min read
The “valley of death” (the middle part of a campaign) can be a trying time, as momentum tends to wane and fundraising may plateau…but you have to keep going! Here are some tips and tricks for keeping your community excited and engaged through “the valley.”
1. Offer special limited-time deals with a few rewards. This provides a sense of excitement and urgency when things might be a bit slow. Blast your offer on social media for a few days and make sure you keep track of who purchases them! For example, offer double of one reward for a 24 hour period: “Anyone who gets the $100 reward for 10lbs of tofu between now and 6:00 tomorrow night will get double tofu! Twenty pounds for $100!”
2. Make “mini-goals” to reach. Try breaking down your goal into smaller milestones throughout the campaign and use social media to create excitement around making each milestone. For example, set daily or weekly goals for a certain percentage or dollar amount you would like to reach by a certain time and challenge your community to help you reach those goals: “Help us reach our weekly goal of $1000 and get to $3000 by the end of the week!”
3. If you haven’t heard back from any of the people or organizations in your target market that you reached out to, follow up with them and ask if they have any questions.
4. Call or meet with your first degree and ask them to share the project with two people they know.
5. Find and attend Meetup groups or other relevant events in your area where you can meet like-minded people and tell them about your campaign!
6. Send a mid-campaign press release.
7. Offer a new reward (limited amount) mid-campaign and use social media to spread the word about this exclusive offer.
8. Create cards, brochures, or flyers to hang in local establishments and hand out to people you meet. Make sure it includes: a brief description of your project, what you are trying to do, a link to your project (you can also use a QR code; there are lots of free QR code generators like this one), and your contact information.
9. Send an email to your community once a week with information about your progress. Include pictures and videos if you can.
10. Send a mid-campaign press release and another press release a week before your project ends to relevant media lists.
11. Create and post a weekly video update on your campaign page and social media.
12. NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP!!!
