you feel like you’ve tried everything before! Part workshop and part presentation, Julia shares 20 tactical marketing ideas that will leave you inspired to try new things.

Brand Awareness: The Rising Tide That Lifts All of Your Efforts

We all need it, but it’s often not a top priority: building brand awareness. And one of the easiest ways to do that is through Public Service Announcements. Julia demystifies everything you wondered about PSAs and how to make it work hard for your organization.

The Worst Nonprofit Marketing Advice I’ve Ever Received

As marketers, we’ve been privy to a lot of advice. Some of it’s helpful but it’s not all good. Julia offers 20 pieces of bad advice in this humorous, relatable talk and how nonprofit marketers can turn lemons into lemonade.

10 Ways Your Fundraising Data Can Help Your Fundraising Communications

Do you feel knee-deep in data, research, trends, and statistics, but not sure how to apply it to your donor communications strategy? This session distills data from 15+ industry reports (like Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report) and provide the takeaways that you can apply right away.

Marketing Planning Workshop: A How-to for marketing planning, strategy & execution

Developing a marketing strategy and plan is essential to your fundraising success. This workshop will provide you with a springboard to create a successful marketing plan. Julia covers the basics of a marketing strategy and provides ideas to get your message to your audience.

AI as Your Strategic Partner

This interactive session moves beyond content creation to explore how AI can revolutionize your communication planning and strategic decision-making. AI can be your new brainstorming partnership and help you develop actual communication strategies that position you as an indispensable strategic leader.

Marketing Fundamentals for Communicators

Tired of communication efforts that feel scattered or miss the mark? You’re not alone. Many communicators find themselves jumping from tactic to tactic without a clear strategy tying it all together. This interactive workshop will help you move from feeling overwhelmed by endless communication requests to confidently executing (and fitting everything into) a strategic marketing plan that supports your org goals.

Where Julia Has Spoken

This is a selection of some of the esteemed forums Julia has had the opportunity to present at, from a session speaker, to workshops, and keynote presentations.

Let us know what you’re thinking!

Every event, big or small, has it’s own unique needs. Julia would love a chance to speak to YOUR audience. Supply some details and we’ll be in touch within 48 hours.

    Five Ones is a creative collaborative that delivers strategic guidance and exceptional execution for nonprofits and associations that need visionary leadership and marketing momentum.

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