Marketing Guidebook
MARKETING GUIDEBOOK Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. PART 1: Planning your campaign 4
2.1 Campaign Objectives 4
2.2 People 6
2.3 Proposition 7
2.4 Promotional Channels 9
2.5 Planning 13
3. PART 2: Audiences and Networks 16
4. PART 3: Developing Your Proposition and Stories 19
5. PART 4: Promoting Your Campaign 22
6. PART 5: Final Top 10 Tips 34
2 Introduction
This guide, produced in collaboration with the FSI, has been created to support charities to plan and deliver an effective campaign. It has lots of practical steps, tools and tips to help you plan and market your campaign to supporters, so you can maximise this fundraising opportunity.
You can work through this guidebook at your own pace, selecting those elements that are most useful and relevant to you. Part 1 is an overview and is recommended reading for all participants in the campaign. Parts 2-4 go into more depth on specific elements of planning your fundraising campaign. Note that throughout this guide, green text is used for clickable hyperlinks.
PART 1: Planning your campaign This section will provide an overview of the essentials you need to plan your campaign, and is recommended reading for all participants in the campaign. You will define your campaign objectives, identify the three Ps crucial to your campaign (People, Proposition, Promotional Channels) and start to develop your campaign plans from inception, through to launch and close.
PART 2: People: Identifying Audiences and Networks This section will give further detail, tools and tips on how to identify target audiences and networks in order to maximise the reach of your campaign.
PART 3: Proposition: Honing Your Fundraising Messages This section will cover developing effective fundraising propositions and using storytelling to engage and inspire your supporters to donate.
PART 4: Effective Promotion of Your Campaign This section will cover how you communicate with your target audiences in order to ask them to give. It will provide an overview of different communication channels with a range of tips and tools to maximise these.
3 PART 1: Planning
The first part of the guide will provide the essentials you need to plan your campaign, including defining your campaign objectives, identify the three Ps crucial to your campaign (People, Proposition, Promotional Channels) and starting to develop your campaign plans from inception, through to launch and close.
You can also contact the Big Give team for support at any time via [email protected].
Campaign Objectives
The starting point is to define your SMART campaign objectives.
Specific: Define what you want to Maximise the campaign by achieve and how, in as specific terms as raising £5,000 from our possible. Ensure each objective focuses supporters and networks on what success looks like, not how you Reach new supporters and will achieve it. develop greater Measurable: Quantify what you want awareness of our charity to achieve: how much you want to raise, how many new supporters you Raise a total of £5,000 in want to engage. the campaign Actionable: You should be able to Achieve 5 donations of at identify clear actions you can take in least £500 from donors who can give a bigger gift order to deliver your objective. Recruit 30 new donors @ £25 Realistic: It is important to balance 20 existing donors @ £25 ambition with reality – don’t set a goal 10 past donors @ £25 that you can’t realistically achieve. Recruit 50 new donors to Timebound: The campaign takes place donate at least £10 over a limited time period – creating a 30 existing donors to donate sense of urgency for your donors. £10
4 CASE STUDY Send a Cow raised over £30,000 the first time they participated in a match funding campaign on theBigGive.org.uk. They invested time and effort in planning their campaign and to ensure success they: developed a central fundraising concept, designed to appeal to their target audiences focussed on specific projects and told the story through the lives of one of the families they supported developed a marketing plan for each audience group, based on the channels most relevant to that group ensured all promotional activities drove a response directly to the donation page on the Big Give site used the timeframe of the appeal to create urgency in their messaging developed a range of content to share their message including video, images and text thanked everyone who participated and sent personalised thank you messages to pledgers, volunteers and significant donors.
Your Turn:
Smart objectives:
5 People
It’s important to consider the different audiences for your campaign as there are likely to be multiple audience groups – you want to take a targeted approach. Think about how you can inspire the people close to your charity to donate to your campaign, and reach out to their networks to share your message on your behalf.
Who are the likely audiences for your There are 3 Ps to consider when campaign? planning your campaign: Think of all the different groups – e.g. People existing donors, past donors, trustees, Proposition volunteers, beneficiaries. Promotion You might segment your groups further. For example, we have already asked you to think about how you will engage your major donors. Do you want to differentiate further – e.g. past donors Your Turn: over/under £10?
Start to make a list of your different TIP: Remember: that your Pledgers can audience groups. How many contacts not donate to you during the can you identify under each? campaign.
TIP: This step will help you to sense-check how realistic your objectives are by identifying all the people you will be reaching out to with your campaign message. Have you identified enough people to achieve your objectives? 6 Proposition
Once you’ve considered your audiences, it’s time to develop your campaign message: your proposition. You might adapt your message slightly for different audience groups but there should be an underlying core proposition. You want to craft a powerful message for your campaign that will inspire people to read on, donate and share. Research shows that personal stories about an individual are a greater motivator than statistics or stories about groups. Think about the impact of your project on someone else’s life. That’s not to say statistics are not important – but ensure you weave the stories of individuals into your campaign messaging.
The Story You can use the Fairytale structure to identify the key elements of your proposition and bring your story to life: The dragon: the need, issue or challenge that you are addressing. The knight: who addresses this issue or challenge. The quest: what is done to address the issue or challenge. The recipient: who experiences the benefit of the the issue or challenge being addressed.
Double your Donation Remember that a key part of your campaign message is the fact that DONATIONS CAN BE DOUBLED so make sure that donors know about this. Research shows that 84% of donors are more likely to give in a match funding campaign and 36% of donors are likely to give more (Walker, 2016). Include a clear call to action – what you want someone to do as a result of your message
7 Examples of Powerful Propositions
You helped us raise an amazing £25,006 during the Big Give Christmas Challenge match funding campaign for our work in Ethiopia. Our partners have used these funds to provide safe house protection to women survivors of violence, given training and emotional support to women rebuilding their lives and supported women to report cases of abuse. For women like Sufe (pictured below), this support has been transformational. She now has a voice in her local community and for the first time in her life, her own bank account.
We’re raising money for a new in-house dance and drama company for over 55s called New Motion, in a bid to overcome the lack of creative opportunities for older people in our area. Forming ‘New Motion’ gives our work with older people a positive identity which will increase their opportunities to develop and experience public performances. It will offer the chance to participate in dance and drama workshops with experienced professional practitioners. These classes and workshops enable the participants to learn new skills, explore their imaginations and create quality collaborative drama and dance pieces in a social, fun and creative environment. If you share our vision and are inspired by the fantastic opportunities we are creating for older people in our area then please support our Christmas Challenge match funding campaign.
8 Your turn:
Checklist: Does your message include:
A first person story or quote, ideally from the perspective of your beneficiary/ies?
The challenge or issue that your project is addressing? (the dragon)
What you are doing to address it? (the quest)
The person or people who will do it (the knight)
The fact that donations can be doubled?
A clear ask?
A high quality image
Check out Part 3 (page 19) for more on your fundraising proposition
Promotional Channels
There are lots of different ways to get your message out to your audience and you need to be prepared to communicate across multiple channels. To maximise your efforts during the campaign, it’s crucial to think about where your target audience accesses information and the best way to communicate with them.
Don’t forget how you already communicate with your supporters – website, direct mail, emails, telephone, meetings, events, social media etc. You will need to communicate your message in multiple ways throughout your campaign – but avoid bombarding your supporters and losing donors. 9 Remember you are driving your audience to your project page so make you have added media such as photos and video. Your website should also have prominent content about the campaign. Incorporate the messaging from your campaign, ensure there is information on your home page and within your ‘support us’ section.
Email: this is an important part of successful campaigns. Within your campaign you should plan several targeted emails to relevant supporters. You should consider your different audience segments and ensure a tailored message – don’t send the same message to everyone.
Think hard about a short, attractive subject line that will avoid the spam-filter Personalise each message, e.g. Dear Jane Keep it simple; include just one straightfoward ask
Direct mail: some of your supporters may not be online or may prefer to receive information in the post. Make sure you include at least one mailing to these supporters in the run up to the campaign. As with your emails, ensure there is a personalised message, a clear call to action and direct them to how they can donate.
Remember that the campaign only accepts online donations so any offline communications will need to have a clear Another idea could be to hold call to action to donate online and you an event and set up donation need to be confident that these donors will stations to enable those who respond in this way. You can personalise are less tech savvy to make a and shorten your project URLs to make it donation in person. easier to remember, from your Summer Give dashboard.
10 Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Pinterest, Instagram – all fantastic ways to share your message. However not all platforms will be suitable for all campaigns.
What social media tools are we already using and have a presence on? What social media tools does our target audience use? How can we use social media to encourage people to share our message and inspire their networks to donate?
Events: an excellent opportunity to tell You could give leaflets or ‘Save the your supporters about the Summer Date’ cards at an event you are Give and let them know how to take holding in the run up to the part. campaign. They don’t detract from the focus of the event but can Save the date! remind people of a new and different initiative coming up soon.
Personal approaches: these are particularly You should plan your personal important for those who you are asking to approaches well in advance of make major or lead gifts to your campaign. the campaign launch date: Past participants have used individual consider what their motivations approaches as part of their campaign are and ensure you incorporate promotion and it’s one of the most popular this into your ask. methods.
Press: the press is interested in stories that resonate with the public. Earlier in this guide we spoke about creating a compelling campaign proposition. Make sure you draw out emotive, current and topical examples so that your story is more likely to be picked up.
Consider who will be interested in your news story – it could be local press, sector press or national press. 11 Your turn:
It’s time to take stock of what communications tools you have available to meet your campaign objectives.
You can use this table to identify the channels you already have available to you, which ones you might consider, and which ones your audiences are likely to enage with.
Would Have this Audience segment and how to Channel consider? yes/no? use Yes/no
Yes - 1000 on Ensure we exclude current and Email Yes mailing list lapsed donors - different message.
Check out Part 4 (page 22) for more on the different communications tools you can use to get your message heard.
12 Planning
A little planning goes a long way and can make all the difference to the success of your campaign. There are some hard deadlines you need to plan around, for example the campaign start and end date.
However there will be a range of other milestones, tasks and deadlines which need to be managed effectively. Use project management tools such as a shared calendar, spreadsheet or online plan where tasks are allocated to team members, with due dates and key dependencies highlighted.
Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of some of the things to consider in your planning:
Pre-launch: Save the dates Messaging, stories, content development Target audiences, database segmentation, research press lists Send email/s in the weeks leading up to the campaign Donors can start browsing charities a week before the campaign launch so you might want to coincide an email with this date
Launch-day communications: Get some momentum going by getting people excited about the launch! Website: campaign web page, banner or slider on home page Blog post / news on website Targeted emails to different audiences Social media posts: at least 3-4 per platform you are using Press: press release and pitch email or phone script Share live updates on social media Updates of relevant news, campaign progress Revised messaging to convey greater urgency and excitement as the campaign progresses Remind people what the potential outcome is once the campaign is over
13 Thanking and following up: Donor thank you messages and acknowledgement Agreement on how Pledgers will be thanked and recognised privately, and if appropriate, publicly. Agreement on how major donors will be thanked (ideally a personal telephone call) and by who Secondary call to action: inviting donors to share their donation on social media and to tell your story Follow up with donors after the campaign with feedback on its results and the impact of their donation (ideally from the voice of someone who has benefited from your work) Thank your match funders (Champion & Pledgers) and if appropriate, recognise them publicly Thank you!
TIP: make sure to follow up with everyone to whom you have communicated within a few days of your campaign closing. Share the results of your campaign, thank them for their support and explain the difference it will make to your beneficiaries. Include photos, videos and quotes to bring your message to life.
Monitoring and evaluation
How you will measure whether you have achieved your campaign objectives? You will be able to review donation data from your campaign dashboard, however, depending on what your objectives were, you may need to consider additional analysis. For example comparing donors to the campaign against your wider donor database to assess whether you engaged any new or lapsed donors. You can view your live progress in your campaign Dashboard' and can download donation data for analysis from the 'Your Donations' tab in your Big Give account area.
14 Use trackable URLs for different channels so you can assess the effectiveness of each. Set up some simple social media tracking and analysis for any hashtags you are using and other engagement with your accounts.
Your turn:
Working backwards (and forwards) from the launch date, develop a skeletal milestone plan identifying key milestones, completion dates for these milestones and who is responsible for completion.
Milestone Date Responsible
15 PART 2: Audiences and Networks
Treasure Mapping
The purpose of treasure mapping is to maximise your fundraising efforts by identifying those sources of support, connections and influence within your networks. It also seeks to identify links to cold contacts on your ‘wish list’. You have already secured your pledges so we hope that you have considered who you were saving for the online phase.
The Treasure Mapping process works best with a team of people; the more diverse your team members, the more diverse the Treasure Map. You may want to include your Board as well.
Key steps:
1 Step One: Begin by establishing different categories of people and networks who would be supportive of your cause. e.g. existing donors, past donors, trustees, volunteers, beneficiaries, personal contacts such as friends & family. 2 Step Two: Add the contacts that you and your team have in each category. Make sure to identify who has the relationship with the contact where relevant. If the contact is a corporate or other organisation, try to identify who in that organisation you have the relationship with.
3 Step Three: Add your 'wish list' in each category; these are cold contacts with whom you would like to develop a relationship. 4 Step Four: Identify the different connections between those who are warm to your charity and those who are known or on your wish lists. If the connection is definite (strong) use a line to connect, if the connection is less definite or only assumed use a dotted (dashed) line.
16 Mapping existing networks and a wish list is only the first step in the process. For significant prospects, you should consider:
What will they give?
You need to consider first and foremost what level of financial support you want from this donor. Are they a potential major donor and would you like them to make a lead gift to inspire others?
In addition to donating to your campaign, there are other ways that they can support you:
Passion – can they inspire others to donate to your campaign? Connections – do they have fantastic links and networks to help get your message out there? Influence – are they influential amongst your target audience? Expertise – could they give you some pro-bono expertise to help you plan and deliver your campaign, for example marketing and PR support?
Why will they give?
Consider the donor's motivations for donating to you. These can be complex and it’s not always easy to know, but it can be helpful to consider the profile of your supporter in order to target and tailor your message: Have they given before? You could connect them back to the impact of previous giving. What level have they given at before? Could the opportunity to double their donation inspire them to give at a slightly higher level? Do they have a strong affinity with your cause? Perhaps it strikes a chord because they have been affected personally. Do they support a particular campaign or programme of yours? If so you could target your messaging around this particular initiative.
17 You will then be able to prioritise their potential support depending on how connected they are to the organisation and their capacity and propensity to give, before designing appropriate ways of eliciting the support they can provide.
TIP: When identifying your audiences, you should also consider how best to reach them – how do they access content, where do they tend to do it, and when? This will help you focus your promotional efforts (see Part 4) more effectively.
Your Turn:
My Charity
18 PART 3: Developing your Proposition and Stories
You’ll remember in Part 1 we discussed using the Remember that you Fairytale structure to develop an effective proposition, can use the and the importance of a clear call to action that directs proposition across your donors to your project page. different channels Remember that a key part of your campaign message is the according to what fact that DONATIONS CAN BE DOUBLED so make sure that suits your audience donors know about this. best. Telling Great Stories As part of your campaign planning, you want to develop a ‘bank’ of content and stories that you can use to engage and inspire your audiences. Exactly what content you use will very much depend on your objectives, audience and promotional channels, but in all cases the following structural elements can be helpful: Captivate: get your audience’s attention. This could be a quote, a question, a powerful image or a killer fact. Engage: keep the interest. This is where your writing skills become very important. Having captivated your reader, you need to keep them engaged. Keep your stories succinct and ensure you are only communicating the most important information to persuade your audience. Passion: you will convey passion by telling the story of an individual, their needs, the obstacles that prevent these needs being addressed and how you tackle those obstacles. Think about the fairytale we discussed previously (see page 7 to refresh your memory). Call to action: end with a powerful call to action that relates back to that individual. Keep it Visual Remember to include rich content such as images and video in your emails and social media – this helps to engage your audience. You can add media to your project page by:
- logging into your Big Give charity account - going to the Your Projects tab - clicking Add Media. 19 Next are some examples from past Big Give match funding campaign participants.
CASE STUDY Check out this example from Royal Holloway and Bedford College, who raised £65k in a recent Big Give match funding campaign: Good imagery to get attention An individual’s story – keeping donors engaged Two prominent calls to action (‘Double my donation’ ) linking direct to their Big Give project page Three reminders within the copy that the donation will be doubled The campaign narrative, imagery and message was replicated across other channels including social media, posters, at events & cards available on campus and given out at meetings
CASE STUDY Jamie's Farm updated their social media banners with this cheerful, eye-catching image:
Positive and empowering image of Clear instructions for how to beneficiaries to get attention donate Prominent reminder of the doubling of Gives donors a clear donations understanding of what their gift will go towards and when
20 Your Turn:
Think about an email you will send during your campaign. What will you include in the following elements?
Captivate Engage
Passion Call to action
Your Turn:
Having identified the key elements, can you craft this into a succinct message?
21 PART 4: Promoting your Campaign
In Part 1 we briefly covered the range of promotional channels available to get your message out there. Here we will give some further tips and pointers for key digital, social and offline tools you can use to promote your campaign.
TIP: Explore your dashboard for additional marketing resources to promote the campaign. To access your dashboard, log in to your Big Give account and click on the black campaign dashboard button
Website
Your website should be your starting point for any promotional activity. When to use it:
Always! You should update your website with prominent information about the Christmas Challenge on your home page and in the support us section. Keep this updated in the run up to and during the campaign. Keep the content dynamic – you could post news items on progress updates, share case studies, and include a countdown timer.
How to use it:
Ensure your content includes your key campaign messaging and drives people to your Christmas Challenge project/donation page once the campaign is live. Remember that donations are not doubled before the campaign opens, so you should avoid sharing the project/donation page too early and make it clear to donors that donations are only doubled during the campaign.
22 PART 4: Promoting your Campaign
In Part 1 we briefly covered the range of promotional channels available to get your message out there. Here we will give some further tips and pointers for key digital, social and offline tools you can use to promote your campaign.
TIP: Explore your dashboard for additional marketing resources to promote the campaign. To access your dashboard, log in to your Big Give account and click on the black campaign dashboard button
Website
Your website should be your starting point for any promotional activity. When to use it:
Always! You should update your website with prominent information about the Christmas Challenge on your home page and in the support us section. Keep this updated in the run up to and during the campaign. Keep the content dynamic – you could post news items on progress updates, share case studies, and include a countdown timer.
How to use it:
Ensure your content includes your key campaign messaging and drives people to your Christmas Challenge project/donation page once the campaign is live. Remember that donations are not doubled before the campaign opens, so you should avoid sharing the project/donation page too early and make it clear to donors that donations are only doubled during the campaign.
23 Useful tools:
Google analytics: helps you understand how people are coming to your website, what they do while they are there and where they go afterwards! Nibbler: a free tool for testing how good your website is, and what you can do to improve it. Check accessibility, SEO, social media, compliance and more. Addthis.com: gives you the code to create ‘share this’ buttons (to Facebook, Twitter etc.) for your website. Includes analytics on how much the buttons are used.
Tips for driving traffic to your site:
Adwords SEO
You can use Google Adwords to SEO is short for Search Engine create adverts that appear when Optimisation. In essence, you want people search for certain keywords. to ensure that your content is For charities, Google offer this for maximised for SEO, so that people free via Google Grants (in kind listings can find it via search engines. Think up to the value of $10,000 USD per carefully about the words that you month). To find out more about how use in titles, subheadings and links. Google Ads work click here.
24 Email
Email communication is a very important part of successful campaigns. This is rated as one of the most successful channels for previous participating charities.
When to use it:
Plan several targeted emails to relevant supporters, this could include: a pre-launch ‘save the date’, an email on launch day, a mid-way progress update and a final progress update and thank you
How to use it:
Review previous sections of this guide on your proposition to plan your email content Look at your charity donor database to see who you can target and how to segment the list You can also see who has previously donated via the Big Give – you can view this in the ‘Your Donations’ tab in your account area Consider your different audience segments and ensure a tailored message – don’t send the same message to everyone Come up with short, attractive subject lines that avoid the spam filter Personalise your messages – use names, e.g. ‘Dear Jane’ rather than ‘Dear supporter’ Don’t confuse people – give them just one thing to do Make sure your links all drive people directly to your project page once the campaign is live Provide a clear call to action: DOUBLE YOUR DONATION Look at the emails that get sent out automatically - thank yous for donations, reminders for events etc. Can you include a P.S. at the end of these emails to remind people about the campaign? Why not send an email getting donors to register interest and then follow up with the direct link once the campaign is open?
25 Useful tools:
MailChimp - an email marketing platform that has a free account option. Touchstone subject line analyser - helpful to get past that crucial first step of people opening your email! Litmus Scope - lets you view desktop, mobile or text-only versions of emails. Yamm - a simple tool for sending bulk mail merged emails.
Video
Don't tell, show! Videos are probably the most impactful content you can use to support a fundraising ask. When to use it:
It can be helpful to have your video content ready to go in advance of the campaign Plan video into your existing website and social activity You could also use videos as part of an event or direct ask
How to use it:
Create a short video showing the impact donors have made or will make Feature a beneficiary demonstrating the results Feature a donor explaining how happy she was with what her donation helped achieve Videos can be talking heads, interviews, vox pops (interviews with people, e.g. donors), or animations using still photos.
Useful tools:
Vimeo a nd YouTube are the two most popular (and free) video hosting sites. Depending on what your website is built on (e.g. WordPress), you may be able to embed videos direct to your page. Check out what plugins are available. Magisto.com is a good free app to create animations using still photos. 26 Facebook
Great for personal stories and sharing content, and providing live progress updates on your campaign.
When to use it: Facebook is often a more personal engagement so encourage your followers to share their stories Make sure you have 4-5 posts scheduled across the duration of your campaign (e.g. pre-launch, launch, mid-point and end)
How to use it:
Have shareable content – you want those who like your page to share your messages with their own networks. Use images and videos in your posts – these will generate more engagement and interaction. Use links to direct followers to your project page. Encourage donors to share on social media when they have donated in order to spread the word and encourage others to do so – there will be buttons available on the Big Give.
Useful tools:
Images: Canva, GIMP and PicMonkey all allow you to create and edit images iStockand ShutterStock are sources of stock photos if you don’t have high- quality images of your own (some free, some paid). Video: Your smartphone! You can also use Microsoft Movie Maker to edit your video. Facebook advertising – this can be cost effective and a great way to reach out to new audiences who may not be aware of your charity or your campaign.
You can set up campaigns and target particular demographics You can boost a post to reach more people 27 Facebook posts using media
Short burst messages to a wide audience. Also useful for regular, live updates on progress throughout your campaign.
When to use it:
You can post more frequently with Twitter – on launch day you might consider scheduling several tweets and you should be tweeting regularly throughout your campaign
How to use it:
Be succinct. 140 characters isn’t much – and less is more when it comes to Twitter. As with Facebook, use videos and images to stand out and increase engagement. Use any well-known supporters you might have to promote the campaign by asking them to tweet or retweet.
28 Examples of celeb and influencer tweets:
Useful tools:
Link shorteners such as bit.ly, owl.ly, or Tiny URL to keep within the maximum 140 characters. Hootsuite or TweetDeck are useful for scheduling and monitoring tweets. Followerwonk - a free tool to help you find out which of your followers has the largest following.
Other Social Tools
LinkedIn: share updates via your charity’s LinkedIn page and encourage your team to share updates. Remember that LinkedIn is a business focused site so you could encourage organisations as well as individuals to donate.
Instagram: If you use Instagram, you can share compelling images and make use of the Big Give’s images and logos for the campaign. Don’t forget the hashtags in the text.
TIP: Want to know more? Check out these great guides from KnowHow NonProfit:
How charities can use Twitter How to improve your charity’s Facebook page How charities can get more out of LinkedIn How charities can use YouTube How your charity can use Instagram 29 Personal Approaches
Personal approaches are important, particularly for those who you are asking to make major or lead gifts to your campaign. Past participants have used individual approaches as part of their campaign promotion and it’s one of the most popular methods.
When to use them: Be strategic: consider any individuals you are having conversations with about making donations in the coming year and offer them the opportunity to do this during the campaign to have it matched. Personal approaches can be resource intensive so think about prioritising those you hope to make major gifts to your campaign. Plan your approaches well in advance of the campaign launch date.
How to use them: Consider what your supporter’s motivations are and ensure you incorporate this into your ask. Think about who is best in your organisation to make the approach. For example it might be the charity manager/director or a Trustee. Remember to highlight the value of doubling their gift. Recent research we conducted with RBS and Charities Trust confimed that donors can give up to 2.5 times more with match funding.
see Part 2 (page 16 of this guide) for more on motivations.
Direct Mail
Direct mail can be another way of reaching your POSTAGE supporters and an alternative to email. STAMP When to use it: Best when your target audience is more likely to engage with you via mail than email. This might be only one segment of your audience. If relevant, plan at least one mailing in the run up to the campaign – remember to allow time for post to reach people, you don’t want them getting it on the last day! 30 How to use it:
Remember to include a clear call to action and an easily memorable link to your project page. Consider sending a postcard – this doesn’t rely on them opening the envelope! Consider topping and tailing the mailing with a personal (handwritten) note.
Press
The press is interested in stories that will resonate with their readership, whether that is local press, sector press or national publications. It could be a newspaper, radio or internet page.
When to use it: You can tie in press activity with the launch of your campaign to try and reach wider audiences than those you are already in contact with. Check the publication and copy deadlines with your target publications well in advance of the campaign so you can schedule your press activity.
How to use it: It is best to email a press release through to the news desk, which gives all the information in a short and simple way. Include as an attachment and copy into the body of your email as they may not be accessing it on a desktop PC. It can be helpful to call in advance so that they are expecting your press release. Your press release should be short (ideally 1 page, no more than 2). The first paragraph is the most important. If you want to add extra context about your organisation, do this at the end. Include a story of an individual, ideally with images to give the personal interest element. Think about the “newsworthiness” of your story – journalists are sent press releases every day, so how can you make yours stand out? Remember to include your name and telephone number on the press release in case journalists want to contact you for more information. A mobile phone number would be best. Include an image they can use alongside the story as this makes it much more attractive – ideally one including a beneficiary. 31 TIP: To make sure you have included all the details in your release, check that it answers the following five Ws- Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Contact the Big Give team via [email protected] if you’d like Useful tools: advice on your draft press release
MyNewsDesk provides tools to distribute your press release and also training and support. It comes with a fee though. Check out these great tips for charity PR on a small budget on the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network.
CASE STUDY In a recent Big Give match funding campaign, Wigan and Leigh Hospice secured coverage in their local paper, the Wigan Recorder. The publication date is the day before the campaign starts, it talks about the goal of raising £25,000 and includes a call to action to the people of Wigan and Leigh, with a quote and images.
Events
Events are an excellent opportunity to tell your supporters about the campaign and let them know how they can take part. When to use it:
You can tell people about the campaign at existing events you have planned. You could host an event during the campaign, for example a coffee morning with ‘donation stations’ for those supporters who are less likely to donate directly online. 32 How to use it:
Give yourself (and your supporters) plenty of lead time to plan for your event. You will want to get the date in people’s diaries in advance. Think about what will attract people to your event. Tea and cake is a must – but will they have an update on your work, a chance to hear from one of your beneficiaries or from a member of the team?
Useful tools:
Eventbrite – an event ticketing system with no cost for free events. Online project management tools such as Asana and Trello offer free versions and are great if you have lots of tasks and people to juggle.
Scheduling your Campaign Communications
You should develop a schedule of your planned communication activity in the lead up to, during and after the campaign.
TIP: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Think about the timing as well as the Ask colleagues what they wish dates of your scheduling. You could look they’d done differently in the back at past emails – what time of day past. tended to get the most opens and click- throughs? When do you see greater engagement on on social media?
You can also pre-plan your key messages and ensure these are integrated across the different platforms you are using. See the example on the next page:
33 Example:
Phase Website Email Individual Facebook Twitter approaches
Pre- Countdown Save Meet with Countdown Countdown launch timer on the Mr. Smith one week one week, 3 home page. date and explain and one day days, 1 day Campaign opportunity prior. prior info in is coming up ‘Support Us’ section
Your turn:
Using the grid below, start to sketch out your communications plan:
Phase Website Email Individual Facebook Twitter approaches
Pre- launch
Launch
During campaign
Post- campaign
34 PART 5: Final Top 10 Tips
1. Segment your audience and deliver tailored messages to each audience, using the channels that they prefer – go where your audience is.
2. Preparation is key – invest time in planning and you will set yourself up for the best chance of success.
3. Use powerful stories and images to captivate your audience and engage them in your work.
4. Ensure a clear call to action in each and every communication.
5. It can be helpful to include example donations that connect to impact in your campaign messaging. For example, one charity uses the following on their website:
Just £5 could help transport a family to somewhere safe to sleep tonight. Giving £14 could help us settle a child who’s been relocated into a new school. Giving £30 could help us answer three urgent calls to our helpline.
6. Be positive in your messaging. Focus on how close you are to your target, not how far away.
7. If this is your second or third experience of a campaign, try adding a new approach that you can test, measure and learn from.
8. Always, always send thank yous and follow up with your audiences to share the success of your campaign – but most importantly, what you are able to do for your beneficiaries as a result of their support.
9. Factor in time during the campaign to review what’s working and try different things if you’re not getting the results you expect. You have a week to reach your target!
10. Don’t forget the # hashtag for the campaign
Remember that supporters can DOUBLE DONATIONS! Consider how you could tie in the doubling of donations to your communications. Check out examples on the next page (ignore the dates which refer to previous campaigns!). 35 Examples
36 ANY QUESTIONS? Get in touch
@BigGive The Big Give