Step By Step Fundraising Newsletter
January 2006
In this issue -
- Goals for 2006
- Online Publicity for Fundraising Events Part 1: Other
Websites
Are you ready for a brand new year? What goals, dreams and aspirations do you have
for your organization this year? Now
is a great time to start fresh, analyze previous goals and set new ones.
I’ve been doing a little planning myself. If you’d like to find out what is in store for
Step By Step Fundraising for the upcoming year, check out the latest
news
items.
In the December
newsletter the feature article discussed why holding a fundraising
event annually helps build publicity. One of the points I mentioned
regarded using the internet to build publicity.
Newsletter reader Joan C. asked,
"How do you post fund raising events online? You mentioned this
in the latest newsletter - and its a terrific idea - but I have no idea how you do it!"
There are several ways to get
your fundraising events online, most of which are very cost effective
(often free). I’m going to explore two different categories
of online publicity – getting exposure on other websites (like news
sites) and secondly, effective strategies for your organization’s own
website.
Online Publicity for Fundraising Events – Part 1: Other Websites
Getting your organization’s event publicized online
can help you generate attendance at an event and/or support for your
cause. The keys are getting your information
listed on as many sites as possible and reaching local media who would
want to feature a story about your event.
Press Releases
Get Media Attention
Press releases, sometimes also known as
news releases, are used to announce your organization and its activities
to the media. The purpose is to catch the attention of editors
and journalists who work for newspapers, magazines, television
and radio stations with the result being a story about your organization.
While newspapers charge for ad space, if
they produce a news story you will get much more coverage than you
would with ad space -- and it will be free.
The public naturally trusts and listens to news stories more
than they do advertisements so this increases the perceived level of
credibility of your organization.
Find
Specific Media Outlets:
Go to the websites of your local media outlets
and look for information about submitting
news stories. Many will accept
press releases via email, but it is best to find out which method
they prefer.
Google
– Search for media websites
Media Post - Media
outlets, USA
ABYZ Newslinks
- Media outlets, International
Distribution
Services:
Online services will get your news item
out to the widest possible audience.
Some services charge a yearly fee and others per press release.
However, there are several good sites that will let you submit
your press release for FREE or a very low cost.
PR
Leap - Submit press releases
PR Web
- Offers free and paid submission, click on Register Free for the free
option
Bonus
Publicity
Even if you contact your local media directly,
it is also wise to submit your press release to distribution services
such as PR Leap or PR Web. These
websites automatically send their stories to many websites including
Google News and Yahoo
News.
Widely distributing your press releases
has several benefits:
- Gaining
the interest of regional or national news media
- Getting
incoming links to your organization’s website
- Further
increasing your organization’s profile and credibility
- Reach
web surfers on sites such as Google News who may be interested in
your cause – these could be potential donors or organizations with
whom you can partner in the future
Get
Your Event Listed
Your organization can gain further exposure
by contacting other groups in your area.
If the group maintains an online calendar ask if they will list
your event. Perhaps they would even include a feature story
or short post about your event if it fits within the style of their
website.
This is also a great time to find out if you can visit
and/or speak at their group meetings to inform
them of the upcoming event.
Who to Contact:
- Chamber
of Commerce
- Travel
& Tourism Bureau
- Civic
Clubs like Kiwanis, Optimist, etc.
- Non Profit Management / Resource Center
- Similar
or Complimentary Organizations in Your Area (i.e. schools contact
other schools, arts organizations contact other arts groups)
What to Expect
Publicity can help your organization find
new supporters and encourage people to attend fundraising events.
But remember it should be just one part of your total strategy
which should also include advertising, partnerships, direct mail and
direct one on one selling of event tickets.
Generating publicity for a fundraising event
will also bring long term benefits.
Most of the time these are unseen benefits and you may not know
which news stories had the most impact.
Nevertheless the quantity of publicity, news stories and newspaper
articles over the long term brings justifiable rewards.
The more the public is exposed to your organization the more
likely it will be that they will come to support you or attend future
events.
Related Resources
For more information about publicity and writing press
releases the following websites may be of help:
Publicity
Insider
Publicity
Hound
FREE Press Release Tutorial
Stay tuned for Part Two: Generating Publicity from
Your Website which will be published next week.
If you’d like to find out as soon as this story is online consider
signing up for automatic
email updates or the RSS feeds
To Your Continued Fundraising Success,
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