Social networking allows you to advertise your event for free.
When throwing a charity event, the goal is to minimize spending so that as much of the funds raised as possible directly impacts the charity. Advertising can be a costly expense, but throwing a charity event opens up many inexpensive and even free advertising doors to the event planner. Local business and media outlets are prone to assisting charity functions by supplying free airtime and ad space as well as by using their local clout to promote the event for you. Social networking also enables you to reach a broad spectrum of people at little to no cost.
Instructions
1. Write press releases detailing the pertinent information of the charity event, such as the date, place and time of the event, the cause the event is supporting and what the public can do to help.
2. Submit the press release to local newspapers, radio stations and television stations several weeks before the event. Revise the dates and add in any additional information as needed to the press releases and resubmit them to all of the media contacts a week or two before the event.
3. Design an ad that uses graphics and well-placed text to catch the eye of the readers and inform them of your event. Include the pertinent details of the event, the cause the event is supporting and any cost associated with it, such as tickets or cover charges. Submit the ad to local newspapers and ask if they could run it free of charge or at a reduced cost to help support the cause.
4. Submit your event information to local online area guides, such as Citysearch, which allows you to search events by city. They can include your charity function information in their event calendar. Ask any newspapers, local television stations and radio stations to add your event to their online event calendar, if applicable, as well.
5. Design and print fliers with the details of the event. These should have less content than the press releases and be easily read at a glance. For example, include a bulleted list with the pertinent information, such as the date and location of the event and what the public can do to support it. For example, include a sentence such as "Purchase tickets to our charity carnival at the event or by contacting our website." Include a logo or graphic that represents the charity on the flier, if applicable.
6. Hang the fliers at popular local venues, such as grocery stores, laundromats and coffee shops, which typically have bulletin boards that the public can attach fliers to. Ask volunteers to hand out the fliers at busy intersection corners or outside local stores.
7. Contact local business owners to see if they are interested in supporting and promoting your charity event. For example, a local business owner may add a small note on his sales fliers that promotes the charity event, offer to print and display signs for you in his store or simply hand out fliers to his customers.
8. Utilize social networking sites to promote the event. Create a Facebook event that outlines the details of the charity work and your event, classify it as a public event, invite your friends to attend and encourage them to then invite their own contacts. This can cause the event to snowball, at no cost to you. You could also post Twitter updates that relay pertinent event details, such as the event date, charity information and ticket sales details. Ask your followers to retweet your posts to help spread the information. You can even come up with and use a Twitter hashtag for your event in your tweets, such as #fallcarnivalstjosephs.
9. Print postcards with the event and charity information and mail them to your member or donor database, if applicable. If you do not have an address database, choose local neighborhoods to target and send the postcards to selected addresses in the neighborhood.
Tags: your event, charity event, cause event, press releases, before event, cause event supporting