For any fundraising endeavour to succeed, the importance of strategic promotion cannot be stressed enough. Understandably, holding events or fundraisers may be pricey. Also, with a strained budget, marketing efforts to spread the word about your fundraising campaign may be sent to the back burner.
For a fundraiser to reach its objective, one needs to shout about it to all and sundry for having the most impact.
Here are some effective ways to spread the word about your fundraising campaign without incurring substantial expenditure.
Initiating email marketing
Email marketing is a simple approach and also a primary promotion strategy for crowdfunding. This strategy manages to compete with the social media channels, given that emails are either free or low-cost to send. It is likely to generate instant responses and is also easy to track.
For an effective email campaign, it is essential to have new content in each of the messages.
Here are some of the practical ways of going about fundraising by email campaign. In the first instance, choose an email service provider. The targeted audience should be segmented and emails are to be duly timed.
It pays to be consistent with the email campaign.
Utilizing online resources
Various online resources can extend critical platforms for promoting fundraising campaigns. Such marketing methods enhance the reach exponentially. Website landing pages and social media can be particularly effective in this regard.
An organizational website is an inexpensive avenue of promoting a fundraising event. However, to derive maximum utility, a distinct landing page must be devoted to the event or campaign. That way, all traffic related to the event would be directed to such a page. All that the page needs to have is relevant information. There is no requirement of building the landing page to be the same as the organization’s main page.
Moreover, a sliding banner created on the homepage can direct viewers straight to the event landing page.
Coming to social media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn are perfect as online crowdfunding platforms.
Most of your contact base and supporters are likely to have Facebook accounts. Prior to the fundraising event, a Facebook Event may be created featuring all the relevant information as well as the registration links. Event updates may be posted at intervals, say, on a weekly basis. Updates can include snippets about the itinerary, venue, shout-outs to members, etc.
The crux is to post any content which would keep the potential attendees engaged with the campaign.
When it comes to Twitter, creating a concise and unique hashtag for the fundraising does the trick. Where images are attached, those tweets stand out more. Make sure to attach images of your previous event.
Even though LinkedIn is a professional networking site, joining a local group and then posting important updates and invitations gives the advantage of an interactive experience.
Press releases
Press releases are an effective medium of a written form of communication. In its general sense, a press release may be submitted to magazines, newspapers, specialty publications, radio, local bloggers, etc.
The underlying objective of providing a press release, in this regard, is to supply the reporters or writers with all the necessary information needed to write a story and spread the word About Your fundraising campaign. For desired results, the editors of the magazines and newspapers are most likely to be interested in the story with the presence of a newsworthy angle to the specific campaign.
Consider this. It could be that your organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary, or a record donation has been raised for a particular event. Such things are more likely to be covered by your local magazine.
You must, however, strive to maintain the balance in showcasing a unique element for the headline and holding focus on the specific cause.
Engaging media partners
With media partners onboard, visibility of your events increases and, consequently, the fundraising campaigns that may be running. Engaging media partners is not only for big nonprofits. One has the option of availing multiple mediums by which advertisement or news release may be submitted.
The sure-shot way of getting free advertisements is to secure media sponsors. Media sponsorships differ from corporate sponsors in the sense that the former can donate in-kind by way of advertising in their channel or media outlet.
It is a trade-off. Your organizational promotional materials will bear the logo of the media sponsor, and conversely, they will promote your campaign or event on their channel.
Free press coverage is also a huge opportunity in getting the words of the fundraising campaign around. There are a few simple ways to have free mentions in the media.
Radio can be immensely effective in fundraising activities. You may consider reaching out to your local radio stations for an interview during a suitable slot for promoting the fundraiser. For a nonprofit organization, working with a local television station can prove to be effective. A board member or executive director may talk for a few minutes about how a planned event.
Launching local events and word-of-mouth
The attention of the local community can be effectively drawn with the help of community and sporting events. To begin with, one may use the community calendar or find out about various local events in which the event in connection to a particular fundraiser may be advertised. For instance, at the meeting of a local Rotary Club, flyers can be passed out to the attendees to invite them to the local event.
This strategy becomes particularly effective if liaised with special interest groups, for example, a mom’s group from tutorial classes.
A fundraising campaign can be easily promoted by equipping the volunteers, staff, community members, and past donors with the necessary material back-ups for spreading the word about the campaign among their circles. Such materials may include providing flyers, sound bites, promotional images, etc.
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