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Event Promotion on a Budget: 3 Low or No Cost Strategies

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While marketing is an essential function for nonprofits, it presents a challenge for organizations with a smaller budget. You have to balance the need to raise awareness and promote events with making every cent count in fulfilling your mission.

The good news? There are many strategies your nonprofit can leverage to get the word out about your nonprofit’s upcoming events without breaking the bank. So whether you’re promoting a charity golf tournament, gala, or other event, here are three ways to do it as cost-effectively as possible.

1. Add Search Engine Optimization to Your Strategy

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to increase its visibility in search results. It involves using keywords and optimizing content to align with search algorithms so you rank higher on search results pages. Adding SEO to your nonprofit’s digital marketing strategy is a win-win. Why? The top result on the search engine results page is ten times more likely to earn site visits than a page in the tenth spot. And best of all, depending on your current tech stack, you might not have to spend a dime!

Pay attention to these factors that impact your website’s SEO-friendliness:

  • Accessibility. Be sure to add alt text to images, subtitles to any audio or video, and sufficient color contrast to pages. This allows more people to access your site, and boosts your search ranking.
  • Site-wide consistency. Your nonprofit’s entire site should use SEO best practices, not just a specific page or microsite for your event. Perform an audit of your website to determine which pages need improvement so there’s SEO consistency across the site.

There are a number of free online SEO assessment tools, courses, and resources available for nonprofits looking to improve their search rankings, or you can work with an agency that specializes in SEO for nonprofits.

2. Leverage Google Ad Grants

While SEO is a marketing best practice, nonprofits have an advantage when it comes to the Google search engine results page: Google Ad Grants. These grants can help supplement your broader SEO strategies to help you jump to the top of the search results. The grant provides nonprofits with $10,000 of free advertising space on top of Google for keywords relevant to your cause. Consider these key benefits from Getting Attention’s guide to Google Ad Grants:

The benefits of Google Ad Grants (as explained below).

Alt text: The benefits of Google Ad Grants (as explained below). 

 

    • Targeted advertising. You can target keywords relevant to the event you’re hosting. For instance, let’s say you’re hosting a charity golf tournament. Use keywords to attract local golfers and supporters of your cause to drive traffic to your golf tournament’s event website.
  • Data-driven insights. Robust analytics in the Google Ads platform can help you understand what’s working and what isn’t in your campaigns so you can make adjustments as needed.
  • Ability to compete with bigger nonprofits. The grant helps level the playing field for smaller nonprofits to compete with bigger organizations, boosting visibility for your work and getting you in front of potential donors.
  • Decreased financial risk. Unlike paid ad campaigns, there is no out-of-pocket cost to use Google Ad Grants, so there’s no financial risk to your nonprofit’s bottom line.

Develop a Peer-to-Peer Program

Your supporters are a secret weapon to help promote your upcoming events. Use your vast network to spread the word by:

  • Creating visually appealing infographics supporters can share on their social media channels that encourage potential attendees to sign up. For instance, if you’re hosting an auction, infographics can tease or highlight bigger ticket items that will be included.
  • Providing talking points or copy/paste verbiage for your supporters to use. This helps create consistent messaging and gives them the confidence to recruit folks from their personal and professional networks to get involved.
  • Offering incentives for supporters who successfully get people to attend your event, such as a complimentary registration, branded merchandise, or even gift cards to local stores or restaurants.

 

Logan Foote head shotLogan Foote, Sales and Education Manager at GolfStatus

Logan Foote has been around the game of golf nearly his entire life. He first picked up a club at the age of four, and despite thousands of attempts, he’s never had a hole-in-one. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and pursued a career in sales. Logan came to GolfStatus in 2017, where he channels his passion for golf to help nonprofits raise money through the game.

As Sales and Education Manager, Logan oversees a team that works with thousands of nonprofit clients to maximize their golf fundraisers with the GolfStatus platform, and shares his golf fundraising expertise through GolfStatus’s free educational webinars. He lives and golfs in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife and three sons.

 

Fundraising Tuesday: How Much Communication Is Too Much?

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A guest post by Evan Appleby at ForOurSchool.org

Effective fundraising communication is a skill that requires finesse. While over-communication risks overwhelming your audience, under-communication can mean missed opportunities. Whether you are spearheading a school math-a-thon or championing a non-profit, finding the right balance is essential to your success.

Know Your Audience

Recognize that not everyone is the same, and the right amount of communication can vary depending on the recipient.

Segmentation: Group people based on their preferences. Tailor your message and the frequency of your messaging to what is most effective for each one. For instance, some donors may appreciate weekly updates, while others may only want to be notified about campaign milestones.

Preferred Channels: Some people respond better to email, direct mail, or social media, while others prefer text messages or in-person interactions. Since the type of messaging can vary by medium, if you can determine which medium is right for each group you want to reach, you can adapt the frequency of the messaging to be aligned with the message.

Motivation: Understand why people choose to be involved with your event or organization. Are they passionate about literacy (in the case of a read-a-thon)? Are they driven by community spirit or personal connections? Knowing the message that you want to convey can also help determine the right channel to use.

Diversify Communication Channels

While bombarding potential donors or participants with 10 emails in a week is rarely effective, embracing a mix of communication methods can make frequent outreach more palatable and yield better results.

Email: Ideal for regular updates, campaign progress reports, and impact stories.

Text Messages: Quick, concise reminders or urgent calls to action.

Social Media: Great for announcements, or upcoming events.

Direct Mail: Tangible and personal—great for major donor appeals

Posters: Use these at events, community centers, or local businesses to build awareness

In-Person: Attend events, host meetings, or set-up tables to establish a more personal connection.

Navigate Among Competing Voices

Within a school or in the nonprofit ecosystem, the attention of participants or donors can be fleeting due to the many competing voices.

Other Fundraisers: Collaborate rather than compete. Share insights, coordinate efforts, and avoid duplicating messages.

Internal Stakeholders: Teachers, program managers, and board members communicate with donors too. Align your messages to avoid overwhelming supporters.

External Influences: Consider external events (e.g., national crises, holidays) that may impact your communication schedule.

Measure and Adapt

As you formulate your communication strategy, keep room for changes based on performance and feedback.

Metrics: Track open rates, click-through rates, and response. Adjust based on data.

Feedback: Listen to your audience. If they express feeling overwhelmed, it’s time to pull back.

Testing and Adaptability: Experiment with different communication frequencies and channels. Learn from what works and what doesn’t.

Effective fundraising communication is intentional, empathetic, and adaptable. Remember, sometimes saying less can yield a more significant impact.

Evan Appleby head shoEvan Appleby is the CEO of ForOurSchool.org, a Math-A-Thon and Read-A-Thon platform focused on enhancing math skills, promoting literacy, and fostering community spirit. Through ForOurSchool.org, Evan is committed to not only raising essential funds for schools and organizations but also creating enjoyable learning experiences with real-world impact. When not working on the platform, you can usually find Evan on a basketball court or volunteering at his daughters’ gym classes.

Fundraising Tuesday: Is Direct Mail Useful for Nonprofits? Here’s What to Know

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A guest post by Joshua Meyer of Bloomerang

As far as nonprofit marketing is concerned, it doesn’t get more classic than direct mail. Large-scale direct mail has been a staple of nonprofit communications for decades. However, with the dominance of online fundraising, you may be wondering if direct mail is still worth the investment.

16% of donors still prefer to give using direct mail, second to online donations, but still a decent portion of nonprofit supporters. This guide will explore the benefits of keeping direct mail in your fundraising strategy, along with best practices for achieving a high return on investment (ROI) via direct mail.

Benefits of Direct Mail for Nonprofits

Direct mail empowers nonprofits with the following advantages:

  • Offers a high return on investment (ROI). Direct mail has an average response rate of 5.3%, compared to 0.1% for email, 0.6% for paid search ads, and 0.2% for online display advertising.
  • Helps your nonprofit stand out. Receiving a personally addressed letter makes supporters feel more individually recognized and helps cut through the digital noise.
  • Appeals to multiple senses. People are more likely to remember information that they process using more than one sense. With direct mail, supporters can process your nonprofit’s message using their senses of vision and touch.
  • Helps connect with older audiences. Research shows older adults prefer receiving more traditional forms of communication, such as printed materials and verbal communications.

Many supporters still feel a sense of excitement at receiving a letter personally addressed with their name. Direct mail can provide a compelling look into your nonprofit’s activities and reach donors outside the busy digital environment.

Tips for Leveraging Direct Mail Effectively

Just like any marketing strategy, direct mail requires you to have a concrete plan that enables you to take a thoughtful and strategic approach. You’ll have the most success with your direct mail strategy when you incorporate the following best practices:

Alt: List of tips for leveraging direct mail effectively for nonprofits (explained in the text below)

Personalize your outreach

80% of consumers are more likely to shop from a brand that offers personalized experiences. The same is true for your nonprofit’s supporters—they appreciate personalized marketing messages that speak to their unique interests.

Personalize your direct mail by following these tips:

  • Address letters with supporters’ names.
  • Reference past interactions.
  • Have your executive director sign letters.

For example, let’s say you’re sending out invitations for your nonprofit’s annual silent auction event. Here’s an example of a letter you might send:

Dear Angela, 

Thank you for your past donation of $100 on September 15, 2023, and your participation in our Spring 5K and Fun Run. Because of your generosity and past event attendance, we wanted to personally invite you to our annual New Year’s Eve Gala and Silent Auction on December 31, 2023. Please RSVP using the link or QR code at the bottom of this page. Hope to see you there!

Best wishes,

[Your executive director’s signature]

According to Bloomerang’s donor management software guide, a powerful donor management system is your most effective tool for personalization. Use your donor management system to store donors’ personal information and implement it into your direct mail outreach.

Tell stories

Stories tend to be easier to remember and more engaging than facts alone. They help audience members build an emotional connection to your cause. Implement these tips when telling stories via direct mail:

  • Write in a skimmable format. Use short paragraphs and break up text blocks using bullet points.
  • Incorporate visuals. Images that show people’s faces tend to work best for sparking an emotional connection.
  • Spotlight key messages using bolding or underlining. Make sure donors can understand your main message with just a glance.

Highlight one main protagonist in your story, such as a community member who received support from your nonprofit or the reason a board member joined your board. This practice keeps your storytelling more focused and allows readers to feel emotionally connected to your main character.

Leverage multichannel fundraising

Fundraising research shows that marketing campaigns that used direct mail and one or more digital media elements experienced a 118% boost in response rate compared to those that used direct mail alone.

Combine direct mail outreach with digital fundraising initiatives to create cohesion across your marketing channels and offer multiple donor touchpoints. For example, include a QR code or vanity URL on your letters or postcards that sends supporters to your online donation form.

This helps keep your message top-of-mind for donors while reaching them in unique ways that don’t overwhelm them with excessive communications.

Keep your content donor-focused

Your letters should stay focused on your supporters themselves and their accomplishments, not your nonprofit. Use mostly second-person words, such as “you” and “your” instead of first-person words like “our” or “I.” This distinction shows donors that your nonprofit couldn’t complete its mission without supporters’ tireless efforts and involvement.

For example, instead of saying:

Our nonprofit just reached its 2023 fundraising goal! 

Say:

Your generous support helped raise $30,000 this year for animal welfare!

Run your copy through a communications audit tool to ensure readability and donor-centricity.

Choose metrics to assess progress

Metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) will help you assess your progress and your direct mail strategy’s effectiveness. Track metrics such as:

  • New donor acquisition rate
  • Conversion rates from direct mail (whether for donations, event signups, volunteer registrations, etc.)
  • Direct mail donor retention rate
  • Average direct mail donation amount
  • Direct mail ROI

Make sure to also track donor demographics and characteristics for donors who engage the most with your direct mail messages. You can create a new marketing persona using patterns and trends that emerge in your direct mail audience. This segmentation can help refine your direct mail marketing over time as you learn more about your target audience and design your materials to appeal to their interests.

As you craft your nonprofit’s online fundraising strategy, don’t forget about the role that direct mail can still play in your fundraising success. Direct mail can deliver the additional personal touch many supporters need to take the leap and become donors, volunteers, or advocates.

Author: Joshua Meyer

Joshua Meyer brings more than 20 years of fundraising, volunteer management, and marketing experience to his current role as the VP of Demand Generation for Bloomerang. As a member of the Bloomerang marketing team, Josh manages the organization’s growth marketing efforts. Through his previous roles at the Human Rights Campaign and OneCause, he has a passion for helping to create positive change and helping nonprofits engage new donors and achieve their fundraising goals

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