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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0 1 How to Add Urgency to Your Fundraising Appeals Without Being Pushy
02 Marketing Your Fundraising Event
03 7 Deceptively Simple Ways to Promote a Fundraiser on Facebook
J ohn Haydon, author of Facebook Marketing for Dummies and Facebook Marketing All-in-One, is one of the most sought-after
digital marketing experts for nonprofits and charities. He has helped hundreds of nonprofits realize and achieve their best marketing and fundraising goals.
The highlight reel includes:
- Helped Epic Change launch one of thevery first fundraisers on Twitter.
- Helped Komen Greater NYC increasetheir walkathon revenue by almost 300% in one year.
- Helped the Ellie Fund win a national online fundraising contest ($53,000 in 24-hours).
- Helped Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity raise over $215,000 during a 24-hour giving day.- Helped Go East, Young Dog raise $200,000 in 10 days to save 70 dogs from being euthanized.- And more...
SPEAKER. AUTHOR. COACH.
John has spoken at CauseCamp, the Nonprofit Technology Conference, New England Federation of Human Societies, New Media Expo, BBCon, Social Media 4 Nonprofits, AFP New Jersey, Boys & Girls Club, Jewish Family Services, and many other conferences throughout the United States. If you’re looking for more from him, John is also a regular contributor for the Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner, Social Media Today and npEngage.
OWNER. TEACHER. PARENT.
- Founder of Inbound Zombie, a consultancy in Cambridge, MA that develops mobile websites fornonprofits.
- Leadership council member at Social Media for Nonprofits.- Instructor for Top Nonprofits and Charityhowto.- Regular contributor to the Huffington Post, npEngage, Top Nonprofits, Social Media Today, and
others, Constant Contact- Artist – Yes, you want someone creative on your side. A natural-born storyteller.- Parent – a proud dad, committed to making a better planet earth.
Meet the Author
01.HOW TO ADD URGENCY TO
YOUR FUNDRAISING APPEALS WITHOUT BEING PUSHY
Most fundraisers agree that you won’t hit your goal unless your fundraising appeals ask for the gift.You have to ask the right people, in the right way, at the right time. But just asking is not enough.
Your fundraising appeals need to answer this simple question: Why now?
Like you, your supporters are constantly bombarded by brands seeking their attention. Just because you had their attention yesterday doesn’t mean you’ll have it today. So it’s your job to compel supporters to
act now. Not tomorrow, not next week.
But how do you convey urgency without being pushy?
01. TALK ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: THEM
Have you ever been at a party and someone across the room calls out your name?
After a few seconds, you realize they’re calling to someone else. But when you heard your name, it got your attention. Whatever conversation you were having suddenly
became less important in that moment. Your ears perked up. What gets the most focus, and the most attention, is when you talk about your
donors. Use their name, use second person narrative.
02. TALK ABOUT URGENT NEWS
The Human Rights Campaign team are master ninjas at leveraging urgent news in their appeals. Very soon after a major breaking news event, they’ll send an appeal that invites
supporters to take action.
Check out the email I received soon after the news broke about Comey.
Tapping into news trends (aka newsjacking) that are already on your supporters minds is smart because:
• It doesn’t require creating awareness about an issue.• It lowers cognitive friction (weighing pros and cons, considering options, etc.)
• Friends are also talking about the same issue (social proof).• Supporters are often primed and waiting to take action.
TELL THEM WHAT THEY’LL MISS IF THEY DON’T ACT NOW
You and I are more likely to take action to avoid losing something than to gain something. All humans are hardwired this way, including your supporters.
So how can you leverage this ethically for fundraising appeals? Rather than telling supporters what they’re going to gain, tell them what they’ll miss if they don’t take
action.
For example, check out this email from Bob Brown Foundation:
04. TELL THEM THEIR IMPACT WILL BE DOUBLED FOR A LIMITED TIME
One of my favorite ways to create urgency in fundraising is with matching gifts. Matching gifts are genius strategies for two reasons:
1. It makes you look smart to major donors because it leverages their gift to create urgency and acquire new donors.
2. It creates urgency for donors because it doubles their gift.
The key with a matching gift is to have a deadline. It doesn’t make sense to have a matching gift all year long. A matching gift program is an incentive for donors to give
NOW, not next month or next year.
03.
TELL THEM THAT SEATS ARE LIMITED
If you’re having a physical event like a fundraising gala tell people seats are limited. This is always true for every event.
You can even create special seats for early registrants as an incentive.
06. TELL THEM TO DO IT NOW!A simple way to create a sense of urgency is to use certain time-based trigger
words in your copy:Now, Quick, Instant, Hurry, Fast, Etc…
Check out this example from Mercy for Animals (subject line: Hurry, investigators need you!):
05.
What if they just wrote “Investigators need you” and “Become an ally”? Supporters could easily procrastinate, thinking “I’ll do this tomorrow or next week…”
Instead, adding “hurry” and “now” puts the focus on taking action now rather than in the future.
02.MARKETING YOUR
FUNDRAISING EVENT
Marketing your fundraising event is arguably one of the most important aspects of holding a fundraiser.
If you don’t promote your event, how will people know about it? And if no one knows about it, how will you receive donations? Your focus must be on properly marketing your fundraising event to avoid
empty seats and empty donation boxes.
Your plan to act will include measuring success through product sales, appropriate implementation of technology, and promotion of your cause. All the while, you’ll be building lifelong relationships with
sponsors and supporters, creating the perfect strategy to guide you through your fundraising event.
01. SECURE SPONSORS
Sponsors provide key funding and a great opportunity to attract a broader range of attendees.
Once you have your sponsors, you’ll want to take steps to make sure they have a good experience so they’ll partner with you in the future.
• Be upfront about what their involvement will be. Is this a small time commitment or a large one?
• Keep them in the loop where necessary. Your sponsors will most likely want updates on your progress, with details including the number of attendees your
event expects to bring in.• Demonstrate your gratitude for each of your sponsors. Remember these are the
people who are directly supporting you. Make sure they know you’re not taking them for granted.
Keep in mind, sponsors are a crucial component when it comes to the success of your event and nonprofit, so make sure they’re happy!
02. USE MERCHANTS TO PROMOTE THE EVENT
You can design and sell custom merchandise to create buzz for your event.
Product fundraising will kill 4 birds with one stone:Raise brand awareness: Putting your logo and information on a t-shirt, water bottle, or
draw-string bag will provide amazing advertising opportunities for your cause.Demonstrate appreciation: Merchandise can serve as thank yous to donors!
Generate revenue: Selling merchandise will create more revenue, adding to your funding.Advertise sponsors: Discuss with your sponsors where you’ll advertise their brand. Your most supportive sponsor should have the most advertising material. For example, their logo might be on all the signs, tents, and t-shirts whereas a lower-tier sponsor may have
their logo on a water fountain.
Using merchandise is a quick and easy way to raise money and advertise your upcoming event all at once so plan to order some t-shirts!
PICK YOUR BEST FEATURES
The interesting and attracting aspects of your fundraising idea are your best features. Be sure to focus your marketing around these points in order to attract the most
attendees. But keep your cause in mind as well!You can do all this by:
Write an event mission statement. You’ll want to assess what’s really important to your nonprofit and why you’re holding the event. Think about how this event is going
to impact your cause. How will your event matter?Marketing your big ticket item. Advertise the most exciting aspect of your event, whatever it may be. For example, if the event is a concert, advertise the most well-
known band performing. Show off what will bring the most people to your event.Give participants next steps to get involved. While the event approaches, you can suggest supporters join your email list. Then, you can give them a countdown to the event and other updates to keep them interested in your nonprofit’s work. Find a way
to get them involved in your nonprofit’s community.Picking out your best features will draw more attendees to your event, giving both your nonprofit and your cause more exposure. This can lead to more donations and overall support, so it’s important to understand your intent and market your best-
selling aspects to involve potential attendees.
04. FOCUS ON YOUR CAUSE
If you focus your passion on your cause, you have the potential to attract others with similar passions, which can build lasting relationships.
Ways to display your cause and your accomplishments are as follows:
The idea behind your event is to raise awareness about your cause, so be sure to display your efforts so attendees know your organization’s mind and heart are in the right place.
This will gain authority for your nonprofit as well.
03.
Slideshow: A slideshow is an easy way to show off your cause. Throw some pictures of your board from previous activities and project the slideshow onto a screen at your event.Video: A step up from a slideshow, a video will be a little more engaging because it’ll require more attention at your event. You can display it similarly to a slideshow.
Guest speaker: Have an executive director or service recipient speak to your past support for the community and for your cause. Stay away from self-congratulatory speeches and focus on the impact in a heartfelt and genuine way.Brochure: At your event, you can hand out a packet with information on your nonprofit, its history, and your cause. This way, your attendees can take the information home with them, too.
PLAN A FANTASTIC FOLLOW-UP STRATEGY
Thank everyone within 3 days of your event.
This includes attendees, donors, fundraisers, and anyone that contributed to your cause. You can send thank you emails or letters, or to be even more personal with a
phone call.
Your donors will want to know how they’ve positively impacted your nonprofit. You can easily do this through your emailed newsletter. Let them know how much you
raised and update them on your cause.
Your follow-up strategy is key for donor retention. You should look into sending out surveys to further gauge the results of your event. With the feedback from these surveys, you can learn what you should do to improve when planning your next event.
Now that you know how to perfectly market your next event through these 5 steps, it’s up to you to take action and hold a successful fundraiser.
05.
03.7 DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE WAYS TO PROMOTE A FUNDRAISER
ON FACEBOOK
If you’re like most nonprofits, Facebook is your #1 social network. It’s where most of your supporters hangout and connect with friends. To nurture your fanbase, you post updates, reply to comments, and
use Insights to see what works and what doesn’t.
But what should you do to promote your fundraiser on Facebook?What should you do that’s different from what you’re doing already?
Here are a few tips for promoting any fundraiser on Facebook:
01. TRACK YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE ACTIVITY
Before, during, and after, pay attention to comments and updates posted to your Page.Two ways to make responding easier:
• Add your Facebook Page to your favorites. Go to your Page bookmarks and select “Add to favorites” next to your Page. This will keep your page top-of-mind each time
you login to Facebook.• Get notifications on Facebook and by email. Login to your page settings, and select
your preferences within the notifications tab (as shown below).
TRACK YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE ACTIVITY
During any fundraising event, unexpected challenges arise. Technical snafus with your donation page, urgent questions from fundraisers, etc.
Your job is to make it easier for people to contact you during busy events.
Add private messaging to your page within your setting tab (as shown below). You can easily remove this feature once the campaign is over.
02.
LET PEOPLE POST TO YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE
Each time someone posts an update to your Page, their friends are exposed to your campaign. If you don’t let people to post to your page, you diminish this natural word-
of-mouth marketing that is the essence of Facebook.
To allow anyone to post content to your page, select the options shown below within your Page settings.
03.
DRAFT AWESOME FACEBOOK UPDATES NOW
One of the best ways to promote your fundraiser on Facebook is to publish awesome content. This content will increase the likelihood that people will share your nonprofit’s
event. It’s also the best way to make a good first impression.
Now, if you’re like most people, it’s hard to produce awesome content in one sitting. But you can write drafts and allow them to “simmer” for a day or two. This gives you
the space to reflect and fine-tune your drafts.
You can create drafts of posts by selecting “Save Draft” from the publisher (as shown below).
04.
REVIEW YOUR DRAFTS
Saving Facebook updates as drafts lets other admins view and edit these drafts. Two heads are better than one, and three is better than two.05.
BOOST YOUR BEST PERFORMING POSTS
Pay close attention to the engagement rate for posts promoting your event. Boost posts that have the highest engagement rate. 06.
UPDATE YOUR COVER IMAGE
Your Facebook Page cover image is an excellent way to promote your next fundraising event.
Update your cover image to highlight your fundraising campaign. You can make beautiful Facebook covers at Canva.
07.ADD A DONATE BUTTON TO YOUR PAGE
Although it may not raise as much money as the donation page on your website, adding a donate button to your Facebook Page takes very little effort.
Simply edit your Page call-to-action button and enter your donation page URL:
08.
It’s important to remember that just adding the CTA button to your Facebook page will not increase traffic to your website.
Driving Facebook users to a webpage or app requires a smart strategy that uses all available marketing channels (email, social media, your website, etc.)
What did you learn?
Have any questions about tips and strategies for fundraising?
Go to www.johnhaydon.com for more information!
Thanks for Reading!For more from John Haydon, check him out on Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/JohnHaydon.Marketing/
https://twitter.com/johnhaydon
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhaydon/
