CREATING A FUNDRAISING PAGE

Having a great fundraising page is critical to the success of your fundraising campaign. If you get it wrong the whole experience will be a struggle but if you get it right you'll find the whole process nice and straightforward. So many runners, just use the template that the fundraising platforms provide and do nothing else. That is not the way to do it. Spend an hour adding some extras and everything could be so different.

Your fundraising page is at the heart of your fundraising efforts but where do you get one from? There are literally hundreds of fundraising platforms around the world and you can set up a page on any of them really easily. But before you start you need to speak with the charity that you're going to raise money for. It's very likely that if you have a guaranteed entry from a charity, that the event will have a contractual relationship with a specific platform that requires the charity runners to use that one and not a competing platform.

Once you know which platform you're going to use then you need to create an account and set up a page. It's all very easy, but it's also very easy to do the bare minimum. You'll get a template when you create a page and it's this template that acts as the default option for so many runners. It shouldn't be so. This is simply the framework that you need to personalise. How?

Detail your story

Give as much information on your charity and why you're running for them. Detail your relationship with the charity, if you have one, and tell everyone why they should support that charity. Don't just rely on the words in the template, use your own.

Add compelling images

Add as many images to the page as the template will allow. Really make it personal. Include pictures of the people that have inspired you to run for this charity and change the images on a regular basis.

Keep it up to date

 Don't just create the page and leave it. This is your shop window. As your training progresses tell people how well you're doing and include mentions of the people who are supporting you.

Change the target

You'll need to see a target amount when you first set up the page. As you get closer to it you must then increase it slightly. If someone sees your page for the first time and you're either past the target or really close to it they won't be that motivated to donate a decent amount. If you look like you still have a long way to go the chances are they will leave a bigger donation. Keep doing this as you get close to a target.

Say thank you

Either on your fundraising page, by social media, email or in person, it's really important to say thank you when donations are made. On some platforms you can send a thank you automatically when a donation is made and that's a good option, which you can then follow up. The more you thank people the more inclined they are to mention you to others.

You've got your page set up and you're making all the required changes, but how do you get people to see it?

Social media

It's so much easier these days to tell people about your fundraising through your social media channels. Put the url of your fundraising page in your Insta bio, include it on your Facebook page, keep tweeting and if you're into TikTok and Snapchat, keep plugging it on those as well. Give your followers regular updates on your channels. If you're in the business world, Linkedin is a great place to drive people from. Make sure when you're thanking people you use these channels to do it. Sharing is key to social media success. The more shares you can get for your related posts the better. Most social platforms have some form of sharing facilities, Find out the most effective and make the most of the tech.

Word of mouth

Don't be scared of telling as many people as you can about what you're doing. Most people are happy to support charities so don't be shy. The monies aren't going to you, they are going to charity, so just be bold and upfront. send them details on text once you've spoken to them.

Email signature

Most of us use email on a daily basis so in addition to any email blasts you do to promote your fundraising activity make sure that you add details of your fundraising page to your email signature. This is a subtle but highly effective way of promoting what you're doing. One click and the recipient will be on your freshly updated page and hopefully a donation follows very quickly afterwards!

Media

Talk to your local media. They may be inundated at certain times of year, but it's always worth contacting your local newspapers, radio station, or even better bloggers and new sites. If they run a story it's just a click to your page.

Build a website

If you're really keen you can build a website to promote what you're doing. There are so many third party website builder optionS now and it doesn't have to cost you a great deal if you go for the basic monthly option. If you have to raise a huge sum for say a New York or Boston entry this may well be the way to do it. Then you can include links to your fundraising page, your social channels and include as much copy and as many images as you like.

Good luck!