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Want to make sure you raise as much money as possible? Part 7 of our Guide on Running a Successful Raffle is all about promoting your event and fundraiser to ensure you get the most out of your efforts.
Often, raffles are held as part of a bigger event; in a summer fair, christmas party or themed event night, so to increase your chances of selling more tickets, you need to make sure people attend the event.
It’s important that your existing supporters know about your event as well as informing potential new supporters to join in on your fundraising. This is where promoting your event can increase the amount of people attending your event because it gets the message widespread around the community. Don’t think about promoting your event as marketing and salesy, but think about it as communicating your message and spreading the word on your event.
The methods you choose to promote you event will heavily depend on your budget and time scale, this is why we have included a variety of options for every possibility. Often, combining various promoting options can give you the best chance of success so take a look at our ideas and see which options work best for you and your organisation.
Promoting an event using posters & flyers is a classic, tried and tested method to help spread the word. You can easily include all your key information on a printed flyer and poster to ensure that, all that see it are aware of your raffle and fundraiser.
Printed Material Top Tips
Great graphics will help you stand out from the crowd and grab your reader’s attention so make sure your posters are eye catching and full of great images.
You can easily reach a large audiences if your posters & flyers are distributed in the correct areas. Think about places that your existing supporters and potential supporters will be. Where are the busiest areas in your office / school, do you have a communal area, do you have the budget to print them out across your town?
Designing and printing flyers and posters could potentially be costly, although there are always ways you can improvise for your budget. Get creative and get your colleagues, pupils or volunteers to create the designs for you. Not only will they be free but they’ll also be completely unique! You may even be lucky and receive free printing credit from your local shop as a gesture for charity.
Print has always been an effective way to advertise an event, this is because no matter the size or scale of the event, there is always something that’s affordable and impactful.
Word of mouth is not only the cheapest but perhaps the easiest and most effective way of making sure everyone knows about your event. Often, when you’re passionate about a cause, you tend to talk about any upcoming events or achievements anyway, which is why word of mouth is so easy to do. You simply have to talk, and talk to anyone that will listen!
Word of Mouth Top Tips
You need to make sure the information is spread further than your existing, loyal supporters to new, potential people. You could try talking at a local event, to your local paper or to any local celebrities or industry experts who may have a strong influence on your audience. Don’t be afraid to tell your local high street shops about your event as well and perhaps you could leave some tickets with the staff to buy and pick up the stubs and donations at a later date.
You can always combine word of mouth of traditional print. Always carry flyers around with you so that if you get talking to someone who is interested, give them a flyer as a reminder so they don’t forget the key information.
Social media is essentially using a word of mouth method but in an online world. Promoting your event on a social media platform can remove the restrictions of geographical location and allow you to increase your audience. Even if your event is local, if you give them a way they can donate or sponsor you online, it may persuade them to support you even if they can’t physically attend.
Social Media Top Tips
Facebook and Twitter are 2 great social media platforms that allow you to create profiles, post content and engage with your supporters online. You can create online event invitations and keep your supporters up to date on the latest news of your organisation. It’s a great place to link to your website or donation site to give them the opportunity to donate online, as this may be more convenient for them and can help you to increase your fundraising efforts even further.
Social media is free, includes minimal effort and can help you to fundraise beyond your current event. So don’t hesitate to get yourself and your organisation signed up. If you need help setting up a Twitter or Facebook page for fundraising then check out our handy guides to get you started. Also check out our latest blog post on why social media can help you fundraise along with some surprising social media facts and stats in our infographic!
If you’re short on time then some marketing methods won’t be applicable. If you’re event is coming up soon, try to concentrate on your immediate supporters to ensure they know when and where the event is held. Be sure to tell all the parents at your school, colleagues in your office or send an email out to your existing supporters email list. It’ll be easier to focus on your primary existing supporters than trying to gain brand new ones.
Essentially promoting your event, regardless of the technique you use, will increase your chances of; increasing your number attendees, selling more raffle tickets, raising more money and securing more long term supporters. So grab a team of people and get spreading your message and promoting your latest event!