Digital tools make it easy for non-profits to start a peer to peer fundraising campaign. If you are thinking about organizing a P2P campaign for your non-profit, remember that its success will largely depend on how you promote the campaign.
Here are some tips on how to market your P2P campaign to gain maximum results:
#1 Email
According to marketing specialists, e-blasts still work so why not send campaign specific messages via email to your targeted donors list to get your efforts rolling?
Some emails are important and therefore remain in a person’s inbox for some time while others go straight to the trash without even being read. If you want to be in the “inbox” category and need to ask people to support your peer-to-peer efforts, the email tips below just might be helpful:
- Eye-catching headlines – vague subject headlines are rarely effective and don’t explain what the email is about so be direct. “Are you an animal lover?” is a poor subject line because it really doesn’t communicate anything; however, “If you want to help kittens and puppies find good homes, join our (name of your organization) and make a lasting difference” is a better headline.
- Get to the point – don’t beat around the bush and then ask for help in the second last paragraph. Recipients are busy and will tune out and move on to the next message in their inbox. It can be helpful to put your appeal line in bold so that it stands out. The best approach is to make your ask within the first two paragraphs.
- Explain yourself – don’t forget that some recipients may not know much about your organization. This means it is important to include a little bit of information about what you do, who you help, and exactly where the money goes. This is not meant to overload people so remember to keep it brief.
- Personalize messages – break your email recipients into lists. For example, one list could be those who have donated to your organization in the past, another list might be those who have participated or volunteered for your non-profit before. This will make it easier to personalize the emails.
- Include links – you should be including links right in the email so recipients can get to your webpage, campaign pages, a donation button, and even a phone number in case they want to call in a donation. Some non-profits include a link to a participation form or links to the organization’s social platforms.
- Encouragement – when someone does decide to participate, use email to encourage that person. Make sure your messages connect your fundraiser to the cause and participants always feel part of the overall effort. For instance, you could send them a message that says, “you’re doing great ” or “you’re so close to your goal.”
#2 Web collateral
Post a strong explanation of your campaign, along with goals and exactly where funds will go, on your website. It can also be helpful to have a dedicated campaign site. Australia’s run for Beyondblue is a good example of a dedicated site. The website is not as much about the organization asking for help, but about the event designed to raise funds for the non-profit.
#3 Video
Seeing faces and hearing people explain the cause can have a huge impact. Creating a video to post on Youtube, as well as on your non-profit’s website is a great promotional tool. If presented properly, your video could go viral in no time. The following Youtube video is a good example by the Rainforest Alliance. They used action and storytelling, infused with humor to summon support for their “Follow the Frog” initiative.
#4 Social Networks
Keep spreading the word on the non-profits social network channels. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin are all great platforms to update followers on fundraising activities, donation count, as well as how much more you need to reach your goal. Check out this Facebook link to get a sense of how social media can help promote a campaign!
#5 Blogging
Although it takes some dedicated time, creating a fundraising blog where you can post stories, photos, information about sponsors and information about participants, can make a difference before, as well as during the P2P campaign.
#6 Brand the Campaign
A fundraising brand can help people recognize your efforts. One way of branding your campaign is to include catchy hashtags. They can be used across all sorts of platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
#7 Optimize Mobile
Make donation forms, donation buttons, and fundraising toolkits, mobile friendly. Making it easy for participants to access information about your fundraiser and share what they are doing anytime, anywhere can provide a huge boost. The WWF is an example of a mobile friendly website.
#8 Traditional Media
You shouldn’t overlook traditional media, such as newspapers, radio and television just because social media is huge. Traditional media often helps bring more attention to online efforts. One way to gain attention is to encourage media to highlight a specific success story of someone fighting for the cause or someone who has benefited from your organizations efforts in the past. Most traditional outlets are more than willing to steer audiences to campaign websites etc. during their storytelling.
#9 QR Codes
These can be added to fliers, news releases, or print advertisements. The codes can help bring the campaign to life and draw traffic to your website, videos, and social media channels. A few years ago a U.S restaurant chain, Chili’s used QR codes for a fundraising campaign for a children’s hospital. The codes directed people to an optimized page with information that made it easy to donate. It turns out the codes were scanned close to 300,000 times in this case and the campaign was deemed a huge success.
While the above list may seem long and daunting, it’s well worth it! Those who have worked in the non-profit sector for many years are often amazed at the results they get when they dedicate a little extra time to planning how they will promote their campaigns!1
