Fundraising With Social Media

Sites like Facebook and Twitter are good for interacting with friends, but they can also be good for your fundraising efforts. You just need to be careful how you use them.

If you simply blast out messages saying "Send money" you won't get very far, but if you use your Twitter and Facebook time to let the world know about the work you're doing, you'll create interest and attract new donors.

For instance, if you're in animal rescue, you can write about successful rescues, the thrill of reuniting a lost pet with its family, or the satisfaction of adopting a pet into a new home.

Of course, you can also write about cases of abandonment or cruelty - because they stir people's blood and might spur them to take action - by donating to your work.

Whatever your cause, if you write about how you and your organization are making a difference, you'll attract interest. And of course, with every few messages you should invite those strangers to visit your website - perhaps for "the rest of the story."

If you set up a Facebook account for your non-profit and encourage all your members and supporters to join you, you can also use social media as a bulletin board that gets delivered straight to their in-boxes. What better way to remind them of meetings and other upcoming events.

Blogs are another way to let the world know about the good work you're doing - and a blog can have a "give" button for those who feel compelled to generosity by the stories you tell.

Here is where you can become more specific in talking about the work. But don't just give the dry facts. Instead, tell a story that pulls people in.

For instance, if I was telling about the time our group rescued 27 abandoned dogs in one day I might begin with: "The temperature was 6 above and I was stretched out on the couch with a hot cup of tea and a box of tissues when the phone rang. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and the last thing I wanted to do was get up to answer the phone, let alone leave my warm house."

On your blog, you can add enough detail to make the readers feel like they were there with you - and you can spark their emotions. You can even talk about specific amounts of money you need for specific reasons.

If you're working on a project you could say "We're almost there! Only $213 to go and we'll have enough funds to provide (whatever it is.)"

If you haven't started using social media to promote your non-profit cause yet, why not start today? The perfect donors might be waiting to read your messages.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter who specializes in making people feel good about donating to worthy causes.

She has extensive experience in writing fundraising letters and is available for fundraising plan creation and editing services.

Visit her at http://www.marte-cliff.com/fundraising. While you're there, sign up for her fundraising ezine.

Because many small non-profits need but can't afford professional copywriting services, Marte has written an e-book to fill the gap. "The Fundraising Primer" offers copywriting advice as well as tips for getting started on the right foot.

Learn all about it at http://www.marte-cliff.com/fundraising-help.html