We have designed this guide to help you create a fundraising campaign that will effectively raise money for your cause. Discover how to create a fundraiser that makes an impact online!
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How to start a fundraiser
Creating a fundraiser to raise money and achieve your dreams is a fantastic initiative! Numerous online fundraising platforms, such as 4fund.com, offer tailored features for raising money and donor outreach. Fundraising has become very popular, proving time and again that working together can make a real difference!
Wondering which service to use? See a detailed comparison of the major platforms!
For successful fundraising, it's important to reach your target audience, especially on social media. Instagram, Facebook, and X are full of content. When improving your campaign, ask yourself: is your fundraiser interesting enough to make people click? Today we'll give you some advice on how to make it stand out!
Select the best images
The main rule of the Internet is simple: first, you see the picture, then you're reading the headline, and at the very end, you read the article. An image is your bait – if you want somebody to click your fundraiser, make him do this! A fundraiser without images loses at the start!
Choose images that are relevant to the cause and help tell the story of why you are raising funds. Try to add personal pictures of people that the fundraiser is for. This can help connect Donators with the cause and make it more personal. Be sure to include images that evoke emotion – a smiling child, a cute pet, etc.
When you share a link to the fundraiser on social media, social network Users will see its preview, including a photo and title. Check how it looks on our Facebook. Pay attention to the images - they are the largest element, so they must be perfect! Check if your one displays correctly and is well-cropped and inviting. If your photo is dark, and blurry, no one will click on the link and know your story!
Remember: Once you've added an image, share your fundraiser on Facebook and check the preview. If anything is wrong, crop it again and again! The work you put in now to improve the look of the created fundraiser will pay off with future contributions!
Create a masterful headline
The title of your fundraiser is a slogan for your campaign! When you're creating a fundraiser, you need to make sure the title is memorable to potential donors. And that it captures the essence of your campaign.
The headline of your fundraiser on 4fund.com is the phrase from the field ‘goal’. The rules for creating good headlines are trivial:
- The verb in imperative mode is essential. Words like ‘help’, ‘check’, ‘save’, and ‘meet’ encourage people to click and take action. Think about what action you expect Users to take and have them do it!
- The shorter, the better, especially with a limited number of characters in the preview. Your goal should contain one essential piece of information. You will tell about the details in the description.
- Stand out from the crowd! There are plenty of fundraisers with titles like ‘Help me overhaul my kitchen’ or ‘Help me overcome the disease’. It doesn't mean that kinds of fundraisers are worse or less important – just competition is much higher! Therefore, you should create a unique advertising slogan. Time is money, and you are just working for your fundraising success!
Try experimenting with the form of your headline. We've got a few inspirations for you:
- Consider what verbs are most often used by Organisers. Exclude ones like ‘help’ or ‘contribute’. Try to find less obvious words, as strongly related to the purpose of your fundraiser as possible.
- Engage your donors. Make them part of your fundraising team! Replace 'Help us travel to a competition' with 'Win a gold medal with us!'
- Use a hashtag – one or more words written directly after the # (for example #TeamJohn or #JanevsEndometriosis). It works great on social media, making your fundraiser easy to find and giving it extra exposure!
- Or maybe you like rhymes? Short ones are catchy and easy to remember! For example: ‘Give a dime, change a life!’ or ‘Give from your heart, make a new start’ or ‘Look at this dog – he thanks you a lot!’
Write an interesting description
Have you ever read the comments under a post with a link to a longer article? It's a valuable source of information about your social media audience. Many people don't want to read a longer article – they comment on the headline itself! So now you need to create an engaging description for people who have taken your bait. What do you need to do to keep them reading and paying attention?
- Take care of spelling and punctuation. Cliché? Then try to: red this wierd text carefuly and dotn get tired aditionaly remmeber most important informations adn dont got tired. Hard one? So don't do that to your audience!
- The first paragraph = first impression, and many people wouldn't have time to read further. This part needs to be a masterpiece! Play the strongest cards, grab the reader by the heart, and make him reach for his wallet.
- Beware the ‘wall of text’! Even the biggest book lover will not want to read a long, undivided text. Divide your text into subsections, so you won't overwhelm the reader. Such a small change can make your story much easier to read.
- Bet on multimedia. Add images, videos, and graphics. Reading from picture to picture is easier and more enjoyable for the recipient than absorbing a long text at once. And there is always the chance that somebody will stop by to read just a snippet, but will find it interesting, so will read the next and the next...
- And the most important – always to tell the truth. Ultimately, only the truth will stand up for itself. Your fundraiser will be seen by both strangers and people from your environment. The latter will be able to spot strange inaccuracies very quickly. They will let us know, and if our security department catches you lying, we will be forced to cancel your fundraiser.
Conclusion
Try to empathise with your audience. Imagine you are sitting in your chair after a hard day's work and an exciting fundraising campaign appears on your screen. A good photo and a catchy headline make you click... What would you look for? What elements would make you stay? Would you be more interested in graphics, film, or text?
This article will help you get started. With the support of friends and family, you could even raise a few thousand euros! A larger goal will require more effort from you.
Check out these articles to maximise your efforts:
- Guide and checklist for organisers
- Promoting your fundraiser
- Donor relationship
- Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraisers
- Crowdfunding for creatives
- Fundraising for wedding
- Raising money for a sports team
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