MissionFish Home > Fundraise > More Fundraising Ideas > Spread the Word
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Spread the word
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Tell people how to find your listings
- Getting the word out about your listings is one of the best methods to raise more funds. Spread the word to donors with email campaigns, web links, or postcards.
- 1. Add a link on your website
Add a link from your website (preferably your homepage or donate page) that points to your About My Charity page.
- 2. Get featured
If you are promoting eBay for Charity to your supporters, let us know and we could feature you on eBay.
- 3. Use email
Email newsletters are a great way of driving people to your eBay listings. Why not also add a link from your email signature to your charity?
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PR for major auctions
- The best way to drive awareness of your auction is through the media. Whether local, national or online, it’s the most effective way to get people talking about your auction. The more people who know about the auction, the more bids it is likely to get.
- You can generate positive publicity for your auction by:
- Pitching your story to media, such as newspapers, radio stations, specialist magazines and web sites
- Contacting consumers directly yourself, sending newsletters to your members, writing about your auction in a blog, promoting it on social networking sites
Considerations
- 1. What makes your auction interesting to the media?
Check that your auction ticks several of the following:
- Unique/ exclusive (items that can’t be bought/ found anywhere else)
- ‘Money can’t buy’ experience(s)
- Celebrity link (endorsed / owned / signed by a celebrity)
- A clear theme, and striking story behind, your auction
- A focus on your local community (for regional media)
- 2. Timing your PR
Different publications work to different lead times. Some glossy magazines work as far as three months in advance. Newspapers have either a daily or weekly lead time, while websites can turn things around almost instantly. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time ahead of your auction start date to contact your target media.
Pitching to the Media
- You will need:
- A press release – this needs to include all the key facts and messages about the auction as well as background on the cause and your charity. You should also include a link to the auction on eBay.co.uk, and your contact details, in case a journalist wants more information.
- Pictures – make sure that you have print reproduction quality images (300 dpi).
- Logos – make sure that you include your charity logo and other relevant logos, e.g. the eBay for Charity logo, within your press materials. Contact us for a copy of the eBay for Charity logo.
- Spokespeople – the media often like to take comments from a relevant spokesperson. This can be a charity representative, a contributing celebrity, or someone who was helped by the charity’s work in the past.
- Contacting the media – once you have identified the media you want to target, visit their websites for contact details. Once you’ve spoken to each contact, follow up on the story via email with a personal approach to each, sending them the full press release, and make sure to keep a record of all responses received.
- Phone script – plan what you want to say in advance, and keep it short and to the point.
Contact consumers directly
- Now you have started to generate some coverage in the media you can also use online methods to drive people to your auction directly. From existing supporters (e.g. mailing lists, blog subscribers) to the wider public (social networking sites), websites allow you to link traffic directly to your auction.
- Consider targeting the following:
- Websites– if you or your charity have an existing website, flag the auction on its home page
- Newsletters – Include the auction as a news story in your next newsletter, with a link to the site so they can jump to it directly online. Don’t forget to include a report on how the auction went in the next newsletter, as this will also help to build interest in future events.
- Blogs – if you don’t already have a blog, consider starting one, but you need to update it at least once a week. If your blog is on a social networking site, you can invite people to join. If your blog is a ‘stand alone’ you can recruit new like-minded subscribers by leaving comments on similar/relevant blogs. The most important thing about blogging is to be open to a conversation, and be honest about what you are doing. If the blog is in your CEO’s name – they should write it!
- Forums – find an appropriate website with a forum and engage the community in conversation about the auction. Be open and honest about who the auction is for and what people can bid on. Do respond to any questions or comments – transparency is key.
- Social networking – many charities and brands start their own pages on social networking sites (e.g. facebook.com, bebo.com, myspace.com) to act as a hub of information. It’s cheaper that setting up a website and it gives direct access to your target audience. Once you have started a group, mention it in any other member communication (newsletters, for example) inviting people to join. Make sure all your staff and supporters are signed up to get the group going in the first place.
- Fansites – if you have a celebrity on board, you can target official and unofficial fansites - it’s a great way to let receptive audience know about the listing. There can be a lot of these, so check the most popular sites out first to make sure they are suitable for your charity and targeting the right audience.
Did You Know?
- Every day charities raise more than £11,000 through eBay for Charity.
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